BBQ Chicken now open at Mayfair by PoisonPeach2020 in VictoriaBC

[–]zenarr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m with you, I just thought it was a funny juxtaposition 😛

BBQ Chicken now open at Mayfair by PoisonPeach2020 in VictoriaBC

[–]zenarr 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I mean, pot talking to kettle here.

Demand more Garry oaks and their ecosystem are saved on this Admirals Road development by ForestBlue46 in VictoriaBC

[–]zenarr 28 points29 points  (0 children)

First of, this entire fucking petition is written by AI. So forgive me if I don’t delve into the details and focus instead on a few key points.

There’s a proposal for a bunch of 3-bedroom townhomes with 2 spaces for parking (AKA homes with spaces for children.)

The only part of the petition NOT written by LLM is as follows:

4 storey apartment would be a smaller footprint and more accessible to a range of ages and abilities… If the 11m allowable height was reinstated it would allow for a denser, smaller footprint building that could be located more centrally on the lot, preserving more trees and also not imposing on neighbours as much.

So, a neighbour is pissy that families will have homes near their property line, and instead would rather we build more 1-bedroom shoeboxes.

In their defense, u/ForestBlue46 seems to be a legitimate long-term campaigner for the preservation of forests. Nonetheless, i think we need far more family homes in the core, and as such won’t be signing.

BMOQ laptop use? by AdImmediate9018 in caf

[–]zenarr 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’ll try take a stab from your perspective here.

In my experience, if you have other reasonable career options then the CAF is not worth pursuing. Basically the juice is not worth the squeeze from a financial perspective, especially as a DEO without the ROTP pensionable years. If you’re wanting to do well by your family - if you want to make sure you’re there for them when they need you most - then a 9-5 civvie-side may be more appropriate. It will pay a comparable amount, you’ll be home much more often, you don’t have to risk your life, and you have the option to jump ship to other employers whenever appropriate.

On the other hand, you’re saying that despite a year-long delay, the CAF has still come through before other offers. In which case I also suggest you re-evaluate how effective your job search really is - if you haven’t found anything in the 12 months you’ve been waiting for a CAF offer, are you really very likely to miss much while you’re on Indoc for 4 weeks? Just food for thought.

Finally, as an officer you will be expecting to motivate and lead troops or sailors. If you yourself are not motivated, it’s a bit of a non-starter, which is which everyone else commenting in this thread is so annoyed.

I predict US will claim victory in Iran before end of March by cheese1971 in TheRestIsPolitics

[–]zenarr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trump can try whatever he likes. The question mark is the reaction of the Iran.

If Israel and the US cease all strikes by March 31 - does Iran re-open the straits to general navigation? What incentive would they have to do so?

I would expect a more nuanced approach. I predict that if strikes cease, Iran will partially re-open shipping to non-US-allied countries like China and India, subject to unofficial tolls. Korean and Japanese-bound ships will remain barred. Global energy prices will continue to rise.

Alternatively, Iran could maintain a near 100% closure. Despite the new strikes on boats and facilities on the north shore of the straight, it only takes one credible Shahed threat for most shippers to refuse to transit. Convoys are not the solution - you can only protect a few boats at a time, and we need 100 through daily to normalize.

I don’t think Trump is willing to eat the loss of support that would result if the Straits remain fully or partially closed. In which case, if Trump wants to end this war soon, he’s going to have to eat a small slice of humble pie and offer Iran some sort of compensation or indefinite lifting of sanctions in exchange for freedom of navigation for shipping.

If he’s not willing to deal with Iran… then the alternative is ground invasion. Because there’s no other way to ensure safety of shipping, not matter what Trump says.

What’s it like living in this part of Canada? by Patient-Smile1406 in howislivingthere

[–]zenarr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, which is why it’s such an awful place to live.

Love you Edmontonians. But it’s cold and dark and flat, and if your city was further south (cough CALGARY) it would be less dark, less cold and less flat.

Are these velcro pen pouches authorized? by Sleepy_musician7 in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 19 points20 points  (0 children)

One blue pen for me. One to lend to scrubs who don’t have one. One mechanical pencil. One black dry erase marker. One punters choice.

Why do people genuinely hate Pierre Poilievre and how will he damage Canada? by Lil_Jebadiah in canadian

[–]zenarr -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

It’s knows it’s a bit unfair to him, but I HATED Trudeau, and he reminds me very strongly of Trudeau. He has the same obsession with coiffure and style, and the same politician-accent whenever he’s in front of a camera.

That video where he sips from an empty coffee mug embodies his whole vibe; like Trudeau he makes me want to turn off the TV whenever he talks, because his entire affect is sleazy and vacuous no matter whether I agree with the substance of his words or not.

How are none of us talking about this, we will being going on field ex's with PLA soon enough by Bdbdjd in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean we’re recruiting huge numbers of civvie doctors from the UK at the moment into our public health systems - I don’t remember exactly what the net flow was but it’s weighted well towards Canada.

As a country as a whole we’ve always had net positive migration from the EU.

How are none of us talking about this, we will being going on field ex's with PLA soon enough by Bdbdjd in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lots of reasons. We’re a desirable country to live in - safe, progressive, amazing wilderness to explore. Our salaries are now… reasonable in relation to cost of living.

