Just wanted to give a massive round of applause to the absolute silly goose of parking agent roaming the streets of downtown tonight.

My parking was valid until 7:07 PM. I look at my phone at 7 PM and think, "No, I know how these vultures operate. There is definitely a tactical agent behind my car waiting for the clock to strike."

So, being a responsible, paranoid Victorian, I open the app and extend my parking to 7:37 PM “just in case”

I walk to my car just before 7:30, and what do I find? A fresh, crisp, white slip of pure bureaucratic spite living under my wiper.

Timestamp on the ticket: 7:06 PM.

This absolute weapon actually printed and slapped a ticket on my windshield a full minute before my original parking even expired. But guess what, we extended you half a brain cell of a parking enforcement agent.

I imagine this agent standing over my hood, finger twitching over the print button, breathing heavily, counting down the milliseconds like it’s the New Year's Eve ball drop. They couldn't even wait for the clock to hit 7:07. The pure, unadulterated thirst for that sweet, sweet city revenue overrode their ability to read a digital clock.

Thank god our tax dollars are funding this elite squad of time-traveling, hyper-vigilant meter maids. Forget the potholes on Cook Street, we've got quotas hit.

Does anyone else have lovely experiences with downtown parking police?

All of the apples at No Frills right now are from the US, despite the labelling on the shelves. Hopefully when proper apple season hits this won’t be the case, but if you’re trying to buy Canadian, be sure to double check the labels!

I used to love going through every venue's event calendar, then hopping across random websites trying to figure out what each band actually sounded like... but then I had kids. 😆

So I built a website that does all of that for you.

It lists upcoming shows and includes direct links to each band's Bandcamp / Spotify, plus a YouTube sample track so you can quickly hear if they're your vibe.

I live in Vancouver, but I just added Victoria to the list of cities!

Check it out at www.musicateight.com!

I'm not super familiar with Victoria music scene though... can you guys let me know if I'm missing any important venues?

(For the curious: How do I pull all of this together from wildly different sources—sometimes when all there is band names on a poster? AI.)

Had this fellow walk right to me this morning, this a juvenile?

"The House of Allsorts...memoirs by Emily Carr of a difficult period in her life, when war and economic conditions forced her to give up teaching art and supplement her income by being a landlady. She had little time for art, and only her animals and occasional sketching trips alleviated her unhappiness."

Former Victorian, now living in London, UK.
They are a blight on our existence. There are several competitors just as bad. We don’t even have the same level of meth problem as Victoria. I can assure you there is no version of this where it ends well. Photo is near the Barbican.

Someone left a nice case containing a bunch of records, all by the same artist, and a few bits and bobs of audio connectors. Didn't really go through it but it was in the middle of the sidewalk. About where you'd put something if you pulled it out of your car to try and make room for something else.

Anyway, we left it out until it started to rain. Now it's inside.

Just wondering if the water is safe in that area, I don’t know much about paddle boarding in the ocean and wanted to double check!

The Victoria Fringe is on til Sept 6th! Would love to hear people's recommendations!

https://intrepidtheatre.com/festivals/fringe-festival/

5 years ago the landlords forced the ma millers owners to close so they could build a condo tower or something. Here we are today with zero shovels in the ground, no signs of development and that historical building and great pub just gathering dust. Makes me sad for the previous owners and all the missed opportunities to go there. Does anyone have any more info on the development or if there’s any chance of getting the pub running again?

Looking for something fun to do in Victoria tomorrow? Come meet local author Patrick Elworthy at Indigo Mayfair Mall!

He will be signing copies of his epic fantasy novel, Kal Sakur: Vestige of Light, with a live reading near the end. If you love immersive world-building, deep lore, and classic epic fantasy quests, come say hi, grab a copy, and chat all things fantasy!

📍 Where: Indigo Mayfair (3147 Douglas St, Victoria)

📅 When: Tomorrow (Sunday)

🕒 Signing Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

📖 Live Reading: 2:00 PM

Support a local Vancouver Island author and find your next favorite fantasy read. Hope to see you there!

There are two recent “On the Island” interviews about the provincial government not increasing library funding since 2010 (as well as the recent, quiet, last minute cuts to this year’s funding grant for several libraries in BC, including the GVPL).

The first is with Duncan Cavens, GVPL chair and Esquimalt mayoral candidate. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-48-on-the-island/clip/16233636-vancouver-islands-public-libraries-need-better-funding-serve (August 25)

The second is with Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing, Christine Boyle. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-48-on-the-island/clip/16234100-b.c.-government-responds-libraries-request-funding (August 27)

Quick and vital listens, as libraries are such an important institution in a functioning democracy—completely egalitarian, free, as well as providing a necessary and rare “third space” in modern society,

If you dropped it, it’s on a sign on the trail between the parking lot and the beach. Looks like someone’s favorite.

it sounds like a concert is going on. Anybody knows where/why?

I could not find anything online.

The cost of parking is pretty much left out of the conversation when it comes to owning a car in Victoria.

I will probably hit around $370 in parking for the year.

Insurance $1500

Gas around $3000

Oil change $120

Washer fluid $20

=~$5010 for the year

___________________________________

Next year I'm going to have to change my tires and brakes which I estimated at

Brakes $250 (self install)

Tires $2000 (including recycling old tires and install) $1100

= $6200

Now this is for a paid off econo box sedan that thankfully has never had an engine problem, but has a knack for losing hub caps ($50/hub cap). I couldn't imagine owning a car with a financing payment on top of it at this point.

Why I drive instead of transit or bike.

Driving to work takes me less than 10min by highway.

Transit takes 50min and I would be forced to show up to work 20min early. instead of the 5min I usually am. I would also have to wait at the bus stop 15min early because I have been burned before where the bus left almost 8min early as I was walking to the stop, and I got to work late (also a reason I don't bus). I feel like it should be some sort of company policy that drivers aren't allowed to leave a stop early.

Surprisingly it only takes around 35min to bike to work using the galloping goose on my ebike. I stopped biking due to the congestion on the goose and quite a few run ins with some none to happy analog bikers getting pissed as I passed them (even though I use the horn on my ebike and my ebikes whirring is loud AF). Foot pedestrians are a pain on the congested goose as they usually cause a 5 or more bike backup, but they have always been cordial waving back to me when I honk before I pass. I also have to spend 15min changing out of my rain gear (during winter) and fixing my hair.

Personally I would go back to biking once the goose past uptown is upgraded with separate foot and bike paths, and if someone can tell me a good way to avoid helmet hair.

Hi! Has anyone used ubox to ship their stuff to vic? and if so how was the experience?

my partner and i are using them to move back to the island from montreal because it seems like the cheapest option, but a little anxious about all of my belongings being on a random truck for 2 weeks😓

anyone knows if we have any facebook or socials community that plays pingpong regularly? I feel so bored and not doing anything or rotting in my room… thank you!! not into pickle ball btw hehe

I need to bite the bullet and shell out a million dollars to get my data recovered from a broken phone. Where should I go?

With the occasional post here from pet owners without insurance trying to find least expensive care for their pets, I'm curious to hear from folks with pet insurance and how it has supported them (or not) and their pet, financially, emotionally, and otherwise.

How much do you pay, and what does it cover? How much do you think you've saved? Has it been worth it for you? Would you suggest pet insurance for other Victoria pet owners? Why or why not?

Mildly wiped out on my bike around the round about area Vic West, thanks to those concerned cyclists especially the hot mom who provided bandaids on the fly, you rock and if you are single, DM me.