Tootfinder

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #AstralPlane
Can:
🎵 Mushroom
#Can
https://totescity.bandcamp.com/track/can-mushroom-apache-totescity-remix
https://open.spotify.com/track/7xIG8R6WQdr1WY7e61Hknw

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
CAN:
🎵 A Spectacle
#CAN
https://panoplylab.bandcamp.com/track/anyone-and-anything-can-become-a-spectacle-at-any-time

🇺🇦 Auf radioeins läuft...
Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#NowPlaying #Can
https://kandinski1.bandcamp.com/track/can-vitamin-c-kandinski-edit
https://open.spotify.com/track/2Td5FqApG1uDhhoBvrOxOH

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #ThisClassicalLife
Franz Schubert & Can Çakmur:
🎵 Piano Sonata in A major, D 664: 2nd Movement Andante
#FranzSchubert #CanÇakmur
https://open.spotify.com/track/559yF3TsO7iYtErHPRFGcH

In positive democratic news (for once!) the results of the BC Electoral Reform Committee and a recent EKOS poll of BC residents about Proportional Representation is very encouraging!
The question, as always, is whether we can convince the government in power, this time the BCNDP, to advocate for what the people clearly want and feel they deserve!
#BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #ElectoralReform #Democracy #ProportionalRepresentation #Polarization

Good Morning #Canada
While the excitement and disappointment of the #BlueJays season is fading a little, we can still take pride in the fact that we invented the game of baseball. You read that correctly - Canada was the birthplace of North American baseball as we know it today. From Wikipedia:
"... the first official baseball game with a documented score card took place not in the U.S., but in Canada in 1838. While Canada invented the version of baseball we know today, innovations made by New York City clubs became the basis for the modern game, far removed from its English ancestor, but extremely similar to the Canadian version".
It turns out that the earliest, detailed, reputable account of baseball being played in North America came out of a game in Beachville, Ontario on, June 4, 1838. And there are decades of records detailing Ontario teams regularly beating American competitors in league play or matches.
#CanadaIsAwesome ##SportsHistory
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadians-in-baseball-the-lost-tribe-feature

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #NickGrimshaw
Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt & Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#HolgerCzukay #MichaelKaroli #JakiLiebezeit #IrminSchmidt #Can

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#Can
https://kandinski1.bandcamp.com/track/can-vitamin-c-kandinski-edit
https://open.spotify.com/track/2Td5FqApG1uDhhoBvrOxOH

A lot of MAGA anger is performative and dictated to them by their leaders.
Demonstrating that ours isn't is one of the more powerful things we can do right now.
#canceldisney
https://bsky.a…

🍁🇨🇦Team Canada Forever🇨🇦🍁 (@teamcanadaforever.bsky.social)
Disney has lost nearly $4 Billion in three days from combined stock price collapse and cancelled subscriptions.

Maybe I'm in my own little info bubble but I find it hard to believe that 60% of Canadians would support a new pipeline from Alberta to the west coast. I was disappointed with Carney's negotiation/capitulation to Smith, and I think longterm it's a misstep by the Liberals. Indigenous People will fight it tooth and nail, and we should support them in that effort. B.C. doesn't want a new terminal on their coast. Demand for oil continues to drop and there's a real risk the pipeline is severely underused upon completion. Most of the money made from oil moving through this pipe will leave Canada. Canada's reputation is polluted with this announcement while the majority of countries continue to develop alternative energy solutions. I can understand the support from Alberta as the province doesn't appear to have a strategy for transitioning from an oil dependent economy. But who are the other Canadians that Angus Reid surveyed?
#CanPoli #Pipeline
https://youtu.be/3VISu7l6FhY?si=kgpadeUAXu8DC5uP

