u/Starky04

Here's a bit of a timeline:

2025-04-30 - Entered Canada with Letter of Introduction and received Work Permit valid to 2027-03-26 (expiry date on passport)
2026-07-01 - Returned to the UK
2026-08-03 - New passport issued

I plan to return to Canada on 2026-09-12. From what I understand, I need to bring my old passport with me as that is what is associated with the work permit. I also know that I can apply to extend my work permit as it was cut short a little.

The thing that I'm not sure about is whether I need a new eTA. The eTA website steers me away from proceeding when I say that I am coming to the country for work.

I am using James Hoffman's V60 recipe with a ceramic Hario V60 dripper and bleached Hario 02 papers.

I am trying to dial my brew in by time, aiming for around 3 minutes. The problem is that regardless of what I set the Ode to, the brews are always taking 3:30 - 4 minutes. I have gone all the way from 2 to 7 and it hasn't helped.

I don't feel like I'm overly agitating the bed. The only other thing I can think of is that the grinder is producing fines at all grind settings.

I'm not confident in dialing in by taste as I don't know what "right" tastes like. I was hoping that brew time would be a good substitute but I'm a bit stuck now.

I am a software developer and I have just started working from home so I'm in the process of setting up a home office.

I use an M4 Macbook Pro so the options for connectivity are USB-C and HDMI. It would be nice if the monitor could output enough power to charge the laptop as well.

I would like a minimum of 1440p and 27". I will mainly use the monitor for coding, while using the laptop screen for everything else - Slack, email, etc. I don't think I need anything bigger or higher resolution as I don't really like the workflow of managing multiple applications on a single screen, especially when I often switch between using a monitor and using the laptop alone.

A good adjustable stand would be great for ergonomics.

In terms of other specs, I just want to prioritise comfort when using the screen for a long time. I'm not bothered about colour accuracy, refresh rates or response time. I won't be gaming with this monitor and if I want colour accuracy for photo editing I can rely on the Macbook screen.

My budget is around £200. I could go higher if there was a good reason!

I'm currently looking at the Dell SE2726D. It looks like a great deal - the only limitation is the ergonomics but for that price I could buy a VESA arm for it.

I just finished reading the first novel in the series, Black Sun Rising. I enjoyed how Ciani was written at the beginning of the book, her character had potential and in my opinion she was more interesting than Damien and could have been as interesting as Tarrant.

I was disappointed that her development and general involvement was cut short early in the story. She is mainly on the sidelines and is more of a liability than anything.

This sort of thing tends to bother me as I grew up reading a lot of science fiction, where male authors tend to write female characters very poorly and relationships can be very cringe, to the point where I sometimes hesitate to recommend novels. For the record, I'm a vanilla cis-ass dude!

The funny thing is that after reading the book I thought I would check out the author. Turns out the author is female so I guess it's not a case of r/menwritingwomen ! I might need re-tune my my expectations haha!

On that note, any recommendations for contemporary fantasy novels with well written characters (both male and female) that don't feel like YA? I really enjoyed the world of Wheel of Time but I'm still tugging my braid in disgust with the shenanigans of the Two Rivers trio!

I had a bike fit today and the main takeaway was that I needed a wider saddle.

I am male and my sit bone width is 115mm. I was told to look for a saddle with an effective width of 135-140mm.

I use a rigid gravel bike with 50mm tyres for bikepacking and enjoy a mix of paved and unpaved roads. I ride a lot of forestry roads but rarely singletrack.

When using my current saddle, I jiggle around while peddling, which suggests that it's not wide enough. I get pretty bad saddle sores on longer rides and I also get a lot of bruising on rougher trails.

I have been using the Ergon SM Enduro Pro Ti saddle for the last couple of years in the S/M size. The saddle says that it is for sit bone widths of 80-120mm, however, there is a bit of a taper at the side. The description also suggests "maximum feedback", which is probably not what I want for longer rides! It's a bit frustrating because the saddle was given to me by a different bike fitter and I suspect he only recommended it because he had it sitting around in the shop.

