Canada Household Spending Per Person Falls at Recession Pace - Bloomberg - "Spending has trended downward for two years, helping explain why Canadians are pessimistic about the economy — despite decent top-line growth and easing inflation... There’s also evidence Canadians are holding off on purchases to save up for a rainy day. Households saved 7.2% of their disposable income in the second quarter, the most since 1996 outside the pandemic."
Canada 2nd Quarter GDP Numbers : r/PersonalFinanceCanada - "At this point I’d be more concerned this is happening despite balls to the wall expansionary fiscal policy for the past 4 years."
"This. We are getting almost no return for the additional debt burden and interest charges we are taking on"
"Maybe the Trudeau government should have invested in infrastructure rather than conveniently dispensing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to Liberal MPs with companies selling ventilators that ended up being thrown out. Frank Baylis"
Left wingers think all government spending is "investment", so the higher the better
United Nations (gang) - Wikipedia - "The name United Nations was coined at a party hosted by Roueche in Richmond when somebody commented upon the racially diverse crowd by saying: "What the fuck is this, a United Nations meeting?" The name, United Nations (UN), alludes to the various ethnic origins of the members. The gang consists primarily of Canadians of European, East Asian, First Nations, and Iranian background... Roueche borrowed much from Asian culture for his gang. Roueche took aspects of bushido ("the way of the warrior"), the fierce code of the Japanese samurai, as the basis of the gang's philosophy, using the motto "Honor, loyalty, respect". All the members of the gang are expected to have the phrase "honor, loyalty, respect" tattooed on themselves in Chinese characters and their uniforms were hoodies covered with images of tigers and Asian dragons together with the phrase "honor, loyalty, respect" in Chinese characters... Roueche was obsessed with "eastern mysticism", and incorporated rituals based upon eastern mysticism into his gang's ideology. Members were expected to learn mixed martial arts, especially Thai kickboxing and Japanese jujitsu. Initiation ceremonies were based on those of the Chinese triads under which new members would walk under "The Mountain of Knives" as an archway of swords were named to swear eternal loyalty to the "36 Oaths" of the gang and drinking a bowl of rooster's blood. A senior member was a dai lo (Cantonese for "big brother") who would supervise the other members who were given much freedom to operate as they pleased... The members of the UN gang like other gangsters in the Lower Mainland tended to come from middle-class families with loving parents, which was not the norm with the rest of Canada where the gangsters tended to come from working-class families and broken homes... Roueche forged a close alliance with the Fresh Off the Boat Killers, a Calgary gang made up of Chinese-Canadians, Korean-Canadians and Vietnamese-Canadians
Meme - "Lips that touch liquor touch other lips quicker"
Does metabolism vary between two people? - "One study noted that one standard deviation of variance for resting metabolic rate (how many calories are burnt by living) was 5-8%; meaning 1 standard deviation of the population (68%) was within 6-8% of the average metabolic rate. Extending this, 2 standard deviations of the population (96%) was within 10-16% of the population average... Metabolic rate does vary, and technically there could be large variance. However, statistically speaking it is unlikely the variance would apply to you. The majority of the population exists in a range of 200-300kcal from each other and do not possess hugely different metabolic rates."
This is not a good explanation for obesity
List of works by Leonardo da Vinci - Wikipedia - "The small number of surviving paintings is due in part to Leonardo's habit of disastrous experimentation with new techniques and his chronic procrastination, resulting in many incomplete works. It is thought that he created many more works that are now lost, though records and copies have survived for some."
Meme - "Can you spare just $2.00? Ranji is a 9yr old boy living in Namibia. He has only 1 leg, 1 arm and 1 eye. Each day he has to ride 7 miles to school along narrow road on a rusty bike with bent wheels, no brakes and only 1 pedal. If you send us just $2, we will send you the video - its fucking hilarious."
