shadowspar

Music: GAGAGA SP (ガガガSP)

2024-01-21T20:59:42Z

Imagine my shock to find that GAGAGA SP, a Japanese punk band who I thought was virtually unknown in the west, now has a Youtube channel.

Their greatest hits compilation "All time best - 20 years of misunderstanding" is probably the place to start if you want to know what you're in for. 😊😂

comments

Big Weather

2023-11-28T01:47:45Z

We're about halfway through day 2 of a multi-day snowsquall event here. And while other Canadians might be wont to beat the crap outta me for saying this: I love a good snowsquall. It's amazing to sit and stare out the window and feel like you're in a swirling snow globe; to marvel at just how far you can't see for the life of you.

But the "sitting and staring out the window" part is key. Being nestled up all warm, cozy, and secure indoors while Big Weather blows in is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. But it makes me reflect on how fortunate I am not to be subject to the whims of the weather, and think about the folks for whom that's not true.

comments

Options when Highway 17N is closed

2022-12-27T05:55:15Z

The section of highway 17 that runs from Sault Ste Marie to Wawa often has lengthy closures due to winter weather; it may well be the most frequently closed road in the province. This post gives options to deal with these closures, depending on where you're currently at, and how badly you need to travel.

Intro

Every winter, the eastern shore of Lake Superior gets hammered by relentless snowsqualls. The prevailing westerly winds scoop up moisture as they skim across Lake Superior, and then deposit it in the form of snow upon making landfall. This continues until Lake Superior ices over, which happens in February, March, or not at all, depending on how badly climate change is kicking our ass that year.

This has unfortunate consequences for travel along Ontario Highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie to Wawa. Snowsqualls are powerful snowstorms that change quickly in intensity. You can go from a clear winter's day to near-zero visibility over the course of a few minutes or miles. What's more, the heavy snowfall makes it very difficult to navigate the steep climbs on the route, notably the Montreal River Hill. As such, this section of highway is frequently closed in the winter, sometimes for days on end.

There are a few options to deal with these closures. Which one you choose depends on where your travels take you, how comfortable you are driving isolated back roads in winter, how well those roads have been plowed and sanded, and how well equipped your vehicle is for those conditions. All of these options have their own drawbacks, so it's not possible to make a general recommendation that applies to all circumstances.

Option #1: Highway 11

If you are making a huge drive across Northern Ontario (eg Ottawa/Toronto to Thunder Bay), Option #1 is to take Highway 11 from North Bay to Nipigon. Highway 11 is less hilly, less sketchy, less exposed to the weather, and generally less exciting. However it too gets its share of winter weather, and since it's the preferred route for trucks, one jack-knifed tractor trailer can close it as well. Moreover, it can be rather out of your way if you're already in, say, Sudbury or Wawa.

Option #2: Highway 144

If your travels involve Wawa & Sudbury, Option #2 is to take Highways 101 and 144 between those two towns. This has the advantage that you're on provincial highways the entire route, which are (supposedly) monitored, plowed, salted, and sanded on a consistent basis. It's also less twisty and less hilly than most minor highways in Northern Ontario, making it one of the better detours for semi trucks. It has the downside that it lengthens your journey time by a fair amount, especially with that dog-leg up towards Foleyet and Timmins. Note also that cell phone coverage is sketchy along much of 144, and non-existent on 101 between Foleyet and Wawa, except for the outskirts of Chapleau.

Option #3: Sultan Industrial Road

Option #3, again for Wawa-Sudbury, is to take the Sultan Industrial Road. For those not familiar with it...this will be an adventure.

A brief primer on Industrial Roads: these are logging roads which the public can also use. Basically, the government decides that the route is one that the public would greatly benefit from having access to, but the costs involved don't justify building a provincial highway. So the forestry company that maintains the road gets a stipend for its upkeep, on the condition that the public be allowed to access it. Conditions of these roads varies widely; they are gravel or dirt surfaced in summer, snow packed or iced over in winter, and have even fewer road design or safety affordances than highways do. This means that steep climbs, sharp turns, narrow sections, and single-lane bridges are all to be expected. Look out especially for logging trucks -- they need to travel close to the center of the roadway, because loaded trucks can sink into the soft shoulders and get stuck or even tip over.

