Recently updated blogs

I've written a lot about railways in southern Ontario over the years, mainly because that is where I grew up. One place that I've had precious little to share anything about is Strathroy, a small town at the southwestern edge of Middlesex County. The town lends its name to the Canadian National Strathroy Subdivison. Strathroy is amalgamated into the surrounding Caradoc Township. Located about 35 kilometres west of London, it …

My latest pair are these Alden split toe derbies made back in 1977, still unused in their original box. It was part of their Foot Balance range made on the orthotic TruBalance last with a very long heel stiffener, which fits me really well. Here’s a closer look with lots of photos of this lovely pair. Last week I was on my yearly trip to Japan, and one of the …

*Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen, "Birds in a landscape." Via le jardin robo.*Maynard F. Reece: Plate XI, "Forney Lake." An illustration from Waterfowl in Iowa by Jack W. Musgrove, 1940. Via le jardin robo.*Detail of a 22-page birchbark letter, ca. 1908, from Vermont, ca. 1908. Via Haec City.*From a conversation between leaves in Bambi: A Life in the Woods, by Felix Salten, 1923.*Communists and socialists demonstrating against the far right in Paris, February …

Lately I’ve been watching a number of detective/police procedurals on Prime. But these shows French, not something from the mind of Dick Wolf. In fact, I’ve never watched one of the multitudinous “Law & Order: This, That or The Other Place” shows. Which leads me to wonder why I watch these French programs—e.g., “Deadly Tropics,” “Alice Nevers,” “Cherif”—particularly given that I don’t have a lick of French language skills. Perhaps …

Sour Patch Kids is bringing its signature tangy twist to the holiday season with the 24 Days of Mischief Advent Calendar, a playful and festive treat for sour candy lovers. Each door of this limited-edition calendar hides two individually wrapped Sour Patch Kids Big Kids—one for you and one to share (or not). The calendar is not just a candy countdown; it’s a statement piece. Packaged in a sturdy, well-designed …

Here's my weekly update with a few interesting random findings that I came across the last week or two. I am going to try to make sure they're here in time for you to enjoy with your morning coffee (or beverage of choice) every Saturday or Sunday, and include some of my thoughts around them.Gear Drop 🛍️Due to popular demand I have added a new meme shirt from last week's …

Taking two Netflix stars closely associated with Madrid and Paris and throwing them together in a third European city, Bess Wohl's Barcelona is an entertaining story so full of red herrings that even trying to describe a genre for it feels like a spoiler. Its plot does hinge on quite a lot of elements that probably don't bear too much close inspection - I hear that hen dos have got …

"Cusk is unparalleled in her innovation of narrational modes for accessing the self, and her dexterity is nowhere as accomplished as in the roving narration of Arlington Park, a work of cosmophagic consciousness"

As I was interviewing candidates for my “designer who can ship” position, I asked a few how they picked typefaces. One person’s answer stood out above the rest. They shared their screen to show me a folder of inspiration on their hard drive. Dear reader: the folders structure was immaculate. In that moment, I immediately realized I was talking to a professional. What is it about a clean workspace that …

RSVPed Attending Web Writer's Workshop [Online] Web Writer's Workshop is a 90 minute event on Dec. 3, 2024 to discuss all things writing on the web. Whether you publish fiction or non-fiction, introspection or ideas, you are welcome to join us for an informal chat about writing!

Saturday 2nd November 2024 A.I. suggests I call this blog "The Quirky Pub Culture of Yorkshire" which reassures me that I'm still marginally cleverer than a robot. I guess that comment won't age well. Where were we? Ah yes, Old Hill, somewhere betwixt Birmingham and Dudley. Not for the first time in my life whilst 'in drink', I get north & south mixed up and end up waiting for a …

Recently, I asked people to send me anonymous questions again, which is always good fun until someone sends you something unpleasant. Anonymity and nasty messages, what are the odds? Anyway, I particularly enjoyed this one, as it gives me an excuse to link to one of my favourite things ever. “Favourite audience reaction in a sitcom? I know it’s difficult to choose. The reaction at the end of Seinfeld’s The …

Sent to the front lines, soldiers in the First World War could only communicate home through letters. Although censored, these letters provided comfort to both those at home and those fighting in the trenches, and they were often reproduced by local newspapers. A British soldier writes home in a loft over a cow shed, ‘somewhere near the front’ | Illustrated War News | 30 December 1914 In this special blog, …

A Novel In The Grand Manner… Unmasking The Tawdriness Of The Bullring… Probing The Soul Of An American Girl Aroused To Strange Emotions Each Time She Faced Death In The Arena More shocking that Blasco Ibáñez’ Blood and Sand More fascinating that Tom Lea’s The Brave Bulls More candid than Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon via

1. AI Makes Tech Debt More Expensive - The core argument is that generative AI significantly widens the gap between codebases with low and high tech debt. Companies with clean code can leverage generative AI to write code much faster, while companies with messy legacy codebases struggle to adopt these new tools. This widens the gap between the two codebases, making tech debt even more expensive for companies with outdated …