So I’m only 2.5 weeks into this test but I’m fast coming to the conclusion that podcasts (and the feeds of podcasters) are a farrr bigger contributor to brain rot than most anything else (Twitter being a huge exception). I still limit my politics exposure on Bluesky. But…

I love really weird transit commercials. Most of the best ones are from the 80s or 90s but this one is just a year old and immediately became part of my top 10. The music is way better than it should be while the visuals are just a mess and completely out of synch with the overall vibe. It’s perfect

I knew Tesla was going to slide but honestly falling to sixth is absolutely amazing! And that isn’t even the lowest they can go… It was always inevitable that Tesla would lose its oversized market share at some point. But I’m happy to see that spite and anger are making it happen at a rapid pace

“Yeah, we’ll my plane leaves in less than one minute”

Regardless of what I tho k of the Alto plan (I don’t think highly of it) we still need to invest in the kind of industrial capacity that will allow us to do modernized and high speed infrastructure domestically. If we don’t it’s going to turn into a California HSR level disaster.

Notice, if you will, that Charlie Brown’s elbows are up, in the air as he flips, about to land on his back one more time.

For no particular reason today, let’s review this classic “Peanuts” scene in which Lucy promises to hold the football for Charlie Brown to kick, only to take it away at the last second.

One important detail from the article. This isn’t VIA having a change of heart. This pause is because of operational issues with CN. They still fully intend to go through with it. Theres a strong chance they will reannounce this in a few months, but quieter, so they can try to avoid another backlash

So clearing my timeline from politics has proved difficult because everything is politics these days. But cleaning it up still made it better (though I only see 20% of the posts I used too) On the other hand no longer listening to political podcasts has been a huge success. Everyone should do this

Morning walk

Still have my fingers crossed for a Jays vs Brewers World Series. It just feels like that would be a matchup with fantastic vibes.

I just booked a VIA ticket for the first time in 5 years (maybe even closer to 6 years) and almost immediately I felt like I was going to regret it. It costs more than twice as much as my usual driving-GO train combo and even booking 2 months in advance wasnt enough time to get the cheapest rates.

Canada Post is uniquely positioned to be the vector for both high speed rail, and taking couriered delivery service out of the hands of companies like Amazon. But instead the capitalist cowards in charge are cutting it and screwing us all.

Good. This is the correct response. Solidarity with the postal workers.

Vertical videos are bullshit. RetVrn to horizontal videos

The Bluesky timeline is wild today. This is a 4/10 wild post relative to most of what I’m seeing (and I genuinely have no clue what is going on here). I’m still going to log out. But never change Bluesky.

in Greenland, the government owns a bunch of businesses--a fishing company that is the largest single employer, a shipping company, a ferry company, several retail and logistics companies, etc, and it all works pretty well?? I traveled there to investigate: prospect.org/world/2025-0...

So the decision to ban Kneecap from Canada doesn’t seem to have been done in accordance with any formal procedure but was just a decision that Carney and Gasparro made on the fly and thought made for a good post on the socials? www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

This looks amazing. I know what I’m watching this evening

Disney adults canceling subscriptions, vacations, etc really are making the Harry Potter adults that threw a fit over a $60 video game look like huge bitches

A lot of people are (rightfully) dunking on the CPC for having that many pro-Trump people. But the anti-Trump faction still has a 10 point lead over them & if that group gains just 5 more points that would dramatically swing the favour more towards the Tory side of the party (and that would be good)

A lot of people are surprised by this. But if youve watched Jenny Nicholsons 4 hour video essay on The Star Wars Hotel you wouldve seen the cracks forming in the facade of the most ardent Disney loyalists a year ago. Disneys stranglehold over culture isnt what it used to be. They could be in trouble

The reality is many countries choose different paths when faced with a crisis. Look at how western countries react when they have mass shooting events vs the US. Or responses to 2008. Or crypto. Or…. Canada, Aus, the EU etc are free to target increasingly fascist US social media & digital platforms

I’d reply to Taylor directly but she has quote posts turned off lol When banks invent new ways to do crime and fraud, you regulate them so they can’t. When cars became extremely dangerous seatbelts and airbags were mandated. So what do you do when social media has become a fascism machine?

This is a great article. And this line in particular hit the spot… “Yes, restricting car access can work, but only if the alternatives are better or at least equal to the convenience of driving. If not, you’re just forcing people into a choice they resent, “

If you follow my account for more than a week you know I’m a strong proponent of boycotts. And that extends to digital products and policies. Let’s be honest, boycotting US tech is many fold more difficult than boycotting The Gap or American cheese. But it’s something we need to figure out quickly

If the US wants to send its society down the drain by defending the right of its tech oligarchs to seed right-wing propaganda and harm society through its irresponsible governance of its platforms, that’s not my call. But beyond its borders, we don’t have to let this madness continue.

