Writer, Dabbler In Things
I got a job this past May working at the LCBO — Liquor Control Board of Ontario; the only place you can (legally) get booze in the province, though you can now get wine and beer in certain grocery store chains — which is easily the most intensive public-related retail work I’ve ever done. If … Read more
Wikipedia was established in 2001, the idea being to make an online encyclopedia that anyone could add to and edit as needed to correct. It made sense, in theory: No one is an expert on everything, but there are experts in everything — or even just people who could offer insightful knowledge on any subject … Read more
As I write this, there are digital outages across the country affecting millions of people and a ton of businesses, because Rogers, one of the big three telecom companies in Canada, is down. This means not just that people who have Rogers as a cell phone carrier can’t get online or make calls or send … Read more
I lean left politically. That will mean different things in different countries, so to clarify: As a sweeping generalization and with the understanding that these issues contain nuanced points I’m painting with broad strokes, I care about peoples’ well-being more, and well before, companies’ well-being. This summary should, as a peek into my mentality, be … Read more
Years prior to the pandemic, I had noticed a trend that was slowly but clearly getting worse, and it has ramped up even harder through these Covid years: People appearing to answer questions, but not addressing the main points. I’ve asked around and know I’m not the only one experiencing it. People in different positions, … Read more
In the last number of months I’ve been seeing more people not wearing masks when they’re grocery or furniture shopping. To clarify: Toronto holds the title, good or bad, of being the longest locked-down city in the world. We are still, as of this writing, asked to wear masks when in commercial spaces and even … Read more
Hearing my eleven-year-old on a phone call is equal parts cringe-worthy and hilarious. You’ll note I said “call”. Not a Zoom or FaceTime or text thread, but an old-school phone call, where you dial up someone’s number and only talk to them. Kids–strike that, anyone under 25–ask your parents about what “phone calls” are. It … Read more
I’ve been mulling over what to do for a (more) ethical music streaming service for a while, largely writing about it here after already noodling on it for some time. Sadly, that shot didn’t work out too well. This week Spotify was cast into poor light yet again when podcast powerhouse Joe Rogan, who is … Read more
… a Pixel 5. Not the current flagship Google Android unit, but one generation removed from it. Here’s how the decision happened, in brief:– It was an unlocked unit sold at a steep open box discount (everything included but unused; it literally hadn’t even had the cables or anything else unwrapped) on eBay for $500 … Read more
For several years now, my wife and daughter and I have celebrated Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve. The phrase basically translates to Christmas (Jol – think Yule) book (bok) flood (flod), and is pronounced something like YO-la-BO-kka-fludt. It essentially comes down to giving new books (and perhaps … Read more