Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

The separatists are angry with Smith and cabinet ministers are resigning: it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing if the United Conservative Party gets a little less united in the lead up to the next election… Maybe the fissures widen and it all falls apart and circles the drain with the party’s […]

There will not be regular #yegbike commute reports until June. We will be camping in Miquelon Lake for the week, hopefully catching bird migration season. Pictured is some of the food we are packing along, one of my favourite aspects of #bikepacking - eating […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Coming next in Alberta: “EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced a Fall referendum on the general notion of referendums, including what they are, what if any questions they could ask, and why Alberta Separatists are right about everything”… Courtesy of the Beaverton […]

The astronomy cloud computing system is down. Again. (It is down a lot, but I don't use it that often lately. Otherwise I would complain a lot more) Always makes me so sad that there's just buttloads of money being dumped into AI data centers so people can make awful slop no one wants, but the […]

A pyramid of ceramic test tiles showing the various tones I get from some of the different #WildClay samples I've collected. The pots I decorate with these clays are called my Earth Tone series. I began working this way in 2024. The iron red tiles along the […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Just a reminder to everyone… just because the strike was ended and school has been in session for the rest of the year does *not* mean that our teachers are ok. It will be a long time before our schools and teachers are ok. #abpoli #ableg #teachers #school #notwithstanding

YOU GUYS!! We live on a planet where the perfect combination of chemistry, atmospheric temperature and pressure, and geometry means that this ridiculously beautiful thing just HAPPENS sometimes!!! Earth is so damn neat! We have the best planet!

“If a man has an apartment stacked to the ceiling with newspapers, we call him crazy. If a woman has a trailer house full of cats, we call her nuts. But when people pathologically hoard so much cash that they impoverish the entire nation, we put them on the cover of Fortune magazine and pretend […]

It's insane how we spend thousands to vacation in walkable cities, and lovingly arrange quaint, pedestrian-friendly holiday village displays in our living rooms at Christmas, only to zone our actual neighborhoods for nothing but asphalt and garage doors.

I didn't manage to stay up until full astronomical darkness last night (which starts about midnight and is very short) but hey, there WERE auroras! And a shit-ton of bright satellites. As always. But the stars are still there, looking beautiful, behind the […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Halfway there! I'm making a #solarpunk comedy film, about a fight over chicken. It's set in a future with no central governments, or military, and no capitalism. Rather, ordinary people run their own country and support each other to survive the climate crisis. We shoot in two weeks, and I'm on […]

I drifted groggily awake listening to the faint drip-drip of rain from the eaves, hauled myself out of bed and meandered to the kitchen. Out the window was a beautiful crisp sunny day that snapped me fully awake and turned the fog in my head to dread. A glance at […] [Original post on beige.party]

The goats are annoyed that their nice new green grass has disappeared. The dogs are happy, they love snow. The chickens are on strike and refusing to come out.

Just saw what I think was a Swainson’s hawk in our yard! (Wish I had been quick enough to grab a photo) A couple weeks ago, a hawk nabbed a meadow vole just 10m away from us at our fence and today one swooped over the house and perched on our crabapple to get a better grip on whatever was in […]

#abpoli #cdnpoli #ableg

Gig workers are not treated fairly in Ontario. I've put forward a motion to support a Gig Workers Bill of Rights to bring them the same benefits and protections all workers enjoy. Contact your MPP and let them know you support the Gig Workers Bill of Rights today.

So I’m puzzled by a quirk since I changed instances… I find my self limited to just 500 characters when I use my usual app (the ancient and no longer supported Metatext, I’m a creature of habit 🤷‍♂️) even though my instance offers 10,000 through the web IU. When my old instance increased char […]

#mamdani #democraticsocialist #berniesanders #voteblue

tiny bus stop bunny 🐰 #rabbits #publictransit #nanaimo

Sadly, I’m not at all surprised at this, since it was unlikely that Alberta’s awful Premier would let Ontario’s awful premier hold the title for “leader most likely to endanger people, make traffic congestion worse, & hurt the success of cities, all to score dumb ideological points with their base.”

From @sjamieit.bsky.social: The City of Ottawa posted the raw speed data from before and after Doug Ford banned speed cameras and the effect is so obvious it's not even necessary put a line marking when that happened. This chart shows the percentage of drivers […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Calling protected bike-lanes “vanity projects” should be automatic evidence that a political candidate has no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to public safety, urban mobility and congestion, geometry and urban space, fiscal responsibility, or the successful positioning of cities.