My MacBook looks like it’s on its last legs and I think I’m ready to make my next laptop a Linux unit. I know there is going to be a steep learning curve to it. But at least for now I’m kind of done with Apple, Microsoft, etc and looking to see how the alternative would work for a computer normie

I am not skeptical of boycotts. They work. Businesses literally live or die based on how much money they get. The more people realize just how fragile the existence of companies are if people suddenly turn their back on them (you know…for reasons) the better.

just a small portion of what people spend on giant corporations like Disney would change the average indie author/artist/musician/etc.'s life this is why I ask you all to spend money supporting those of us who create outside the system and work to give voice to the things corporate America won't

The longer these boycotts/shifting trade to new countries goes on the more it helps build domestic support for artists, businesses, etc, which strengthens Canadian industries making it easier to pull further away from the US Keep this up for another 3 years & Canada-US trade looks *very* different

Hey @markgerretsen.bsky.social Maybe its time to pair up with your provincial counterparts in the region and start advocating for modernized GO service to be extended to Kingston (and give service back to places like Napanee). If VIA isnt going to invest in Kingston anymore its time for alternatives

In better news, Edmonton does something good and stands up for bike lanes.

From the start my biggest concern with HFR (and now Alto) has been that it would amplify a growing attitude that towns and small cities mean fuck all when it comes to the future of intercity passenger rail. Since the pandemic that seems to be what they are doing, already.

The future urbanists want

14 cyclists through an intersection in the same time it takes 4 cars to go through. Over 3x the throughput in half the space. 📍Bloor & Walmer, Toronto

I’m not going to say the plan for the Kanata golf course is perfect. It will have 1400 homes including some apartments but ideally it would be denser and include a lot more plexes. But at the same time it’s still a 3000 person infill in suburbia and a victory against NIMBYs so that’s still something

Fairly recently Kingston, Ontario announced that it’s moving forward with a rebuild of Princess St from Division to Albert (just above the downtown area). It will include better sidewalks, and bike lanes, though the exact details haven’t been finalized yet.

There was a brief period of time when VIA Rail ran a few buses (mostly to get people from Ottawa station to downtown and Hull). This is the first photo I’ve seen of them and I have to say, they look better than all the trains from that era (except for the LRC which still remains a banger)

One day in and it turns out this is really hard lol. My daily timeline already has 75% less posts as I mute words and some accounts. Pretty sure if I wiped politics completely from my timeline I’d end up with maybe 7 posts a day. On the flip side finding alternatives to podcasts is very easy

So I’d kind of known that EPCOT was originally planned to be a real city. But this mini-documentary about the original vision for EPCOT is really fascinating. For urbanists it’ll probably be surprising how much of a role advanced transit played in it. Was it good? No. But it’s still fascinating

Coral Reef - National Park Poster by Charley Harper, 1979 image via Charley Harper studio. Discover more design history by subscribing to my newsletter designreviewed.com/newsletter/

New challenge. I’m going to see if I can go a month without talking about, reposting, or engaging with, political discourse on this site. And no political podcasts for that time either. News websites are okay.

Earlier today I made a comment that any transit that isn’t a bus, tram or regional rail should be a Skytrain (whether it’s elevated, on the ground or in a tunnel). I would just like to say I’m doubling down on that statement. Long live the transit perfection known as Skytrain.

It really is a shame some of these couldn’t be saved and integrated into the new development. Maybe they aren’t the strongest piece of architecture. But they were homes to a lot of people and a part of working class history in Toronto. They deserve better.

I’m at the point where anyone posting about Russian disinformation or bot campaigns who isn’t an expert is getting insta-blocked. Same is true of anyone who posts “it’s a distraction” Yes the world is a mess & its all very complicated at times. But if that’s where you’re at log off and touch grass

For those who didn't catch it, Montreal's new Blue Line extension honours some very deserving from the city's history--including definitely my new favourite metro station name! #montreal

This post, albeit short, says so soooo much about the current state of the US & the far-right, fascist movements globally Rachel is a real one. If people stood up against fascism, injustice, and elements eroding our society with even 1/5 the courage she has it would create one hell of a resistance

The one thing I will say is that yes, left to his own devices we know what Carney will do. But the LPC are still a minority government. And they don’t want to lose the next election. It’s still early enough that there can be public pushback. And they can’t afford to lose to soc dem supporters…

This is the first positive development in Ontario politics in a while. Crombie should have resigned on election night. But at least she is gone now. Of course the OLP now need to get some strong candidates and find a leader who won’t crash and burn like the last two.