Distractions, reflections

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

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2018/10 Moments October 2018

October had more bicycling cross-town as fall temperatures declined, plus a 6-day trip to Portland Oregon for pattern language conferences.
Toronto, Ontario; Portland, Oregon; Markham, Ontario

CSI 192
CSI 192: At Climate Ventures space @csiTO for afternoon meeting. Discussed programs, research, potential peer circle topics. Open to new ideas for the new cohort. I’m thinking that starting small may work better for emerging methods. (Centre for Social Innovation, 192 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20181004
Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre: Finnish style in Mervi Haapakoski (2018) Untitled hot-sculpted glass and driftwood stands out in Nordic Glass displays. Reminds me that this is the first calendar year in more than a decade when I haven’t been in Helsinki. Exhibit reminisces on Orrefors, Iitala and Kosta Boda mid-20th century. Poignant that the glass artist originally at Taik moved to Canada, and recently to Cape Breton. (Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario) 20181005
Thanksgiving dinner
Thanksgiving dinner: Opening home to extended family and friends, for a non-turkey menu. Main course of Chinese beef stew, plus vegan mushrooms with beancurd sticks (foo jook), gai lan (broccoli), fuzzy melon (dit gwa) soup, beet-carrot salad. Vegan pumpkin pie and coconut milk ice cream to accommodate dietary restrictions. Of all attendees, I was the one who liked turkey most, before I gave up meat. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20181007
Old Vic
Old Vic: Thanksgiving Day @VicCollege_UofT with some graduate students of History and Philosophy for Science and Technology in the office, late afternoon. Front door to building was locked. Scooped nephew up to bike downtown for jazz and turkey dinner. (Victoria College, University of Toronto, Charles Street, Toronto, Ontario 20181008
Design with Dialogue
Design with Dialogue: Journeys to Systems Change session led by @redesign, sketched by @playthink @dwdTO. Prereading based on report on @si_exchange meeting at Wasan Island in June. (Lambert Lounge, OCADU, McCaul Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20181010
Matty Eckler Rec Centre
Matty Eckler Rec Centre: Cast ballot in advance poll for municipal election. Second of four days, before official voting day in 11 days. Convinced I’m not going to change my mind, no line-up and three marks on a long sheet of paper took 2 minutes. (Matty Eckler Recreation Centre, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20181011
University College
University College: Not usual West Hall for @UCBookSale, as major renovation blocks the way to many rooms. Selected a few systems books that are hard to find. Slightly disconcerted to find an edition inscribed from one researcher to another, both whom I’ve known and are no longer with us. (Laidlaw Library, University College, University of Toronto, Ontario) 20181012
HackLabTO
HackLabTO: Remote @HackLabTO celebration of @longnow 50th anniversary of Whole Earth Catalog, @MrEricBoyd served homemade chocolate cake. Comparing August 1972 edition of The Last Whole Earth Catalog with the 1986 Ten Years of Coevolution Quarterly, with 2013 Cool Tools, and with 2006 World Changing. (HackLabTO, Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20181013
Sony Centre
Sony Centre: Internet of Drones camera hovering over model field #IBMInnovate, displayed on large screen. Catching up on evolving technologies, found a few familiar faces I haven’t seen in a while. (Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Front Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20181018
Seeley Hall
Seeley Hall: Second day alumni book sale @Trinity_College busy at midday, line up to check out. Recognized some of the books from the five boxes donated earlier in the year. Picked up some volumes not readily available from the library, trying to not fill up our basement. (Seeley Hall, Trinity College, Hoskin Avenue, University of Toronto, Ontario) 20181019
CSI 192
CSI 192: First Climate Ventures peer circle on Systems Thinking @csiTO. Sketching on flipchart sheet as a reference artifact to keep track of conversation on the complex versus the complicated. Informal meeting was scheduled on short notice, we’ll try to meet Monday afternoons every three weeks. (Centre for Social Innovation, 192 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20181022
Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport: MAX light rail train to Portland city center from airport is a low-stress 30-minute ride through industrial parks and along freeway. Fare is economical, and staff is friendly. Major turning loop at Gateway NE 99th Transit Center has a theme park feel. (Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon) 20181024
PUARL - University of Oregon