All that said, the Sultan Industrial Road is very well maintained by the company that operates it; in winter, it's often in better shape than the surrounding highways. However, it can be closed on short notice by washouts, bridge work, or culvert failures, so it's a very good idea to check the Sultan Road Updates Facebook Group before heading this way.

There is no cell coverage along this route from the time you leave The Watershed truck stop at Highway 144, until you reach the outskirts of Wawa, unless you take a brief detour into Chapleau halfway along.

Option #4: Chapleau Highway

Option #4 is to take Highway 129 and 101 from Thessalon to Wawa. Highway 129, while an incredibly beautiful drive, is an infamously sketchy route even in summer. Not long after it opened, a journalist who'd just travelled the length of it reportedly wrote, "A trip down the Chapleau Highway will shave ten years off any man's life." Much of the highway is actually reasonably good by Northern Ontario backroads standards, albeit with some very steep climbs that can be difficult if the road is slippery. However, the section immediately south of the Hwy 556 junction -- roughly from Rapid River to Wakomata Lake -- can be downright terrifying, and is the source of the highway's notorious reputation.

Through this section, the west side of the highway abuts the beautiful Mississagi River, at times with no guardrail protecting you from a 20-foot drop into its pristine icy waters. The east side is often flush against a rock cut, sometimes with the occasional one jutting out into the road, leaving the highway only about a lane and a half wide. Throw in some tight curves and small but steep hills, and it's easy to understand why one spot along section of highway has been called "Devil's Gap". The margin for error is small, especially in slippery conditions. A few of the more gnarly sections are signed for 20 km/h, and it's recommended to take these warnings seriously. As well, the previous notes about log trucks apply -- if you meet one, slow down and give them as much room as possible.

When travelling this route for the first time, I would strongly recommend that you do so

during the day,
northbound, and
in summer.

There is no cell coverage along this route from the time you leave Wharncliffe (just north of Thessalon), until you reach the outskirts of Wawa, save for taking a brief detour into the town of Chapleau halfway along.

Option #5: Ranger Lake Road

Option #5 is to take Highways 556 and 129 from Sault Ste Marie to Chapleau, and then on to Wawa via Hwy 101. This avoids the super sketchy section of Hwy 129 mentioned above, but introduces its own fun aspect: The Ranger Lake Road.

The Ranger Lake Road is the unpaved section of Hwy 556, roughly between Searchmont and the Hwy 129 intersection. It is basically a logging road that has been adopted into the provincial highway network. The drive features sharp corners, steep climbs, sketchy road surfaces, and, during times of rain, the occasional washout. A fun surprise in winter comes when you slow down to take a tight corner, only to meet a huge hill that you need to take a run at.

It is very much worth checking the Ranger Lake Road and Highway 129 Updates Facebook Group before heading out on this road.

There is no cell coverage along this route from the time you leave the junction with Hwy 532 (to Searchmont), until you reach the outskirts of Wawa, save for taking a brief detour into the town of Chapleau halfway along.

Option #6: Travel Stateside

Finally, if you are travelling to or from Western Canada, Option #6 is to cross into the USA, travelling between Sault Ste Marie and Duluth via M-28 and/or US-2. From Duluth you might either head up towards International Falls, across Minnesota towards Pembina, or somewhere else depending on your destination.

The big caveat here is that road conditions in the US side may be no better than those in Canada. The Michigan side of Lake Superior gets snowsqualls just like the Ontario side; the only difference depends on wind direction. As well, highway maintenance in Michigan can be rather piecemeal; it seems to vary on a county-by-county basis. You definitely want to try and assess road conditions through tools like MIDrive before committing to this route.

Option #7: Stay Put and Wait It Out

This, frankly, is an underrated option. Strong winter storms that close Highway 17 may also affect the routes listed above; waiting for conditions to improve is often the safest choice. As well, if night is falling, it's a good idea to bed down somewhere safe for the night and resume travelling when daylight rolls around, rather than trying to press on in difficult weather conditions made worse by inky darkness.

