Microposts

The iOS 27 Beta has been very stable on my iPhone 17. Everything is much snappier and, as widely reported, Siri AI actually works well. Finally.

So much better and a good reminder to not take air quality for granted. I don’t have fond memories of the regular smog days we had when I was a kid.

The air quality index in Canada is 3, indicating low health risk and an improvement compared to yesterday at the same time.

🔗 Why has Venus obsessed so many astronomers? | Aeon Essays

I think what’s missing is the obsession, the sense of wonder that made those expeditions feel like cultural events rather than technical exercises. The instruments around me in the gallery made this contrast sharp. The telescopes and clocks of the 18th century were made of warm brass and wood, etched with flourishes and gilded corners that served no functional purpose except to be beautiful. Today’s instruments are made of cold steel and glass, efficient and practical. Perhaps that’s progress, but perhaps it’s also part of what we’ve lost – the sense that science can be an object of beauty in itself, not just a tool for achieving results.

The addition of a watch app in the Finalist beta really elevates the app for me. Having access to essential calendar and task data from my wrist, while leaving the phone tucked away, is very helpful. Of course, I can get that via the default Apple apps. I prefer Finalist’s approach

Finished reading: Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts has an intriguing premise – a voice emanating from a black hole – that didn’t quite pay off for me. The theology of the ending seemed too contrived 📚

🏊‍♂️🚴🏃‍♂️ The Guelph Lake Olympic Triathlon was great fun, though challenging. Big thanks to my daughter for her expert race crewing.

A map displays the route of the Guelph Lake Olympic Triathlon covering 46.43 km in 2 hours and 44 minutes with 2,581 kcal burned, passing through locations like Armstrong Mills and Speedsid, along with the date Sat, Jun 20.A smiling man wearing a black triathlon t-shirt, a finisher medal around his neck, and a cap stands outdoors on a grassy field with cars and trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky.A young woman wearing a green sweatshirt, navy pants, and a cap is standing on a grassy area with several parked cars and trees in the background.

Finished reading: Hostages to Fortune by Peter C Newman really helped me better appreciate the role that the Loyalists had in shaping Canada. Much more extensive than I recall from my history lessons in school 📚

Andrew MacDougall: Lessons from D-Day, 82 years later:

Looking at the past with rose-coloured glasses is usually a waste of time. We’re never going to be the country we were when it served up the “Greatest Generation.” But we do need a renewed sense of nationhood. We need to become a place that can once again pull together to do big things when called upon by the world. Different things, surely, but big just the same. What we shouldn’t be in a rush to do, especially in the face of Trumpian disorder, is to further weaken ourselves, whether by continuing our economic and military stagnation, or carving up the country via referendum.

🚴 Glad to get out for my first proper long ride of the season. The nasty headwind on the way up became a glorious tailwind coming back.

A cycling route covering 90.10 km is overlaid on a map of the Toronto area, showing elevation gain of 532 meters and a duration of 3 hours 27 minutes.

🇨🇦 Gander is an interesting experiment: a “Canada first” social network, built on the AT Protocol. I’m trying out the beta and it works well. As usual, though, the challenge is getting enough people on the network to make it compelling.