There were actually a lot of good recommendations from that Committee report, the one on PR was just the final one! Here's a few more.. including some that local #Fediverse proponents could dig into! @… was on the Committee.
—>FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “The Committee heard about a number of issues related to
the electoral information environment. Members recommend
that the provincial government collaborate with Elections
BC and the federal government to review existing legislative
and regulatory measures related to misinformation,
disinformation, and hate speech during elections, including
**mechanisms to ensure the timely removal of harmful content** (**emphasis added)”
—> FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “To better address challenges associated with social media and emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence, Members recommend establishing a working group to propose amendments to BC’s privacy and election legislation. To better protect all users, the Committee recommends requiring digital platforms to act with a duty of care and establish clear safety-related requirements such as data privacy, platform design, and content policy. The Committee also heard about concerns regarding foreign interference, and recommends that these be considered by the Electoral Integrity Working Group.”
—The Committee heard about the critical importance of
civic education to ensure the public’s understanding of
democratic institutions, processes, and participation. The
Committee recommends strengthening civic education
in the K-12 school system with input from experts and a
greater emphasis on applied learning.
— the Committee suggests enhancing data collection by requiring proactive enumeration on an annual basis and ensuring that registered parties and candidates can access poll-by-poll results. Elections BC should review and improve
voter registration practices and communication, as well as
access to and public awareness of voting opportunities. With respect to expanding voter eligibility, the Committee supports further examination of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds as well as permanent residents in BC.
— Committee Members recommend modernizing the candidate nominator verification process, requiring Elections BC to collect and share voters’ contact information with registered political parties and candidates, and strengthening measures related to access to multi-unit buildings for candidates and their campaigns.
Full report to the Legislature: #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #ElectoralReform #Democracy #ProportionalRepresentation #Polarization

#Malaysia and #Canada, are, strangely, the only two foreign countries in the world where I can (mostly) pass as a local.

#anu

Australian National University walks back plans for forced redundancies as part of major restructure
The Australian National University abandons its plans for forced redundancies as part of its efforts to cut costs.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #CraigCharles
Can:
🎵 Moonshake
#Can
https://theblogthatcelebratesitself.bandcamp.com/track/ayer-amarillo-moonshake-can
https://open.spotify.com/track/67bSz3fM2EsX1ddZ6hsMhq

Good #Morning #Canada
You may not like #PeePee but you gotta respect his ability to promote a divided Canada. Today, the Duke of Divisiveness will ask the house to vote on whether they support the Liberal's MOU with the province of Alberta. He knows that there is environmental grumbling amongst the Liberals in Parliament and he thinks this is an opportunity to weaken Carney's leadership image. A vote could cause friction within the Liberal ranks and at the very least put individuals on record so their vote can be used against them in the future. It should be an interesting day.
Recently Angus Reid released survey results showing 50% of Canadians would support a new pipeline. What about you? There is a straight forward question below - Yes or No - but please add any opinions, comments or caveats to support your choice.
Do you support a new pipeline from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia? Please boost for additional reach.
#CanadaIsAwesome #CanPoli #PipelineMOU #Pipeline
No, I do not support a new pipeline
Yes, I support a new pipeline

"Canadian cities can prepare for climate change by building with nature"
#Canada #Climate #ClimateChange #Nature

Canadian cities can prepare for climate change by building with nature
The housing affordability crisis is top of mind for many around the world, including Canadians. Between 2019 and 2024, house prices in Toronto and Montréal had an average annual increase of 6.7% and 10.2%, respectively.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #6MusicsJukebox
Can:
🎵 I Want More
#Can
https://wasp2.bandcamp.com/track/can-i-want-more
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NEnHpKc8FXVodV2ed5DCp

Good Morning #Canada
After recently moving to Belle Ewart (Bell You-wart), I find myself making strange pronunciations of my town to see people's reactions. Life is short... take pleasure where you can. But if you're a Canadian living in one of the towns mentioned in this CBC article, do you proudly tell people where you live, or do you mumble the answer and hope no one responds. I think you embrace the fun and show pride in your community by investing in t-shirts and hats emblazoned with your town name. But that's just me - some old retired guy with no reputation worth saving.
BTW, if you're looking for a conversation starter, here's a Geographic Fact - the distance between Dildo Newfoundland and Climax Saskatchewan is 5,551 km, about 2 days and 16 hours by car.
#CanadaIsAwesome #CivicPride
https://www.cbc.ca/television/stillstanding/the-most-hilarious-town-names-in-canada-1.5440187

