The Nickel Nerd
@ltrytten.bsky.social
Canadian first. Critical metals for the energy transition - development, processing, impacts. Most professional stuff on LI. Also comments on transportation, urban design, and political systems. And other life matters...
It would be great if this was a joke. I’m not sure…
Poilievre lights emergency flares to beg Trump to invade Canada
Poilievre lights emergency flares to beg Trump to invade Canada
OTTAWA - Canadian Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre was reportedly seen lighting emergency flares, in hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump would "liberate" Canada in the same fashion that he has do...
www.thebeaverton.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:01 PM
It would be great if this was a joke. I’m not sure…
Wow, I’ve never wanted to watch US news, but still.
"We're going to spend less time listening to people who are educated and informed" is certainly....a choice.
January 3, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Wow, I’ve never wanted to watch US news, but still.
Is it selfish to say considerate Albertans break trail for others in ways they are able? Or is that thought too Canadian? At any rate, thank you @lukaszukab.bsky.social for breaking trail for all of us Canadians living in #alberta #yeg
December 30, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Is it selfish to say considerate Albertans break trail for others in ways they are able? Or is that thought too Canadian? At any rate, thank you @lukaszukab.bsky.social for breaking trail for all of us Canadians living in #alberta #yeg
Reposted by The Nickel Nerd
How To Do New Year's Resolutions
December 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
How To Do New Year's Resolutions
Reading Winners Take All on US inequality, philanthropy, and power. If all US billionaires restricted to $1B - more than enough to live a life of luxury with no other income - I estimate $20000 available for every person in the country. Including children. Makes one think.
December 30, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reading Winners Take All on US inequality, philanthropy, and power. If all US billionaires restricted to $1B - more than enough to live a life of luxury with no other income - I estimate $20000 available for every person in the country. Including children. Makes one think.
Time for year-end donations to some of my favourite arts organizations: Shadow Theatre, Free Will Players, and Skirts Afire (below). These are important institutions in our society: the independent arts is one thing that the government struggles to control.
fnd.us/e2ehhc?ref=s...
fnd.us/e2ehhc?ref=s...
Help SkirtsAfire raise funds towards our 2026 programming!
Your donation is worth 1.5X! Now is the time to make a huge impact: Every dollar you donate to SkirtsAfire until January 28 will be 50% matched by the Government of Alberta!
fnd.us
December 29, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Time for year-end donations to some of my favourite arts organizations: Shadow Theatre, Free Will Players, and Skirts Afire (below). These are important institutions in our society: the independent arts is one thing that the government struggles to control.
fnd.us/e2ehhc?ref=s...
fnd.us/e2ehhc?ref=s...
I just (don’t) love those neighbours who shovel their sidewalk up to the road or alley, but don’t do the last two feet. Compliant with the letter of the law but still aggressively antagonistic to people? #yeg
December 29, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I just (don’t) love those neighbours who shovel their sidewalk up to the road or alley, but don’t do the last two feet. Compliant with the letter of the law but still aggressively antagonistic to people? #yeg
Leaving aside the Trans-Canada, little Alberta has 3 of the 9 most dangerous highways in the country, so sure, let’s raise speed limits and make them more dangerous.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
The most dangerous winter road in Ontario is not the 401. Here’s where it really is | CBC News
A new study has found that more than half of the most dangerous winter roads in Canada are located in Ontario, including Erieau Road in Chatham-Kent, which tops the list, Highway 17 in Kenora-Dryden a...
www.cbc.ca
December 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Leaving aside the Trans-Canada, little Alberta has 3 of the 9 most dangerous highways in the country, so sure, let’s raise speed limits and make them more dangerous.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Are we sure we want to ramp up Canadian #lng #abpoli #yrg #yyc? With UCP doubling down on gas-fired power, we could be in the same boat. Henry Hub still affects us, but less directly due to transport. Does the royalty effect reducing taxes pay for this big a consumer impact? Embrace net zero bldg?
This is the “monster of the deep” of US utility bills, natural gas prices rising due to low oil prices & LNG exports, and it hitting them twice, directly and through marginal electricity prices. The way out of this Pandora’s box is adding lots of renewables & batteries and end-use electrification.
"Cicio noted that for every $1 increase in the Henry Hub price, U.S. consumers pay roughly $34 billion more for natural gas and $20 billion more for electricity — about $54 billion annually."
(paywalled)
(paywalled)
December 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
How can federal Conservatives look at polls that show CPC fairly neck and neck with LPC and PP miles behind Carney in favourability and NOT dump him next month??? Surely they have the 3 functioning brain cells to recognize he is the anchor holding them back???
December 23, 2025 at 11:51 PM
How can federal Conservatives look at polls that show CPC fairly neck and neck with LPC and PP miles behind Carney in favourability and NOT dump him next month??? Surely they have the 3 functioning brain cells to recognize he is the anchor holding them back???
