Our cottage neighbours, on whose property this stands, think it's funny as hell. I think it belongs on the cover of a @stephenking.bsky.social novel. #creepy

Got some book-loving friends here from Denmark and giving them my standard rant about my love of @johnvaillant.bsky.social's work - are any of them available in Danish, do you know?

5+ years into Stage IV colorectal cancer, I still get, "but you don't look like you have cancer!". I continue to assert that cancer is not so much a battle as a grind, not something you fight but something you endure. Thank you, @briannaabbott.bsky.social / @wsj.com. www.wsj.com/health/termi...

"A confident, precise prior that is contradicted by precise information from the world should result in a radically changed posterior probability" - @tomchivers.bsky.social, "Everything is Predictable" One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.

If you're in the Ottawa area tomorrow and looking for musical Canada Day festivities, I'm playing with Rothwell & Moffatt at Gemmill Park in Almonte. We're on from 4:30 - 5:15, but plan to arrive earlier and stay later to hear the other amazing acts, too. www.mississippimills.ca/explore-and-...

The view from my workspace last evening. Some jobs are worth commuting to.

I met @damedenisemina.bsky.social once and as I recall she didn't look anything like Raymond Chandler. It turns out, however, that she can absolutely write like he did. Loving "The Second Murderer", thanks for writing it.

Brian Wilson RIP. Few human minds have held as much talent, or put it to such joyous use. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt0...

"We're all different. Every day. That's the point." - @gregghurwitzbooks.bsky.social, "The Last Orphan"

I suspect that if this snow person had elbows, they would be up. 🇨🇦 #ElbowsUp

"[T]he problem with people who think they're above the basics is they're the ones who get the basics wrong" - @brookmyre.bsky.social, "The Cracked Mirror" Stellar book so far, thanks for writing it.

Delighted to have Vera, Chuck, and Dave dropping by today, especially given that four years ago the odds of that visit happening were microscopic.

Travelling around my riding of Nepean this week I've seen signs for the Conservative candidate everywhere, but so far only one for @mark-carney.bsky.social. What's up with that, @liberalca.bsky.social?

"Karla's Choice" was a delightful opportunity to spend a few evenings rediscovering George Smiley and my all-time favourite literary world, something I'd not expected to experience again. Thank you, @harkaway.bsky.social, for this exceptional book - it felt like returning home after a long absence.

How cool is finding a Rush reference in the funnies?

Happy Pi Day!

It was a pleasure and an honour to join Gene, River, and Cassie at January's Ottawa Bike Minds event to talk about how we've all used cycling to help us overcome obstacles in our lives. bikeminds.ca/2025/01/28/o...

"Get your mind off wintertime, you ain't goin' nowhere" #ThanksBob

I know you're not supposed to play favourites with your kids, but the one who gave us a year of Disney+ for Christmas just might have moved up a notch in the will the moment I discovered that I can now watch @karinslaughter.com's "Will Trent". 😉

Yet another perfect day on Ottawa's Rideau Canal Skateway.

Almost finished @andrewrsorkin.bsky.social's "Too Big To Fail", about the 2008 financial crisis. Enjoying it, but I'm realizing that I have very little understanding of finance and financial markets. Can anyone here recommend one or more layperson-level books that will enlighten me in this space?

At least the sun was shining... #skiday #brr

I'll never forget hearing "Broken English" for the first time at 18, that voice like she'd been gargling with broken glass sending a chill down my spine. Still one of my favourite albums. Such a tremendous talent.

The original plan was to hit the ski hill this morning but that's not going to happen... 🥶

Such a treat to see this again, for the first time in almost three years.

It's open!

One of the upsides of a -27 degree windchill is that the lift lines at the ski hill are nice and short. 🥶

I love this.

Anyone know where I can buy a lump of coal to put in the stocking of the person who chose this year's Christmas jigsaw puzzle?

When my cousin moved to Mexico she said, "now you can come visit, get away from the winter". Today, up on the ski hill for the first time this season with half a dozen friends, I thought, as I've thought so many times since then, "why would anyone in their right mind want to get away from *this*?".

I don't use Spotify very often; in fact, it appears, only when my Multiple Personality Disorder is at its most intense. 😵‍💫

Such a treat to skate outdoors again!

That's my Friday evening plans set. Maybe it's because I'm a bassist, but I've generally been more interested in the stories of the guys at the back of the stage than the ones in the spotlight and on the covers of magazines. www.docnyc.net/film/billy-p...

Delighted to see @johnvaillant.bsky.social here! Nobody tells a true story better than this guy - check out his "The Golden Spruce", "The Tiger", and "Fireweather" for proof of that. Now I can finally leave that other platform... 😉

Yes!

That's the Christmas baking done.

"How to ACTUALLY Make America Healthy Again", compliments of @stevemagness.bsky.social and @bradstulberg.bsky.social. Grateful to have the Growth Equation around to help us keep it real over the coming four years of madness. I definitely recommend their newsletter! thegrowtheq.com/how-to-actua...

Barring some meteorological miracle, that's my cycling season done. Glorious day for my last ride of the year, not a cloud in the sky and unseasonably warm. Looking forward to March already. Now bring on the snow, will ya? ⛷️

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." - H.L. Mencken

One of the highlights of our cottage season - the Lyndhurst Turkey Fair!

Inga & I met in the summer of 1974 on my uncle's orchard in southern British Columbia. She was a 23-yo agricultural exchange student from Denmark and I was 13, with nothing better to do with my summer. Today she, her husband & I hiked up one side of the Mont-Tremblant ski hill and down the other.

And still friends and family in British Columbia keep asking when I'm going to move back "home", because it's so beautiful there.

This is the closest I've come to getting stuck in morning commuter traffic since I retired.

I can't imagine a better way to spend a Tuesday evening than singing "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" with Steve Earle and a few hundred of his closest friends. Amazing show.

If you're looking for something to do in the Ottawa area next Saturday night, July 13, I'll be playing bass with Rothwell & Moffatt at the Cheshire Cat out in Carp from 8 - 10 pm. Would love to see you there!

Always a tough decision for me - do I stick rusty needles into my eyeballs, or do I go shopping at IKEA?

I managed to watch the entire debate last night, and the only conclusion I could come to is that that country is in for a whole world of hurt.

You ever finish the last book in a series and feel like you've lost a friend?

My favourite seven words in the English language, in this exact order: "No evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease." 👍

Daniel Kahneman, RIP. Thanks for helping me learn how to think.