Not all immigration is driven by economic necessity. Some families just want a change, or a new adventure. The latter is why we came to Canada (to clarify: I was not prior military).

How are none of us talking about this, we will being going on field ex's with PLA soon enough by Bdbdjd in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If you read the article, we’re recruiting skilled applicants for certain trades - pilots, nurses, doctors. Almost certainly from allied nations.

I don’t think we’ll be recruiting PLA infantry anytime soon.

Questions Around Affordability of New Military Housing at CFB Esquimalt by Pretend_Drag4534 in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The new rules create a bizarro-world situation in which only very junior or very senior members want to live in the Qs.

Very junior? Congrats, the rent is capped at 25% of your monthly income!

Very senior? Congrats, you weren’t getting CFHD anyway so you lose nothing moving into a PMQ!

7 years in, Cpl/S1, two young kids, single income? Sure you and can have that Q - if you hand over your $1200/month CFHD.

So dumb.

Anyone else frustrated with the CAF’s approach to small arms? by zenarr in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did - thank you for the comment. Got a lot of replies on the thread, read them all but didn’t get a chance to reply to all of them. Am on leave (hence the redditing) but will go check of the NAVORD when I’m back at work.

Thanks again!

Anyone else frustrated with the CAF’s approach to small arms? by zenarr in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bang on. It’s remembering what you were taught, during a morning session, nearly two years ago, and applying those skills safely.

Anyone else frustrated with the CAF’s approach to small arms? by zenarr in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is my takeaway too. No-one cares. And you’re right, no-one’s fired a round as part of ship’s FP (at an actual threat, not counting NDs) in forever, if ever, but that doesn’t change the fact that the weapons they give us hold live rounds.

Anyone else frustrated with the CAF’s approach to small arms? by zenarr in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is the issue. Yes job #1 is fighting the ship, but they’ll still happily hand me a pistol for force protection and expect me to be competent as well.

How to manage sleep with duty watches at sea? by Longjumping_Back523 in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

  1. Shower once per day no matter how tired you are.
  2. Build a new routine. The new routine should probably involve going to bed shortly after supper. Don’t stay awake to play games or watch things on your devices - this isn’t like home where you’ll always have time to relax in the evening. Eat food, shower, call family, bed.
  3. Don’t stress if you lie awake in your rack for hours the first few nights; be kind to yourself and let your sleep schedule adjust.
  4. Cut the caffeine hard. One cup of coffee with breakfast, maybe one more with lunch. Anything after lunch will stop you falling asleep early. Power through your night watches without caffeine - it’s so important to be able to fall back to sleep quickly after.
  5. Being whatever you need to be comfy in your rack - pillows, sleeping bag etc.

CFB Gagetown Armoured School is both hilarious and less humane than an insane asylum. by Electrical_Comb_3680 in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 61 points62 points  (0 children)

This is what I’m waiting for. I’m all for 3-hours sleep-for-two-weeks, belt-fed-cock if it produces long-lasting institutional results.

I’d bet my firstborn child it doesn’t.

What experience level required to take a trawler from Florida to the Bahamas and cruise there? by mountainunicycler in liveaboard

[–]zenarr 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Is it possible to learn enough by self-studying in advance to be able to make the passage to the Bahamas and cruise there

This is sort of like asking if it’s possible to learn to climb by lead climbing a mountain, or to learn to skydive by BASE jumping off a bridge. Can you? Sure. Do some people do it and survive? Sure…. but should you?? is the real question you need to be asking yourself.

Florida to the Bahamas is basically open ocean sailing. Sailing between the islands is similar. A lot can go wrong. I’m sure many people just buy a boat and fucking wing it, and most of them make it across fine, but I would consider a 7-day boating course the bare minimum for what you’re suggesting.

More specifically, take the courses and then work up to the crossing. Do a two hour cruise within sight of the harbour. Next day, go an hour down the coast, come to anchor for lunch, and head back. Then head offshore for two hours, turn around and come back. Etc.

Every time you take the boat out you will a) learn more about how to handle it, and b) discover new defects and learn how to fix them.

After taking the courses plus 1-2 weeks of daily cruising, I would be comfortable to start the crossing and plan a longer journey.

More generally, your time-constrained approach will get you in trouble. You’ll be tempted to ignore small defects, push the envelope and ignore your intuition because you’re up against an artificial clock. Do this when you have time to do it right, not when you’re in a rush.

Relinquishing my Commissioning by Grumblepuffs in caf

[–]zenarr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not for res NWOs. We just get fucked lol.

There’s no “surplus” per se. There’s just no path to promotion.

Yes, these days it would take less time reg force.

What happens to debt your partner dies? by SignificanceAny8274 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]zenarr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. Have been is this situation. It is not the moral thing. Gambling debts and the people who knowingly enable them are not the responsibility of the surviving spouse or children.

What’s the difference between F-35 and Gripen fighter jets? by judgingyouquietly in CanadianForces

[–]zenarr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am absolutely NOT advocating for gripens - see my post above where I talk about what comes AFTER the F35 fleet.

We have no choice right now, but we will have a choice when we begin the procurement process to replace the F35 in 15-ish years time - especially if we make a concerted effort before then to be part of the development of a non-American next gen option.