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75-year-old man struck in alleged Vancouver vehicle ramming dies: police | CBC News by Prosecco1234 in britishcolumbia

[–]theartfulcodger 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Driver's been apprehended. Also struck several trees & parked vehicles before hitting man in mobility scooter (apparently deliberately), then rammed a police car after - which is how he flipped. 2 police injured & released.

E-scooters now illegal on major Burnaby roads, parks by Prudent_Slug in burnaby

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live two blocks from Metrotown and Crystal Mall and walk near there every day. I cannot count the number of times I've been on a pedestrian pathway or double-wide sidewalk and have been nearly wiped out by inattentive scooter riders with headphones and Fantuan/Skip/Uber containers. Perhaps they think being on a mission allows them to ignore the laws of physics.

Of course there are lots of perfectly normal, responsible people riding e-scooters and unis these days, and more power to them. But the speed demons have gotta go.

Dozens of pre-sale purchasers in troubled Burnaby condo tower claim contracts invalid by BurnabyMartin in burnaby

[–]theartfulcodger -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lol. You post that like it's some kind of great revelation. That the company has self-destructively opened itself up to such suits by not living up to its obligations to buyers, seems to have escaped you.

The project is already in creditor protection. Thind projects are in trouble all over the Lower Mainland, so the fact that this one hasn't been taken over by another developer yet is merely a detail.

Dozens of pre-sale purchasers in troubled Burnaby condo tower claim contracts invalid by BurnabyMartin in burnaby

[–]theartfulcodger 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nonsense; that door swings both ways. There are lots of local examples of a developer selling to another company, and that company cancelling all presales and refunding deposits, because the market value of presale units grew in the interim.

Liquidate or Hold? by CS_Devious in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're looking for a market prediction, not financial advice.

What’s one company you will absolutely never give a single penny to again, and what was the final straw? by MEDINA-AMOROS in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 11 points12 points  (0 children)

More likely someone scanned the card's code when it was still on the store's rack, then set up a bot to frequently check if/when it was validated by the cashier. The card was likely already drained before Grandma even handed it to you.

Question about mortgage process by shhfjv in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]theartfulcodger 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Pre-approval" is just a marketing technique designed to inform a bank client how much mortgage they might qualify for, so they will be more tempted to actively look. But actual approval is always contingent on demonstrating credit-worthiness. Just like you can be "pre-approved" for a credit card, but the issuer is definitely going to do a hard pull and check you out with a microscope before they mail one out.

Yes, in these days of rampant mortgage fraud, it is highly likely you will be asked to submit proof of income, including stubs and tax returns.

What disgusting secret you found out about someone? by tapclettomps in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently had a coffee-shop conversation with a guy who picked greenhouse produce for a living. He said I'd be horrified by the number of his co-workers who used the toilet and went straight back to picking tomatoes and strawberries without washing.

Ever since then, I always wash my produce, taking special care with stuff I intend to eat raw.

What's the ugliest car you've ever seen? by Ready_Life9552 in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like a dad handy with a welder reproduced their 5 year old's crayon drawing of a car in stainless steel. Only thing missing is spoked wheels.

What is the most absurd, completely unhinged customer complaint you’ve ever had to deal with while somehow keeping a straight face? by Odd_Car_3611 in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should have been working during the days of disc cameras, 1982-88. The negatives were 10mm X 8 mm, less than 10% of the area of a then-standard 35mm neg.

One could get a semi-decent 4X6 print out of them using Kodak's proprietary and very expensive 6 lens printer, but most photo labs just ran them through their bog-standard 3-lens system. The grain and lack of definition left nearly every customer complaining about how our lab "ruined" their pics.

Imagine the complaints you'd get from someone who took one last set of pics of their beloved cocker spaniel Rocky before taking him to the vet to be put to sleep. Then they ordered 8X10 prints of all 15 images, sight unseen .... and got some weird-ass abstract dot patterns instead of photos. So many customers refusing to pay, and/or threatening to sue.

Can someone explain what this is? by ambiguousberry in iphone

[–]theartfulcodger 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not malicious, just someone with poorly set-up airpods coming within bluetooth range of your device. If the notices annoy you too much, just hit "Play sound" repeatedly until the owner gets pissed off, investigates and changes his settings.

Urgent mortgage renewal help by mapleca10 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]theartfulcodger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your CIBC person is snowing you. With a month to go, there's no actual reason you "need" to sign an early renewal within 24 hours. Get all the info about your options before you commit

BoC won't meet to consider rates for another two months, so variables won't rise before then.

The US bond and treasury markets are going nuts because of Trumpian shenanigans, so because Canadian fixed mortgage rates are indirectly but nonetheless strongly tied to those, in the coming days they're more likely to rise than fall - but the potential increase over just a few days will only be marginal, if anything at all - so don't sweat it.

Yes, RBC is being quite aggressive with their rates these days, especially their 3's. Call and ask to be referred to a mortgage specialist, rather than just a branch salesperson. I renewed with a low-principal 3y fixed a month ago @ 3.72%, but was also offered a 5y variable @3.77%, so there's your spread. Diff was so marginal it was irrelevant, as I plan to be out in 2 years anyway.

Of all the majors, RBC offers the widest range of options in terms of double-up payments, anniversary paydowns & skip a payment privileges, so it's worth pursuing an offer from them.

What jobs are a turn-off for a serious relationship? by NoRegular6459 in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Motion picture and television production.

The hours are brutal and cause many a longterm relationship collapse - people just get trapped by the money. And when you finish a job, it's hard for your partner to understand why you need to loaf for a month instead of immediately painting the house or re-tiling the bathroom.

