I’m doubtful full membership will ever happen, and even an EEA Norway-style agreement where we adopt 75% of the EU’s laws without representation but keep our fishing and agricultural policies (pre-requisites for the Atlantic and Prairie Provinces to agree), would take decades to be negotiated, signed and ratified with all the dysfunctional, proportional representational governments in Europe right now.

There’s been discussions about “associate membership” in the EU to bypass the European-ness requirement, but I don’t think that’s gotten any traction.

I would be grateful for any kind of free movement agreement that gains traction right now, even with CARICOM or MERCOSUR.

This isn’t the major issue it’s being portrayed as.

Under Canada’s free trade agreements—including those with the WTO, CPTPP, and the European Union—Canada is obligated to allow foreign companies from these partner regions to compete for large government procurement contracts (typically valued at ~$230,000 CAD or more). These agreements ensure fair access without protectionist barriers and, in return, give Canadian companies access to similar opportunities in those markets.

Given this context, it’s not surprising that a significant portion of federal procurement contracts go to companies headquartered in the world’s largest free market economy, the United States. The fact that nearly 25% of federal government suppliers by total contract value being U.S.-based is not unexpected under these trade arrangements.

Consider the cost of inaction. A decade of lost economic growth, fewer jobs, and diminished competitiveness – all because we lacked the leverage to counter these blatantly unfair tariffs. Can we afford that?

Either those tariffs come down quick because we fight back, we massively expand our trading relationships with countries we don’t get along with (China, Russia, India) Erdogan-style, or we experience what could amount to a Great Depression once Trump escalates further again knowing we’re an easy target.

China scary tho

If you’re okay with older homelab-esque equipment, the ERA, also on eBay as Calgary Computer Wholesale, often has really cheap rack mount stuff. This being said, the ERA is a pretty sketchy organization overall (it’s closer to a small e-waste recycling business that takes advantage of its status to reduce liable taxes (with variable employee salaries equivalent to dividends) and take advantage of free volunteer labour, than an actual non-profit organization). Sometimes, provincial government surplus auction sites have rack mount equipment as well.

The X3 CPUs were essentially quad cores where one of the cores failed a quality control check. Using a higher end Mobo, it was possible to unlock the fourth core with varying results. This was a cheap consumer Acer prebuilt though, so I didn’t have that option.

I had a old Acer SFF desktop machine (circa 2009) with an AMD Athlon II 435 X3 (equivalent to the Intel Core i3-560) with a 95W TDP, 4 GB of DDR2 RAM, and 2 1TB hard drives running in RAID 0 (both HDDs had over 30k hours by the time I put it in). The clunker consumed 50W at idle. I planned on running it into the ground so I could finally send it off to a computer recycler without guilt.

I thought it was nearing death anyways, since the power button only worked if the computer was flipped upside down. I have no idea why this was the case, the computer would keep running normally afterwards once turned right side up.

The thing would not die. I used it as a dummy machine to run one-off scripts I wrote, a seedbox that would seed new Linux ISOs as it was released (genuinely, it was RAID0 and I wouldn’t have downloaded anything useful), a Tor Relay and at one point, a script to just endlessly download Linux ISOs overnight to measure bandwidth over the Chinanet backbone.

It was a terrible machine by 2023, but I found I used it the most because it was my playground for all the dumb things that I wouldn’t subject my regular home production environments to. Finally recycled it last year, after 5 years of use, when it became apparent it wasn’t going to die and far better USFF 1L Tiny PC machines (i5-6500T CPUs) were going on eBay for $60. The power usage and wasted heat of an ancient 95W TDP CPU just couldn’t justify its continued operation.

Thanks for posting this—it’s a really interesting read. It reminded me of discussions I had in university about sex work, where some would argue that their work was empowering because they were “exploiting” men rather than being exploited themselves. The idea was that by commodifying their sexual attraction, they were working within the system to empower themselves, rather than trying to dismantle the bigger structural issues.

