Data Governance Sponsor recruitment

I’m very excited to be recruiting for a Data Governance Sponsor to join my team and help enhance the use of good data analytics in our decisions at Metrolinx.

I’m looking for someone that enjoys telling compelling stories with data and has a passion for collaborating to build clean and reliable analytical processes. If you know someone that could fit (maybe you!), please pass along the job ad

Although waiting can be annoying, How to Wait Well makes some good points:

Waiting pulls us into the present unlike any other experience of time. In the waiting, we realise that this moment is meaningful as it exists, not as some step toward a future moment. Waiting is present tense, and its meanings are full of the potential to transform the ways in which we see the world. Each moment is its own experience and its own fulfilment.

Supporting my favourite apps with App Store reviews 🎖

I’ve been negligent in supporting some of my favourite apps on the App Store. In many cases, I reviewed the app a few years ago and then never refreshed my ratings. So, I’m making a new commitment to updating my reviews for apps by picking at least one each month to refresh.

First up is Fantastical. This one took a real hit when they switched to a subscription pricing model. I get the controversy with subscriptions in general. For me, Fantastical has earned a spot on my short list of apps that I support with an ongoing subscription.

And here’s my App Store review:

Fantastical is a great app and is definitely one of my top three most-used apps. Well worth the subscription price.

A few favourite features:

  • Integration of events and tasks into the calendar view
  • Access to event attachments
  • Automatic link detection for Teams and Zoom meetings

We really enjoyed our time at Bass Lake Provincial Park. Fresh air, campfire pizza, and a hike along the lake were a great escape 🏕

Three people and a black dog are sitting and standing around a campsite with tents and a picnic table in a wooded area.Two pizzas with fresh toppings are being cooked on a grill over a campfire, next to a pot.A black dog is lying on the ground next to a folding chair in a wooded outdoor area.A person wearing sunglasses and casual clothing stands among twisted and intertwined tree trunks in a forest.

Trying out a new iPhone Home Screen 📱

With the release of iOS 7, I’m reconsidering my earlier approach to the Home Screen. So far I’m trying out a fully automated first screen that uses the Smart Stack, Siri Suggestions, and Shortcut widgets. These are all automatically populated, based on anticipated use and have been quite prescient.

A smartphone home screen displays various app icons, widget tiles for music and shortcuts, and a clock showing 20:15.

My second screen is all widgets with views from apps that I want to have always available. Although the dynamic content on the first screen has been really good, I do want some certainty about accessing specific content. This second screen replaces how I was using the Today View. I’m not really sure what to do with that feature anymore.

A smartphone screen displays a calendar, reminders, weather information for Toronto, and a notes app with categorized lists.

I’ve hidden all of the other screens and rely on the App Library and search to find anything else.

I still like the simplicity behind my earlier approach to the Home Screen. We’ll see if that is just what I’m used to. This new approach is worth testing out for at least a few weeks.