Washington, Iowa; Fairfield, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Toronto, Ontario
HyVee Washington: Golden maple planted 2 years ago on farm not doing well, clerk advised more fertiizer. New tree half price, so DLH decided to get the last one there, barely fits into minivan. Main purpose of trip was for a haircut, went to 5 barbers and stylists, and none were willing to give service without at least an hour wait. (HyVee, Washington, Iowa) 20160804Dairy Bar: Hadn’t left the farm for a few days, so ice cream is a good excuse for a break. Picnic table is new, since the last time we were here. Still looking for better vegan options. (Dairy Bar. Fairfield, Iowa) 20160808Eastern Iowa Airport: Wooden blinds in skylight providing shade to sunny Iowa heat. Drive to airport routed past fields of tall corn, alongside the gravel road, the two-lane blacktop, and then divided highway. Returning home after 18 days in the U.S. of conference, then isolated writing and reviews, seems like a European tour, but the jet lag will be minimal. (Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 20160810Cassels Park: Ravine with steep rise north towards Gerrard Street East could be close to lost Tomlin Creek, water flowing underground south towards Ashbridges Bay. Large grassy area with playgrounds surrounded by residential buildings. City consultation in June convened citizens to resolve a swamp issue, towards developing a rain garden. (Cassels Park, Upper Beaches, Toronto) 20160815Cineplex Eglinton Town Centre: Still routing to movie theatres for 2D Star Trek Beyond, the big screen without 3D glasses is entertainment enough. Tuesday discount draws crowd for late afternoon show,. As we left, the ticket queues were really long for the evening show. Summertime somehow matches blockbuster movies. (Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, Toronto, Ontario) 20160816Hubbard Park: Staircase railings leading up to Old Don Jail building bright on late summer afternoon. Grounds were renamed in 2014, with the Bridgepoint Health hospital and research centre complex. (Hubbard Park, Riverdale, Toronto, Ontario) 20160817
Twice As Nice 5 Concrete Edition:
B-boy 2 vs. 2 footwork battle @JimmySimpsonRC, concrete floor of the skating rink on warm summer evening. Children and families observing the action. (Twice as Nice 5 Concrete Edition, Jimmy Simpson Recreation Centre, Riverside, Toronto, Ontario) 201610819
Leslieville: Mystery double fence with vines hid bitter melon. Garden inside had many dit gwa hairy melons over a foot long suspended overhead, pointed out to me by the Chinese lady of the house. Urban gardening alongside a busy city thoroughfare. Reminds me of the jungle that my grandmother use to grow behind the house in the 1980s. (Dundas Street East, Leslieville, Toronto, Ontario) 20160821Trinity Bellwoods Park: Bust of Simon Bolivar looking over Farmers Market on late Tuesday afternoon. Lots of bikes and baby strollers in the denser west end of town. I was riding the bike without baskets, so no shopping, just tourism. (Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market, Dundas Street West at Shaw Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160823Edward Gardens: Wedding rings on for the 31st renewal of vows at the original gardens from 1985. Entered the park from the west side of the river, saw the teaching garden with demonstration vegetables for the first time. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20160824Edward Gardens: Return to the fountain for the 31st time to renew vows. Prospect for next year is for a lot of change. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20160824The Power Plant: Installation @ThePowerPlantTO #FranzErhardWalther #CalltoAction fabrics stacked on floor and on wall isn’t activated with human interaction as intended, and shown in videos. Works include the red “The New Alphabet, Form G” (1993), “First Work Set” (1963-69) and “Yellow Moulding” (1985). Maybe we could schedule play days with art. (The Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario) 20160826Toronto Eaton Centre: Two-below is now labelled as Level 1, and three-below is Urban Eatery. Brightness in open atrium and short elevator deceive the reality of being underground. Subway entrance is another escalator ride upstairs. Construction on the main floor above that is visible on Yonge Street. Walked into mall to escape summer heat. (Toronto Eaton Centre) 20160828Cherry Beach: Rowboat @TOBeachGuards watching swimmers doing laps around four pilons in the Outer Harbour, clear visibility into Lake Ontario. Swim strokes were steady, which team likes the freshwater lake? Lifeguard station had green flag, children and families were playing by the shore. (Cherry Beach, Outer Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20160829Sheraton Centre Toronto: Waterfall garden from second floor of conference hotel, a peaceful break from busy Queen Street West, just across from Nathan Phillips Square and City Hall. Morning commute on bicycle to meeting, circled around exterior looking for bike racks, settling for chaining around a lamp post. (Sheraton Centre, Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20160831
The third of four lectures for the Systemic Design course at OCADU covered value(s), the science of service systems, and the socio-technical systems perspective.
