Cat! In a box!

Preparing to watch the series finale of “And Just Like That…” with no sense of joy, but solely a grim determination to finish something I started.

In my most recent University Affairs column, I share strategies to help students retain knowledge in their post-secondary classes. Academic colleagues, please take a look and share with your networks! #academicsky #academia #teaching #highered #pse universityaffairs.ca/career-advic...

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/o... #academicsky #highered

“Every summer one child is selected from each of the other 9 provinces to be delivered as a sacrifice to the Petroleum Gods.”

Sorry, not sorry. #cdnpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Sales of U.S. spirits in Canada fell by 66.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to industry Data. globalnews.ca/news/1129832...

“graduates in computer science, computer engineering and graphic design all have unemployment rates at 7% or greater; young workers who hold a number of much-maligned humanities degrees—including English, history and philosophy—are all more hirable.” #academicsky

Doing a little 5K-to-couch training this weekend. (That’s where you run 5K in the morning and then sit on the couch exhausted for the rest of the day.)

Backyard bounty. #Saskatoon #yxe

since the new year, I've been doing a lot of thinking about values, and how they show up for me at work. Loleen is a great coach, and I appreciate the resources she's shared with us here. I'm going to work in more values work into my teaching next year, esp as a countermeasure to AI tools abuse.

Hear me out: we buy a bunch of fentanyl, hire some actors to try to move it across the border, Carney leads a team on horseback that intercepts it. Get it all on camera, leak it to Fox. (It’s as good a plan as any other at this point).

I have found that having clarity on my core values is incredibly helpful. My latest Academia Made Easier newsletter shares a simple process for identifying core values. #academia #academicsky open.substack.com/pub/loleen/p...

Artist: @igdoods.bsky.social

What a difference 6 months makes. In honour of the summer #solstice (8:42 pm tonight in Saskatoon), here’s a comparison of Dec 20 (sunrise 9:12am, set 4:56pm) and June 20 (sunrise 4:45am, set 9:31pm). Both pics at 8:30am. Happy #Solstice! #GoodMorningFromSaskatoon

Smoky day in Saskatoon. 😢

Do you waste too much time in meetings? In my latest Academia Made Easier, I discuss how defining the purpose of meetings can improve the quality and reduce the number of meetings in our calendars. Please read and share with your networks! #academia #academicsky open.substack.com/pub/loleen/p...

My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy. Details found here👇 www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...

Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it's largely caused by climate change. #SKwx #SKfires www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weat...

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Replacing student writing with AI risks replacing student *thinking* with AI. In this piece, I share ideas to use writing activities to support students' thinking skills development. #academia #highered #teaching universityaffairs.ca/career-advic...

A transformational $10 million donation from Cameco to #USask will bring new opportunities to students, serve Indigenous and northern communities, support the province’s growing energy and mining sector and impact global research.  Read more: news.usask.ca/articles/gen...

As measles continue to spread through Alberta and Ontario, this is a timely reminder on what vaccines can do. It's a beautiful video - both if you're interested in vaccines and if you're interested in data viz. youtu.be/ybVZ7vluYhQ

Storm and her new toy. ❤️

Updated #UCPayToPlay scandal-in-a-tweet: Premier Smith's former chief of staff allegedly pressured health officials to cut half a billion dollars in contracts to a businessman whose sister was his landlord and who bought them all luxury NHL tickets. And they fired the person ready to reveal it.

Provincial governments are spending, just not on higher education.

Change in overall provincial government spending vs. total provincial government spending on post-secondary education, Canada, 2006-07 to 2025-26 (2006-07 = 100). It's not austerity, it's the choices.

It's like they couldn't decide which dystopian novel they liked best, so they decided to do them all.

Are you searching for a postdoc in Saskatchewan? I have a 1-year opportunity (with possible extension), effective immediately! This opportunity is a Mitacs Elevate with the Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange! Reach out if you're interested! 🐦🔥

youtu.be/RqZeKdo04pc?... What's national unity like in the aftermath of the Canadian federal election? Listen in on this discussion among me, @loleenberdahl.bsky.social, and @cbreton.bsky.social from @irpp.org.

One of the largest birds in North America, the white pelican has a wingspan of up to 3 metres. They fish in teams, and are often accompanied by cormorant "entourage". I just LOVE having them here in town all summer (2/3) #birds

Scott Moe releases list of 10 changes Ottawa 'must make' to reset relationship with Sask. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/t...

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For many in the arts, humanities and social sciences in the relatively small world of Canadian academia, this is an earthquake: cha-shc.ca/announcement...

Truly—I still can't believe Cleveland took the statue with him for his personal use when he left office.

Thanks to Rachel Loewen Walker for this important column on why EDI training makes @usask.bsky.social a better, more inclusive community.

#USask researcher Dr. Chris Phenix has spent years developing new nuclear-imaging tracers to study how malfunctioning enzymes in the brain can contribute to diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. His efforts are gaining momentum around the world: news.usask.ca/articles/res...

I made a map of ridings represented by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet members (ministers and secretaries of state included). I created it quickly over on @canadianpolling.bsky.social‘s excellent map page, so I hope all the ridings are correct.

If the open sniping on X is any indication, the Alberta separatist movement appears stalled in the "storming" phase. Far right movements are prone to this sort of internescine conflict, given the distrust for authority and penchant for strongman politics.

"Not all autistic people will redesign physics. They don’t need to. Their worth isn’t tied to invention, it’s intrinsic. Autism doesn’t erase potential. It reshapes it. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s nonlinear. Always, it’s human."

This is beautiful. “She’s not yours to pity. She’s mine to marvel at. She is herself, entirely. That is not a flaw. It’s a form of resistance.” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... Angus Reid showed that 65% of UCP supporters want independence. But Rath says "Perhaps when Danielle wakes up and realizes that her base is almost unanimous behind the idea of Alberta independence, she might have to get a different idea on the timing."

Evening plans: Rainbow Kitten Surprise tour opening concert!

I'll be joining @ianhanomansing.bsky.social on Cross-Country Check-up at 2:45pm MT to discuss Alberta separatism. Got something to say? It's a call-in show. www.cbc.ca/radio/checku...

Let's imagine a world where Mark Carney (or even Justin Trudeau circa 2015) comes to power and grants every oil and gas wish that circulates in the Western conservative mindset these days. Does this mitigate feelings of Western alienation amongst the Conservative base?