Distractions, reflections

2009/07/17 GoMA, Queen Street Mall, South Bank — Brisbane

March 24, 2011 daviding

Having completed a week at the conference, our family took the Friday afternoon at leisure to look around central Brisbane. We started our visit at GOMA — the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

The exhibits began before we even entered the building, with The High/Perpetual Xmas, No Abstractions 2008, by Scott Redford to the south of the walk.

On the north side of the walk was a patch of Maiwar Green, and the view across the river.

We happened on The China Project exhibition, including a larger-than-life sculpture of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong by Wang Wenhai.

Down one side of this hall was a series of bronze sculptures titled Metaphysica 2007, by Ah Xian. Continue reading “2009/07/17 GoMA, Queen Street Mall, South Bank — Brisbane“

2009/07/14 UQ St. Lucia, Brisbane River, Customs House, Mount Coot-tha

February 24, 2011 daviding

As part of the ISSS Brisbane 2009 meeting, a field trip had been arranged. We had to arrive early, parking at the edge of the campus to walk up Campbell Road in the University of Queensland St. Lucia campus.

We encountered our group walking down Union Road towards the ferry dock.

There’s regular City Cat ferry service from UQ to the city centre.

The structure of the dock suggests the riverbanks are shallow.

In the warm Brisbane winter, we stood on the back deck and watched the ferry’s wake. Continue reading “2009/07/14 UQ St. Lucia, Brisbane River, Customs House, Mount Coot-tha“

2011/01 Moments, January 2011

January 31, 2011 daviding

Toronto, Ontario; San Francisco, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Phoenix, Arizona.

Walking on College Street, Sottovoce Wine and Pasta Bar license suspended for 10 days beginning January 1. It must have been a wild New Years Eve (Toronto, Saturday) 20110101 2130 — Walking on College Street, Sottovoce Wine and Pasta Bar license suspended for 10 days beginning January 1. It must have been a wild New Years Eve (Toronto, Saturday) 20110101 2130

Biked to Canada Computer on College Street, found boarded up from fire in September. New store at old location across the street. I haven’t bought computer parts in months! (Toronto, Sunday) 20110102 1600 — Biked to Canada Computer on College Street, found boarded up from fire in September. New store at old location across the street. I haven’t bought computer parts in months! (Toronto, Sunday) 20110102 1600

Jade hairpins, worn by women, as well as men before the Qing Dynasty. In the “Hidden Meanings: Symbolism in Chinese Art and Culture” display by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, at the SFO pier for United Airlines. A pause, as an alternative to zooming by the moving sidewalk behind (SFO, Tuesday) 20110104 1230 PT — Jade hairpins, worn by women, as well as men before the Qing Dynasty. In the “Hidden Meanings: Symbolism in Chinese Art and Culture” display by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, at the SFO pier for United Airlines. A pause, as an alternative to zooming by the moving sidewalk behind (SFO, Tuesday) 20110104 1230 PT

"Bleaker", Don Olsen 1978, acrylic on canvas, special exhibition at the Utah Museum of Fine Art, in the G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall (Salt Lake City) 20110108 1400 MT — “Bleaker”, Don Olsen 1978, acrylic on canvas, special exhibition at the Utah Museum of Fine Art, in the G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall (Salt Lake City) 20110108 1400 MT

Grilled catfish from the Jam Burritos food truck at the Phoenix Public Market on Friday, There’s a videographer from the Food Network shooting Eat Street (Phoenix, AZ, Friday) 20110128

Express walkway at Pearson Terminal 1 International gates is running. A January Monday afternoon doesn’t seem busy. DY dropped me off for the CPH-HEL outbound, 26 hours after picking me up from PHX inbound (Toronto) 20110131 1630 — Express walkway at Pearson Terminal 1 International gates is running. A January Monday afternoon doesn’t seem busy. DY dropped me off for the CPH-HEL outbound, 26 hours after picking me up from PHX inbound (Toronto) 20110131 1630

2009/07/09-11 Lower Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay

January 1, 2011 daviding

We had chosen public transportation for our week in the Sydney area. To transport the six of us from Sydney to Brisbane, we opted not to fly, instead reserving a minivan (called a people mover, down under). Diana and I woke up early to catch buses to the rental location on William Street in central Sydney. We drove back over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and missed the freeway exit by the Lane Cove Tunnel. We circumnavigated back to the hotel, our sons loaded up the luggage, and we embarked following directions leading through the narrow streets of Pymble. We reached the Sydney Newscastle Freeway in time for a traffic jam. I gradually became more comfortable driving on the left side of the road.

Our plan was to route through the Lower Hunter Valley to visit some wineries. We had a short list of potential places to visit, but no real sense of the region. Trying out Broke Road around Pokolbin taught us that the wineries are spread across vast distances in this region.