“She knows it is not possible for her leaf to be delivered any more swiftly to the mandibles of her sisters. Peak joy.” I could not deny it, for all that the ants were identical. The ant did seem to lift her tiny legs just a little bit higher. She was at the center of some rarely glimpsed but […]

A Short Story Inspired by Recent Conversations “Important Work” “We are archivists,” the alien explained, “we travel from solar system to solar system searching for events worthy of recording to add to our library.” “I am responsible for archives of moments of great happiness.” The alien […]

Count the cars. Count the people. Why is Yonge St still not pedestrianized? At least the section south of College. #Toronto #Urbanism

Interview 2 went much better (which is good, Saskatoon is where it's most likely that pieces would be found, if there are any pieces) and I remembered to say the email address I want people to send possible space junk finds to! AND I got a better camera setup and actually brushed my hair. But […]

⚠️ HANTAVIRUS UPDATE: WHO changed its classification of high-risk contact to include EVERYONE on board the ship. Previously, it was limited to those with known “prolonged close contact” with an infected person. Additionally, more people from the ship have become symptomatic and/or tested positive.

The announcement of a new Governor General leaves me we a few thoughts about GG Mary Simon How is it possible that it’s been five years since she was appointed? Her appointment with all its firsts was a good and important step for Canada. I hope we can continue to create space for indigenous […]

I am einnjoying a backyard serenade from our local robin

You've been visited by the giant alleyway gull

Interesting how in the age of decriminalization or legalization of weed, people still can’t get their heads out of the old “war on drugs” binary narratives. Just as “criminal” does not always mean bad, likewise “not criminal” does not mean good, it doesn’t even mean harmless or innocuous. Add a […]

A new study in The Lancet shows that the rate of fake citations increased more than 12x between Feb 2023 and Feb 2026. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00603-3/fulltext #ai #citations #hallucinations

Rumours that the UCP will invoke the notwithstanding clause … over bike lanes. I hope it’s clear now to everyone that to the UCP the notwithstanding clause is their “I get what I want anyway” magic wand and that this means we no longer live in a functioning constitutional democracy. #abpoli #ableg

I must have walked past these tiles hundreds of times at South Station and never noticed this. In my defense it’s very low and behind a railing. There is no placard or anything explaining what it is. #boston #mbta

First #ambridgerose of the season, a #davidaustin hybrid. #Bloomscrolling #roses

#jengerson: "Smith needs to tell the separatists that if they want to force a secession vote on the province, they need to start a party, stand up their own candidates, and win in a general election -- exactly as the PQ did. The data breach scandal gives her all the cover she needs." […]

I would like to submit that giant woodpeckers would be much more terrifying than giant ants. They can fly and would find pulling people out of building to eat very similar to searching for grubs. Really a giant ant eater in the real terror.

Story Set Up: One day you get a strange envelope in the mail. No obvious significance of the return address, it's just a shipping depot. In the large bubble envelope you find... your childhood journal. An old tattered notebook full of drawings and writings you remember well. Who could have sent […]

Sometimes I think Saskatchewan might be another planet from anywhere else I've lived. There are several large lakes that get thick layers of ice on top and are heavily used for ice fishing (with big trucks driving on the ice, to give you an idea of how thick […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Listen to the cool sound it makes when it breaks!

RE: https://union.place/@tim/116426691453325273 SW-ISAC Alert The Pro-Russian botnet is now using account invites to evade various mitigations in place. Please review your invite codes, and who's allowed to use them. ref: https://about.iftas.org/library/suspected-portal-kombat-accounts/

Let's talk about airplanes and flying with some polls. Air travel can open whole new possibilities and allow people to learn about the world. It can connect far flung families. It's also terrible for the environment and expensive. The super wealthy use private jets increasing the impact of […]

Remember in 2019 when the UCP eliminated the position of the independent Election Commissioner while he was in the middle of investigating the UCP for breaking election laws? Remember that the UCP continued to change election laws in unpredictable ways since? Remember the disastrous municipal […]

Micro Fiction: Quicksilver As a child I thought that the Quicksilver Runners wore their silver suits out of some sense of fashion, but once you get out here in the desert, you quickly realize that nothing is done for such impractical reasons. The quicksilver suits were cooling. They could save […]

«Everyone has their own way of solving problems»

"Everyone always thinks that their political opponents are doing 1984" with the implicit accusation that comparisons are meaningless pabulum. But, to dismiss such parallels simply because "the other side does it too" means that you need only accuse your opponents of everything that you are […]