Hey Generous Folks -- I wanted to put a message up for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. #16DaysAgainstGBV #16Days
Rather than an ask for donations, I want to encourage you to find your local spaces in your own community that help women and people of all genders who are fleeing gender based violence or intimate partner violence.
Maybe *you* can raise a few dollars, volunteer at a local space, or help out in other ways. Maybe you've never done that. It might seem scary! I guarantee you, you'll love it. Whether you raise $50 or $500, or nothing at all, by becoming part of it, you'll make a difference
I'm signing up, as I have for a few years now, for another year at Coldest Night of the Year (#IntimatePartnerViolence #Canada #CanPoli #CdnPoli

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #6MusicsJukebox
Can:
🎵 I Want More
#Can
https://wasp2.bandcamp.com/track/can-i-want-more
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NEnHpKc8FXVodV2ed5DCp

Good Morning #Canada
You don't have to like numbers to appreciate Statistics Canada, aka StatsCan. Jean Talon could be considered Canada's first official statistician when he arrived in North America in 1665 on a mission for King Louis XIV to conduct Canada's first census in 1666. In 1918, the Statistics Act created the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, a national statistics office that ultimately would become Statistics Canada. Besides conducting the Census of Population and the Census of Agriculture every five years, StatCan has more than 450 active surveys on virtually all aspects of life in Canada. Results are published twice a month and can be accessed via The Daily web page.
One of my favourite web pages is Canada's Population Clock (real-time model). It's fascinating to watch, and our population increased by 11 while I typed this post.
#CanadaIsAwesome #StatsCan
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #Grounding
Can:
🎵 Mushroom
#Can
https://totescity.bandcamp.com/track/can-mushroom-apache-totescity-remix
https://open.spotify.com/track/7xIG8R6WQdr1WY7e61Hknw

Given the chance, I think her words could resonate in a Provincial election against both the David Eby #BCNDP and the Rustad #BCConservatives (and whatever other parties happen to pop into existence).
It was nice to see a leader actually genuinely congratulate and lift up her rivals in the contest. A rarity these days in too many party leadership races!
Key lines from her speech:
"take on this province's billionaires, largest corporations, and big oil... who take far more than they give.
"democracy is in retreat around the globe, but I am encouraged to see young people in BC fighting back.”
"the BC Green Party has solutions”
"the BC NDP.. are making decisions based on scarcity and fear”
"David Eby... rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump's inner circle of oligarchs to buy and control even more of our province”.
"The NDP's big idea… to double down on raw resource exports.... no manufacturing, no innovation, no vision for a future beyond more foreign billionaires ripping and shipping our resources while families wait for the wealth to trickle down.”
“while workers wait for fair wages and homes we can afford, the BC NDP doubles down on MAGA backed fossil fuel projects, ignores the need to obtain consent, and refuses to care for our community members”
”The horrors that we are witnessing now are the death rattle of the old world.”
"it is up to us force a new world through”
"We can build a plan to take back the public wealth that has been looted with real taxation on the ultra wealthy”
"Build on our massive advantage of renewable energy… create thousands of jobs”
"will reclaim BC's economy for working people… together we can build a resilient thriving province that respects indigenous sovereignty and our planetary boundaries.”
“we are worthy of better, and worthy of hope. When we learn to believe that again, we can win.”
@…
#BCPoli #BCGreens #CanPoli #CdnPoli #RenewableEnergy

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #6MusicsJukebox
Can:
🎵 I Want More
#Can
https://wasp2.bandcamp.com/track/can-i-want-more
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NEnHpKc8FXVodV2ed5DCp