Last updated: 21 Jan 2024 (note that 101/144 is probably the best backroads route for CMVs)

comments

🐘

2022-12-19T01:08:27Z

For Mastodon-enabled folks, this is me:

☛ https://ottawa.place/@shadowspar
☛ @shadowspar@ottawa.place

I haven't decided how or how much I'm going to use it yet, but in the face of the continuing catastrophic collapse of The Bird Site™, I figured I'd link this here.

comments

Gaylord tornado

2022-05-21T08:22:02Z

I'm a bit of a weather nerd, so I've seen my share of storm damage. But no word of a lie, it hits different when it's somewhere you've frequented over the years. 😰

A strong tornado hit Gaylord, MI friday afternoon. It touched down in the commercial district along M-32, west of I-75.

This area is very familiar to many of us here in the twin Saults. It's about two hours from here down the Interstate, and is often the first stop on any roadtrip heading south. The Culver's in those pictures? I've eaten there. That Meijer? Often the first stop for groceries on a week away.

Known casualties so far are 44 injured and one dead.

While we do get the occasional tornado up this way, they're usually nothing like this. The initial damage makes it look like an EF2 tornado, possibly stronger (ETA: EF3). It will probably end up as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, ever to hit this far north in Michigan.

One of the local mega-churches east of town still has power and has been set up as a shelter. The Red Cross is on their way there. Thankfully it sounds like they're all set for volunteers right now, but if they put the call out I'm going to look at going down.

More storm reports and imagery on this NWS Gaylord Facebook post. And if you're living or travelling in the USA during thunderstorm & tornado season -- which for many states is the whole year save for the dead of winter -- I strongly recommend making the NOAA Storm Prediction Center's webpage a part of your morning news routine. Their Convective Outlook page in particular will give you a pretty good idea of whether or not you should be keeping an eye on the sky that day.

comments

Firefox: restore the old address bar

2020-04-18T03:18:53Z

browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus => false
browser.urlbar.update1 => false
browser.urlbar.update1.interventions =>  false
browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips => false
browser.urlbar.update1.view.stripHttps => false

Context: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/04/08/how-to-restore-the-old-firefox-address-bar/

comments

Phil Castile

2016-07-08T01:15:17Z

( CW: Police violence )

comments

OSB Session Takeaways: Exit Condition

2016-06-30T19:44:52Z

Frances Hocutt's session at Open Source Bridge, "Exit Condition: when to ragequit, raise hell, or duck and cover", was pretty awesome. I got a lot out of the session itself, out of bouncing ideas off of other conf attendees, and out of just thinking through this stuff in general. My takeaways kinda blew up too much to fit into tweet-sized points, so here they are.

Support your complainers.

When something goes awry and needs to be complained about, one person often ends up being the Designated Complainer. This is the person who is willing or expected to pipe up about any given problem (voice) even though it affects many people, not only them.

If you keep doing this to one person it will burn them out.

When raising a grievance, the Designated Complainer will eat the consequences of any disfavour from above. Worse, if they pipe up and nobody else has their back, it looks as though they are the only one who is upset. This undermines the effectiveness of their complaining and puts them at even greater risk of reprisals.

A couple of suggested strategies:

Rotate the complaining duties amongst everyone on the team.
Complain in pairs—both for mutual support, and to show that more than one person is having the same problem.
If, for whatever reason, the Designated Complainer has to go it alone when making the initial complaint, at the very least make it clear that they are representing you as well.

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

It can seem cold, heartless, and selfish to say "fuck this" and drop a project on the floor. But when you are perpetually grappling with a task that is causing you pain, ask yourself: is doing this thing actually your job?

This often shows up as an issue that is your problem because it is causing you grief, but not your responsibility, because you are not the one with the authority to fix it:

If you were hired as a Software Developer, it is Not Your Job to unfuck your company's broken product strategy.
If you're a Community Manager, getting your CEO to unfuck their broken open source policy is similarly Not Your Job.

You can advocate for these things, or even try to fix them outright if you want to and have the spoons. In a good environment, your efforts will get traction; this kind of thing can even be a growth opportunity. But when things are not so cheerful, you can keep spinning your wheels until you've run yourself well into the ground.

Think realistically about consequences of your actions.

Back in my army days, when someone was stressing out about the possible consequences of a trivial screwup or an act of principled disobedience, they were frequently told

"What're they gonna do, stamp 'NO DESSERT' on your meal card?"