Some random decisions led us to Hunter Valley Gardens. We got out to stretch, but we didn’t find any lunchtime alternatives to suit our palates.

We doubled back to Cessnock, where our son enjoyed Portuguese-style chicken for lunch. Watching the clock, we figured that we had time to visit only one winery. We headed northeast via Wine Country Drive to Dalwood, passing by some well-developed residential areas on the way to Wyndham Estate. In Australian winter, we weren’t expecting to see any grapes on the vines.

The tasting room would probably be busier in the fall harvest season. The casks outside are for show rather than for aging. Continue reading “2009/07/09-11 Lower Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay“

2010/12 Moments, December 2010

December 31, 2010 daviding

Toronto, Ontario; Provo, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado.

Veal panino at local Italian deli restaurant Tommaso’s, casual with tablecloths, a short walk from the house. A pre-birthday lunch for DY because they don’t serve panino at dinner. Maybe we’ll try the tavola calda next time, so the fork and knife will be less messy. (Toronto, Thursday) 20101202 1400 — Veal panino at local Italian deli restaurant Tommaso’s, casual with tablecloths, a short walk from the house. A pre-birthday lunch for DY because they don’t serve panino at dinner. Maybe we’ll try the tavola calda next time, so the fork and knife will be less messy. (Toronto, Thursday) 20101202 1400

Kim Adams 2004 Minnow Lure, commissioned for the North Bay exhibition, Ice Follies. National Gallery of Canada, at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Queen Street West (Toronto, Saturday) 20101204 1515 — Kim Adams 2004 Minnow Lure, commissioned for the North Bay exhibition, Ice Follies. National Gallery of Canada, at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Queen Street West (Toronto, Saturday) 20101204 1515

View from our second story bedroom window, a city forester pruning the tree in front of our house, at below zero temperature. In Toronto, that’s not “our tree”, that’s the city’s linden tree covered under urban foliage. Municipal taxes at work. 20101207 0945 — View from our second story bedroom window, a city forester pruning the tree in front of our house, at below zero temperature. In Toronto, that’s not “our tree”, that’s the city’s linden tree covered under urban foliage. Municipal taxes at work. (Toronto) 20101207 0945

Eric St. Laurent Trio at the Rex Hotel. @ericstlaurent and I talked during the break about his career as a self-contracting musician in the Future Shock age. It’s such a luxury for me to be able to catch great musicians on Queen Street West. (Toronto, Saturday) 20101211 2000 — Eric St. Laurent Trio at the Rex Hotel. @ericstlaurent and I talked during the break about his career as a self-contracting musician in the Future Shock age. It’s such a luxury for me to be able to catch great musicians on Queen Street West. (Toronto, Saturday) 20101211 2000

Atrium at the Marriott School of Management at BYU. Quiet with students off for Christmas break (Provo, Utah) 20101220 1500MT — Atrium at the Marriott School of Management at BYU. Quiet with students off for Christmas break (Provo, Utah) 20101220 1500MT

Kids play area at Salt Lake City Airport two days before Christmas, Vacant, with two non-parents sipping coffee. Does this suggest that early morning flights are preferred to avoid kids needing to burn off energy? (Salt Lake City, Utah) 20101223 0730t — Kids play area at Salt Lake City Airport two days before Christmas, Vacant, with two non-parents sipping coffee. Does this suggest that early morning flights are preferred to avoid kids needing to burn off energy? (Salt Lake City, Utah) 20101223 0730

Passengers lined up on the tarmac at DEN, waiting to board regional jets. Sunny day, but cold enough to see my breath. Walking and taking train from terminal B to A, with Lufthansa staff checking into Air Canada flights, lesser partners in Star Alliance with elite lounges in other terminal (Denver, Colorado, Thursday) 20101223 1130 — Passengers lined up on the tarmac at DEN, waiting to board regional jets. Sunny day, but cold enough to see my breath. Walking and taking train from terminal B to A, with Lufthansa staff checking into Air Canada flights, lesser partners in Star Alliance with elite lounges in other terminal (Denver, Colorado, Thursday) 20101223 1130

Traditional Christmas spread at Aunt Pearl’s. We were counting the years that we’ve been coming, it’s our tradition (Christmas Day, Willowdale) 20101225 1845 — Traditional Christmas spread at Aunt Pearl’s. We were counting the years that we’ve been coming, it’s our tradition (Christmas Day, Willowdale) 20101225 1845

2009/07/08 Chinese Noodle Restaurant; University of Technology, Sydney; Powerhouse Museum; Newtown

December 27, 2010 daviding

For our last day in Sydney before departing for Brisbane, we got a late start. We decided to have lunch in Chinatown, and had heard about Chinese Noodle Restaurant as specializing in northern style food. We wandered around Quay Street looking for a storefront and eventually walked around a corner to find a plaza with multiple restaurants.