Good Morning #Canada
Canadians should reflect back on the glorious past few weeks and the excitement provided by the Toronto #BlueJays. A team not expected to contend for any title when the season began, they surprised the experts, the fans, and the teams that stood in their way. Some Canadians had flashbacks to previous World's Series Championships, some younger fans built their own memories, and millions jumped on board the bandwagon. We celebrated every pitch, every swing of the bat, every win that brought us closer to a championship, and each other. If you can't change the situation you're in - or the final score in a game 7 - you can always change your perspective. Don't be sad for our Blue Jays. Remember the joy they brought us individually and collectively.
#CanadaIsAwesome #LetsGoBlueJays
https://youtu.be/ENBX_v1Po1Y?si=lSY-cNmBiNozxOvM

Listening to CBC Radio Barrie this morning and they were interviewing the manager responsible for housing starts for the Town of Innisfil. The discussion was about missed targets for housing starts and what can be done to get back on track. You could tell that he was frustrated, but the reason for less homes being built was almost solely put on the downturn in the housing market. No one is buying, so private industry isn't building.
All levels of government are throwing money at the problem, with most of it incentivizing for-profit companies to put shovels in the ground. At some point, the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments have to realize that public housing, government leasehold development, co-operative housing, or subsidized family apartments must be considered to solve the housing shortage. Private industry will never have the same objectives of getting families into homes - without a calculation of significant profits first.
#CanPoli #AffordableHousing

Steven Guilbeault lays out the truth. Canada will not reach its climate targets.
““[Carney] thinks we’ll be able to do this with the market, with private investment. Of course, we have to do that, but I also think we need to have regulations in place to ensure that we achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. And by abandoning many of these measures, that becomes impossible.
“I mean, if we are honest with Canadians, we can no longer achieve our targets for 2030 with the announcements that have been made recently. It’s not possible.””
... he goes on to say Danielle Smith is (effectively) Donald Trump.
"“In my opinion, she is not a reliable partner in this negotiation.””
It is now abundantly clear that the Liberal Party and all Canadians really did lose something when Mark Carney became Prime Minister.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #ClimateChange #ClimateCatastrophe #ABPoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/climate-change-guilbeault-carney-9.6998944

Had to detach some of the existing fencing from the posts so we can keep it without losing any of the greenery already establsihed.
Now that that is done. BASEBALL ⚾️
go Jays!!
and as I type... GRAND SLAM
#poolpond i #grandslam #mlb #bluejays #toronto #canada

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #6MusicArtistInResidence
Can, Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit & Irmin Schmidt:
🎵 Vitamin C
#Can #HolgerCzukay #MichaelKaroli #JakiLiebezeit #IrminSchmidt

Absolutely insane. Perhaps someone should show this to the US Ambassador so he can understand perhaps who is “anti” whom.
“NEVER COME TO THE US AGAIN”
Yells a US Customs Border Agent while overtaking an Ontario driver on the interstate just south of the border in NY.
#usa #canada #border #canpoli #cdnpoli https://mstdn.ca/@chad/115269544279217138

When Doug Ford... DOUG FORD... comes across as the conciliatory, nice guy…?
"“What do they expect me to do? Sit back and roll over like every other person in the world?” he said, adding the video was “successful” with over 11.4 billion impressions.
“So why doesn't the president start being nice? Play nice in the sandbox to his biggest customer in the entire world and everything's hunky dory," Ford said.”
Let's face it Canadian friends, the USA is not a nice trading partner. This is a full on abusive relationship and the quicker we can extract ourselves from it, the better.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #USA #Trade #TheAmericanFascist
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-us-ambassador-apology-ad-9.6958531

Good Morning #Canada
Many people, that includes you, are worried about #Skynet assuming control of all military systems, but what happens when it starts harvesting our crops? Canadian agricultural scientists are blindly charging ahead in their efforts to fill our farms with robots. It started with self-driving tractors pulling conventional equipment and evolved to fully autonomous vehicles that plow, plant, fertilizer, weed, and harvest. Organic farming is seeing the biggest benefits as robots can hand weed 2 hectares per day, eliminating herbicides.... and farm workers. Almost 15% of Canada’s dairy farms use robotic milking cubicles where cows enter when they need milking, with no cold human hands involved. IMO, using robots to replace hard back breaking labour or tedious driving of equipment up and down a farm field is a good use of technology. But I hope the tech is not priced out of the reach of small farms.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Robotics #Farming
https://news.uoguelph.ca/2024/08/these-self-driving-weed-cutting-robots-transform-the-future-of-farming-says-u-of-g-researcher/

