Damn. I'm so jelly. Just got back from Pacific Central Station. Dropped off daughter who's on a three week VIA Rail excursion to Halifax. I haven't been in that station since the Confederation Train rolled into Vancouver in 1967. Okay, I was there for a very short time, looking for a McDonald's to confirm if McPizza was making a comeback or not, lol.

I've always wanted to do a cross country trip via train. Daughter beat me to it. I guess that's why some of us have children, so we can live through their experiences. Worked all my life and have nothing to show for it............... except a great family. 100% worth it. No regrets.......

How much for that trip?

Train alone was just below 2 grand one way.........

no idea how she's coming back. I'm pretty sure it's by plane. She's going to decide how depending on how the trip to Halifax goes. I'm sure scenery and the accommodations are great, but time I think will play an important role in her decision re: coming back.

That’s pretty good, I would have thought it was more

There is a local guy on YouTube, DownieLive who does a lot of train travel he recently took that route I believe

how come so cheap!?!! i booked VIA from vancouver to Edmonton and was quoted 4k ONE WAY. Thats including my 10% CN discount too.

That's a super good price... I remember looking at cross Canada trips by train 10+ years ago and it was $5k or more!!!

Maybe because she’s taking three trips. Vancouver to Toronto, then Montreal and finally Halifax. She works for Federal Government in a high security job. Maybe they get like a bigger discount? Maybe she took like the cheapest of cheap seats. Maybe baggage class, gulolol.

I don’t get how she can get it so cheap, But good for her ! It’s a helluva way to see Canada. Always wanted to do this but the price is pretty steep for a very slow form of travel.

They say the Rockies via rail is unbelievable. I'm looking forward to the pictures and footage. I'm sure there are plenty of videos on the Internet.

My daughter was with me when I went on that 4-1/2 week cross continent road trip. I remember seeing that spiral tunnel in BC. Caught a long train going through it when we arrived. Bonne chance! You can see both ends of the train. That was special. Now she's going to actually experience the tunnel via train (I hope VIA Rail does that route).

Got out my sound meter on the way back to see how much louder the I5 concrete is versus good asphalt and at 120kph the concrete around Everett (not the worse there is but not great) I got 70db while on good asphalt near Blaine I got 63db - that's about a 60% diff in noise (I think my sound meter under reports though but it's still apples to apples here). The stuff around downtown Seattle is worse so figure twice as loud which is nuts.

Sure it's "cheaper" to pour concrete over asphalt but that ignores all the external costs - more wear and tear on cars, more accident caused by poor surface conditions, more fatigue for drivers, health problems (more hearing loss, more wear and tear on drivers), etc. It's classic American culture where they just love to pass the costs on to others.

LF: Harry Mack tickets @ Fortune Sound Club.

If anyone has a friend of a friend PM me lol

There's pros and cons to both sides.
Concrete is more durable if done correctly, and also more heat resistant, and requires less repairs.

Asphault is easier on cars, and I believe it's actually easier to pour, but it's easier to fuck up (look at all the uneven asphault pours around Vancouver) And it's definitely not a very durable material.

Gonna add a bit to this.

Generally, asphalt on roadworks is done by qualified crews (ie. not uncles in sandals), and the unevenness you see is just an inherent design flaw in asphalt, where it's never fully "hard"; so tires will eventually deform the pavement resulting in unevenness. Asphalt is usually designed with 3~5% voids to begin with to help with freeze/thaw, as well as drainage - but this works against it as well as over time with dynamic loads (ie traffic) it'll deform as mentioned above. However, it's much easier to rip up than concrete, and is cheaper to place than concrete. The only real downside to asphalt placement is that you can't do it when it's raining, nor when it's cold. And there's additional surface prep to ensure longevity, although some municipalities/cities say fuck it and just pave over existing asphalt, which does end up in premature failure. Another benefit is you can pave literally hundreds of kilometers without break, with no issue.

