https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism

Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.

I’m a middle age Québécois and we learn about that system in secondary school when we talk about the early ages of New France. AFAIK it was however a bit different from empire to empire. In New France there were seigneurs (lords) holding vast pieces of land for the crown, called a seigneurie (lordship). Within that there were censitaires (serfs) that had to make use of the land and pay taxes.

A rich phoque

Meh. I have a cabin in the countryside 130 km away from my apartment and I can cycle the whole way, or take a coach with a foldable bike and pedal the 30 km left.

It’s actually in the region where I grew up so I have to get there frequently to see my family. It’s a hassle sometimes but it’s only because my government can’t adequately fund and maintain a decent transit network.

I also bike to national parks nearby, and sometimes haul my inflatable kayak with a bike trailer.

People overestimate distances and think the country side justifies a car but it’s usually just excuses. I did move in a big city eventually but I lived in small towns and cities for a decade before that. I still hated cars and didn’t have one.

For example, my mother lives on a rural road outside a village of less than 2000 people. And she works in the next town that is 7 km away. Meanwhile I live in a city and work in the same city but I have to bike 9 km to get to work.

So sometimes distances are shorter in smaller cities and towns but people still insist they need a car. People will give any excuse to use their car. It’s like cocain.

Also, here Uber is only available in major cities where it’s competing with public transit anyway. AFAIK you can’t take an Uber to a small town or a rural road.

EDIT: Also, most people DO live in a city anyway. And they still have excuses to use a car.

Today, some 56% of the world’s population – 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities.

I prefer to be compared to Diogenes of Sinope, thank you.

Jokes on them, I hate cars, don’t have one, and would never take an Uber.

I won’t bother reading AI stuff. I don’t appreciate cars in large parts because of their environmental impact. And the same goes for AI.

Just as cars, AI is also polluting our spaces, and wasting energy.

For me it’s an old habit from IRC. Instead of sending 5/6/7 lines of text, I just cut it with … and continue typing on the same line. I could make complete sentences with capitals and periods but instant messaging is not a medium well suited for full sentences and paragraphs, so you get …

Ha! I actually left reddit 14 months ago because I thought users of /r/fuckcars were too much pro cars. Like, there was a post of a dude with a giant pickup truck driving in a snow storm saying that if there were trains, he’d use it, bit now he’s “stuck” using a pickup truck to drive between two cities during a snow storm because “he had bo other choice”. And that crap was upvoted and defended.

Like, if I made comments that were too much ‘fuck cars!’ in /r/fuckcars, I would be told that some people would just loooooove to use public transit but there’s none where they live so they really don’t like it but don’t have any other choice than using a car that they “hate” but don’t want to give up.

Lots of users of a sub against cars that couldn’t walk nor bike to save their lives. They want bus, trains… taxis or cars… but walking and cycling? No. AmEriCa iS BiG aNd RuRal So YoU woULdN’t uNdErStAnD! Yet I live in an even “emptier” and bigger country…

They wanna “get rid” of their cars but as soon as someone proposes to walk a bit, or bike somewhere, they are like “but what about robotaxis?!” FFS!

It mostly sucks ungodly amounts of electricity for a mediocre result. And I don’t think the energy consumed for things like driving a two ton vehicle around, when people can take a bus or a train, is worth it.

Camping has the potential to be any type of fun. From 1 to 3. It depends a lot.

I love type 2 fun so I’m equipped for multi day bike touring and camping trips but it’s a bit like anything: if you don’t practice it’s difficult to get better at it.

However mosquitoes are indeed the worst. I avoid certain areas at some periods of the year because of that. Again, depends where you go and how prepared you are.

Those VR headsets always make me think of this

But I learned that apparently porn is not “possible” on the Apple one… yet.

My landlord is a multimillion dollar faceless company that sends me offers for a reduction on rent if I refer someone else. They have partnerships with other giant businesses and send me coupons for other companies. They push tenants towards a particular ISP. They amass personal data and seem to share it.

They want to make it seem like added value, but as a tenant, it feels like you’re just another consumer to be sold something. They send me so much spam…

Studies show that ash from coal power plants contains significant quantities of arsenic, lead, thallium, mercury, uranium and thorium. To generate the same amount of electricity, a coal power plant gives off at least ten times more radiation than a nuclear power plant.