The femosphere seems to follow a similar logic: working within existing power dynamics rather than fighting to change them. But as the article points out, these spaces often end up reinforcing the same patriarchal ideas they claim to resist. Like, framing traditional or conservative practices—like relying on men for financial support—as empowering doesn’t actually challenge the system; it just works around it.

What really struck me was the part about “anti-feminist feminism.” It’s wild how these spaces can seem feminist on the surface but actually double down on inequality by focusing on individual gain over collective progress. It’s the same vibe as “girlboss feminism” but with an even more cynical edge. It’s all about “winning” against men, which feels very manosphere but flipped.

I get why women might be drawn to this, though. Liberal feminism has been all about individual empowerment and hasn’t really delivered on the bigger promises of gender equality. But, like the article says, just because something criticizes liberal feminism doesn’t automatically mean it’s good for women. It feels like a trap—appealing because it’s a rejection of the status quo but ultimately just repackaging the same old problems.

The radicalisation part is also super concerning. Even if the femosphere isn’t leading to real-world violence like the manosphere, it’s still fostering this toxic, “us vs. them” mindset. It’s a reminder of how extreme and polarised these online spaces can get.

This article really made me think about what the alternative is. Like, how do we create a version of feminism that actually addresses the frustrations drawing people to these spaces, but without the toxicity or regressive ideas? That’s the real challenge here, I think.

I really liked Miniflux and its clean design too too, but I found without an adequate categorization functionality, it quickly became overwhelming. Since I don’t check my RSS reader as often as I should, it eventually got overwhelming and I had to switch to FreshRSS.

I feel deeply for him and the challenges he’s facing. His story is a powerful reminder for those still employed to take steps to secure long-term disability insurance. Circumstances like his—being thrust into hardship due to health issues and events beyond his control—highlight how fragile stability can be. While a career in politics is inherently uncertain, his experiences underscore just how quickly life can change.

My understanding is that the 2021 Corsair RM850x variant is manufactured and relabelled from a Channel Well Technology (CWT) PSU with Japanese capacitors from Nippon Chemi-Con (the RM-e variants use Taiwanese capacitors, I think from either Teapo or CapXon).

Check DeepCool and Thermalright for cooling options. I run Noctua too but they’re definitely not the best value.

Check FSP, Seasonic in case they have something for a PSU in the price range. They both actually make power supplies, rather than marketing like many of the other ones on that list. I have a Seasonic-made Corsair from 2012 still in use. Runs 24/7. Buy overspecced unit. The beefier it is, the cooler it runs, the less the fan spins / the longer capacitors last.

I ended up switching my CPU cooler to the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, since my PSU choice changed to the RM850x which has a top 29dB noise level. The log calculations made the Noctua D15s less appealing given the price point.

I’d install all the RAM I’d ever need on this machine because DDR5 is even more sensitive to chip differences than earlier standards. Also I have no idea who Team are. I would use Crucial since they actually make RAM chips. Keep in mind that using 4 DIMMs drops RAM speed dramatically on AM5. I think the AMD docs say 3600 or 3800 for 4 DIMMs. You could run them faster but you won’t get to the rated speed.

I also ended up buying a 64GB ram kit and will sell the 32GB kit I already purchased. You’re right in noting that 2x DIMM is the best config.

Stay away from Gigabyte. Check what ASRock has if it makes more sense than MSI. I recently got their X870 Pro RS and it’s been great so far. Few PCIe slots on this one but there’s 2x USB 4 which seems to work well and it can be broken out to many USB 3 ports if needed. E.g. a 40 Gbps port can be split to 4x 10 Gbps ports or perhaps even to 7x 5 Gbps ports.

I was already hesitant about going Gigabyte since I know their brand reputation has tanked and their B650 board has horrible VRM. People on r/bapcsalescanada warned against the Gigabyte boards, even the Eagle AX option.

Thanks for all your input!

Thanks for all the input! I’m going to swap out the RM-e with the RM850x. The top dB of that PSU is still 29dB at high load, so I’ll just compromise and swap out the Noctua D15S with the Thermalright Phantom Spirit.