Speaking for myself, I find it easy to freak out about the Horrible Consequences of some act without evaluating what these Horrible Consequences might actually be. While you don't want to be cavalier, you also shouldn't let yourself be held hostage by fear of consequences that are exaggerated or impossible. They can't fire you if you've already quit, they can't force you to work if you're a volunteer, and they can't take away a raise they were never going to give you in the first place. Think carefully about both formal and informal consequences, but don't be hemmed in by fences that weren't even real to begin with.

Don't save the world, just make it better.

Those of us who care deeply and who see all the things that are wrong in the world are oft given over to trying to save the whole world. We feel like a utter failure unless we manage to catch every ball, right every wrong, and save every kitten.

This sort of perfection is literally impossible. It is a one-way superexpress ticket to Burnout Gully, population you.

Instead of taking it upon yourself to save the world, and kicking yourself when you don't succeed at this Sisyphean task, focus on the fact that you are making the world better than it was before. Every helpful thing that you do, no matter how small, wouldn't have happened without you and your hard work. Go you. ♥

comments

Wellllp

2016-05-04T13:12:25Z

So, uh. This happened at work.

The University's been facing a tough time with declining enrollment. To make the books balance for next year, they had to cut eight staff positions.

I got called into the Dreaded Uncomfortable Meeting with five other staff members yesterday afternoon, where we learned we were being laid off. They went to great lengths to say that these reductions were a strictly financial decision that had nothing to do with our individual performance.

While I'm understandably annoyed that my position is winding down, I'm not bitter about the situation. The current leadership at AlgomaU has a lot going for them, and I truly wish them well in meeting the challenges they face. The University has the potential to be a profoundly important institution for all of Canada, and a crown jewel of our local community. I hope I see them turn that vision into a reality.

That said, I'm taking this as an opportunity to springboard on to greater things. =)

Because of our family situation, I very strongly prefer to stay local (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada), but at this point I'm open to substantial travel -- say, 25%, possibly even 40% or more depending on how it's spread out? So if there are any cool places out there who could use a *nix nerd in Software Development, QA, or Systems Administration, right now I'm all ears. ^_^

comments

Kero Lantern Chronicles

2016-04-26T04:41:07Z

So...our ski club hosts a lantern ski two evenings a year, so people can putter along enjoying the trails and the twilight. They used to use oldschool kerosene lanterns, but the club got rid of them a few years back. It sounds like they were getting dirty and rusty, and nobody was quite sure how to make them less so.

Unfortunately, the candle lanterns that replaced them don't work very well. They don't provide any substantial illumination, and in the winter, the candles burn out quickly -- they don't retain enough heat to melt their own wax well, and burn down the middle instead of across their entire width.

I went looking for a better solution, and was surprised to find that new kerosene lanterns are actually still a thing sold in North America. Like, ones for real use, as opposed to collectables or antiques that are just supposed to sit on a shelf and look nice. So I ordered one.
( Read more... )

comments

Angry angry

2015-11-18T05:37:56Z

( Angry )

comments

11 Nov

2015-11-11T16:24:48Z

The thing that always gets me most on Remembrance Day: those stonefaced old bastards, who you swear never had a fucking feeling their entire lives, weeping inconsolably.

comments

PSA: Remembrance Day Poppies => USA

2015-10-30T03:52:43Z

Friends in the USA: if you would like some Remembrance Poppies for 11 Nov (Remembrance/Veterans Day), tell me how many you'd like and your mailing address if I don't have it already. I'll make sure they get to you. ^_^

(Comments screened for your convenience; I'll unscreen any that don't contain addresses.)

comments

Track-ChinaPost.com

2015-10-01T22:27:40Z

The forums over at track-chinapost.com offer some fascinating sociological observations.

( (~500 words) )

comments

TiL: Canadian Postal Trivia Edition

2015-09-19T03:37:29Z

Things I've learned: even though we've been "All up" -- everything gets sent by air mail -- for longer than I've been alive, Canada's International Letter-post Items Regulations still mandate that all letters and postcards posted in Canada for delivery outside Canada bear the words AIR MAIL and PAR AVION. (Handwritten in bold capital letters in blue or black, or by affixing an Airmail etiquette, to be specific.)

comments

Well, hell! Chocolate zucchini cake

2015-05-13T02:27:46Z

Welp...one of the few recipes that we use all the time that hadn't been on this blog is this one for chocolate zucchini cake. I originally found it here, and would just link people to it...except that that whole damn site is now dead of linkrot. So....

