Amelia Bellamy-Royds :progress:

Music (mostly blues & roots), gardening (weather-permitting), and everyday life with some science, politics, and public health, from a chronically exhausted, early 40s homebody nerd.

Also at Amelia Bellamy-Royds (npub1kym…59km) for web-dev nerdery, although I haven't actually been working for years.

All currently rooted in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (#YEG), a settlement built at amiskwacîwâskahikan, a traditional gathering place of Cree and other indigenous peoples.

😷➕💉 > 🤧➕🤒 !

Pronouns: she/her
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Alt Mastodon (for work / web / tech): https://front-end.social/@AmeliaBR

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NIP-05 Address

ameliasbrain_at_mstdn.ca@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgaqq3k46lrxdwdsszga5fwm38qgekmtvsa7t4edt4v72wd87nc9cpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshxc3cz

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Last Notes

2026-04-27 18:02:56 UTC

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I didn't know that a dislocated shoulder once left you susceptible to repeats. I hope you feel better soon.
As for the streets, it wouldn't be so bad if it was actual *sand* but the gravel-grit "traction sand" that seems to be standard in Alberta is quite a pain to walk on, on top of dry pavement. And yeah, it's definitely anti-traction for pedestrians or cyclists like that. And with all the freeze-thaw cycles this year, there has been a lot of grit accumulating, often trapped under layers of ice, now all released & rolling around under your feet.
But I'm not sure what's a better solution. Salt has its own problems.
[@linux_mclinuxface](https://fosstodon.org/@linux_mclinuxface )

2026-04-18 18:40:12 UTC

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The risers might be a good idea on all sides, or everywhere except where the block is in the way.
From the look of those cabinet walls, I'm guessing particle board construction? For a heavy shelf attached to the wall, you'll need to avoid anything that causes screws to tilt or wiggle (if height isn't matched correctly with the risers, or the base sags over time, or there is shifting as you pull in & out). If you do use L-brackets for the left side, you'll need to secure the right side by giving the risers with screw-down feet or add a bracket to the back wall on that side.
(And if you go with 4 feet, screw-down or non-load-bearing brackets would be recommended, too.)
Another option would be to add a solid shelf, attached at both left & back. You could distribute the weight across by more than 2 brackets (and/or wider brackets). But then you're sacrificing some space, if you were planning to use the area underneath for flat pans or something, and making it more difficult to clean.

2026-03-06 22:04:03 UTC

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Oh, that's pretty soon. Someone underestimated how long it would take to convince people to change their regular shopping habits when they decided to invest big in multiple locations at once.
Either that or they overestimated the demand for fancy groceries. I wonder what proportion of the people who would pay for those sorts of extras have already switched to delivery?

2026-02-22 05:16:49 UTC

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🎇Important last minute addition to the February music listings 🎆
On February 26, the last Thursday of the month Battle of the Bands at the Five & Dive pub in West Edmonton Mall will be a Solo Act version. A Solo Cup, if you will.
Music starts 8:30pm (& goes to after midnight, 8 acts × 30 minutes each), no cover, 18+.
The venue markets themselves on affordable snacks & drinks.
https://www.fiveanddive.ca/battle-of-the-bands
But that's not the important part.
The important part is that one of the competitors will be Amelia Byrd (👋🏻).
So, uh, if you've been curious about hearing what I've been doing & can get out to the big mall on a Thursday night, come say hi & help increase my audience enthusiasm vote! Note that I won't know what time I'm on until we get there.
(If you are curious but not near Edmonton, you'll have to convince someone who is in Edmonton to come & take a video or something.)
#YEGmusic #AmeliasMusic
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/116/112/636/703/549/746/original/0aa7e674fe6a090d.png

2026-02-13 18:48:28 UTC

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Going the long way 'round (and round, and round), are you?

2026-02-06 03:20:02 UTC

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(Now I just have to decide how to spend my personal limited energy & money, picking between all these great concerts! The winter blues fest is usually a birthday treat for myself, outside my normal $100/month get-a-life budget, but now I'm looking at all these listings wondering if I could spend the same ticket price on 3 different shows instead... And all that assumes I have energy to get there. Which I don't tonight. All dressed up & too tired to go to a show that doesn't start until 9pm.)
(PS, I'm still doing open jams & stages, for those of you following along. I'll be sure to let y'all know if I actually book a proper gig, but in the meantime let me know if you want to try to catch my little 3-song walk-on sets & I'll try to coordinate with you!)

