My EV is better than my gas car in every conceivable way except for the lack of rural charging infrastructure - which ain’t my car’s fault.

Yes, the purchase price was higher than my last car, but my first service that’s more than inspections or replacing the cabin air filter is at 96,000km and that’s to replace the brake fluid. There is basically zero maintenance cost.

I also charge it almost exclusively using my solar panels. Actual cost of ownership is cheaper than my old gas car, it’s more comfortable, absurdly fast, and I never have to stand in the cold pumping gas. Now if only someone would start selling an EV station wagon in Canada…

Yea, exactly - that was my point. The moment the union demonstrated that they were not going to give up their innate right to withold their labour, suddenly Air Canada found a little more negotiating room.

It’s funny how fast a tentative agreement was reached after the union refused to return to work…

Never ascribe malice to that which can be explained by incompetence. I truly think they believe the bullshit they spew. They are the heros of their internal monologues.

Absolutely - their recent ‘Parental Rights’ Bill eliminated the ability of parents of Trans or questioning kids to get puberty blockers (which have long been given for numerous other conditions such as precocious puberty without issue) or any other form of gender affirming care.

If I had a kid struggling with their gender identity, I’d be forced to leave the province if I wanted to get evidence based care for my kid - even evidence based care with limited ramifications regardless of how they end up identifying.

As a Calgarian - please let this actually happen…

Edmonton bought some EV buses but has struggled with range and reliability - with the company that made them eventually going bust.

But that is not a reason to give up on the concept. It takes time to mature technology. EVs used to suck, now they are amazing. Just like with passenger cars, infrastructure is clutch. Range limitations are predominantly only an issue on the coldest days. Bus drivers in Calgary get at least two 15 minute breaks and a half hour lunch break. Install chargers strategically on routes where range is an issue and you could get a full hour of charging during times the bus would be out of service anyway. Heck - you could just install some InductEV wireless bus chargers at key stops and you could be charging at 400kW without even needing to plug it in.

These are solvable problems - it just takes some trial and error to figure out the optimal solution. If you wait for perfect, you will wait forever.

People regularly try to convince me that EVs don’t work in the cold, or for going to remote areas. I backcountry ski in the Rockies and routinely drive and park my EV (Ioniq 5) in -20C weather. Hell, I sleep in the back when I’m getting an early start on things and use utility mode and insulated window covers to keep things nice and comfy overnight. EVs used to suck - now they’re awesome. Minor adaptation of how I manage ‘fuel’ has given me a BETTER solution.

This video was phenomenal. I had no idea just how stupid this thing was. And I knew it was stupid.

It’s more expensive than SPF, but I spring for cedar - I built my planter boxes, garden beds, and patio furniture out of it. No staining required, zilch upkeep. I built a 3m x 1M raised bed planter several years ago and it’s required zero upkeep so far. Ditto my patio set built five years ago.

I way prefer the wood for what it’s worth. I love weathered wood - it ages beautifully, lasts for years and years, and the environmental impact of cedar (assuming that’s what it is) is far lower than concrete too.

Concrete is the plastic of things that aren’t plastic. Produced mostly with fossil fuels, huge GHG associated with production, and will sit as a lump of trash forever-ish once the next person decides they prefer a different look.

Make your own decisions obviously - I’m aware that I’m particularly carbon footprint averse.

I live down the street from a school in Calgary. I’m building a ‘little free banned library’ that I’m going to be filling with every book the government bans

Perfect is the enemy of good only if you WAIT for perfect. I eat minimal meat, get my veggies from a local farm share, have solar panels, an EV that charges only off excess solar production, a heatpump, have re-insulated the attic, ditched the gas range for induction that runs off solar, etc. My footprint is less than anyone around me, but probably still way higher than your average individual living in the global south.

I’m trying to hit net zero and once I hit it, I’ll keep going because Canada (where I live) is rich and I want to continue to reduce my footprint (the dream is net negative in my life) because I’m privileged and have the resources to push harder. I make it a game - figure out what’s my best opportunity to reduce my footprint, do it, move on to looking for the next thing I can do.

Giving up (most) red meat and patting yourself on the back is severely minimizing what you COULD be doing. I’m a long, long way from perfect, and am exceedingly lucky to have the resources to play this game - but carbon reduction is a way of life, not a checkbox IMO.

Totally agree and I try to avoid posting National Post properties. In this case, at the time of posting I didn’t have an alternative (better) source in the moment.

Friendly reminder that getting vaxxed is free. My partner has a shitty immune system so I got two rounds of boosters.

Here in Alberta all you need to do is call 811 and they can book you in with a vaccine specialist.

Mine (2025) rattles when twisted.

The wording “couldn’t talk correctly” can come across as ableist because of the implication that it’s their problem. They speak differently than you, or whomever.

Whether someone has a speech impediment, a thick accent, speaks another language, or is non-verbal, doesn’t really matter. What matters is that the two of us are able to communicate effectively and that’s a two way street.

It IS ableist to expect everyone to communicate the same way - and by saying that this person doesn’t speak correctly, you may have given your friend that impression. Knowing that you yourself have struggled with a speech impediment, my guess is that what you were trying to convey was that you felt badly about the challenges that person may face in a very ableist society.

Let me know if you think I’m totally off base - I’m really interested in folks perspectives.

I suggested Maxime Bernier running to some friends as a joke. Bernier is AWFUL - but it would be hilarious to see Poilevre lose again. Poilevre is trying to avoid that risk by picking an extremely right leaning district - so no risk from the left, but farther right? Rural Albertans have a history of not forgiving screw-ups…

I got a 2025 Ioniq 5 too and absolutely love it.

Except for the lack of hitch availability. Ecohitch and Stealth Hitch are the only two options available at the moment and they’re both made in the US.

WindowsXP

I always appreciated the old adage about Canadian politics that the outcome will always be the most boring option. This was not that.

A bunch o’ ridings were gearing up for recall campaigns before the federal election got called. A whole lot of folks were distributing literature and rallying volunteers until folks refocused on the federal election.

Once the election is done, I’m pretty confident that’ll ramp up again - the UCP ain’t getting less corrupt. Check out abresistance.ca for info.