George is enjoying this spring weather

A golden retriever lying in undergrowth in front of a fence

A golden retriever lying in undergrowth in front of a fence with a stick in his mouth

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ I don’t have a bike at the in-law’s. So out for another run

A serene riverside landscape is overlaid with outdoor running statistics, including distance, time, and average pace.

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Pool is closed today, so swapped in a long run

A narrow forest trail stretches into the distance under an overcast sky, displaying details of an outdoor running session with metrics for distance, time, and average pace.

Finished reading: Orbital by Samantha Harvey is enthralling. Nothing much happens and yet so much about humanity, science, and our place in the universe is explored πŸ“š

Finished reading: At the Trough: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Corporate Welfare Bums by Laurent Carbonneau is a timely read, given Canada’s challenges πŸ“š

πŸ”— The leader in your mirror by Paul Wells

We put too much burden on our leaders, and it makes them act silly. They shouldn’t be the perfect weapon of our vengeance, or the model of every virtue we admire but never quite get around to practicing. They don’t need to know everything. They can’t possibly get everything right on the first try, and we court trouble when we ask them to pretend they’ve managed the trick.

Riverdale Collegiate Institute. πŸ“

πŸŠβ€β™‚οΈ Night swim

Swimming pool with lane markers and hanging turnaround flags

Finished reading: The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead by Antony Johnston is a delightful murder mystery. Quite the cleanse after reading The Mercy of Gods πŸ“š

Lights On by Annaka Harris is a fascinating “audio documentary” exploring the idea that consciousness is a fundamental building block of the universe, rather than emerging from complexity. Like Harris herself, I find the idea almost too wild and I’m not yet convinced. That said, the topic is fascinating and the documentary is really well done

Just posted on Six Colors: What to watch if you’re churning through Apple TV+

sixcolors.com/post/2025/04/wha

A good list from Jason Snell. And, agreed that Bad Monkey was much better than expected.

Finished reading: The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey is a really promising (though often bleak) start to a new sci-fi series about humans (presumably) overcoming an alien invasion πŸ“š

I’m late to this, but glad to see Milo Beckman is back with the video series on Math Without Numbers

Currently reading: Taking a break from a seven-book streak of non-fiction to read The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey πŸ“š

🚴 After watching the dog slip and slide on the ice in the backyard, decided to swap today’s scheduled run for a Zwift ride

A cyclist is riding through a scenic, mountainous virtual world in a gaming environment, with various performance stats displayed at the top and bottom.

Finished reading: The Future of Us by Jay Ingram is a broad overview of how science and technology is affecting all parts of our lives from food, to transportation, and to health. I’ve read deeper books on the individual topics. This one provides the overview πŸ“š

πŸ“– The latest Sutherland Quarterly book has arrived: At the Trough: The Rise and Rise of Canada’s Corporate Welfare Bums by Laurent Carbonneau. Likely going to be a provocative and frustrating look at government policy

A person is holding a book titled "At the Trough: The Rise and Rise of Canada's Corporate Welfare Bums" by Laurent Carbonneau, featuring artwork of a man falling while holding an umbrella and money bag.

🎢 The Rush 50 release is delightfully epic and much more than a greatest hits collection. Fun to hear their really early stuff again and to revisit later songs that didn’t get enough attention.

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Tried a new route on today’s run

A serene river scene with distant church spires and a fitness app overlay displaying half marathon statistics.

That Severance Season 2 finale is πŸ”₯

πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Boosting our productivity and protecting our sovereignty

Canada is clearly at an inflection point. We neither asked for nor wanted this, but ignoring it and carrying on isn’t a solution. So, what should we do? I’m in favour of a big rethink, via a Royal Commission. Given how long this would take, though, we need to get going on at least investigating options.

Here, then, is my list. Note that I’m absolutely not an expert and I’d get voted out of office immediately if I ever managed to become a politician. So, I provide these in the spirit of contributing to a national conversation. No doubt there are better ideas out there. Let’s pick some and start trying stuff!