2026-02-06 02:53:44 UTC

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Sat, Feb 28:
Afternoon hypnotic folk-roots from [Jay Gilday at Cask & Barrel](https://www.instagram.com/caskbarrel104/p/DUQyvB6jrMb/ ). 4pm, no cover, 18+.
Funky roots-rock from the [Yonghy Bonghy Bo's at The Blue Chair](https://bluechair.ca/ ). 7pm, probably $20.
Sun, Mar 1:
Soul-roots from [Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar with Marcus Trummer at Double Dragon](https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/samantha-martin-delta-sugar-double-dragon-tickets/13962024 ). 7pm (doors), $33, 18+.

2026-02-06 02:52:59 UTC

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Fri, Feb 27:
Soul-R&B from [Cree Williams at Carrot Coffeehouse](https://www.thecarrot.ca/events-at-the-carrot/creewilliams ). 7pm, $10 (kids $5).
Breezy beach rock from [Current Swell plus Jay Malinowski at The Arden](https://stalbert.ca/events/calendar/arden-theatre/current-swell/ ). 7:30pm, $56.
Alt-country/bluesy-folk from [Lynne Hanson at the MacLab Centre](https://maclabcentre.com/performances/lynne-hanson-and-the-hearts/ ) (Leduc). 7:30pm, $20.
Weird & wonderful folk-fusion bill from [The Sour Patch Men, Night Howl, and Shiv Shanks at The Dive Bar](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/blondie-presents/TheSourPatchMen ). 9pm, $16, 18+.
Fri-Sat, Feb 27-28:
Sweet & mellow acoustic tunes from [Kim Gates at Sherlock Holmes Downtown](https://www.thesherlockspubs.ca/downtown/kim-gates ). 9pm, no cover, 18+.

2026-02-06 02:52:27 UTC

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Sun, Feb 22:
Afternoon up-tempo jazz from [Daniel Gervais & Hot Club Edmonton at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/matinee-daniel-gervais-hot-club-edmonton/ ). 2pm, $29.
Eclectic roots rock from [Hawksley Workman at The Starlite Room](https://www.starliteroom.ca/tm-event/hawksley-workman/ ). 7pm, $55.
R&B/soul-jazz from [Raphael at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/evening-emerging-artists-presents-raphael/ ). 8pm, $15.
Mon, Feb 23:
Alt-country with retro styling and modern sensibility from Texan [Charley Crockett at the Jubilee](https://jubileeauditorium.com/edmonton/charley-crockett ). 8pm, $65-159.
Thu, Feb 26:
Classic Can-rock from [Kim Mitchell at Festival Place](https://festivalplace.ca/events/kim-mitchell-2/ ). 7:30pm, $52-58 (few tix left).
Folk-soul-blues from [Matt Andersen (solo) with Muriel Buckley (opening) at the Jubilee](https://jubileeauditorium.com/edmonton/matt-andersen-hammer-rose-tour ). 8pm, $47-135.
Funk-jazz-groove from [The Dyrty Byrds at The Commercial](https://bluesonwhyte.com/shows/ ). 8pm, no cover, 18+.
🎇 Battle of the Solo Bands at Five & Dive (WEM) featuring yours truly, Amelia ByRd. 8:30pm, no cover, 18+. See end of thread for details. 🎆

2026-02-06 02:51:36 UTC

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Sat, Feb 21:
Afternoon country-alt-rock from [Shadow Coyotes at Cask & Barrel](https://www.instagram.com/caskbarrel104/p/DUQyvB6jrMb/ ). 4pm, no cover, 18+.
Solo acoustic blues from guitar wizard [Sue Foley at the Arden Theatre](https://stalbert.ca/events/calendar/arden-theatre/sue-foley/ ). 7:30pm, $40.
She is also playing Thu Feb 19 [at the Shell theatre in Fort Saskatchewan](https://shelltheatre.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/1654633151 ).
Improvized folk-jazz (I think, emphasis is on the improvized) as part of [O.N.C.E. (Operations in Non-Permanent Collective Extemporization) at Felice Noir](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/february-21-once-tickets-1981005083532?aff=ebdssbdestsearch ). 7pm, $17.
Grown-up electro-pop from [Ria Mae at The Starlite](https://www.starliteroom.ca/tm-event/ria-mae-two-tour/ ). 7pm, $29.
Folk-rock-soul from [Reuben & the Dark with the Bullhorn Singers at the Winspear](https://www.winspearcentre.com/tickets/events/other/2026/reuben-and-the-dark/ ). 8pm, $44-55.
Latin party tunes from [Manny V y Su Esquina Latina at Rocky Mountain Icehouse](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/la-fiesta-manny-v-y-su-esquina-latina-live-dj-kris-king-tickets-1981827577634 ) for their monthly fiesta. 9pm, $17, 18+.