Marcos Gutierres on X - "US border patrol, they put the "panic" in Hispanic"
Video | Facebook - "Found this awesome public toilet door lock ๐ where you can hang your umbrella ๐ and accessories such as mobile phone ๐ฑor your wallet. Since you must pay attention to the door lock, you will NEVER leave them behind! Very smart invention and use of space! #Japan #PublicRestroom #PublicRestroomDesign #JapanTravel #VisitJapan #RoadTripJapan #JapanRoadTrip #VanLife #VanLifeJapan #JapanVanLife"
Meme - "Me sitting and doing nothing because have too many things to do"
NYC pays $1.6 million to McKinsey for study on trash cans. The jokes write themselves - "In 2022, New York City awarded consultancy giant McKinsey a $4 million contract to figure out how to deal with the city’s trash problem. The results of the study are in - trash is better off inside trash bins. Yes, at the end of the $1.6 million study over two years, McKinsey has figured out that trash bags are better contained in bins rather than strewn on sidewalks. If this reads like satire, you are not alone in thinking so"
Structural and electronic properties of chiral single-wall copper nanotubes - "The structural, energetic and electronic properties of chiral (n, m) (3⩽n⩽6, n/2⩽m⩽n) single-wall copper nanotubes (CuNTs) have been investigated by using projector-augmented wave method based on density-functional theory. The (4, 3) CuNT is energetically stable and should be observed experimentally in both free-standing and tip-suspended conditions, whereas the (5, 5) and (6, 4) CuNTs should be observed in free-standing and tip-suspended conditions, respectively. The number of conductance channels in the CuNTs does not always correspond to the number of atomic strands comprising the nanotube. Charge density contours show that there is an enhanced interatomic interaction in CuNTs compared with Cu bulk. Current transporting states display different periods and chirality, the combined effects of which lead to weaker chiral currents on CuNTs."
Texans are using a ‘Whataburger map’ to track power outages after Beryl - The Washington Post - "Hurricane Beryl had pummeled Southeast Texas on Monday, leaving millions in the Houston area without power. But with technical issues plaguing the tracker for the city’s main energy provider, there was no way to check the status of power outages — or find the still-lit pockets where residents could buy food, gas and other necessities. Then Bryan Norton, a 55-year-old tech worker and podcast host, found help from an unlikely source: the Whataburger app... utility company CenterPoint Energy’s power-restoration map was down... It isn’t the first time a restaurant chain has been cited during storm emergencies. When disaster hits on the East Coast, even the Federal Emergency Management Agency is known to rely on what’s become known as the Waffle House Index to measure the severity of the situation."
Meme - *Little Girl Praying* "NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP. I PRAY, OLD GODS, RISE FROM THE DEEP. IF ETERNAL MADNESS I CANNOT SHAKE, A THOUSAND BODIES LEAVE IN MY WAKE."
Meme - "For such an advanced species, why is their cable management so terrible? *The Borg from Star Trek*"
Joshua Chiang | Facebook - "I find it hard to believe Journey To The West was written in China by a Chinese because at its heart, it's the story of a man who respects intellectual property rights so much he risked his life and travelled thousands of miles to get legit copies of original Buddhist scriptures instead of using the inferior pirated versions in circulation during his time. (cue unsolicited opinions of boomer chinese propaganda experts)"
Why didn’t the roof of the Science Centre collapse with all the weight of the rain on it today? : r/askTO - "The concern is more about snow loading. Rain drains (if the roof is properly designed), while snow accumulates."
Why didn’t the roof of the Science Centre collapse with all the weight of the rain on it today? : r/askTO - "The Japanese Cultural Centre a couple blocks north had leaks and part of it is closed at the moment while they repair it. Flat roofs and torrential rain are a bad combo."
Why didn’t the roof of the Science Centre collapse with all the weight of the rain on it today? : r/askTO - "So you mean you could have kept it open for two more months to allow for summer camps and the kids to visit one last time for summer break .."
Why didn’t the roof of the Science Centre collapse with all the weight of the rain on it today? : r/askTO - "The number of people in this thread who
Don't understand the difference between the accumulated weight of snow on a flat roof vs draining water
That the risk of a collapse isn't the same as a collapse - even if the chance of a collapse is 1% - it's going to be shut down --- why? Liability and Credibility. The BENEFIT of keeping it open isn't worth the RISK of the collapse - and the costs of a potential collapse are devastating both in life and monetary value.
Showcases how piss poor our ability to teach our citizens critical and rational thinking is
I personally think the Ontario Science Center should stay where it is.
but the closure for roof issues and the move are separate issues.