A lecture on ecological systems for the OCADU SFI master's program opened up opportunities to discuss wei and wuwei, and get beyond an anthropocentric perspective the Canadian beaver in its habitat.
The second session of the Systemic Design course in the OCADU SFI master's program was an opportunity to share the current state of knowledge on Systems Change, in light of recent interest in Systems Change and Theory of Change.
A workshop with David L. Hawk at the CANSEE meeting in May 2019 led to an invitation to publish an article, "Ecology and Economy: Systems Changes Ahead?" in WEI Magazine.
Questions about governance of online social communities led to launching on the Open Learning Commons and the Digital Life Collective, while issues of content moderation on a Facebook Group has reignited.
Organizations interested in scaling up (or scaling out) might revisit methods and tools associated with a process framework for mass-customizing service delivery engagements developed at IBM in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.
Complementing the idea of a @longnow , @nfergus provokes the challenge of a #shortthen as the online social media platforms distract the larger perspectives on history.Read more ›
Social ecology and environmental psychology described @dstokols @Social_Ecology , interviewed by @katiepatrick . References #WilliamsJames on attention. Book on Social Ecology in the Digital Age released in 2018.Read more ›
Concerns on #personaldata should be reframed as interpersonal, says @sheldrake , less the nodes and more the edge connections. “I want to take back control” superficial, @hartzog says control doesn’t scale. Agency is about negotiation in the world, more rhizomatic…Read more ›
Doing science should be wayfinding (pathfinding), says #TimIngold , gaining grounding in the art of paying attention, towards research as the pursuit of truth. Truth is more than objective facts, where science and art are embraced with materials, so that we can see the quality inside the natural world as it forms, rather than as […]
We should be more vigourous, says @MazzucatoM , in debating differences between value extraction and value creation, and between profits and rents. Lecture at Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford U., January 2019Read more ›
Most destructive analogy last 100 years @DavidGelernter @econtalker : Post-Turing thinkers decided that brains were organic computers, that computation was a perfect model of what minds do ... and that mind relates to brain as software relates to computer Read more ›
Two ways of thinking about practice put (i) “plans as determinants of action”, and (ii) “plans as resources for action”. The latter has become a convention, particularly through research into Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW). While the more durable explanation appears the Suchman (1987) book (specifically section “8.2 Plans as […]
Does “the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago and the second best time is now” date back further than 1988? It is time to look long and hard at the value of the urban forest and create the broad-based efforts — in research, funding and citizen participation — needed to improve […]
Workshop led by @RohanAlexander and @prof_lyons at #CASCONxEvoke on "Barriers to Data Science Adoption: Why Existing Frameworks Aren't Working". For discussion purposes the challenges are grouped within three themes: regulatory; investment; and workforce.
“You are entitled to your own opinions, but not to your own facts” by #DanielPatrickMoynihan is predated on @Freakonomics by #BernardMBaruch 1950 “Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts”. Source: “There Are Opinions, And Then There Are Facts” | Fred Shapiro […]
Satire can be an antidote, says Prof. #PaulBabbitt @muleriders , to #bullshit (c.f. rhetoric; hypocrisy; crocodile tears; propaganda; intellectual dishonesty; politeness, etiquette and civility; commonsense and conventional wisdom; symbolic votes; platitudes and valence issues).