Oh look, the #BCNDP Government finally noticed the Post-Secondary system is collapsing. *slowclap*
Can hardly wait for that report next spring... maybe I will still have a job by then...
PS: I have a crazy idea: perhaps post-secondary should be majority-funded by government, not by exploitative international tuitions that can just *disappear*)
PPS: Domestic enrolment is not declining in any significant kind of way in the sector. From the “State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2025” by Alex Usher:
"This decline in per-student funding is therefore not primarily a result of a significant decline in total funding; rather, it is a result of expenditures remaining more or less
constant while enrollments increased.”
WHICH IS WHAT EDUCATORS HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR DECADES
#layoffs #education #educationIsaRight #PostSecondary #VIU #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #University #College
https://albernivalleynews.com/2025/11/25/b-c-launches-independent-review-of-post-secondary-education-system/

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #CraigCharles
Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt & Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#HolgerCzukay #MichaelKaroli #JakiLiebezeit #IrminSchmidt #Can

This is so damning. The top of the CBC story (JP Tasker reporting)
“Smith said she got Carney to back down on most of the Trudeau-era "nine bad laws," as she calls them, that restricted oil and gas development in Alberta.
Carney, meanwhile, says he got Alberta to buy into the Pathways carbon capture project to try and decarbonize the oil pumped out of the province.”
It would be like Putin saying he got Zelenskyy to back down on Donbas and Crimea, but Zelenskyy says Putin agreed to security guarantees from Russia and the USA.
Carney = Capitulator
Also... YOU CAN'T DECARBONIZE OIL.
ffs. what a stupid statement.
Maybe Putin will De-TNT his Ballistic Missiles.
#baitandswitch #climateEmergency #ABPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #RussiaUkraineWar
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/livestory/alberta-ottawa-memorandum-of-understanding-energy-deal-pipeline-bc-9.6993431

I have believed for a long time now that humanity has proven incapable of a 'gradual decline' of anything that it is truly dependent on even if alternatives are available.
We seem pre-programmed to use something to the max... hit rock bottom in terms of impacts on our own health and general well being… and then go pretty much cold turkey. (either through replacement or outright abstinence).
I believe it will be the same with fossil fuels.
We are possibly seeing a slight reduction now globally in overall use of oil. But it is still far and away too too much.
Maybe we’ll cut this by 10% or 20% in the next 10 or 20 years... but zero by 2050? Not a chance.
I believe we will go and go and go, until one day we can go no more, the pressure is too great, the casualties too high, the effects too devastating, and the impact of complete shutdown of the fossil fuel industry in less than 5 years will seem less bad than the damage we have already done and are sure to suffer in future.
I hope I live to see that day, not out of morbidity, but out of hope. I want to die knowing we finally did it. I don't know if that's going to happen.
Not an uplifting prediction, I know, but seriously, tell me I'm wrong.
#CanPoli #Cdnpoli #ClimateCatastrophe #Oil #Gas #EndFossilFuels
chart from the 2025 IEA report: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/018c3361-bc01-4482-a386-a5b2747ae82a/Oil2025.pdf