Easiest solution - take that company up on their offer to repair the roof for free"
Add physics to the list of things left wingers don't understand
Of course, if it had been open longer and something had happened, they'd be blaming Doug Ford too
41% of People Believe Every Text “Needs” to Include an Emoji - "or the text feels “naked.” It’s more common among YOUNGER adults. 70% of Gen Z’ers say you NEED an emoji . . . compared to 46% of Gen X’ers. (Which is still high, no?) But words are important too. 38% of people say texting just a single emoji is a “conversation killer.” And while adding an emoji to EVERY text may seem over the top, 58% of Americans believe emojis do improve how we communicate digitally."
Meme - "NO SMOKING, SAFETY FIRST / NO SAFETY, SMOKING FIRST"
Meme - "PAUL IS BAD *photoshopped Dune cover*
OK, I GUESS I WASN'T CLEAR *photoshopped Dune Messiah cover*"
Meme - "Minibar" *dwarves manning bar*
Meme - "Last question. Which part of their identity is @rapeniggers1488 targeting? We only enforce our rules for the following protected categories. Select all that apply."
Reporting someone on Twitter
Mount Fuji Wall: Authorities in Fujikawaguchiko Plan to Build a Wall to Block a Popular View of Famous Mountain - "residents of Fujikawaguchiko are just about done with overtourism in their town. Following the recently announced plans to introduce a compulsory entry fee on one of Mount Fuji’s most popular hiking trails, authorities in this small resort town at the foot of the mountain have announced they’ll be taking further action. In a drastic move, the town has stated plans to build a barrier in front of the Lawson store, which provides stunning views of Mount Fuji. According to Travel Tomorrow, the local community has been struggling with high tourist numbers, and locals are especially upset by people leaving litter in front of the shop, ignoring traffic regulations and overcrowding the pavements. While there are hopes this screen will not only deter visitors, protect the natural environment and prevent damage to the building and local businesses, it’s not without its critics. Expected to be 20 metres long and 2.5 metres tall once complete in mid-May, some residents think this solution undermines Japan’s spirit of hospitality, and is a step too far. This isn’t the first time a barrier has been built to deter visitors from popular tourist sites"
Kyoto Announces Tourists Will Be Banned From the Geisha District of Gion - "The area is a tourist magnet, and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city flock to Gion to catch a glimpse of the professional entertainers. The geisha and maiko (who are the teenage trainees) are known for their trademark kimonos, decorative hair ornaments and distinctive white make-up, and the tradition dates back hundreds of years. But under the new protection, the small alleyways in the historic district will be completely cut off to tourists, and several restaurants and teahouses will only serve the geisha, their clients and local residents... Back in 2019, authorities introduced a fine for those caught harassing geishas, after horrendous cases emerged of geishas being chased down the street or their photo being taken without consent. Notices which state unsolicited photography will lead to a ¥10,000 (£52, €61) fine also often go unnoticed."
Locals in Hallstatt Block Tunnel in Protests Against Mass Tourism - "the Mayor of Hallstatt Alexander Scheutz had two fences put up to obstruct the town’s most popular viewpoints in a bid to deter visitors. According to Scheutz, the measure was a temporary installment to highlight the problem, but he intends to build a permanent barrier... This isn’t the first time this year tourist hotspots in Europe have taken action against overcrowding. In April, Portofino in Italy began fining people who lingered too long in photogenic areas prone to congestion."
Bad traffic causing locals to consider leaving Toronto: survey - "Among those who responded, 86 per cent of respondents said there is a crisis, with 89 per cent of drivers agreeing and 82 per cent of non drivers agreeing with the statement. Of the 86 per cent of people who said the city and its surrounding areas are facing a traffic crisis, 89 per cent of them are drivers and 82 per cent aren't. Nearly half of the people who responded say they avoid shopping, going out for entertainment or to watch sports because of congestion. Giles Gherson, the board of trade's CEO, said one of the survey's concerning insights is that 62 per cent don't want to commute to the office due to congestion... Matti Siemiatycki, the director of the infrastructure institute at the University of Toronto, said part of easing congestion in the city is improving public transit. If city traffic is getting that bad, he said the city may need to consider congestion pricing — essentially putting a price on the use of certain urban roads. "I think we're at the point where the alternative is worse," he said. "People are stuck in traffic and it's really impacting business and our quality of life." The board's survey found respondents would also be in favour of 24-hour construction to both speed up transit improvements and general road work, as 68 per cent of those polled found construction was a main driver of congestion, specifically citing a mismanagement of construction schedules with too much happening at once... About three quarters of people who responded to the survey said they'd be open to having a 24-hour construction in their neighbourhood... About a fifth of respondents said other uses of roads, such as bike lanes, parking and CafeTO patios, are a main driver of congestion... Giles, with the board of trade, said many people commuting into the city are coming from farther than five kilometres away. Without a better transit system to get them downtown, he said, they will still rely on cars."