Should I just stick with Ergon and get something like the SR Allroad Core Pro in the M/L size? It sounds like a more comfortable model. That combined with the proper size might make a big difference. I've been happy with the build quality of my current saddle, it's just the fit that's the problem. Or should I try something else entirely? Open to suggestions!

I’m a Garmin Fenix owner myself so I’m familiar with how to use the watch and I can’t find any way to find any contact details for the owner.

Is there a way to let Garmin know that I found the watch so that they can pass my contact details to the owner?

The building that my flat is part of needs some roofing work. I've contacted Macleod Roofing for a quote, however, I'm looking to get some other quotes as well.

I'm also looking for a painter / interior decorator to freshen up the inside of my flat. I needs walls and ceilings painted throughout and maybe a bit of wallpapering.

Any recommendations for either? I'm out of the country at the moment and I've been finding it quite difficult to find people online with any confidence.

Just wanted to rant about tubeless a little and get some feedback about what I might be doing wrong

The weekend before last I was bikepacking on a mix of gravel and tarmac. My rear tire (gravelking) was punctured on 3 separate occasions. I use dynaplugs and had to put multiple in each time. The third time the dynaplugs refused to hold and I had to put a tube in.

When I got back to town I discovered that dynaplugs are now insanely expensive (Canada) so I had to buy the Peaty's holeshot kit.

I took the wheel to my LBS to get re-taped and had them put a fresh tire on. I went for a Continental Terra Adventure. Normally I would do this myself, however, I only moved here in the last year and didn't bring my airshot, nor do I have access to an air compressor.

I was riding again last weekend and discovered that the tire was losing pressure - I had to pump it up every 30k or so. Some sealant was leaking out at the rim, which I understand normal with a new tire, however, it kept losing pressure. I pumped it up on Saturday night and it was flat on Sunday morning. I carry spare sealant so I attempted to top it up, however, I found it impossible to squeeze it into the valve (with valve core removed) using the small Stan's bottle.

I got a small puncture at one point and put a small bacon strip in. About a minute further down the trail it blew out of the tire and I had to stop again to put a bigger bacon strip in.

I ended up putting a tube in the tire on the second day of my trip because it kept losing pressure and I had 200km ahead of me.

So that was a lot of moaning. Please point out any noob mistakes I'm making. I'm losing the plot with tubeless - all the extra time and money for tape / sealant / plugs / CO2 cannisters, etc all so that I can get covered in sealant when I end up having to put a tube in anyway.

I haven't had any of these problems with my front tire, I think it's a Specialized Rhombus Pro. Also tubeless.

Happy bike with tube in rear tire

I would like to cycle the BC Epic 1000 Buckshot event this weekend. It starts at Riverside Park at 6am on Saturday morning.

I plan on driving to Kamloops from Revelstoke early on Saturday morning. I'm expecting to arrive back at the car on Monday evening.

For the life of me I can't figure out where I would be allowed to park for a few nights. I don't mind paying, I just don't want to be towed. I looked at parking on Pemberton Terrace but I'm worried about safety. I have an old Subaru from 2011 without any values in it so maybe it's not worth worrying about?

I moved to Canada at the end of April 2025.

I received a couple of UK payslips in the 25/26 tax year before moving to Canada. I paid £1057.14 of tax on £5269.23 of income.

I also rented out a property in the UK with a profit of £6921 for the 25/26 tax year.

I started full-time employment in Canada on June 16th, earning around $67,000 CAD after Canadian taxes & other deductions.

I am still living in Canada now.

From what I understand, I am tax resident in Canada, not the UK. I think I should be filling in a UK self-assessment with an SA109 as well as filing my taxes with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). I think I need to report my UK employment and property income to the CRA. I know that there is a tax treaty between the two countries, however, I'm unsure of how that changes what I need to file.

I would appreciate any advice!