PUARL – University of Oregon: Gamemaster @chrisimweb @PLoPcon leads participants in a chair-switching exercise. Most of the first full day has been focused in four parallel writing groups, thinking together in smaller circles. Conference is intimate and relaxed. (Portland Urban Architecture Research Lab, University or Oregon, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181024
PLoP 2018
PLoP 2018: Morning team-building exercise @PLoPCon of balancing a tennis ball with each only lending a fingertip, to move together without dropping, towards the door. in-person experiences with colleagues enable learning more than the purely rational review of pattern languages in writer’s circles later. (Pattern Languages of Programs, University of Oregon, Couch Street NW, Portland, Oregon). 20181025
PLoP 2018
PLoP 2018: Afternoon energizing dance led by @MaryLynnManns @PLoPCon to wake up attendees expending mental energy. Catering of snacks has been excellent, so opportunities to physically burn calories are welcomes. (Pattern Languages of Programs, University of Oregon, Couch Street NW, Portland, Oregon) 20181025
PLoP 2018
PLoP 2018: Focus group @PLoPCon on A Pattern Language Canvas for Real Time Innovation led by Wolfgang Stark from U. Duisburg-Essen. Seeking feedback on pattern language in cards in beta, translated into English from German. (Pattern Languages of Programs, University of Oregon, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181025
PLoP 2018
PLoP 2018: Traditional closing ceremony @PLoPCon, tossing ball of yarn to connect to other attendees remembered in the meeting. After the threads have fully unravelled, the web is tossed in the parachute. (Pattern Languages of Programs conference, University of Oregon, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181026
PUARL 2018
PUARL 2018: Plenary @wardcunningham, Yodan Rofe and @michaelwmehaffy on “A Pattern Language for Rapid Urbanization: Launching a Digital Pattern Language Repository”. After taking turns at podium, received questions from the audience. (Portland Urban Architecture Research Lab International Conference, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181026
PUARL 2018
PUARL 2018: Fishbowl panel on The Future of Pattern Language moderated by Wolfgang Stark, initially with Hajo Neis, Yohan Rode, Susan Ingham and Richard Sickinger. (Portland Urban Architecture Research Lab International Conference, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181027
Suwannaphum Thai
Suwannaphum Thai: Dinner meeting with @takashiiba, Wolfgang Stark and Richard Sickinger to discuss Purplsoc 2019, one year away. We’re all attending PUARL, that alternates pattern language meetings in years and continents. None of us getting to see much of the town, with the day packed with plenaries and workshops. (Suwannaphum Thai, SW Pine Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181027
PUARL 2018
PUARL 2018: Closing fishbowl review of conference, starting with the youngest at the meeting. Generally positive response, some disappointment at small crossover to PUARL from PLoP attendees. Finishing up near 5pm on a Sunday afternoon, those departing for earlier flights were forgiven. (Portland Urban Architecture Research Lab International Conference, NW Couch Street, Portland, Oregon) 20181028
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square: Signpost citing distances includes some destinations en route home via air flights. Rainy Sunday dusk walk from U. Oregon on the north, into the city center at south revealed wide streets with light traffic and few pedestrians. (Pioneer Courtyard Square, SW 6th Avenue, Portland, Oregon) 20181028
YVR
YVR: Direct shuttle buses from U.S. arrivals immigration to domestic Canadian gates removes prior anxieties of racing across the YVR terminal, and having to go through x-ray security a second time. A human guide giving directions is welcomed, but an exterior route outside the terminal could be chilly in winter. This expediting suggests the terminal layout might not have been as well done as originally thought. (Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia) 20181029
CASCON
CASCON: Qubits #casconquantum by @jessicapointing explained with two-sided donuts that flip. Applications of exponential complexity that are computationally hard in binary von Neumann architecture may be tractably linear with quantum computing. Today’s quantum hardware is still at the state where vacuum tubes were in the 1950s, we might expect coevolving knowledge development in coming decades. (CASCON, 28th Annual International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering, Hilton Suites, Markham) 20181030
CASCON
CASCON: iCity workshop with Jesse Coleman @TO_Transport + Judy Farvolden @UofTTRI, with @CodeZebra moderating. Analytics and visualization in progress with the King Street Transit Pilot, towards end of collecting data to enable evidence-based decision-making at City Hall. (CASCON, 28th Annual International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering, Hilton Suites, Markham) 20181031