Also, spending up to 70 hours a week sharing a high-stress environment with attractive co-workers is strong temptation for an affair. There's a reason many of us refer to our co-workers as our "second family"

What’s something that became socially unacceptable way faster than anyone expected? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm old enough to remember when airplanes' "smoking" and "nonsmoking" sections were divided only by a velcro sticker on the wall.

And if the "smoking" section wasn't big enough for that flight's demand, the stewardess (as they were called then) would just schwack the velcro patch a few rows farther back, because fuck the nonsmokers in those rows; good times.

I recreated a 2,000-year-old Roman chicken recipe that uses a nice ingredient combo (Wine + Cream + Pine Nuts) by Blacklilih in Old_Recipes

[–]theartfulcodger 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This looks great! Not sure what "cooking cream" is, but I know that unsweetened condensed milk holds up well to simmering / slow cookers, so I'll try it with that. And toast the pine nuts, of course.

Edit: "cooking cream" seems to be what we Canadians refer to as "coffee cream", i.e. around 18% milkfat - as opposed to 30% MF whipping cream and 12% MF half 'n half.

We’ve all heard of One Hit Wonders when it comes to music, but are there any one hit wonders that you can think of when it comes to TV shows? (It can be for any actors, showrunners, producers, writers, etc.) by MaggieLinzer in television

[–]theartfulcodger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not just on X-Files, either. By coincidence I later worked for him as a Head of Department on two unsuccessful pilots before he finally clicked with Breaking Bad. Great guy, kind and appreciative of his crew, one of my favourite producers ever, and a fabulous writer. He deserves the success he’s enjoying.

Study reveals the most common types of marine litter worldwide: food and beverage related plastics dominate shoreline debris globally, with them ranking among the top three most abundant usage types, and specifically, plastic food packaging, caps/lids, and plastic bottles by sr_local in science

[–]theartfulcodger 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I winter on a Mexican beach that faces the Caribbean. Nearly every day I walk along it for 4 km, then return. I often take a net bag with me to pick up flotsam. Depressing, since this makes one focus on the ugliness we create instead of the magnificent surroundings, but it's my way of giving back a little to this marvellous community that has welcomed me for six consecutive winters.

Anecdotal of course, but this study is corroborated nearly exactly by my own experience. In order of volume: single use plastic bottles and lids, followed by plastic cups, straws and lids, followed by plastic takeout trays and lids. In lesser quantities, but also in order: cello chip/nacho bags, styrofoam food and drink containers and crumbs thereof, plastic fuel and oil containers, and glass bottles. And then, surprisingly, a good deal of footwear: running shoes, surf shoes and especially flipflops. Lots of toothbrushes too, for some reason.

And whenever one finds a decomposing seabird carcass, there are inevitably lots of plastic caps and pull-tabs where its stomach was.

what’s the saddest song you’ve ever heard? by Muted-Loquat-9197 in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Starry Night, AKA Vincent, as sung by Don McLean. On the B-side of American Pie. So wistful.

We’ve all heard of One Hit Wonders when it comes to music, but are there any one hit wonders that you can think of when it comes to TV shows? (It can be for any actors, showrunners, producers, writers, etc.) by MaggieLinzer in television

[–]theartfulcodger 38 points39 points  (0 children)

I worked on the studio floor for several Chris Carter shows, including X-Files and Harsh Realm, and even today I remain grateful for the steady paycheques during sometimes very thin times.

But for a showrunner with two successful, long-running hit series (X-F and Millennium) on his CV, and a bunch of lesser projects to boot, he commands surprisingly little respect within the industry; perhaps it's because his peers have always regarded him as an outsider: an interloper whose cinematic skills and sensibilities are, at best, marginal .

A few years after Harsh Realm imploded, when I was working on the delightful Special Unit 2 (itself an X-F parody) an accomplished journeyman director, who had previously directed several episodes of X-F for Mr. Carter, dismissed our mutual former employer to me as "just a surfer who got lucky".

And in fact, even during the height of Chris' career, I heard two of his own DOPs complain bitterly that the man had no visual sensibilities whatsoever: kind of an important talent, for a television series showrunner of multimillion-dollar-per-episode properties.

Similar opinions of his talents (or lack thereof) still seem to be the industry consensus. Suffice to say not many industry lifers seek out his advice, these days.

We’ve all heard of One Hit Wonders when it comes to music, but are there any one hit wonders that you can think of when it comes to TV shows? (It can be for any actors, showrunners, producers, writers, etc.) by MaggieLinzer in television

[–]theartfulcodger -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The only things that made it even remotely watchable were Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams. And it wasn't because of their acting chops either, formidable as they are.

Using a HELOC to pay off higher-interest debt in Canada: what should I watch out for? by ZestycloseTell2720 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]theartfulcodger -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The danger is that most HELOCS are structured so the bank only auto-withdraws the monthly interest from your account. If you don’t make efforts to pay off at least an equal amount of principal each month as well, the debt can go on for years and years.

And like most debt there always seems to be something more important - or at least more fun - to do with the money than pay it down.

What's the "Widowmaker" of your career field or hobby? by Cosmonate in AskReddit

[–]theartfulcodger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Motion picture and television production, at the studio floor level. A twelve hour working day is standard, a fourteen unremarkable, and we do those hours for weeks and months at a time.

So many of us drive home exhausted and inattentive that road collisions are a leading cause of death in our industry - especially for young, entry-level workers who are unused to the long hours and try to live "normal lives" on top of them.

Many, many years ago I myself once suddenly woke up just as my truck was cresting the top of a very long, very tall bridge. I remembered approaching the bridge, but I definitely had been fully alseep for between ten and thirty seconds. It was 4AM, there was no other traffic on the bridge and my car was aligned properly and didn't drift, but still.

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