Good luck with 24 hour congestion or building more public transit infrastructure. Local residents will demand years of consultation, then protest and claim their lives are intolerable
Neighbourhood shocked that Toronto's new subway may run right under their houses
People in Toronto saddened by sudden clear-cutting of hundreds of trees
Residents protest demolishing homes for subway exits
Thorncliffe Park protestors step up fight against Metrolinx railyard project
Stories arranged in descending order of ridiculousness. Clearly, conservative governments are to blame for poor public transport.
Barcelona’s Metro Continues Its Expansion at a Relatively Cheap Price - "Over the next ten years, New York, Los Angeles, and Barcelona each hope to have new underground rapid transit lines up and running. Gotham will spend $4.5 billion on a 1.7-mile line under Second Avenue. Los Angeles will get a 8.6-mile extension to the Westside for $6 billion. And Barcelona will have built 30 miles of automated subways for €6.5 billion ($7.9 billion according to today’s exchange rate). Perhaps it’s an unfair comparison: Spain has lower labor costs, and despite Barcelona’s international prestige and high densities, land values there are generally lower than in the two American metropolises. But the disparity in infrastructure creation remains dramatic; countries like Spain and China are able to build far more than American cities can even dream about."
From 2010. Clearly, Spain can only do this because it uses slave labour
William Watson: Sorry, Joe, for the time being this is who you are - "in a society in which divisions are deep and trust is at a premium, it does not increase trust to change accustomed ways of counting votes. Voting by mail, voting without ID, voting electronically, voting by giving your filled-out ballot to a vote harvester rather than putting it in the ballot box yourself — these are all innovations that generate more ways of cheating and engender less trust... A second way to reduce tension in a divided society is to lower the stakes in politics. In his first remarks as British prime minister, Keir Starmer said his government would “tread more lightly” on people’s lives. That does seem unlikely, coming from the head of the traditionally interventionist Labour party, but it is badly needed now. What inflames people more than anything is the idea that others intend to outlaw their accustomed ways of living, speaking or even thinking. The less we try do by force with law and the more we let social change take place organically and spontaneously, the less angry with each other people are likely to be."
Alzheimer's transmitted from person to person - "patients who received human hormones decades ago went on to develop the disease. Five cases of Alzheimer’s are believed to have been caused by medical treatment given as children... it appears to have been due to doctors administering children with a human growth hormone taken from dead donors... the treatment was withdrawn in 1985 after it was found that some c-hGH batches were contaminated with infectious proteins which had caused Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) – a rare and fatal condition that affects the brain – in some people. After that, c-hGH was replaced with a synthetic growth hormone that did not carry the risk of transmitting CJD."
Here’s What Those Little Black Dots on a Windshield Are For - "In the 1950s and '60s, car manufacturers applied an adhesive to hold car windows in place instead of metal trim. It did the job but wasn't aesthetically pleasing. Enter the black rims you see around car windows today, called "frits." The frits, and the dots that border them. are made from ceramic paint. The frits hide the icky-looking but important adhesive from view. Also, since these painted rims are baked — yes, baked — into the window, they're all but indestructible. They hold the glue in place, which holds the windshield in place. As for the dots, they're there to make an aesthetically pleasing transition from the thick black lines to the transparency of the window... However, even the dots aren't there for decoration. Besides the visual effect, they provide temperature control. Window and windshield glass must be heated and bent into shape before being installed. Black-painted glass heats faster than the rest of the window. The dots distribute the heat more evenly, which prevents the windshield from warping in the heat."
Meme - "Walgreens Celebrates BLACK HISTORY MONTH". "Jumbo Cotton Balls"
Meme - "About Me: Half black/half Asian, fully awesome"
So you can steal cars but not drive them?"