Highland Farms
Highland Farms: Ontario-grown Flemish Beauty pears in abundance, later in October than I expected. Local grocery chain is an autumn destination for a Proustian memory of the tree at my grandfather’s house in the 1960s, at the southeast corner of Beverley Street and Cecil Street. I picked pears of this variety in the late 1970s when I was an undergraduate student at UToronto, but the City removed the tree in the early 1980s. (Highland Farms, Ellesmere Road, Scarborough, Ontario) 20181031

2017/10 Moments October 2017

Toronto, Ontario; Munich, Germany; Krems, Austria; Vancouver, BC
Toronto, Ontario; Munich, Germany; Krems, Austria; Vancouver, BC

EditDX
EditDX: Soap kettle interior illuminated @EditDX, in the former Lever Brothers plant. History of industry in a massive abandoned factory near urban centre celebrated, rather than hidden. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171003
EditDX
EditDX: New Urban Crisis @Richard_Florida @EditDX is growing inequality between winner-take-all cities and places in a poverty trap. Instead of iconic buildings and starchitecture, need a communing architecture, not a cutoff architecture. Retraced life history from Newark to Pittsburgh to Toronto. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/20171002-1305-richard-florida-urban-futures-keynote-editdx/ (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171002
EditDX
EditDX: Brigitte Shim @alexbozikovic @EditDX making ancient invisible fishing weirs visible. Mnjinkaning Fish Fence Circle by bridge at the Narrows between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171002
UToronto iSchool
UToronto iSchool: Digital @gamespacenl @ischool_TO Platformization of Cultural Production research on 3 pillars of business studies, political economy and platform studies. Multisided markets, with gaps for deeper inquiry into economics, governance and infrastructure. Research in progress, students in classes at Scarborough College partially immersed in ongoing knowledge development. (Faculty of Information iSchool, St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20171003
EditDX
EditDX: Good design @alicerawsthorn @EditDX has usefulness, beauty and integrity in light of sustainable development goals (unlike 1969 Olivetti Valentina typewriter in museums). Design is an agent of change that can help us to make sense of what is happening, and to turn it to our advantage … if society allows it to do so. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/20171008-1310-alice-rawsthorn-good-or-bad-design-editdx/ (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171008
EditDX
EditDX: Free lunch @EditDX Feeding the 5000 demo of cutting global food waste in half by 2030, as Sustainable Development Goal. Made from ingredients that would have been discarded, enjoyed fall minestrone and potato focaccia bread. Separate queue for vegans. Amidst volunteers, white hats from @GBCChefSchool. (EditDX, 21 Donway Road, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171008
Lalibela
Lalibela: Had turkey a few weekends ago, so Thanksgiving of Ethiopian cuisine an unusual choice as dairy-free, and the teff in injera is gluten-free. Combined with AKY’s birthday falling on same day, another way to celebrate as a family. Front window still open with fall relatively warm. (Lalibela, Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20171009
Cineplex 4DX
Cineplex 4DX: Enjoyed Matinee of Blade Runner 2049, 4DX experience a change from our preference for 2D. The 3D effect was subtle, may not repeat the bucking seat, blowing air and cool water sprays. In hindsight, would have preferred the larger screen of Imax. Epic movie! (Cineplex VIP, Yonge-Dundas, Toronto, Ontario) 20171010
Riverside
Riverside: Woke up to urban foresters trimming branches in front of our house. The linden tree is officially owned by the city. Pruning away from the tangle of electrical wires is a service funded by tax dollars. True fall temperatures this week, and dusk comes early. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20171012
Pinakothek der Moderne
Pinakothek der Moderne: At top of stairs, Olaf Menzel (2002) Reise Nach Jerusalem, made of acrylic, plastic and strobe light. Morning stroll through contemporary section and design, not so interested in modern. Took a little while to figure out that I had been to this art museum before, about a decade ago. (Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany) 20171018
Danube U. Krems
Danube U. Krems: Fall colours on Alaunbach stream from deck beside controlled flow through the campus of Danube U. Krems. Walking up from city centre hotel, pedestrian access to path beside the local prison. First day of Purplsoc conference, remembering some familiar faces, discussing with other semi-famous in the field. (Purplsoc conference, Danube University Krems, Austria) 20171019
Heuriger Weingut Hambock
Heuriger Weingut Hambock: Local winery restaurant for conference dinner. White wine served in pitchers, complemented by buffet of smoked meats and bread. This neighbourhood tavern near the old town is hidden on a residential street. Attendees come from a wide variety of geographies. (Heuriger Weingut Hambock, Krems, Lower Austria) 20171020
Kremser Gasse
Kremser Gasse: Across from St. Polten train station is an attractive shopping street that I might visit, if I had more time. This town is the state capital on the main line between Munich and Vienna, and more developed than the destination of Krems where our conference was held. This brief stop was the first of three this evening to position for a plane westward tomorrow. (Kremser Gasse, St. Polten, Lower Austria) 20171021
