mindbat

Congrats to @PeterClines@mastodon.social on his most recent book deal 🎉

#writing #bookstodon

Brief but great essay by Marcin Wichary about how good tools (and bad tools) don’t make us good at #creative work, but they certainly influence what we see as possible, and how much fun we have along the way:

https://unsung.aresluna.org/on-tools-and-toolmaking/

Premier #Eby has made a lot of bad decisions, but this has to be one of the -- forgive me -- dumbest ideas I've ever heard of.

Every health expert agrees that permanent *standard* time is the best for us, yet he goes and chooses the worst option 🤦‍♂️ #DST #BC

https://cheknews.ca/b-c-axes-time-change-march-8-to-be-last-1308818/

There is a word for leaders who won't condemn illegal acts of aggression by would-be dictators, and that word is "coward." #Carney #usiranwar

https://cheknews.ca/carney-says-canada-supports-u-s-action-in-iran-after-attack-launched-1308563/

This made me laugh, but also recognize that I, too, find the (new?) tendency to use the speakerphone in public both baffling and aggravating:

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/03/explain-it-like-im-5-why-is-everyone-on-speakerphone-in-public/

Good on the #IgNobels for listening to their guests, and acting to move to a venue where everyone can feel safer:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/ig-nobels-ceremony-moves-to-europe-over-security-concerns/

My comment on the disastrous application by One With Nature to develop 71 hectares (!) of the #EastSookeRegionalPark.

They want to convert a large swathe of public coastline to a private compound, undermining the very purpose of the park.

Public comments on the application are open till May 6. If you live on #vancouverisland I urge you to weigh in:

https://comment.nrs.gov.bc.ca/applications?clidDtid=1415403&id=69b83fd1039e9e0021fdfb19#details

Sounding the alarm for fellow users of #RedHat-related #linux distros: Looks like they're going all-in on #llms 😓

Might be time to switch to a different distro, before the project falls apart under the weight of AI-generated #slopware

https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/31/red_hat_ai_dev/

When even folks in the US are concerned about the environmental impact of a new #oil pipeline on #BC's west coast, it's time to reconsider this project:

https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/09/29/Pump-Brakes-West-Coast-Oil-Pipeline/

Proud of my home province of #BC for filing this lawsuit, to make #OpenAI face real consequences for their multiple failures that abetted and encouraged the Tumbler Ridge shooter:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/lawsuit-demands-openai-pay-for-new-school-after-chatgpt-used-in-shooting/

More on the auctioning off of Canada's airports to private companies:

- They currently operate as non-profits, specifically to keep traveller costs down
- To squeeze a profit out, the new operators will have to jack up prices for travellers, lower wages, or be subsidized by the feds
- Long story short: Privatization means cash for #Carney's friends, and misery for Canadian travellers

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/air-travel-in-canada-is-about-to-get-more-expensive/

#Carney puts another piece of #Canada up for sale 😓

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-airport-private-investment-9.7344327

My life as a Mac user, a tale in three acts:

2006: A new OSX version is out! Sweet, time to upgrade 🎉

2016: Ah, new MacOS version arrived. Gonna wait a few months, let them iron the kinks out.

2026: Oh, Apple pushed a new OS? That's nice *goes back to using Fedora*