Details of the MOU as reported by CBC. Hot Take:
It's a sh_t show of oil soaked hopeium and climate defeatism.
- Shovels in Ground by 2029 *(may this be forever extended)
- Tanker Ban will be lifted if the project is approved by MPO *(Coastal First Nations setting rhetorical fire to MPO in 3-2-1)
- July 1, 2026 deadline for submission to MPO *(OIL CANADA DAY)
- 75% methane emissions cut on 2014 levels from methane by 2035 *(*shaking head* We are VERY GOOD at hitting 10 year targets *shaking head*)
- "both sides commited to net-zero by 2050” (implied via CCS) *(carbon capture and storage? should be Carney Can't Stop -- Emissions)
- industrial carbon price of $130 -- down from $170
*(Oil Industry - Very Poor)
- Alberta exempt from fed O&G emissions cap and clean electricity regulation *(Woop Coal! Let's Mine the Rockies!)
- No private proponents have been announced. *(Hear No Evil)
- No pipeline path/route has been announced. *(See No Evil)
#TMX #EndFossilFuels #ClimateSellout #ClimateEmergency #CdnPoli #CanPoli #BCPoli #ABPoli
Since multiple Ottawa CBC reporters seem utterly incapable of understanding what First Nations groups are what in BC here are some facts about the Coastal First Nations. It has existed since 2003.
https://coastalfirstnations.ca/about/
"The Great Bear Initiative Society (a non-profit society under the BC Societies Act), also known as Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative (CFN), is an alliance of First Nations on the North Pacific Coast that includes the Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haida, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Metlakatla, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv First Nations. " Their territories span on the mainland coast of BC from the top of Vancouver Island to the Alaska Border including Haida Gwaii.

Good Morning #Canada
If you haven't been living in a cave this week, you know that the #NorthernLights were putting on a show across Canada. As you know, a solar eruption sends billions of tons of superheated plasma into space and traveling at more than 45 million miles per hour it can reach Earth in less than a day. That plasma, drawn towards the magnetic pole, interacts with our atmosphere, and we get a spectacular light show. The Aurora Borealis, named by Italian astronomer Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei, is not unique to Canada, but so much of our land is in the Northern Hemisphere that most Canadians have the opportunity to experience it. This is particularly true in the Northwest Territories, where the Northern Lights are visible for 240 days every year on average. The phenomenon has a special meaning for Indigenous Canadians, some of whom believe it shows them ancestors dancing in the sky.
#CanadaIsAwesome #GetOutside
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-indigenous-traditional-knowledge-is-improving-our-understanding-of-aurora-borealis-1.7414899

Good Morning #Canada
We've arrived at our final province on Day #12 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming. It may not be the middle of the country, but I think we can all agree that it's the centre of the universe.
Ontario leads the nation in agricultural exports and is #1 in the number of farms, poultry and egg production, sheep and goat, vegetable and melon, and greenhouse, nursery and floriculture (31.8%). The province is home to one-quarter (25.5%) of total farms in Canada while making up 7.7% of the total farm area. It also employs 870K, more than any other province. There are numerous agricultural centers in Ontario but the Holland Marsh is significant. Just 50 Km north of Toronto lies 21,500 acres of rich black soil that provides vegetables to nearby cities and exports into the USA.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Farming
https://www.canadaaction.ca/ontario-farming-facts

Now THIS is interesting.
Christia Freeland, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, posing for a photograph holding a Ukrainian made drone in a Ukraine factory.
Smells like a case of “we’re gonna give you this one job for internal politics, but you can still do XYZ on the side that you’re actually good at.”
#canpoli #cdnpoli #ukraine #russiaUkraineWar #carney
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-defense/4036162-shmyhal-visits-innovative-ukrainian-defense-enterprise-with-international-partners.html

Good Morning #Canada
My youngest daughter is visiting this weekend, and while cooking our family breakfast, we had a long conversation about #AI and #LLM applications. She works for a nonprofit - Rainbow Railroad - and is in charge of all their data applications and funding processes. Her manager is suggesting that they need to start exploring AI/LLM, perhaps to automate email responses to donors. Her response, backed by the fundraising team, is "no effing way will a machine talk to any donor." Losing the personal touch can kill an organization that relies on the emotional empathy and kindness of the public.
That led to a new discussion - are there examples of #AI being used for good. #AskEllyn, the nonprofit chatbot that supports breast cancer patients, was the only one we could name, unfortunately, because both my daughters have relied on it over the past few months.
Tell me about other positive examples of AI - bonus points if they're Canadian.
#CanadaIsAwesome #
https://www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/article/kitchener-ont-ai-chatbot-for-breast-cancer-patients-becomes-focus-of-national-clinical-research-study/

