David Phillipps

In my friend circle we will invite each other to stuff and ask “are you up or down?” Then schedule them regardless of response.

I tried AntennaPod but went back because of Android Auto. I just found this showing how to get AntennaPod on AndroidAuto!

https://antennapod.org/documentation/playback/android-auto

I used to work at a company that provided tech support for a few Canadian Tires. They don’t hire nearly enough staff. They try to make up for it with high amounts of automation. Frequently people will come and steal from them because there aren’t enough staff to stop that. This causes the inventory system to think there is more stock than there is. Because the reduced staff, they don’t frequently manually check their stock so it can be quite some time before it becomes aparent.

I tried that one time. I went over budget and sent a really nice gift. I didn’t receive a gift myself. Then my recipient reported that I didn’t send a gift. I got banned.

I never really saw the appeal, but my friends keep wanting to play it. There is so much waiting. I’m just bored most of the time.

I briefly used it. It connects you to all of your neighbors. It’s good for knowing what’s going on in your community.

The first 4 HVAC companies I called told me the same thing. They said I had to have a back up natural gas or resistance based electric heater. They don’t know what they are talking about. My current heat pump can operate down to -30 C. The coldest it ever gets here is -16 C and that’s only for a few hours per year.

His videos and others like it inspired me to keep looking when when all the HVAC companies kept telling me it wasn’t possible.

Chilliwack BC.

You can see the Federal rebates here: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/homes/canada-greener-homes-grant/start-your-energy-efficient-retrofits/plan-document-and-complete-your-home-retrofits/eligible-grants-for-my-home-retrofit/23504

You can see the BC Provincial rebates here: https://www.betterhomesbc.ca/heatpumps/

It looks like the amounts have changed a bit since I did it. If you are in the lower mainland area I highly recommend Positive Solar Energy HVAC Plus. I’d link the site but it looks like its down. Joel is the owner and he is a lot better at installing heat pumps and solar panels then running a business.

I live in Canada. I paid $13,900 for a heat pump. That includes the installation, removal of my natural gas furnace, and the engineering inspections. I got a $6,300 rebate from the Federal government. I got a $6,300 rebate from the provincial government. So all in I only paid $1,300 out of pocket. In the summer especially I save about $250 per month using the heat pump instead of the multiple portable AC’s we had. Its paid for itself in under a year for sure.

It was a lot of work to get. Tons of HVAC companies I called told me heat pumps don’t work in our climate. That’s not true. The heat pump I have works till -30 c which never happens here. They insisted on installing a natural gas furnace and a Central AC. One of them quoted me $26,000 for a heat pump that was so inefficient it didn’t qualify for any rebates. Multiple other HVAC companies just didn’t respond when I insisted on a heat pump. NEEP’s heat pump list was very helpful in fact checking the stuff they told me. I finally found a small one man shop who was awesome but it took a lot of hard searching.

Getting the rebate was also a big ordeal. I had to pay for everything upfront. I researched the rebate process and made sure to have all the paperwork lined up. I had to get an engineering inspection of the house done before and after so I could compare the reports to prove my carbon footprint improved. If you accidentally get the heat pump installed without doing the before inspection you don’t qualify. Even with all my paperwork it took 7 months to get the final rebate. Multiple times they called me saying I hadn’t submitted a required report. I had everything on file and would just resubmit what they were looking for. I’ve spent many hours waiting on hold. Its pretty clear they are trying to save money through being inefficient.

It is worth it in the end. I’m very happy with the heat pump. The process is not easy. I imagine most people would just accept the HVAC companies recommendation and get not get a heat pump which is unfortunate.

I forgot about that

What is the “stepfamily incest subplot”? I don’t recall that at all. When I search for it I just find this very same article.