The exterior of the restaurant was modest. When I saw the short stools, I knew that we were in for a Beijing-style experience.

The tapestries on the wall seemed foreign to us as Southern Chinese.

Adam and Eric said that the grape leaves hanging from the ceiling mimicked a natural form of cooling in China.

Having left Beijing less than 2 weeks earlier, Eric led ordering from the menu. We asked for the meat and the noodles to not be too spicy.

The dumplings were definitely a northern style. Continue reading “2009/07/08 Chinese Noodle Restaurant; University of Technology, Sydney; Powerhouse Museum; Newtown“

20250503 Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge
Still a free thrill to carefully descend and ascend the arc of the bridge, holding handrails to moderate speed. Posted sign says closure in the fall, maybe time for resurfacing that happens every 10 years. Valley for the Lynn Creek is separate from the larger Capilano River, where we visited the fish hatchery. (Lynn Canyon […]
20250503 Dyadic waterfalls, Nitobe Memorial Garden
Dyadic waterfalls may follow Shinto style of complementary Odaki (masculine) and Medaki (feminine) forces of the natural world. Original small memorial garden with kasuga style lantern honouring diplomat Nitobe Inazō builtin 1935 did not survive vandalization when Japanese Canadians were sent to internment camps in the 1940s. Norman Mackenzie, president of UBC (1944-1962) recognized Nitobe […]
20250503 Yuan Wen (2025) Play in the Field | Belkin Art Gallery
Overhead sculpture, light projection onto floor, + audio recording Yuan Wen (2025) Play in the Field, part of Impos(s)able Impositions: UBC Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition. At end of hall, drawings on xuan rice paper. Noises were intruding from the installation just over the wall, with sounds set for the opening night reception two […]
20250503 Jericho Beach view northeast
Outstanding view of North Vancouver mountains, and West End city centre from second floor patio on south shore of English Bay. Club is private for sailors, but upstairs is open for public. Can't remember visiting this venue when I lived in Vancouver in the 1980s. (The Galley Patio and Grill, Jericho Sailing Centre, Discovery Street, […]
20250503 Historic Yellow Crane, Granville Island
Hoist from 1930s industrial heritage was moved opposite Sea Village in 2022. Prior location was hidden by Emily Carr University site 1980-2017 at 1399 Johnston Street, a building still vacant. Tower has become a landmark near southeast end of street, visible from Public Market. (Historic Yellow Crane, Johnston Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia) 20250503
20250503 Saturday breakfast, Granville Island Public Market
Leisurely Saturday morning breakfast with scrumpet (crumpet variant) and crepe. Observing not only are visitors smiling and unstressed, but also the worker teams seem happy. Purchases from Muffin Granny, a food stall original in the market since its 1979 opening. (Muffin Granny Crepe & Bakery Cafe, Granville Island Public Market, Johnston Street, Vancouver, British Columbia) […]
20250502 Malaysian cuisine in Vancouver
Malaysian cuisine may not be found in Seattle, so sampled roti canal, beef rendang, carmellized ginger fish, and Assam curry tofu at steadfast Vancouver restaurant. Last time together may have been 16 years ago in Toronto. Catching up on years that have passed. (Banana Leaf, Davie Street, Vancouver, British Columbia) 20250502
20250502 Crafting for mother
SUCCESS Care Home: Entertaining mother with crafty folding of paper butterfly. Since last year's visit, we were advised against offering food and snacks. Pushed wheelchair around the circular hallway. (SUCCESS Care Home, Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia) 20250502
20250502 ECU 5 days before The Show
Touring halls during preparation for The Show at ECU, 5 days before official opening. Background right painting Jesse Ward (2025) Mundane Presence. Installation on the floor yet unlabelled. (Emily Carr University of Art + Design, East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia) 20250502
20250502 Katherine Langdon (2025) The Set-Up
Mounted early for The Show, ECU graduate Katherine Langdon (2025) The Set-Up draws the eye upon entry into hall. Is the subject with the head in the closet avoiding the situation, or showing discretion. Curtains on the framing suggest a performance? (Emily Carr University, East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia) 20250502

