Spyke

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canada

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Most Canadians would avoid buying U.S. products post-Trump tariff: Nanos survey

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Just about anything to do with food is because Canadian versions (much like European versions) don’t have as many nasty ingredients. Just look up Canadian vs American Froot Loops as the most visually striking example (food dyes that are ok in USA but illegal in Canada & EU). I’ve heard Oreos taste completely different in The States too.

Just thought of another example… Americans driving south to get Mexican Coke because they were still using sugar cane instead of high fructose corn syrup.

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Walkie talkie. Do you use it?

Tried it when it first launched. Haven’t used it since. Feels extra dumb holding your Watch to your mouth like you’re Inspector Gadget. Just use your phone. I also never use Siri in public and I think people who walk around in public using their phone exclusively in speakerphone mode should be shot.

canada

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How to measure things like a Canadian?

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Because there are still huge numbers of people alive today that grew up and went to school before Canada officially switched to metric. Don’t forget that we’re trapped by the Americans. Where I live I can literally see the individual buildings in the city across the river which is upstate New York. There are several radio stations along the border that do their weather reports in both °C and °F. Personally… I’m 6ft tall, 235Lbs, every liquid is in litres and temperatures are in Celsius. My oven has both F and C. Driving in Canada is usually measured in time when speaking to people. I know that Toronto is about 4hrs away on a good day and it can be 7hrs on a bad day in the winter. Don’t get me started on accidents or construction. I have no idea how far it is in KM. I’m guessing maybe 400km since the speed limit is 100kph and it takes 4hrs to get there.

FWIW, I’m 45yrs old. So I’m really trapped in between the two systems. I prefer metric but my parents and many coworkers were born and raised pre-metrification.

frugal

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3 not to skimp on

Never cheap out on the things that separate you from the ground. That’s especially true for tires and mattresses since you likely don’t have multiples of each at any given time. Buy the best you can afford.

askuk

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Why do British people have such a dim view of Automatic cars?

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I’m going to knock your socks off… The vast majority of “normal” EVs don’t have gears as such. There are one or two supercar EVs that have a high and low gear but that’s it. Many hybrids don’t have gears either. My Accord Hybrid has an “eCVT” which is just marketing bullshit for covering up the fact that it’s functionally an EV with a gasoline powered generator. Honda has programmed the ECU to do fake shifts to make boomers feel more comfortable with the new technology. It’s only imitating an automatic transmission with software trickery. The gas engine isn’t even mechanically connected to the wheels for like 95% of the driving I do. IIRC that tech was borrowed or heavily influenced by the Prius.

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What system or method do you use for your monthly budget or personal finance?

“Pay yourself first”. My bank has a feature that allows me to setup automated money transfers to and from different accounts based on rules I setup. The most important one is when any deposit is received from my employer, 20% of the amount is automatically transferred from my chequing account to my retirement account. My paycheque is deposited overnight and the money is already “gone” by the time I wake up in the morning. Treat it like another tax on your income that you have no way to avoid paying. Then live off what’s left.