Meme - Star Trek Crew Member: "INSIDE YOU THERE ARE 2 WOLVES. SORRY ABOUT THE TRANSPORTER MALFUNCTION"
Durian festival forced to end early, 17 tonnes wiped out clean - "A durian buffet in Malaysia was cut short after 17 tonnes of the fruit were devoured by enthusiastic patrons. The event organised by the Perak Department of Agricultural Development for Larut, Matang and Selama district, offered an all-you-can-eat durian experience for just RM10 per hour. The buffet, scheduled over four sessions across the weekend of July 13-14, saw many Malaysians flock to the event, eager to take advantage of the deal... The event also allowed children under the age of five to eat for free. The event aimed to promote durians grown in the district, with most of the fruits sourced from Batu Kurau and Terong. With an initial expectation of distributing 10 tonnes of durians, the organisers were surprised by the overwhelming response. The demand was so high that 17 tonnes of the King of Fruits were consumed within the first three sessions (approx 8 hours), prompting the cancellation of the final session on Sunday afternoon. According to Oriental Daily, Liang Liping, a participant, shared her excitement: “I had previously paid as much as RM12 per kilogram for kampung durian. When I heard about this festival, I rushed down with my friends.”... Wang Jiamei from Kuala Lumpur, visiting Taiping with her husband, praised the durians’ quality, estimating she consumed about 3kg, which would have cost her RM20 elsewhere."
Unlimited L's on X - "NEW-UPDATE: The woman who shot a 7-month-old baby in his stroller on a Philadelphia sidewalk has been arrested ‘F**k your baby, b**ch’ Dominique Billips was arrested Friday night and charged with Aggravated Assault, Violation of the Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA), and related offenses Billips shot the seven-month-old baby shortly before 6pm Thursday on Meridian Street in the Holmesburg neighborhood 'We’re very lucky that 7-month-old boy is in stable condition,' Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said Neither parent was injured, and it is believed both left the scene due to having warrants out for their arrest The family of three was not from the Holmesburg area and police do not know why they were there The motive for the shooting is unknown"
Into the Memory Hole on X - ">nog shoots 7 month old baby saying "fuk yo baby bitch"
>Parents run from the scene because they have warrants out for their arrest
You couldn't write a fucking satire more insulting than the reality of their existence. It's criminal that you are labeled as some kind of evil"
Does the Brain Drain Effect Really Exist? A Meta-Analysis - "Smartphones have become an indispensable part of everyday life. Given the current debate about the use of smartphones in classrooms and schools, it seems appropriate to examine their effects on aspects of cognitive performance in more detail. Ward and colleagues not only demonstrated the negative effect of smartphones on cognitive performance but also showed that the mere presence of these devices can have this effect—this is known as the Brain Drain effect. In the present article, a meta-analytic approach was adopted in order to verify these findings. Here we show a significant overall negative effect of smartphone use and presence. In a database search we identified 22 studies with a total of 43 relevant effects that could be assigned to the categories “memory”, “attention”, and “general cognitive performance”. A subgroup analysis suggests that not all cognitive domains are equally affected by the negative effect of smartphones. The heterogeneity of the effects reinforces this finding. The nationality of the test subjects or the origin of the studies was identified as a further key variable. Our findings also indicate that the distracting effect of smartphones varies on the area studies and further research is necessary. In view of the present research results, it seems important that people in general, and especially children and adolescents in schools and classrooms, learn how to deal with the distracting potential of smartphones."
Meme - "I never know which restroom to use in Scotland. *Silhouette of person in skirt* *Silhouette of person in kilt*"
Meme - "So Mr Turtle, what's it like being alive for over 100 years?!"
"I am Incredibly Racist"
Japanese netizens show love for “English Toast” which is neither English nor Toast - "The original “English Toast” first munched by Aomori residents is said to consist of two slices of plain old shoku pan white bread (so, not actually toast, then) which are covered in a thin layer of margarine (blegh!) then sprinkled with sugar (double blegh!) before being slapped together. To be honest, it sounds like the kind of thing my undiscerning eight-year-old child self might have whipped up when mum wouldn’t let me spend my pocket money on sweets and I was in the grip of major sugar withdrawal. However, I don’t really remember this being a “thing” in the UK and, as the origins of English Toast are shrouded in mystery, we’re going to have to assume it’s something the food manufacturers in Aomori made up out of thin air to appeal to people’s sweet tooths and love for foreign-style products."
Meme - "THAT ONE CO-WORKER THAT MAKES YOU FORGET HOW MUCH YOU HATE YOUR JOB *busty woman*"