V2 of the plow had mixed success. A rope instead of bent broomstick is more robust, but catches on the tire knobs and rolls up impacting the plow into the back wheel and fender. Still, managed to plow the uncleared sidewalks in front of a number of homes and do a block in front of the old school.
December 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
V2 of the plow had mixed success. A rope instead of bent broomstick is more robust, but catches on the tire knobs and rolls up impacting the plow into the back wheel and fender. Still, managed to plow the uncleared sidewalks in front of a number of homes and do a block in front of the old school.
Reposted by The Nickel Nerd
Don’t like rising property taxes? Consider:
- driving less/using transit more (to save our infrastructure)
- welcoming development in your mature neighbourhood (to add rate payers without building new infra)
- buying less from Amazon (they don’t pay taxes to us but use infra)
- going downtown
- driving less/using transit more (to save our infrastructure)
- welcoming development in your mature neighbourhood (to add rate payers without building new infra)
- buying less from Amazon (they don’t pay taxes to us but use infra)
- going downtown
December 17, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Don’t like rising property taxes? Consider:
- driving less/using transit more (to save our infrastructure)
- welcoming development in your mature neighbourhood (to add rate payers without building new infra)
- buying less from Amazon (they don’t pay taxes to us but use infra)
- going downtown
- driving less/using transit more (to save our infrastructure)
- welcoming development in your mature neighbourhood (to add rate payers without building new infra)
- buying less from Amazon (they don’t pay taxes to us but use infra)
- going downtown
Finally got to try V1 of a #yegbike snowplow trailer today. Did a decent job on sidewalks that had been previously cleared, but not great on the city paths that have been poorly cleared and well trod. Quite bouncy on those. Need to keep the speed up!
December 13, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Finally got to try V1 of a #yegbike snowplow trailer today. Did a decent job on sidewalks that had been previously cleared, but not great on the city paths that have been poorly cleared and well trod. Quite bouncy on those. Need to keep the speed up!
Lovely to see USA preparing to favour Belarus over Canada for potash supplies…
December 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Lovely to see USA preparing to favour Belarus over Canada for potash supplies…
I’ve enjoyed and respected BBC for a long time, but this is a very disappointing decision. Standing up for human rights and decent treatment of all should not be controversial.
Robin Ince is a big name.
The fact that the BBC forced him to resign for his support of Trans folks is just beyond….
This signals a much bigger capitulation to bigotry than I had thought possible
The fact that the BBC forced him to resign for his support of Trans folks is just beyond….
This signals a much bigger capitulation to bigotry than I had thought possible
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I’ve enjoyed and respected BBC for a long time, but this is a very disappointing decision. Standing up for human rights and decent treatment of all should not be controversial.
Reposted by The Nickel Nerd
Time to reconsider blue hydrogen? Blue Hydrogen Reconsidered?
www.linkedin.com/pulse/blue-h...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/blue-h...
Blue Hydrogen Reconsidered?
TL&DR Summary: blue hydrogen will be cheaper than green hydrogen for the foreseeable future. But the risk remains that the product will be much cheaper if we ignore the fact that it’s not blue, but ra...
www.linkedin.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Time to reconsider blue hydrogen? Blue Hydrogen Reconsidered?
www.linkedin.com/pulse/blue-h...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/blue-h...
Reposted by The Nickel Nerd
snow storm: cleaning up computer. Found this
December 12, 2025 at 5:17 PM
snow storm: cleaning up computer. Found this
Had a lovely YEG walk this morning in the cold, but annoyed all over again at the beg lights that prioritize drivers in faux-living rooms over people outdoors.
December 12, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Had a lovely YEG walk this morning in the cold, but annoyed all over again at the beg lights that prioritize drivers in faux-living rooms over people outdoors.
Funny how the US is totally willing to nab and confiscate Venezuelan oil, but not Russian. Curious.
December 11, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Funny how the US is totally willing to nab and confiscate Venezuelan oil, but not Russian. Curious.
Reposted by The Nickel Nerd
More than half of Toronto drivers in a Universtiy of Toronto study didn't look for people walking or on bikes before turning right. Study used eye-tracking tech.
Increasingly deadly vehicles, dumb laws, and irresponsible driving equal people being injured and killed.
www.utoronto.ca/news/more-ha...
Increasingly deadly vehicles, dumb laws, and irresponsible driving equal people being injured and killed.
www.utoronto.ca/news/more-ha...
December 10, 2025 at 9:32 PM
More than half of Toronto drivers in a Universtiy of Toronto study didn't look for people walking or on bikes before turning right. Study used eye-tracking tech.
Increasingly deadly vehicles, dumb laws, and irresponsible driving equal people being injured and killed.
www.utoronto.ca/news/more-ha...
Increasingly deadly vehicles, dumb laws, and irresponsible driving equal people being injured and killed.
www.utoronto.ca/news/more-ha...