Random household issues -- questions asked and answered here

Of course you need to post pictures. I wouldn't give anything posted without pictures a second thought.

Ever try to take a picture of a mirror? Unless it's got an interesting shape (not a square) or a frame, there really isn't much to take a picture of other than your reflection.

wprager wrote:Ever try to take a picture of a mirror?  Unless it's got an interesting shape (not a square) or a frame, there really isn't much to take a picture of other than your reflection.

Doesn't matter. If you're posting stuff, even for free, it's gotta go with a picture. That's Internet 101.

Got our son a birthday/belated graduation gift today -- an electric guitar (fairly decent one for a starter). Should have gotten one of these as well:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/vox-amplug-2-ac30-guitar-headphone-amp

tim1_2 wrote:Ordered the "Defy Extreme" stuff from the States.  After shipping, taxes, and brokerage, I expect to pay about $300 CAD for a 5 gallon pail of the stuff.  

The Behr Premium stuff at Home Depot goes for about $250 CAD (after tax) for 5 gallons.  

Remind me to report back in two or three years when I find out if it was worth the cash or not.

Time to report back, Tim.

Just ordered another Xiaomi phone. A while back I dropped my Note 3 in the locker room at the gym. Didn't have a case (was waiting an unusually long time for shipping).  Finally going to replace it.

This time around I'm getting a Mi5. It's a slightly smaller screen (5.15" vs 5.5"); I found the Note 3 a little too big.  The Mi5 was their flagship last year (the Mi6 is coming out later this summer,  I believe). Hopefully the tempered glass and covers I ordered arrive not too long after the phone,  this time.

wprager wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:Ordered the "Defy Extreme" stuff from the States.  After shipping, taxes, and brokerage, I expect to pay about $300 CAD for a 5 gallon pail of the stuff.  

The Behr Premium stuff at Home Depot goes for about $250 CAD (after tax) for 5 gallons.  

Remind me to report back in two or three years when I find out if it was worth the cash or not.

Time to report back,  Tim.

That's funny. Yeah, the stain sucked, like every other stain I've ever seen or used.

It's time to move on mounting the TVs on the wall. After all we paid Mattamy for the "media-ready wall" for a reason.

Looks like with the exchange and shipping costs I can get the cables and wall mounts from Factory Direct for the same cost as Monoprice.

I called AVExperts and they quoted $280 to hang Boothe TVs. I'm pretty sure everyone here will recommend that I do it myself (I have a nephew-in-law who is a few blocks away and has done this at least a couple times, and he could help).

Don't tell me why I should do it myself; instead, two me why I should pay someone.

P.S. The media ready wall consists of a conduit for the cables, wall outlet up high, 2" x 8" or x 6" between the studs. I think we overpaid.

The only reason to pay someone is that they're on the hook if something goes wrong. These things are pretty foolproof though if you follow the instructions. Oh, and assuming the TV is large (over 50"), have three people there, so there's an extra person to catch it if required.

Having second thoughts on buying the wall mounts from Factory Direct.

Does anyone have experience with Mattamy homes and their so-called "media ready wall"? And I supposed to install the bracket on the horizontal 2" x 8" or the vertical studs? The studs are about 2' apart and many of the brackets don't go that wide (at least at Costco they list the stud spacing; at Factory Direct would have to take it out of the box and measure).

Anyone know where to get a reliable cost of living comparison across cities in Canada? I mean the smell test would tell you that Toronto and Vancouver are the highest but, I'm curious where the lowest cost places are and by just how much.

Anyone?

statcan has something

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:statcan has something

I've poked around on their site and all I could find was Consumer Price Index by province. I'm trying to find something on a city by city basis.

How about this one:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Canada

I looked at that one. Just not sure how reliable the numbers are.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I looked at that one. Just not sure how reliable the numbers are.

87% of all statistics are made up on the fly.

In the '90s only 85% of statistics were mad up on the fly. It's an alarming trend.

It would be alarming 90% of the time normally

Here's some data on what the government allows for meal and mileage reimbursements. It can show which provinces are more expensive to live in:

https://www.njc-cnm.gc.ca/directive/d10/v238/s659/en

https://www.njc-cnm.gc.ca/directive/d10/v238/s658/en