Concrete, is more difficult to place because you need formwork at the edges, and reinforcement, all things that need to be done manually and inspected before pouring concrete. And as you want to open the roads as soon as possible, they'll order high performance concrete, which is expensive. Then you also still need to cure it properly (ie covered, kept wet) for at least a day, up to a week, before you can open them up. It's also highly dependent on the finishing crew how flat of a surface you get. It is much more durable than asphalt with design ages up to 10x that of asphalt, although obviously salting in the winter reduces that significantly, although there is special cements that can be used to make them more durable against salts - but again, that's more $$$. The biggest flaw with concrete is that it's not designed to drain and is slippery as fuck in the rain. Also when pouring roads with concrete you need to segment them to account for expansion/shrinkage which is added construction costs.

Also solely because asphalt is softer than concrete, it's quieter and provides a better ride.

anyone know where to buy a modern/sleek briefcase/messenger bag for work (to hold a few documents and a laptop)?

preferably leather and black.

The Bay, Best Buy, Staples, London Drugs, just about anywhere. If you're into Apple laptops, Simply Computing.

Not leather but................... https://shop.walrushome.com/blogs/ne...50feeac3&_ss=r

I just love shopping at Walrus, but you're looking for leather. They used to carry a lot Bellroy stuff. Really high quality stuff. I think you can order anything from them through Walrus. https://bellroy.com

Can't beat traditional leather, though.

https://www.thebay.com/c/women/handb...ags-messengers

Does said bag have to be able to allow for enough space for a charger as well?

Not leather but it's black: https://herschel.ca/shop/messengers/...10996-04119-OS

Herschel has a solid range of bags for laptops, just not in leather.

I have a Tumi laptop bag that I picked up from the premium outlets that's perfect for a 13" MacBook plus a few other items. Holds the charger, pack of gum and a few documents. For its purpose it's an excellent bag with lots of pockets and organised storage but not bulky at all - when I travel it fits into my weekend bag just fine. There's a Tumi store at the Richmond outlet - they might have something for you.

yes

Also, what size/type of laptop do you have and what budget did you have in mind?

I've been on the hunt myself recently with similar specifications. While I haven't made my final decision yet, the last thing I want to do is share a $4500 leather bag that makes zero sense to you. Depending on your answers, I may have a few on my shortlist to recommend of which I've seen in person.

Montblanc brief case. Relatively cheap 1500 to 1800. Leather and backed with a great warranty.

Besides openboxco is there anywhere else to look for older iPhones?
Not a phone person just want something with a large HDD and doesn't have to be the latest or greatest 13, but has to be an iphone

Is there a specific model to start from? Like X and newer?

Leather has such a large range of quality. How much of a leather snob are you? LV uses shit leathers and Hermes uses slightly better leathers. This guy on tiktok tears apart leathers and explains the difference in construction and materials: https://www.tiktok.com/@tanner.leath...QDvU88mT0&_r=1

He also sells leather bags with a decent quality. I haven't purchased one but I like his content.


There's also cow vegetable tan leathers and buff washed leathers, which I honestly have no idea what it means so it's a good thing I'm not in sales at work lol.

Buying *leather* goods is like buying a German vehicle. It's all about spec LOL.

But for a simple answer, Brooks Brothers sucks. I have a Ted Baker bag and I'm not a leather snob. I like it.

I've heard excellent things about the durability of Tumi. Also have heard excellent things about The Cambridge Satchel Co.

Matt & Nat is exclusively vegan leather, not sure if they have messenger bags or laptop sleeves or if it's just purses.




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2 pathological brothers go on killing spree in Regina ... sounds like the Nova Scotia (using fake cop car) incident except with knives! 10 dead and 15 injured.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...ings-1.6572464

https://i.cbc.ca/1.6572495.166230740...-sanderson.jpg

can anyone recommend a good eyeglass store, preferably near Joyce/Kingsway in E.Van?

been going to a place in north burnaby for over 20 years but after the owner retired and sold to a new owner, finding the last 5 years their pricing seems quite high and limited selection, so i wouldn't mind shopping around.

i have benefits to use on a 2 year cycle

Costco.