

NORTHWEST COAST CONTACT or RUSSIANS, NATIVE AMERICANS, AND CHINESE, OH MY!
Almost eight centuries after Norse arrival in the east and two-and-a-half centuries after the start of the Columbian Exchange and the...
Jun 722 min read


TOO FAR?
Like so many places, until recently there were trolleys and trains zooming people all over Victoria and beyond. From 1888 to 1923, a foot...
May 282 min read


PEOPLING
The subject of the peopling of the Americas was always messy and it’s getting more interesting all the time. Some will insist people have...
May 186 min read


THE QUEEN
Other than the city of Victoria and a few other places being named after her, I realized I knew little more about Queen Victoria. Even...
May 76 min read


"FASTER THAN THE REST!"
Spain warming faster than rest of northern hemisphere: study - Apr 2010 https://phys.org/news/2010-04-spain-faster-rest-northern-hemisp...
Apr 272 min read


"HOW IS THAT RIDICULOUS?"
My current favourite conservative meme is a video showing Joe Rogan proposing to his guest, "You have people like Bill Gates saying that...
Apr 208 min read


THE ROTTEN MEAT IN THE MACHINE or WE MAY HAVE JUMPED THE GUN WITH "INTELLIGENCE"
Like many folks, I’ve been playing with artificial intelligence off and on. Initially, back in 2023, I was turned off by how half-baked...
Apr 1715 min read


NOT FEELIN' IT, BERN
As the independent senator from Vermont goes on a tour of America, we've nearly reached full reversal. The same media who engaged in...
Apr 128 min read


IT'S NO COMPASS
Can we talk about CBC’s Vote Compass ? I'd love to know if it's actually possible to assess someone’s political leanings or which party...
Apr 63 min read


"POINTS OF INTEREST"
Though I've been following along, I haven’t written at length about Ukraine since the opening weeks of this most recent Russian invasion....
Apr 215 min read


DISPROVEN, NOT DISCARDED
I was recently looking for some statistics on iatrogenesis . That's just a fancy term for the medical system screwing up and causing harm...
Mar 293 min read


SAFE AND SAFER
I’ve been writing about this province's epidemic of overdose deaths and related themes for a while now. Just in recent times I’ve...
Mar 234 min read


FICTIONAL FLOTATION DEVICE
Nicholas Kristof — New York Times Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. Elon Musk says that no one has died...
Mar 1714 min read


THE WRETCHED BLEMISH
What’s the deal with the measles? ( Offered in the tone and tempo of Jerry Seinfeld, of course. ) Measles outbreaks are taking up a lot...
Mar 1315 min read


"SOCCER" is like "OKAY"
OKAY I’m a fan of etymology and semantics and, really, everything to do with language; still, somehow I never gave much thought to the...
Mar 118 min read


RECORD RETURNS
The West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society was established in 2001. Their objective is to restore and sustain local aquatic wildlife...
Mar 31 min read


"PHYLOGENETICALLY DISTINCT"
Somehow I missed obelisks . Well, I suppose everyone missed it — or them . Discovered in human gut and oral bacteria, researchers...
Mar 22 min read


SILLY WHALES
We’ve never really known a lot about blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ); yes, despite our long history near and on the sea, blue...
Feb 232 min read


DODGEY
CONTEXT WHAT IS DOGE? Executive Order - ESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT’S "DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY " "DOGE...
Feb 157 min read


"WE'RE AT WAR!"
After landing in Washington to start his second term, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency under a temporary contract...
Feb 1413 min read


REVENGE OF THE NEO-REPUBLICRATS
Much is being said about this US election and the folks coming to power. The only thing worth noting that I can spot, and something...
Feb 92 min read


PERFECTLY UNCLEAR
Nuclear power stations are like stars that shine all day long. We shall sow them all over the land. They are perfectly safe! — Mikail...
Feb 717 min read


WHAT HAVE WE DONE?
A 2021 study out of Denmark estimated the proportion of cases of schizophrenia associated with cannabis use in that country doubled in...
Feb 42 min read


ANOTHER MISNOMER
Previously, I’ve tried to understand the circumstances surrounding our local homeless and overdose catastrophes. And I’ve relayed my...
Jan 247 min read


DANG: MORE FAILURES TO REPLICATE or CONFIRMATION OF OUR LOVE OF FICTION
One famous finding from social psychology is that intergroup contact is the most highly effective tool for reducing prejudice. The more...
Jan 203 min read


NO BRAINER: HOW APHANTASIA IS LIKE ATHEISM
Maybe twenty years ago I was writing about the strangeness of finding myself labelled an ‘atheist’. To begin with, I argued that...
Jan 1210 min read


NEW IN PERU
A team of researchers from Conservation International conducted a survey in the heart of Peru during the summer of 2022. Their rapid...
Dec 23, 20245 min read


NOTHING TO SEE
I was perfectly happy to disregard the “drone” reports as media-induced mass panic. And then government officials began assuring the...
Dec 19, 20243 min read


THE OTHER REPLICATION CRISIS
A paper was just quietly published showing several independent large language models, all the latest versions of the big ones from all...
Dec 12, 20241 min read


THE BRUNT
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) just published "Women and girls bear the brunt of conflicts..." In the thread...
Dec 2, 202413 min read


BUYING AN ELECTION
I don’t even know how you would explain to future generations what has taken place over the last decade. So much context is needed just...
Nov 14, 20248 min read


SO WHAT IS THIS ABOUT, EXACTLY?
So what is this fluoride panic about? It’s certainly not about the existing evidence.
Nov 6, 20249 min read