Toronto, Ontario; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Sunnyvale, California; Mountain View, California; Berkeley, California
Cineplex Queensway: Tuesday Matinee viewing of Avengers Infinity War in UltraAVX non-3D is a lot to absorb, having to recall linkages over 10 years of movies. Between prior 16-day trip and upcoming 10-day trip, squeezing in regular life is a luxury. (Cineplex Cinema Queensway, Etobicoke, Ontario) 20180501 MarsDD: Connected data in graphs @fzakariya @neo4j briefing. Beyond relational databases on a LAMP stack, and document databases on the MEAN stack, now looking at GraphQL and Node.js tools. Continual learning on technologies that continue to evolve. (Mars Discovery District, College Street, Toronto, Ontario ) 20180503Pearson T1 aisle 11: Been 18 months since I last flew to USA on AC, despite have travelled to Asia, Europe and western Canada multiple times. I may be part of the statistic of fewer flyers under the current government adminstration. Pearson Terminal moved Air Canada U.S. check-ins to the far end aisles, from the middle. Agent said they did that about 18 months ago. (Pearson Terminal 1, Toronto, Ontario) 20180507SFO International Terminal: By door 06, Rufino Tamayo (1983) “Conquest of Space”, enamel paint on steel. Mexican painter with first sculpture permanently placed outside of Mexico at age 84. Waiting for pickup by AHI at departures level, wearing shorts and sandals. (San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal, California) 20180507San Jose Japantown: Driver attests to Ford Focus 5* safety rating. A sore wrist and three small pricks on the back of left hand are the only post collision symptoms. Neighbours say 4 way stop was installed only a month ago. Northbound sedan struck on driver’s side by Volvo SUV, forcing the car into the utility pole. Side and front air bags deployed. Vehicles taken to towing yard on flatbed trucks. (N.4th Street at E. Empire, Japantown, San Jose, California) 20180508
Merit Vegan: Ex-vegans @rarar @liv_bryce and omnivore @teh_allchemist accommodating my prescribed diet for tofu and eggplant in selecting a dining spot. Indulged in non-dairy desserts. Learning about each other’s backstories, there are surprises in the contexts that make sense in appreciating life journeys. Served by waiter who we’re convinced really enjoys the foods he recommends. (Merit Vegan, Merit Expressway, Sunnyvale, California) 20180510 Kolbeh: Persian restaurant sees koobideh kebab sampled by two, while the majority opts for the more familiar falafel. We’ll join the rest of the family in the North Bay, for the official ceremonies tomorrow. Genial service by head waiter, unexpected with the casual decor. (Kolbeh, El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA) 20180511 Cal Memorial Stadium: UC Berkeley class of 2018 takes 1 hour in procession to fill the seats, audience capacity of 63,000 looks two-thirds full. Maddy’s mother alumna says when she graduated decades ago, ceremonies were smaller by department, so campus-wide events are newer. Extended family attending only this event today, two more departmental events this week. Milestone sesquicentennial 150 years for UC. (California Memorial Stadium, University of California, Berkeley) 20180512UC Berkeley: Family convening for Maddy’s class of 2018 graduation at U.C. Berkeley. Lots of groups lining up for choice photo spots. Exodus from Cal Memorial Stadium at conclusion of ceremonies disperses crowds up and down staircases and the hills on campus. (University of California at Berkeley) 20180512Berkeley Art Center: Examining Jeremiah Jenkins (2018) “Jacob’s Teaset” installation, with barrier and omenous warning to preclude electrical shock. Power cord plugged into wall connects to percolator, placement of the spoon to close a circuit is noticed. Unexpected arc across spark gap between percolator and sugar bowl confirmed danger, but then we couldn’t trigger another zap by bouncing on the floor. Leisure afternoon continued with stroll along Berryman Path, and a visit to the Berkeley Rose Garden. (Berkeley Art Center, Walnut Street, Berkeley, California) 20180513Veggie Garden: Meeting AHI’s circle of friends, social media means everyone is well-briefed on recent news. Some had seen RDI on a prior trip, didn’t know there are more brothers at home. Vegan duck unanimously voted as outstanding. (Veggie Garden, El Camino Real, Mountain View, California) 20180515Yerba Buena: Partition wall sees Future Farmers (2018) “Oar Trade” blades threaded through ports. Baltimore floorboards inlaid into Seattle house, then extracted Seattle floorboards shaped into art objects. This contemporary art show was more conceptual than usual, a lot of documentaries to watch. (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Mission Street, San Francisco, California) 20180516 SFO Museum: Isamu Noguchi (1986) “Akari Table Lamp Model VB13-T” made of washi paper, bamboo and metal. Display cases in International Terminal showing Japanese-American designer (1904-1988), where 2-dimensional origami folding influences 3-dimensional objects. (San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal G, California). 20180517 Former Weston Bread Factory: Photo installation @laird_kay 2018 “Wonder” abstracts building details of bread production lines now silent since 2014. Venue for Contact Festival at the end of our street received zoning approvals in 2017, pre-sales of condominium units should commence later this month. More construction on our block to be expected. (Former Weston Bread Factory, 462 Eastern Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20180519Pine Hills Cemetery: Igniting incense sticks shielded by the Lowkong monument and inside a metal can. Annual cemetery visit to remember clan members no longer with us, and ancestors in our lineage. (Pine Hills Cemetery, Birchmount Road, Scarborough, Ontario) 20180520 SystemsThinking/TO: Systemic insurrection after ST/TO formal program. I invited anyone who wanted to discuss “why I disagreed with 90% of the presentation on Innovation Engineering” to pull up a chair, and stay for a chat. Emergent multi-way discussion backed up by theoretical and historical recall by Stephen Regoczei. This was an emergent thread from a one-way talking-head agenda, future meetings may seek to be more participative. Photo courtesy of Chris Chapman. (SystemsThinking/TO, LoyaltyOne, King Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20180524 Sim Toronto: Vintage K-E-M editing table @simcomplete @Doors_OpenTO contrasts to digital editing suites on tours for visitors on this special weekend. Sound isolation from floating floors and 5 panes of window glass is impressive, given the busy city thoroughfares immediately outside. Viewed quick show reel in wonderful facility equipped for Dolby Atmos, but a real demo of the capabilities requires approvals and an NDA that customers normally sign. (Sim International (formerly Tattersall Sound and Picture, Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20180526 203-205 College St.: The BMO branch where I opened an account in 1976 was replaced by a Starbucks, but now only the east wall is left to be demolished. The 5-storey building on the southeast corner of St. George Street and Beverley Street applied to the OMB for a 29-floor tower replacement. My grandparents’ house where I lived was one block west, and during my uncle’s university days, they lived one block south. (203-205 College Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20180527
Grange Park: Rear side of Art Gallery of Ontario, exterior wall colours bright on a sunny day. Bicycle had a flat tire on Spadina, decided to walk further east to position for RDI to pick up in car. (Grange Park, Beverley Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20180530
The fourth of four lectures for the Systemic Design course at OCADU SFI focused on (a) situated practice + history-making (reframing disclosing new worlds), and on (b) commitments and the language-action perspective (applying conversations for action).
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.
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).