YYC
YYC: Canadian designed YYC Link passenger shuttle has human drivers, and no wait for ride. Shaves minutes off changing terminals. Amazed that 60 minute connection including immigration and terminal changes is comfortable. (YYC, Calgary, Alberta) 20171022
Hyatt Regency Vancouver
Hyatt Regency Vancouver: View southwest towards the University Endowment Lands of the Burrard Peninsula, from the 34th floor in the West End. Skyscrapers in foreground in contrast to trees in the distance. For now, sitting away from the windows, remembering visitors often get distracted by the view. (Hyatt Regency, Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171023
PLoP 2017
PLoP 2017: Intro to Writers Workshop @rpg Richard P. Gabriel. Inspired by U. Iowa since 1936, style evolving. Originally group leader was like a traffic cop around discussion, more maturity now should have leader serving as a teacher, asking questions and giving clarity on process and content. In this first session learning by showing, inner circle discussing the paper, with outer circle of observers. (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023
PLoP 2017
PLoP 2017: Workshop @plopcon @daviding with @HeleneFinidori @chrisimweb “Negotiating Order with Generative Pattern Language” taking a more theoretical bent. May repeat next year, after discussants have an opportunity to catch up reading Christopher Alexander (2012) “The Battle for Life and Beauty of the Earth”. High-level sensemaking. Slides at http://coevolving.com/commons/20171023-negotiating-order-with-generative-pattern-language . (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023
Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery: Neil Campbell (1992/2017) East, a site-specific wall painting dominates visitors walking by. Tuesday night visit unfortunately saw many galleries closed as exhibitions are changing, for an opening later in the week. (Vancouver Art Gallery, Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171025
PLoP 2017
PLoP 2017: Traditional closing of event, participants calling names and tossing yarn to connect to colleagues old and new. Games with parachute limited by low ceiling in the hotel. (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023
Caveman Cafe
Caveman Cafe: Paleo vegan dinner low in carbs, emphasizing proteins and greens. We split the Caveman pizza and a Lamburgini sandwich made with cassava bread. Servers behind the counter attentive to needs, advising on suggestions, in a semi-chaotic lines jumping around delivery as hand-made timing. (Caveman Cafe, E. Pender Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171026
Kitstaya
Kitstaya: Relaxed lunch in neighbourhood where I lived 1982-1984. I met DY back then, and KY and TW were still dating. Nostalgic, and a lifetime ago. (Kitstaya, West Broadway, Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC) 20171026
UBC University Blvd
UBC University Blvd: Rain or shine rail jam @UbcSkiAndBoard club trucked in snow on a cool fall day. Student climbed to top of bales of hay, and then slid downhill to grind a rail skateboard style. Discovered this was the 10th annual event, a wild spectacle that eastern Canadians find bizarre. Another change in UBC since I studied here in the 1980s. (University Blvd., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC) 20171027
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach: Bernar Venet (2007) 217.5 Arc x 13, unpainted Corten steel , installed in 2013 as part of Vancouver Biennale public art. In the background, ships moored in English Bay. (Sunset Beach, Vancouver, BC) 20171028
Granville Island
Granville Island: Pyramids of berries seem to be a new standard in produce presentation, exhibited by multiple vendors. Nostalgic of grad school days when I would come for a quick shopping trips on quieter weekdays. Leisurely weekend stroll as an old married couple. (Granville Island Market, Vancouver, BC) 20171029
Shady Island Seafood
Shady Island Seafood: Dinner at dusk by Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf. Walked down shoreline to the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Park, observing restorations of buildings of Japanese and Chinese fishing workers back to the 1900s. (Shady Island Seafood, Bayview Street, Steveston Village, Richmond, BC) 20171028
Lonsdale Quay
Lonsdale Quay: Rode Seabus to the north shore, climbed up four flights of stairs to a crow’s nest by the Quay Market for a view southwest to Coal Harbour. We chose to wear fall coats, many locals seem to be in denial of the changing seasons, some still braving shorts. (Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver, BC) 20171029
Bene Sushi
Bene Sushi: North shore experience of carefully prepared sushi with piano jazz playing over the speakers. Conversation with old friends picking up where we left off, trying to remember how many years since the last visit. (Bene Sushi, Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC) 20171029

Libby Leshgold Gallery
Libby Leshgold Gallery: Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan (2017) “Bound: Project Another Country”, luggage and rope. Gallery just opened last week in new building. opened in September, fortunate timing for our west coast visit. (Libby Leshgold Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, BC) 20171030
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