Oh well!

With no hydrogen plants available as backup, coal power will likely be needed to fill the gap

I guessed it before even reading the article.

So they will continue to dig their giant holes and demolish villages in order to avoid nuclear, while waiting for a miracle solution that will probably never come.

Good job Germany. Sehr grüne!

Indeed. Never gave a second thought to the word but apparently it’s the name of a young male servant. The pronunciation ends with a nasal vowel as there is no trailing “e” at the end. In IPA that’s /ɡaʁ.sɔ̃/. If you say /ɡaʁ.ɔn/ it makes it sound female.

Un patron = male owner

Une patronne = female owner

As another comment points out, there is a mistake with the second sentence.

The word combination works but it does not contradict the first negation.

Ceci n’est pas une pipe = This is not a pipe

C’est une pipe = It’s a pipe

What you want is to simply remove the negative “n’ + pas”.

Ceci est une pipe = This is a pipe

With other examples…

Ceci est un garçon = This is a boy

Ceci n’est pas un garçon = This is not a boy

C’est une fille = It’s a girl

Ceci est une fille = This is a girl

Ceci n’est pas une fille = This is not a girl

Ceci est un commentaire = This is a comment

Ceci n’est pas un commentaire = This is not a comment

C’est simple n’est-ce pas? = It’s simple is it not?

I’m the one making the comment and you’re the one assuming I did something wrong because I was on a bicycle? Or is this “a lot” exaggerated and biaised?

Anyway the said rules where I live is that riding on sidewalks is illegal. Cyclists are not pedestrians and should not be mixed with them.

I was legally on a cycle path, had priority, there was no light. I was cut then slapped by the driver making an illegal move, and you’re first thought is to point out that “lots of bikers blow red lights”?! What?

Then they’ll block your road, get out of their fancy car and assault you for hitting that precious car.

I was on a bike path when a car driver cut me while exiting a driveway and I bumped my wheel into his back bumper. Well, he stopped, got out of his car, whined that I didn’t do “my” stop and ended up slapping me twice in the face… because he cut me and I bumped into his car…

So even if you have an old car AND it’s not your fault, they’l still be mad at you for existing and being in their way.

But then you realize their north is not the same as physical north, like Montreal, where west/east follows the river instead or real cardinal points.

So if you ask directions in Montreal and someone tells you to go north, it means to go NW. And if you’re told to go east, you have to NE. It’s easy once in the city because the grid follows that “convention” but you always have to be aware of that detail. We just like to add a layer of complexity.

One quirk of common Montreal parlance is that directions (north, south, east, and west) along the street grid are sharply skewed relative to the actual compass directions. The St. Lawrence River is taken as flowing west to east (even though it flows north or northeast past the island), so that directions along streets parallel to the river are referred to as “west” and “east,” and those along streets perpendicular to the river, “north” and “south.” In much of Montreal, “north” is actually northwest, and in some areas such as Verdun and Pointe-aux-Trembles it is actually due west.

I’m going to sound like an asshole but as someone that has been making efforts to live without a car in Canada for more than 20 years… there are other options than motorized vehicles.

Bicycles exist and you can cover a good deal of distance with them. That could help reduce the number of car trips. No need to get rid of them completely but at least try to reduce its use.

There is also the option to move.

But in the end the argument of rural people needing cars is kind of moot because the vast vast majority of people live in cities or in suburbs that were founded on railroads. So it would be relatively easy to help a good chunk of people to get rid, or use less of their cars while rural people can still drive or pedal to a nearest bus stop, tram stop, or train station.

I know that from experience of living in both a rural environment, and in a city. I did move a few times for my work in order to avoid needing a car.

Again, not possible for everybody but options have to be considered because, we’re running out of time and excuses anyway.

If you live in a rural setting and can’t use a bus or cycle, fine. But don’t sabotage the efforts and options for the vast majority of people that should, or do have options, by stating that if you need a car then everybody surely does! Please!

As the meme says: BuT iT’s sO CoNvEnIeNt!1!