Rethinking work, with the pandemic disruption | IJOTB (2025)
Two years after submitting an academic manuscript and responding to double-blind reviews, “Rethinking work, with the pandemic disruption” has now been published in the International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior (IJOTB) as earlycite. The article has a DOI (Document Object Identifier), and should be streamed with an official volume and issue number soon. The […]
Evolving Styles for Learning Systems Thinking | Systems Thinking Ontario | 2025-02-13
The 128th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario was convened in person. The classroom was filled with current students, alumni, our regular participants, and a few curious newcomers. Moderated by Zaid Khan, the conversation was sparked by Stephen Davies and myself (David Ing) on the evolving styles in learning systems thinking. Stephen has been leading SFIN-6011 […]
Systems Approaches (Project Language + Literature Reviews with Generative AI) | OCADU | 2025-01-20
The “Understanding Systems” SFIN-6011 course is a requirement in the master’s program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCADU. For winter 2025, the class is now led by Stephen Davies, breaking the incremental evolving of content since 2008. While still on faculty at OCADU, the original course designer Peter H. Jones is now a Distinguished […]
Generative AI and Inquiring Systems: Ways of Patterning and Ways of Knowing | Systems Thinking Ontario | 2025-01-08
In the 1970s, five ways of knowing were established by C. West Churchman in The Design of Inquiring Systtems. In the 1990s, his student Ian Mitroff carried on the tradition and extended that work in The Unbounded Mind. Now in the 2020s, the technology of Generative AI opens up opportunties to query or request responses […]
STPIS 2024 Proceedings: Reifying Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological Perspectives for Systems Changes
For readers with an interest deeper than the 15-minute presentation given in August, the Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Socio-Technical Perspectives in Information Systems (STPIS 2024) have now been formally publishied. The invited paper on “Reifying Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological Perspectives for Systems Changes: From rearranging objects to repacing rhythms” was reviewed by the […]
Systems Thinking Ontario as Systems Convening | ST-ON | 2024-10-21
The 125th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario coincided with the closing day for the RSD13-RSDX online program. As a regular systems convening group, we’ve had monthly meetings since January 2013. Zaid Khan moderated a discussion including me (David Ing), Tim Lloyd, Allenna Leonard, and Kelly Okamura. We recollected starting as a spinoff from Design with […]

2018/04/17 Susan Rogers on Prince, production and perception | Ableton
Rhythm and pitch are primordial to language. Susan Rogers, after a career becoming Prince's recording engineer, turned to complete a PhD in psychology focused on music cognition and psychoacoustics.Read more ›
What to Do When It’s Too Late | David L. Hawk | 2024
David L. Hawk (American management theorist, architect, and systems scientist) has been hosting a weekly television show broadcast on Bold Brave Tv from the New York area on Wednesdays 6pm ET, remotely from his home in Iowa. Live, callers can join…Read more ›
2021/06/17 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 2
Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
2021/06/16 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1
The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
2021/02/02 To Understand This Era, You Need to Think in Systems | Zeynep Tufekci with Ezra Klein | New York Times
In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
2019/04/09 Art as a discipline of inquiry | Tim Ingold (web video)
In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›

Timothy F.H. Allen passed away on May 01, 2025
Timothy F.H. Allen, president of International Society for the Systems Sciences 2008-2009, passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family, on May 1, 2025. With his work on ecosystem ecology, I learned more about living systems than anyone else in the systems community. After his retirement, he was proud of putting together a […]
Installing WordPress Studio on Manjaro Linux
In 2024, WordPress Studio was released, making installation on a local computer simpler. The instructions were modified from MacOS to Ubuntu Linux, by Daniel Kossmann, “How to install WordPress Studio in Ubuntu Linux” | Jun 15, 2024 at https://www.danielkossmann.com/how-to-install-wordpress-studio-ubuntu-linux/ I already had NVM installed, but in Terminal, with the result “command not found”. In the […]
Notion of Change in the Yijing | JeeLoo Lin 2017
The appreciation of change is different in Western philosophy than in classical Chinese philosophy. JeeLoo Lin published a concise contrast on differences. Let me parse the Introduction to the journal article, that is so clearly written. The Chinese theory of time is built into a language that is tenseless. The Yijing (Book of Changes) there […]
World Hypotheses (Stephen C. Pepper) as a pluralist philosophy [Rescher, 1994]
In trying to place the World Hypotheses work of Stephen C. Pepper (with multiple root metaphors), Nicholas Rescher provides a helpful positioning. — begin paste — Philosophical perspectivism maintains that substantive philosophical positions can be maintained only from a “perspective” of some sort. But what sort? Clearly different sorts of perspectives can be conceived of, […]
The Nature and Application of the Daodejing | Ames and Hall (2003)
Ames and Hall (2003) provide some tips for those studyng the DaoDeJing.
Diachronic, diachrony
Finding proper words to express system(s) change(s) can be a challenge. One alternative could be diachrony. The Oxford English dictionary provides two definitions for diachronic, the first one most generally related to time. (The second is linguistic method) diachronic ADJECTIVE Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “diachronic (adj.), sense 1,” July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3691792233. For completeness, prochronic relates “to […]

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

2009/07/17 GoMA, Queen Street Mall, South Bank — Brisbane

2009/07/14 UQ St. Lucia, Brisbane River, Customs House, Mount Coot-tha

2011/01 Moments, January 2011

2009/07/09-11 Lower Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay

2010/12 Moments, December 2010

2009/07/08 Chinese Noodle Restaurant; University of Technology, Sydney; Powerhouse Museum; Newtown

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