( Recipe... )

comments

Wax clinic!

2014-12-18T03:56:47Z

Start-of-season wax clinic at Soo Finnish Nordic tonight! Was really looking forward to this, 'cuz my skis haven't really had a proper waxing since I got them -- just whatever the store put on them, plus a daily touch-up with express wax.

So, my major learning for the evening: it turns out, applying proper wax to skis does indeed make them more slippery, and therefore faster! However, it also makes you more clumsy...! Going to have to check the package to see if this side effect is listed on there. Will be in touch with the wax manufacturer if not. ;)

comments

Power pop goodness :D

2014-11-22T03:54:59Z

Aaaa, this blast from the past rolled around on my partner's spotify tonight. So much power pop goodness...I have ~feels~ about this song. ^_^;

Also notable: apparently Weezer did a cover of this song for the movie Cars 2. It's pretty good! They didn't stray very far from the original. =)

comments

Actually, it's about ridiculous gg image macros

2014-10-27T04:41:54Z

Ever feel so strongly about the non-existence of a given image macro that the world just seemed out of balance until you went and made it yourself?

Yeah, uh, me neither. ^_^;;

( Well, actually, images are under the cut )

comments

I do actually try to keep these in mind...

2014-10-13T05:57:00Z

...when dealing with difficult people on the Internets.

( Read more... )

comments

SEEMS LEGIT

2014-10-13T03:38:49Z

( CW: Gamergate... )

comments

Chaff and flares; flares and chaff

2014-10-11T07:30:05Z

Serious trigger warning for violent misogyny, harassment, abuse, and threats.

( Seriously, TW for GamerGate and all the things associated therewith. )

comments

On "ironic racism"

2014-10-06T14:17:42Z

Pro Tip™: if someone walks like a racist, talks like a racist, acts like a racist, they are, for all practical intents & purposes, a racist. You really do not need to know if they feel like a racist deep down in their heart of hearts to figure out what to do about them. This isn't rocket surgery, y'all. For a group of folks who coined the term "duck typing", we should be all over this.

To put it another geekly way: if someone does or says something racist, then follows it up with "I was just trolling, yo! I'm not really racist!" then one right response is "I voluntarily fail my Will save! I am thoroughly convinced that you are a shitbag racist, and henceforth will treat you like one! :D"

(Note: expanding on my twitter mini-screed here.)

comments

Make. better. games.

2014-08-30T02:06:43Z

I don't understand the rational basis behind people's opposition to Anita Sarkeesian's work, if indeed there is any.

I grant that I haven't plumbed the depths of Reddit, 4chan, and sundry gaming forums looking for reasoned argument, because those places are fucking gross. But what I have found seems to be naught more than a paranoid chorus of "she's out to get our games!"

Some self-identified "gamers" seem to think that Sarkeesian's saying "Stop making games". She's not. She's saying "Games can be better than this. Make better games."

The myriad cries of "censorship!" and "political correctness!" suggest the perceived danger is that games will change as a result of Sarkeesian's critique—that the amount of abuse and misogyny will decrease, and that the number of female characters with agency and development will increase. This makes the rallying cry of "she's out to get our games!" sound more like "she's out to emasculate our games!"

I have news for you, gamer dudes. If gratuitous misogyny and violence is how you define masculinity, then you've got a big fucking problem.

comments

Max Ignorable Racism: the threshold that doesn't exist

2014-06-06T21:52:01Z

You would think that some things are just so racist that, on encountering them, everyone—even white folks, almost to a one—would say "holy FUCK that is some racist-ass shit, what the FUCK are you even thinking?" A sort of Maximum Ignorable Racism Threshold, if you will.

Apparently you'd be wrong, because you can be the most vilified racist shitbag in recent memory and still have people going to bat for you in the mainstream media: arguing that happened to you was wrong, telling people they should "calm down" over your racist remarks.

If this supposed threshold did exist, these racist-ass shirts would never have seen the light of day. Like, seriously, just think how many people have to have been party to that production, with none of them raising sufficient hue and cry to put a stop to it.

I sorely doubt that this is much of a revelation to anyone who's not carrying around a gigantor sack of white privilege. Chalk that up to yet another example of how privilege works to hide the realities of the rest of the world from people possessed of it.

comments