OT: Sens Lounge XCVII: "Zorf; 21 times!" Edition

[Do Make Say Think]

Just go live Belgium, the secret best country in Europe

EDIT: Episode VIII trailer coming out today but I am actually considering going into The Last Jedi completely in the dark for the fun of it,

 

[CanadianHockey]

Does anyone remember the name of that poster we had a few years back who had insider knowledge because he was somebody's cousin or something?

 

[The Waffler]

oh yes. Backdoorpass. Tim Murray's son.

 

[BonkTastic]

Come on home, Bonk! Canada can use some talent.

We're currently trying to figure out a way to bring our talents to South Beach Kanata by the summer.

Hopefully things will be clearer within the next month or two.

 

[BonkTastic]

Just go live Belgium, the secret best country in Europe

I love Belgium, but I think our next move has to be back to Canada, for family reasons.

I don't want to keep the kids away from their grandparents much longer.

... I am actually considering going into The Last Jedi completely in the dark for the fun of it,

Good luck with trying to avoid spoilers or discussion for the most popular film franchise of all time. That is a herculean task that, if you pull off, would be the achievement of the year as far as I'm concerned.

 

[coladin]

120 is such a sensible speed limit. Really wish they'd change it here instead of the 'legally you can only go 100 but you can probably go 115-120 without issue' thing we have going on.

I think we can do a Europe style speed limit of 130, but make it tightly patrolled. The cars are much better equipped for those speeds than they ever where.

It boils down to training and I am not a believer in "Speed Kills" like cops who setup speed traps on straight roads. Who exactly are they saving? Be tough on tailgaters, drivers who drive recklessly, drivers who speed in residential areas. The payoff will be better driving. I love red light cameras, hate them everywhere else.

My son is learning to drive and I am not teaching him to go 60 in a 60. I teach him too be aware of his surroundings, and keep with the flow of traffic. All you do is cause congestion and impatient drivers who try to get around you. If he is in the right lane, he is usually going 5km/h over, and that is fine by me.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I always forget the conversions but they just changed the highways by me from 70 to 75MPH, which means I can go 84-86 with probably no problems. Good stuff!

 

[BonkTastic]

I think we can do a Europe style speed limit of 130, but make it tightly patrolled.

I don't think we can. I think it's potentially disastrous, due mostly to the treacherous driving conditions we get in Canada in the Winter that they just don't get in most of Europe.

In the summer, yeah, fine. But if you want European comparables for Canada, look at the arctic European countries. Sweden is 110 km/h. Finland is 100 km/h summers only. Norway is 80 km/h (with up to 110 only around Oslo). Iceland is 90 km/h. Every European country that gets the same winter weather that Canada does has lower speed limits than the rest of the continent for a good reason.

We could probably implement a "summer only" speed limit of 120, but if you make those speeds official in the winter, you're going to see a crap-ton more accidents because people already don't pay attention to things like black ice at 100.

 

[coladin]

I don't think we can. I think it's potentially disastrous, due mostly to the treacherous driving conditions we get in Canada in the Winter that they just don't get in most of Europe.

In the summer, yeah, fine. But if you want European comparables for Canada, look at the arctic European countries. Sweden is 110 km/h. Finland is 100 km/h summers only. Norway is 80 km/h (with up to 110 only around Oslo). Iceland is 90 km/h. Every European country that gets the same winter weather that Canada does has lower speed limits than the rest of the continent for a good reason.

We could probably implement a "summer only" speed limit of 120, but if you make those speeds official in the winter, you're going to see a crap-ton more accidents because people already don't pay attention to things like black ice at 100.

Maybe instead of the Max/Min like on Quebec signs they could make 130/110 signs. It is a valid point about winter.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

So much for going dark for Episode VIII

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

You also have to take into account the condition of roads....especially those outside of the cities. 130 is fine in the Queensway, but I wouldn't go that fast outside of city limits.

And when teaching your son to drive, remind him there are all sorts or drivers and skill sets on the roads. Everyone from the 16-year-old who is just learning, to the soccer moms, to the wannabe nascar drivers, to the grandparents and great grandparents. Reaction times can be vastly different, especially with older folks.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

So much for going dark for Episode VIII

Both Mark Hamil and the director came out and said not to watch anymore trailers before this current one came out. I'm doing my best to avoid it too.

 

[Hutz]

I disappear from the board for 2 weeks and... what happened to this place!?

edit: I read some of the comments from when it happened. My adblock is holding strong have yet to see an ad. I'm very disappointed I wasn't here for the free swearing days, though. Ass, shit, f***.

edit 2: oh, I guess you can say 'ass'

 

[danielpalfredsson]

you guys are wasting your time with this speed limit thing, we're like 2 years away from self driving cars. Elon Musk will ensure you can HFBoards from your cell phone while in a car without having to worry about crashing off the 417.

 

[Masked]

You also have to take into account the condition of roads....especially those outside of the cities. 130 is fine in the Queensway, but I wouldn't go that fast outside of city limits.

That's nonsense. I'd rather do 130 on the 417, 416 or Highway 7 outside of city limits. Less traffic and fewer on ramps makes it easier.

