(EDIT to reflect mortgage doc details) I'm $1500 away from paying off my mortgage (5 year smart fixed) - I've been making lump sum payments, just using the ten percent of original principal rule, so I've got room to do this.

I called BMO today to find out how much to pay it off completely, and they say because of the product I have, they can't tell me exactly how much unless I'm selling my house or changing products...? but can confirm that there's a discharge fee of possibly $400 (!) (Checked my mortgage docs and it says the discharge fee is $75, transfer fee is $400 - not sure why the person on the phone told me the latter...)

Anyway, just wondering if there's a way to get around this stupid fee and get out of mortgage jail with as little pain as possible - are there other fees I'll be paying...? Any strategies for wrapping this damn thing up?

tldr: I make sculptures out of found wood; want an LED system to light these in various ways

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I make sculptures out of found wood (bark, logs, textured pieces), add painting, rocks, etc, and need a discreet lighting system to highlight their features. The pieces are not huge - ranging from 8" to maximum 24" tall.

What I want to achieve:

• Exterior highlighting: Unobtrusive, low-profile gooseneck or flexible lights mounted to the top to showcase textures.
• Interior glow: Thin, flexible LED strips laid into crevices, holes, and knots to light them from within.

(Ideal) requirements:

• Customizable length: I don't want a bunch of unnecessary light that I have to find space for
• Hidden components: Zero visible wires or hardware -just the light itself.
• Power source: Battery-operated (rechargeable or replaceable)
• Control: Remote-controlled
• Color: Standard warm/cool white only (no RGB/colors needed)

Has anyone built a similar setup, or can you recommend specific minimal LED kits that fit this description? Thanks!

I make sculptures out of found wood - bark, small logs, interesting textural pieces. Sometimes I paint them, glue in interesting rocks, etc. I'd like to be able to find some unobtrusive LED lighting to showcase interesting textures (a low profile gooseneck, flexible light mounted to the top of it?) or have holes, knots, etc., highlighted from the inside - maybe thin LED constant strips laid into crevices. Basically, a system that has one type of power (batteries, ideally remote controlled, don't need different colours), minimal in appearance. Basically, i want the light, but none of the evidence of the wires, etc. Any advice?

TL;DR: Bought a Sebo because the internet told me it would change my life. It did not. Looking for the Miele equivalent.

The setup:

• ~1200 sq ft
• About 50/50 low-pile carpet and hard floors (tile, wood)
• One dog who sheds an entire replacement dog every week

We originally had a Miele S2 and absolutely loved it. Then Dog entered the house.

We upgraded to Miele's turbo (air-powered) head. Decent, but struggled with dog hair embedded in carpet. So I spent far too many hours reading vacuum forums.

Sebo, they said. 

I found a good deal on a Sebo K3 with the ET-1 powerhead 

At first, it was as promised.

Powerful. Quiet. Cleaned well. 

But after living with it for a while, ugh:

• The ET-1 powerhead is built like a tank and feels about as nimble. good luck one-handing this one in and around the chairs when you're in a hurry
• Popping the head off the wand for quick crevice work - which we did all the time with the Miele - leaves you wielding an awkward, stubby plastic gas nozzle 
• The bags seem small, expensive, and weirdly fussy to install (did you get tips from dyson on how to make irritating plastic attachments…?) Closing it when the bag is marginally full feels like you’re sealing the hatch door on the space shuttle
• Swapping floor tools is a chore, and necessary because the powerhead isn't great on hard floors
• The wand falls over if you haven’t placed it just…right.
• The canister gets caught on absolutely everything. The soft bumper protects furniture, but it also acts like Velcro whenever it encounters fabric.
• I'm a bit of a design, user interface fussy person, and - though it's obviously well built - this just feels unnecessarily clunky and counterintuitive to use on almost all levels

So we're thinking of selling it and rejoining Team Miele.

For those who've owned both, or just swear by Miele because you’ve heard similar Sebo Tales of Woe: which current Miele canister (one of the premiums, I would imagine) would you recommend for a house with lots of hard floors, some carpet, and a fur factory dog?

We often have out of town visitors who have been here *multiple* times and have done all of the usual tourist things - the Granville Island, the beaches, the Bowen Island, the Stanley Park, the aquarium, capilano, lighthouse park, the sea walls etc. we have also done gulf islands, and when we were still visiting, Washington state.

Tried to do a few unique things this time: Main Street murals, east van breweries, UBC, new restaurants in Chinatown (golden smell mee ftw!), cool stores: Blim, Slice of Life, regional assembly of text

Wondering what others have on their b-side places to go to?