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

[Benjamin]

Major regret watching the trailer. I dunno what I was thinking. I usually avoid all trailers. Movie is ruined. They show all the plot and hint at how the storyline ends.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

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.

Having failed to resist the temptation I can see why they would have said that, there are two big spoilers that are hinted at. One was easy to see coming so I didn't mind it and the other seems to confirm my theory as to where the story is going.

That is all I'll say. I am nowhere near as invested as used to be so I didn't mind it but it certainly seems wise to avoid it.

 

[Micklebot]

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.



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.

Could you apply for work at the Canadian embassy? That's considered Canadian soil, no? Would that be considered earning income from a swiss source, or a Canadian one?

 

[BonkTastic]

Could you apply for work at the Canadian embassy? That's considered Canadian soil, no? Would that be considered earning income from a swiss source, or a Canadian one?

Not sure about the technicality or legality of the "Swiss income vs Canadian income" part, but regardless of that point, the commute to Bern is 2hrs (about 190km) each way.

Doesn't seem feasible. Also: no guarantee there's even a job open there, either.

 

[maclean]

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.

That's shitty. To get your "trade licence" here I feel like pretty much all you needed was a clear criminal record check. Maybe you need residence first these days, but you obviously have a residence permit there, so that part wouldn't be a problem. The Swiss always struck me as being kind of full of themselves though. As much as people complain about the bureaucracy here, I feel like the bureaucrats are actually real people who do their best to help you. Though my impressions from before and after learning the language are diametrically opposite.

 

[Masked]

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.

Obviously it would be safer to do it in daylight but I've been on that highway hundreds of times and I can't recall seeing a deer. I'd feel safer doing 130 there at night than doing 100 through Algonquin Park at night.

Either way, I'd rather take my chances with a deer than a guy who doesn't know how to merge on the highway.

 

[BonkTastic]

Obviously it would be safer to do it in daylight but I've been on that highway hundreds of times and I can't recall seeing a deer. I'd feel safer doing 130 there at night than doing 100 through Algonquin Park at night.

Sure, but that's not even a close comparison. That's like saying eating a Big Mac doesn't have as many calories as drinking 8 liters of Big Mac Sauce in one sitting, with a chaser of pure maple syrup injected directly into your bloodstream via IV.

I've seen plenty of deer on Highway 7. I used to do that run a ton as I had a friend who had a cottage down that way years ago on Mississippi Lake, we'd go ever 2nd weekend in the summer for fishing and beers. Maybe you've just been lucky, or I've been unlucky? I guess that's the problem with anecdotal evidence on both sides.

a guy who doesn't know how to merge on the highway.

Describes the Swiss driving experience to a tee. Everything works until it's time for someone to merge, and then everything goes to hell.

 

[Masked]

I've seen plenty of deer on Highway 7. I used to do that run a ton as I had a friend who had a cottage down that way years ago on Mississippi Lake, we'd go ever 2nd weekend in the summer for fishing and beers. Maybe you've just been lucky, or I've been unlucky? I guess that's the problem with anecdotal evidence on both sides.

Was that before it was expanded to 4 lanes? I'm referring to the 4 lane section before Carleton Place.

 

[BonkTastic]

Was that before it was expanded to 4 lanes? I'm referring to the 4 lane section before Carleton Place.

Oh, I haven't lived in Ottawa since the expansion. They were just finishing up the work before I left. That was probably around 2012-13ish? Maybe it's different now on that stretch as far as deer are concerned. It used to be real bad, but I could see how widening the highway and the shoulders would definitely help with that.

Buddy's place was after CP, though. On the other side of the lake, past Innisville.

 

[Masked]

Oh, I haven't lived in Ottawa since the expansion. They were just finishing up the work before I left. That was probably around 2012-13ish? Maybe it's different now on that stretch as far as deer are concerned. It used to be real bad, but I could see how widening the highway and the shoulders would definitely help with that.

Buddy's place was after CP, though. On the other side of the lake, past Innisville.

Yeah, it's nice and wide now. Just like 416. And I see lots of people doing 130 or more on it.

 

[Caeldan]

Not sure about the technicality or legality of the "Swiss income vs Canadian income" part, but regardless of that point, the commute to Bern is 2hrs (about 190km) each way.

Doesn't seem feasible. Also: no guarantee there's even a job open there, either.

You should just do that move to Guelph you were thinking about.

 

[BonkTastic]

You should just do that move to Guelph you were thinking about.

That job fell through.

 

[BonkTastic]

Oh man, nothing quite as sexy as a swinging strikeout on a nasty slider.

 

[Caeldan]

Oh boooo

That job fell through.

 

[saskriders]

Will have to vote in the municipal election either today or Friday. Strongly considering spoiling two of my four ballots by writing on a statement. Has anyone ever dome something like that before?

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Will have to vote in the municipal election either today or Friday. Strongly considering spoiling two of my four ballots by writing on a statement. Has anyone ever dome something like that before?

Odds are high that nobody is going to read it – and even if they do, they won't care. There are a million better ways to make a political statement than to spoil a ballot.

 

[saskriders]

Odds are high that nobody is going to read it – and even if they do, they won't care. There are a million better ways to make a political statement than to spoil a ballot.