 

[maclean]

I love Belgium, but I think our next move has to be back to Canada, for family reasons.

I don't want to keep the kids away from their grandparents much longer.

Just curious, you seemed to be pretty down with the Swiss lyfe at first, would you say there was a certain turning point?

Good luck with trying to avoid spoilers or discussion for the most popular film franchise of all time. That is a herculean task that, if you pull off, would be the achievement of the year as far as I'm concerned.

I went into the last two Star Wars movies without seeing any spoilers or discussion on them. I may have seen teaser-trailers but they were like six months before the movie came out and I was fairly confident I would have forgotten everything by the time it was actually released, which was true. Actually episodes II and III I also knew nothing about and those I didn't even see until like 5 years after they came out.

 

[maclean]

My son is learning to drive and I am not teaching him to go 60 in a 60. I teach him too be aware of his surroundings, and keep with the flow of traffic. All you do is cause congestion and impatient drivers who try to get around you. If he is in the right lane, he is usually going 5km/h over, and that is fine by me.

Even in Young Drivers they teach you to keep with the flow of traffic even if it means going over the limit, though more for the case of highways.

 

[Hutz]

I went into the last two Star Wars movies without seeing any spoilers or discussion on them. I may have seen teaser-trailers but they were like six months before the movie came out and I was fairly confident I would have forgotten everything by the time it was actually released, which was true. Actually episodes II and III I also knew nothing about and those I didn't even see until like 5 years after they came out.

Confession time. I still haven't seen Rogue One and yet I still know no more about it than I did before it was released.

I should probably watch it soon.

 

[Hutz]

Even in Young Drivers they teach you to keep with the flow of traffic even if it means going over the limit, though more for the case of highways.

Although they do specifically say not to follow that advice on your driving test. I failed my first driving test for that exact reason, the flow took me about 5 kph over the limit - automatic fail.

 

[BonkTastic]

That's nonsense. I'd rather do 130 on the 417, 416 or Highway 7 outside of city limits.

Man, do you know how many deer jump out of the woods along that highway? 130 seems ludicrous to me on that road, especially at dusk/dawn, and at night considering there are no lights on that road.

 

[BonkTastic]

Just curious, you seemed to be pretty down with the Swiss lyfe at first, would you say there was a certain turning point?

Yeah, right around the time after the first year when our new living permits were renewed, and all of the severe restrictions we have to live here under were unchanged.

 

[Hutz]

Yeah, right around the time after the first year when our new living permits were renewed, and all of the severe restrictions we have to live here under were unchanged.

What kind of restrictions, for example, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[BonkTastic]

What kind of restrictions, for example, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm not legally allowed to work. That's the biggest one.

There are others - we pay more for health insurance here than citizens do, pay more for car insurance + pay more for monthly license plate rentals (yes that's a thing here, we have to use temporary licence plates on our car), and quite a few more that I don't really want to get into because dwelling on them just makes me more depressed, but the "not-allowed-to-work" thing is easily the biggest.

 

[maclean]

Confession time. I still haven't seen Rogue One and yet I still know no more about it than I did before it was released.

I should probably watch it soon.

High-five to overseas bubble!
If I didn't have kids I might not have bothered either. Honestly you're not really missing anything special, though I'd stop short of calling it actually bad.

Although they do specifically say not to follow that advice on your driving test. I failed my first driving test for that exact reason, the flow took me about 5 kph over the limit - automatic fail.

Yeah, I was going to mention that. They were very clear about that - hug that speed limit close on the driving test but otherwise you'd be a fool to follow it and if you go 110 you're never going to get in trouble for it. It's the unfortunate thing about speed cameras is they don't distinguish the circumstances (in fact they often like to put them in places to catch people - like just coming off the highway where you're suddenly in the city and should be going 50), just take a pic and send you a letter, boom.

I'm not legally allowed to work. That's the biggest one.

Whaa? Didn't you specifically go there with a job?

Getting a work permit here can be a pain even if you have a place that wants to hire you (they have to first offer it for a certain period to prove there's no locals that can fill it), but starting a business and becoming self-employed is pretty simple, so that's what most people do, plus having a business then becomes your grounds for applying to stay. (I took the easy route and just married in though.)

 

[BonkTastic]

Whaa? Didn't you specifically go there with a job?

For my wife, yes.

We were told by her employer that I would be able to work in Switzerland, and if there were any hiccups that her organization would assist us in getting the right documentation... That's the last time we ever take HR's word for anything.

but starting a business and becoming self-employed is pretty simple

I'm not even allowed to do something as simple as start my own business painting houses. I literally am not allowed to earn INCOME from Swiss sources. To give you an example - I volunteered to coach youth Curling last year, and am no longer allowed to coach anymore, even as a volunteer, because the village where I was coaching offered a $200 gift at the end of the year to volunteers who traveled with the team to help cover travel expenses (gas, etc...), but the Swiss gov't considered that income, so I am not allowed to even volunteer for things anymore.

I couldn't even open a road-side food cart if I wanted.