This piece on the very real angst of living with cancer well beyond your sell-by date hits home for me.
"They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away."
ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
Rumour has it that there's a very good book coming out in the fall that's set in that city...
I assume you're aware of this?
ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/ridea...
I use the interactive map a fair bit to decide whether it's worth the trip in from Barrhaven.
Me at the bottom of the chair lift at Sommet Edelweiss near Wakefield, Quebec.
Seven years ago today, on February 23, 2019, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which despite radiation, surgery, and chemo later metastasized to my lungs twice.
Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends.
#hope
I just had this weird brain fart in which, as I'm about to go under for surgery (I've had many...), the lead surgeon says, "alright team, remember to move fast and break things".
After decades in the tech business, few things scare me more than a Silicon Valley approach to health care.
"[C]hange doesn't stop just 'cause you're standing still" - @karinslaughter.com, "We Are All Guilty Here"
An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
The Oscar Peterson sculpture outside the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, surrounded by snow and clad in a toque and scarf.
Good to see that someone's keeping Oscar warm over the winter! 🇨🇦🥶🎹
"Ever notice how dumb luck seems to follow smart people around?" - @johnsandford.bsky.social, "Shock Wave"
While I listened to this interview my mind kept going back to @naomioreskes.bsky.social's and @erikconway.bsky.social’s classic "Merchants of Doubt".
Terrifying to see the strategy described in that book used by a government agency to discourage vaccine uptake and even vaccine development.
Ottawa area weather on January 24, 2026, showing the current temperature as -29 degrees Celsius.
Okay, so maybe the Rideau Canal Skateway can live without my presence today. 🥶
... but not available as an ebook on Kobo! What's up with that, do you know?
Exactly. People are where they are because Makary and his mob put them there.
Do you think he's being disingenuous, or does he truly not get that?
"The real world does not conform to the mathematical tidiness of simple scenarios" - @adamjkucharski.bsky.social, "Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty"
Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
Weather conditions in Chelsea, Quebec the morning of Friday, December 5, 2025, -22 degrees Celsius!
Despite this, it was a ton of fun starting the ski season with a bunch of friends up at Camp Fortune this morning.
More snow, please!
Or, for the next 3-ish years, Little Steven's "Voice of America".
"We knew right from wrong once upon a time".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lrX...
![Bruce Springsteen - Land of Hope and Dreams (Manchester May 14, 2025 [Official Live Video])](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xnv6vpnlqwfzx3wgmfjcvde5/bafkreigbgmap6lp73gz5djbfycpozlb2g53fxdhgjfwlczajgduz3uifda)
Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2-y...
Yup. And some will jump on that sort of thing and use it as ammunition in their crusades to discredit nutrition science.
Sadly, some of those who are inclined towards this sort of doubt-mongering are currently in charge of your national health institutions.
Agreed.
I see a lot of a sort of "well even the official mainstream experts with all their highfalutin' statistical skills can't agree on what this means so it's essentially meaningless" rationale for dismissing quantified-evidence-based science and analysis and thereby sowing doubt.
I can't help but wonder how much of a role this sort of vulnerability to "statistical shenanigans" plays in distrust of science and institutions. For those - most of us - who don't understand this level of analysis, falling back on social media anecdotes in our search for certainty can be tempting.
Thanks for the heads-up, I've just pre-ordered it for my e-reader. Really looking forward to this one. 👍
Fall colours are great when they're on the trees, not so much when you find yourself spending a couple hours a week raking them off your lawn. Worth it, though, IMHO, and a lot less work than shovelling the 5 - 15 cm of snow that are forecast for later today.
🤞->⛷️
Something else the podcast touches on near the end also struck me reading her books - her dietary advice generally seems quite reasonable. I can understand why some who follow it might end up feeling better, but that in no way supports her assertion that it's all about the avoidance of seed oils.
Appropriate to include her IMHO, as she seems to be the most outspoken in this space, having published two books on the subject. Also, it's her that people point me towards to justify their assertion that the anti-seed-oil thing is scientifically justified. And she's been on this track for 5+ years.
I've two of read her books. Classic examples of what @caulfieldtim.bsky.social calls "sciencesploitation", cherry-picking impressive-sounding studies and scientists that support her hypothesis while ignoring or dismissing the wider body of research and evidence. Very speculative and mechanistic.
Cool! If you drop me a line next time you're headed that way maybe I'll stowaway in your suitcase. Although as I recall you travel pretty light, so I'll need some advance notice to lose some weight.
p.s. a Wikipedia edit might be in order.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley'...
Thanks for giving me an excuse to read the book again! 😉
I don't imagine Smiley's gold lighter is still lying on the ground there where Karla dropped it...? Any idea, @nickharkaway.com?
My main interest would be WWII-era historical artefacts. Most have been destroyed, but my understanding is that there's still enough around to make it worth a trip for me.
I've got relatives I'd like to visit there, too - it's not often I get to meet someone who shares my surname!
Some day...