Point taken and I will order a 64gb ram kit and sell the 32gb on FB Marketplace. Thanks for the input.

I’m not convinced my workload will really justify over 32GB of RAM yet, and there’s 2 leftover RAM slots that I can always slot in additional memory down the road.

Point taken on the HDD, I thought that it would be possible to set up the HDD to just spin down when not in use but apparently the HDD I’m considering still has an annoying hum in idle. So that was a fair thing to challenge.

I definitely thought about it, especially since people on r/buildapc say they tend to replace every 5-8 years with upgrades along the way, but the truth of it is just that the first time I tried to replace the cooler, I didn’t realize you need to warm up the CPU to loosen the thermal paste to the CPU. As expected, I used a lot of force to get the cooler off and ended up destroying the CPU by accident when the cooler finally gave way. Dumb way to blow $500 CAD.

In general though, the build isn’t optimal for airflow. The case definitely is not great airflow wise and I always had a game plan to turn it into a file server (with some undervolting). Thanks for the advice!

Doesn’t Walmart pay the tuition for a bunch of Ontario colleges as long as you work 24 hours a week?

My GPA is also like 2.3, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to apply for grants with that kind of a GPA.

Honestly dude, if you’re doing this badly while living rent-free, you’re going to do even worse with a part-time job and the fear of homelessness on top of it. I would seriously suggest taking a break for a year or two, and joining the workforce (ideally an IT Help Desk role or something related, but realistically, whatever you can get).

This is for 3 reasons:

• It’s better to take a break from going to school (and they will have leave provisions to allow for this) and go on hiatus than fail out and be the black sheep that no other university will admit. It just doesn’t sound like you’re prepared for post-secondary education yet and would benefit from building some life skills.
• It doesn’t sound like your financial situation is in order at all. You need to save up.
• Joining the workforce for 1 year will cause OSAP to consider you an independent student, so your parent’s income won’t be factored into grant and loan applications (you’ll get more grants and loans).

I’ve also been hearing on the news that the job market in Canada is being flooded by immigrants, mortgage and rent prices are crazy, and food is also crazy expensive, which really worries me.

The people that bring this rhetoric up the most online are usually the ones that have given up and simply aren’t competent or willing to compromise for something that matches their aptitude. While quality of life is declining overall in the developed world, immigration is only one part of a bigger problem and things are not that dire that you’ll be on the streets if you are willing to do whatever work you qualify for. If you put in an effort, you’ll figure it out for sure, and if you don’t, you can always apply for Ontario Works/welfare and they will make you do employment training to get you there.

Just to remind everyone: Layton pulled this same stunt, toppling Martin’s government.

Refusing to support a sitting government mired in scandal isn’t a stunt—it’s taking a stand. Calling an election wasn’t just the right thing to do; it was unavoidable after the Office of the Auditor General laid bare the extent of corruption. This wasn’t a minor misstep—it was a government blatantly diverting public funds to secure its own re-election. Propping up such a government would have been a betrayal of public trust.

Pinning the blame on Layton because the only viable alternative brokerage party to form government was the Conservative Party is absurd. That’s not on him; it’s on the corrupt Liberal party establishment of the time for destroying their own credibility. A lot of voters are only used to the reformed Liberal Party under Trudeau, but there was a point in time where the Liberal party apparatus was very different.

Let’s be clear: the fault lies with those who abused their power, not with those who refused to stand by and enable it. Misrepresenting this as opportunism is a deliberate distortion of the facts, designed to deflect attention from the real issue—a government that deserved to fall. Just admit you’re pro-corruption and move on.

The pension is a red herring tossed around by morons. If he didn’t get the pension, he’d get a return of his contributions and just invest it in index funds. People make it sound like a $40k/year pension will make or break his retirement plans lmao.

Parliament doesn’t sit until Jan 26. You still have to get input from NDP HQ and the caucus before you go around voting non-confidence. Freeland resigned a day before parliament was about to adjourn and y’all make it sound like it needed to be a gut reaction.