The thing is that both of these ballots I really don't care about the results. They both only have two candidates. One is separate (Catholic) school board and I am completely against public funding for any religious institution. The other is city councillor, and both candidates are pretty lacking, one in terms of policy and instead filling their website with meaningless generalize ideological dog whistles that don't even line up with my political opinions. The other is the incumbent and after digging around a bit more I did find he had a good section on his website for policy, but I find myself disagreeing with his ideas a lot more than agreeing. I didn't think about it until just now, but perhaps I could decline my ballot.

 

[Smash88]

Will have to vote in the municipal election either today or Friday. Strongly considering spoiling two of my four ballots by writing on a statement. Has anyone ever dome something like that before?

They just throw it out. Won't be seen by anyone other than the ballot counter and maybe an election supervisor.

They record spoiled/incomplete votes but only as a total number, they don't record them individually.

You gain nothing by doing so.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

The thing is that both of these ballots I really don't care about the results. They both only have two candidates. One is separate (Catholic) school board and I am completely against public funding for any religious institution. The other is city councillor, and both candidates are pretty lacking in terms of policy and instead fill their website with meaningless generalize ideological dog whistles that don't even line up with my political opinions. I didn't think about it until just now, but perhaps I could decline my ballot.

That would be a much better way to state your disinterest. I can't speak to your specific case, but from what I know of the political system in Canada most places treat 'messages' in the same category as spoiled ballots, mistakes, or ballots that weren't counted for whatever reason. They don't stand out from the crowd whereas a declined ballot is usually counted individually. It's not an especially effective way of protest, but it beats not showing up and having it chalked up to laziness or general political apathy.

 

[PatrickEaves]

That would be a much better way to state your disinterest. I can't speak to your specific case, but from what I know of the political system in Canada most places treat 'messages' in the same category as spoiled ballots, mistakes, or ballots that weren't counted for whatever reason. They don't stand out from the crowd whereas a declined ballot is usually counted individually. It's not an especially effective way of protest, but it beats not showing up and having it chalked up to laziness or general political apathy.

Go spoil your ballot. Spoiled ballots are counted different than ballots that aren't casted in Canada. Of course, it hardly matters if this doesn't happen in large numbers, but hey, if everyone thinks like that, you won't get the large numbers.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Go spoil your ballot. Spoiled ballots are counted different than ballots that aren't casted in Canada. Of course, it hardly matters if this doesn't happen in large numbers, but hey, if everyone thinks like that, you won't get the large numbers.

Counted differently, yes, but a spoiled ballot with a conscientious, well thought-out and educated opinion is counted in the same pile as a spoiled ballot where the person filling it out thought you could draw a smiley face instead of an X.

 

[PatrickEaves]

Counted differently, yes, but a spoiled ballot with a conscientious, well thought-out and educated opinion is counted in the same pile as a spoiled ballot where the person filling it out thought you could draw a smiley face instead of an X.

Yeah, but there's the point of the whole secret ballot thing. I meant, it's not like there are any other ways to protest vote other than not showing up at all, which is a way worse way to protest vote.

Someone that doens't show up is a person a politician doesn't care about because they don't matter. A person that shows up to vote but spoiled their ballot is a potential vote for a politician, someone to will vote for them as soon as their wants/needs are met.

Think of it this way. 60% turnout is typical and none of our political parties really care other than lipservice. However, if we suddenly had 100% voter turnout, but 40% were spoiled ballots, suddenly all the political parties are scrambling to change their platforms to try and gather that 40% of the population.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Yeah, but there's the point of the whole secret ballot thing. I meant, it's not like there are any other ways to protest vote other than not showing up at all, which is a way worse way to protest vote.

Someone that doens't show up is a person a politician doesn't care about because they don't matter. A person that shows up to vote but spoiled their ballot is a potential vote for a politician, someone to will vote for them as soon as their wants/needs are met.

Think of it this way. 60% turnout is typical and none of our political parties really care other than lipservice. However, if we suddenly had 100% voter turnout, but 40% were spoiled ballots, suddenly all the political parties are scrambling to change their platforms to try and gather that 40% of the population.

I definitely agree that apathy is not the solution. But I disagree that spoiling is more effective than declining. The former could be done by someone who can't follow directions or who lacks the ability to mark a box appropriately. A politician won't look at that and say, "wow, people don't want to vote." They'll look at that and say, "Wow, buncha idiots in the electorate don't know how to fill out a ballot."

The latter, meanwhile, is a conscientious choice that can't be done by accident. That's more likely to grab someone's attention.

 

[saskriders]

Turned out that in Civic elections they don't allow/count declined ballots so I just left my councillor one blank. Also I misremembered regarding school board. I thought you got to vote for both public and separate, but it turned out it was one or the other so I just took the public one. That just made me dislike the concept of a separate school board more though.

 

[BonkTastic]

Counted differently, yes, but a spoiled ballot with a conscientious, well thought-out and educated opinion is counted in the same pile as a spoiled ballot where the person filling it out thought you could draw a smiley face instead of an X.

I worked alongside return officers in a few Federal and Provincial elections a few times when I was younger.

Can confirm - nobody cares.

All spoiled ballots just become a number. You could draw an exact replica of the Mona Lisa on your ballot or write an entire treatise on the ethics governing democratic representation, and it will just be stuck in the same pile as the guy who drove all the way to the polling station to spoil his ballot by writing racist things about the minority candidates.