We’re back. This time for provincial championships. So many amazing swimmers!
Microposts
Days like today, I wouldn’t mind being like George for a few minutes: unaware and content
Finished reading: Waves in an Impossible Sea by Matt Strassler is a fascinating, comprehensive, and clear book about field theory in physics. I’ve read a few books on this topic and this is the best one. If you’re curious about particle physics and want to avoid math, you’ll like this one 📚
🖖 Finished the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Lots of fun, though you need to be at least a moderate Trekkie to get most of the jokes
This is important!I already boosted this, but I want to add more emphasis. I think every Canadian citizen of the Fediverse ought to sign this petition to get the Government of Canada off Xitter: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-5359
Could anyone who has any Canadian followers please boost or just re-post it yourself? This matters.
🏊♂️ Rare treat of having a lane to myself on today’s swim
🇨🇦 Regardless of if any of the proposals are adopted (though I think several should be carefully considered), I’m glad to see Build Canada is offering bold ideas. We need more of this, especially these days
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 →
At the pool for high school city championships. Lots of excitement!
❄️ Running out of room for the snow
🏃♂️ Sidewalks were mostly clear on today’s recovery run
Added new screen to manage your muted users, keywords, and blocks.
A nice addition to make it easier to quiet down the timeline, especially these days. Good to see this synchronizes across to Greg Morris' micro.social app too.
🔗 Matt Gurney: I hereby propose the Ice Bucket Challenge for National Survival
The premiers can and must break the stifling complacency that is such a hallmark of modern Canadian politics and use the power of social media, and simple shame, to get the ball rolling. To do something. And then do another thing, and another thing, and another thing.
Bad day for a broken shovel ❄️
Finished reading: Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern is a lot of fun 📚
George had a busy day
🏃♂️ Winter wonderland on today’s run. Slippery and uneven conditions helped keep the easy pace on target while adding in extra ankle and calf work.
🎵 We Didn’t Know We Were Ready by Ólafur Arnalds is a lovely song
🎵 Afterlife - Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory is setting the right mood for me today
I found a great place to deposit my $200 bribe. I’d like the money to go somewhere helpful and to counter some of the nasty rhetoric and actions around LGBTQ issues 🏳️🌈
Finished reading: If you like creepy, weird books (and I do), you’ll enjoy Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer. But, you have to read the great Area X trilogy first 📚
It may seem priggish to say it, given the current “vibe shift,” but we really can’t give up on personal integrity just yet. The day we celebrate our children for their selfishness and cruelty will be the point of no return.
I can’t believe that I’m about to type this sentence: Now that America is threatening Canada with economic ruin and potential annexation as the 51st state, I think it is very important for Canadians to stay well informed. To that end, I recommend two great sources: Paul Wells and The Line. Both are high quality, independent journalism with important voices in the True North, Strong and Free 🇨🇦
A fun episode of The Incomparable on my favourite fiction book of 2024
🔗 What Aging Can Teach Us About Sustainable Success
With that in mind, here are a few lessons I’ve learned as an aging athlete who can still run pretty fast, but is having a lot of doing it.
- Stop short. Almost always.
There’s an old adage in running that you should have one more rep in the tank. It’s also called the no hands on your knees rule. Both get a simple point, the risk of pushing to get that final repeat is seldom worth it. The benefit is small, if it even exists.
I’m tempted to write this on my shoes. Good advice that I followed this morning: the workout called for 5–8 reps and I stopped after 5 good ones.
Required viewing
Eleven miles later, I stopped my watch — satisfied, yet aware that my run was a castle constructed out of lies. I never intended to stop early, but I told myself that I would. I think I believed myself in the moment. As a moral philosopher, this gives me pause.
We had a great two-day family ski trip to Blue Mountain. After a few years off skis, great to be back.
🔗 The "near abroad" comes home // Paul Wells // paulwells.substack.com
I’ve believed for many years that Canada’s national bird was a chicken coming home to roost, except this one looks like an eagle.
🖖 Outline of a short story, starring a Star Trek fan:
- New episode of Vulcan Hello podcast arrives
- Realizes there’s a new movie: Section 31!?
- Stops listening to avoid spoilers
- Starts watching Section 31
- 20 minutes in thinks: “uh oh, is this the only Star Trek movie I’m not going to finish?”
- Goes back to podcast. Is convinced to finish Section 31, eventually
- Has at least five other good Star Trek movies to rewatch first
Yoga with George
