Category: general

Libraries are essential digital places too

Libraries provide so many public services, from great books to read to great places to read them. You’d likely be surprised just how much they provide. For example, here’s a list that my library, the Toronto Public Library (TPL), provides. All of that shows just how essential libraries are.

While libraries are great physical places, they are also great digital places. Check out this list to see what I mean. I’m a big user of TPL’s digital services, and I’m not alone is that regard. To see what I mean, check out the Toronto Public Library Dashboard and see in real time what ebooks people are checking out, how many loans happen each day, how many holds happen each day, and more! It’s quite something to see.

P.S. Did you know you that you can donate to the library? Well you can, though the TPL foundation. The link is here.

P.S.S. If you want that T shirt, you can go here. Be sure to pick the right size.

 

Merry Christmas! From me, in 2023!

Merry Christmas to all the smart people I know! I’ve written quite a bit on the topic of Christmas over the years, as you can see if you follow that link. As a small present, so to speak, I’ve pulled out some of my best Christmas links and put them below:

What I am reading about lately, from Naomi Klein to Jenny Odell

Here’s a dozen good pieces I’ve read lately that I would recommend for your Sunday — or any day — reading:

  1. Naomi Klein has some new world problems: Naomi Klein deals with her doppelganger.
  2. Meanwhile, the UK is dealing with some old world problems: on the Finucane assassination in Northern Ireland.
  3. How we think about the serial killer Lucy Letby shows how she could get away with it. Hard but insightful.
  4. On a lighter note, I liked this piece on how 90s tech culture was a jumbled mess.
  5. An argument to consider: we should return to the bold egalitarianism of Iris Murdoch.
  6. Some meaty food for thought: what can we learn from John Rawls’s critique of capitalism.
  7. A good piece by Kevin Kruse on Carter and Reagan: confidence men.
  8. For fans of stoicism:  the glass is already broken.
  9. My friend Norbert with another good post on repairability, here.
  10. Science explains how we lose interest in something. Different than we think.
  11. This interview with Jenny Odell talking about time is great.
  12. I am somewhat of a fan of Horseshoe_theory, but not everyone is, I know.

Bernie’s Rule of Business Predictions and Time Frames

There are generally four time frames used when business people are making predictions:

  • in a year
  • next 1-2 years
  • next 3-5 years
  • next 5-10 years

If you see a business person making such a prediction, this is what they mean:

  • in a year: the prediction will happen
  • next 1-2 years: the prediction should happen
  • next 3-5 years: the prediction could happen, but not soon
  • next 5-10 years: they have no idea!

For any business prediction, the time frame determines the probability. If they say in a year, they either are doing it themselves or someone they know is. If it is 1-2 years, it won’t happen this year, but someone is working on it. If they say 3-5 years, then it’s likely not in progress, but there is talk of working on it.

The only prediction that is useless is 5-10 years. If someone says 5-10 years, they are saying something like “I don’t want to say it will NEVER happen, but it is not even close to coming to fruition, so I will predict 5-10 because who is even going to come back and ask me about it in a decade from now?” 🙂

Something to bear in mind the next time you hear a business prediction.

On ageism: or is 80 is the new 60?


There’s been much focus on aging in Canada recently after the firing of Lisa LaFlamme as a CTV news anchor for what many believe were ageist reasons.

There’s also been focus on aging in the U.S., due to President Job Biden creeping up on his 80th. Like Biden, many people approaching 80 are still keen to continue. For example, here’s Steve Martin on His Late Career Surge and Contemplating Retirement. Note, he is contemplating it, not deciding it. I suspect we will see more of Steve as he hits that next decade.

Not too long ago, it was felt you should retire once when you got past 60.Many didn’t live into their seventies. Now with life expectancy getting into the 80s, people are asking: Is 80 the new 60? It could be.

Finally, this was a good piece on how one man set out to make up for his failure to do well at math as he approached his sixties: Aging and math. 

Seven links on Indigenous people within Canada


I continue to read and collect stories on Indigenous people within Canada. I think these ones are worth sharing.

Here is a piece on the search for the unmarked graves of Indigenous Children published in the New York Times in October. Relatedly, here is another piece: Genocide In My Own Backyard.

Reconciliation and drinking water are also two things I try and gain a better understanding of. This lead me to this piece,  A 2020 Status Update on Reconciliation,  and this Canada to Pay Billions to Indigenous Groups for Tainted Drinking Water

I thought this was a good development for Mi’kmaw students, being provided by my employer: IBM opens school for Mi’kmaw students in Cape Breton . Likewise, I enjoyed this: Indigenous artists featured at a recent Toronto art fair. Back to tech, I thought this was fascinating:
How AI and immersive technology are being used to revitalize Indigenous language preservation.

What I find interesting in general, June, 2021

Often I find links that are interesting but I don’t know what to do with. Here are some for this month.

Art related links: If you draw and are running out of ideas, try this,  Random Art Prompt Generator. I was interested in printmaking lately. Here are some links to various sites on it:

I was using this site make photos into stencils, which I could then use on other art projects…it’s good: Free Picture Stencil Maker. Robert Frank is a great photographer. Here’s a good story on how Robert Frank’s vision influenced and inspired Generations Of Photographers. Back to earth, here is Flashery,  a photo box for people serious about their home photos.

Work, economics and capitalism: I found these interesting:

Working for yourself?  How many fans do you need to be successful. Here are two views on that: The Technium: 1,000 True Fans and 1,000 True Fans? Try 100

Climate Change:  We’ve all been very focused on the pandemic. But climate change has not gone away. Here’s two pieces on it: The business as usual climate scenario may be too pessimistic, researchers warn – The Washington Post and Let’s abandon climate targets, and do something completely different | George Monbiot | The Guardian

Random:  I love motorcycles as an object, and Uncrate has some cool ones, like this Volcon Runt Kid’s Motorcycle. If you are painting your house and can’t pick from thousands of colours, perhaps this list of 50 will help you narrow it down:
50 Most Popular Sherwin-Williams Paint Colors. This was a delightful story on how professors are hanging on to chalk! Where Theory Meets Chalk, Dust Flies

If you are interested in statistical distributions other than the Bell curve/normal distribution, check out 3 interesting Statistic Distribution and
Power Law and Power Law Distribution.

Thank you for reading this far. I don’t know if anyone reads most of my posts, but I keep at it regardless.

(Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash)

 

Categories: food
Tags, general