Good Morning #Canada
It's Day #10 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming, and today, we visit the cutest little button of a province sitting out in the Atlantic Ocean.
PEI has a total land area of 1.4 million acres and about 42.5% of the total land area (594,324 acres) is farmland. The 2016 Census of Agriculture counted 1,353 farms ranging in size from a couple of acres to 3,000 acres. Bonus points if you can identify the #2 farm crop on PEI.... and it's not potato skins. Beyond the almighty potato, the province has a healthy mix of dairy, barley, oats, wheat, corn, and blueberries. PEI-grown feed-grade cereals and soybeans are primarily fed to livestock on the island and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada and are part of their rigidly controlled crop rotation process. PEI is the only province that has laws governing crop rotation and farm size (individuals 1K acres, corporations 3K acres).
#CanadaIsAwesome #DoYouWantFriesWithThat
https://www.canadaaction.ca/prince-edward-island-agriculture-aquaculture-facts

Good Morning #Canada
Before #WWII, Canada could still be considered a tiny nation in terms of our influence on world affairs. But after the conflict broke out, we contributed well beyond expectations and our navy was an example. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) started the war with only 13 vessels, but when WWII ended, we had the 4th largest navy in the world. By 1945 the RCN had 450 ships in all, plus many smaller auxiliary units. This 1945 figure breaks down as follows: 2 cruisers, 17 destroyers, 68 frigates, 112 corvettes, 67 minesweepers, 12 escort ships, 75 Fairmile motor launches. During WWII, Canadian shipyards built a total of 4,047 naval vessels and 410 merchant ships for a grand total of 4,457 ships. The naval vessels included over 300 anti-submarine warships, as well as thousands of landing craft, escort ships, minesweepers, and tugs.
#CanadaIsAwesome #RemembranceDay
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-Canadian-Navy/Second-World-War

The Federal NDP are on Vancouver Island strategizing for the upcoming Parliament.
Interim leader Davies:
""There's an ebb and flow to politics and I view it as an opportunity for our party to regenerate, to reimagine what a bold, progressive NDP looks like on the federal scene.””
I loved Jack Layton too, but I think it is time to leave Jack to the past. They really need to find someone who is here, in this moment, and can present a real vision for Canadians to strive for and achieve that is the opposite of what the Conservatives and Red-Tory Liberals are trying to do.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Tseshaht #Hupacasath #PortAlberni #Courtenay #Tofino
https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/federal-new-democrats-meet-with-nuu-chah-nulth-leaders-in-port-alberni-8243469

Want to help identify Nazis (“white Nationalists”) in Canada?
Of course you do! Check out the link to antihate.ca!
This summer there was a conference in Vancouver that had people come from all over Canada and elsewhere to talk about being hateful, horrible, human beings.
Help the Anti Hate Network identify and expose these people so we can keep our communities safe (especially if you go to a local gym or martial arts studio!)
#hate #Canada #Nazis #whitenationalists #antihate #antiracist #antifa
https://www.antihate.ca/white_nationalist_organizing_exiles_golden_age_identify?utm_campaign=eotga&utm_medium=email&utm_source=antihate

Good Morning #Canada
As the sun comes up over the grain elevator, we discover we are in Saskatchewan for Day #9 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming. And it's flat.... like crazy flat.
Saskatchewan is commonly known as Canada’s breadbasket because of the volume and diversity of crops that they grow. The province had set a target of $20B in exports by 2030 - which was achieved in 2023 with export revenues of $20.2B, placing them at #2 in Canada. The 34K farms in Saskatchewan manage over 40% of Canada’s farmland, and they are likely the top producer of any grain, oilseed, or pulse crop you can think of. For example - Saskatchewan produced 87% of Canada's chickpeas and was responsible for 91% of chickpeas exports. Which tells me Canadians don't really like chickpeas. The province is also a leader in new technology with GPS guided machinery and numerous testing sites for robotic farming. And don't forget the pigs - they exported 2M in 2023.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Bread #Oink
https://www.canadaaction.ca/saskatchewan-farming-facts