2026-02-06 02:51:06 UTC

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Fri, Feb 20:
Documentary film showing of [Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine at the Arden Theatre](https://stalbert.ca/events/calendar/arden-theatre/goddess-of-slide/ ) with an opening performance by Rachelle van Zanten, plus a Q&A after with the filmmaker. 7:30pm, $27.50.
Hip-hop-soul from [Jackson Moo King at The Carrot](https://www.thecarrot.ca/events-at-the-carrot/jackson-moo-king ). 7pm, $10 ($5 kids).
Sweet & soft hipster folk from [Jed & the Valentine with Abigayle Oakley at St Basil's Hall](https://www.newmoonfolkclub.com/abigayle-oakley-jed-and-the-valentine ) for the New Moon Folk Club. 7:30pm, $30.
I don't usually include DJ / dance party listings, but the description of the [Jonathan Toubin's New York Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off (at the Starlite Room)](https://www.starliteroom.ca/tm-event/new-york-night-train-soul-clap-dance-off-with-dj-jonathan-toubin/ ) does seem impressive. 8pm, $21, 18+.
Fri & Sat, Feb 20-21:
Feel-good traditional soul-blues from the [Donald Ray Johnson Blues Band at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/donald-ray-johnson-blues-band-show-1/ ). 8pm, $39.

2026-02-06 02:50:33 UTC

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Wed, Feb 18:
Folk-rock troubadour tales from [John Hewitt at Little Brick Café](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/river-valley-sessions-john-hewitt-at-little-brick-tickets-1981252015111 ) as part of the River Valley Sessions series. 7pm, $49 for a full fireside experience including snack & beverages, or $12 to listen from the main café.
Thu, Feb 19:
Trad folk from Vancouver stringband [The Fugitives at The Aviary](https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:6770/601:44076/ ). 7:30pm, $20.

2026-02-06 02:49:50 UTC

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More on Saturday Valentine's Day:
Youthful alt-pop from [Caylie G, Sadie & the Book Club, and Bailey Sutton at The Aviary](https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:6878/601:44256/ ) for the "Lovebug Club Valentines Show". 7:30pm, $20.
Tex-Mex country-rock from [The Eldorados at Newcastle Kitchen+Bar](https://www.eatdrinknewcastle.ca/newcastle-events/eldorados ). 9pm, probably $10, 18+.
Funky brass band double bill with a Mardi Gras Valentine's Day theme, from [Brasstactics with The Superband at The Commercial (Blues on Whyte)](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mardi-gras-valentines-special-the-brasstactics-with-the-superband-tickets-1979334251027?aff=CKUALink ). 9:30pm, $20, 18+.
Sun, Feb 15:
Roots alt-rock from [The Trews at Midway Music Hall](https://www.ticketmaster.ca/the-trews-the-bloody-light-tour-edmonton-alberta-02-15-2026/event/11006347F37C7AFE ). 7pm, $53, 18+.
Funky soul-jazz from California's [Ron Jackson’s “Flubby Dubby” Hammond Organ Soul-Jazz Band, at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/ron-jacksons-flubby-dubby-hammond-organ-soul-jazz-band/ ). 8pm, $29.
Mon, Feb 16: Family Day holiday
Afternoon Afro-fusion from [Mbira Renaissance Band at City Hall](https://www.edmontonarts.ca/event/winter-city-weekends-ice-grooves-swing-n-skate ) for an extra holiday edition of Swing'n'Skate. (Band indoors, or listen from the rink.) 1-4pm, free.

2026-02-06 02:48:07 UTC

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Sat, Feb 14:
[Winter Blues Festival at St Basil's hall](https://edmontonbluessociety.net/buy-tickets-here ) featuring Black & Blues Band (a local R&B band I haven't seen yet but seem to be earning respect), Rusty Reed Band (semi-retired local favourite harmonica player), Brandon Isaak Trio (tight jumping guitar blues from BC/Yukon), and Steve Marriner (from Ontario & best known around here as 1/3 of MonkeyJunk; playing more roots-rock these days, but still with some of the best blues chops on guitar or harmonica), with an opening set by young players from the Edmonton Rock & Roll Society's Centre for Arts and Music (last year's band was quite impressive). 4-11pm, $80.
Sweet songwriter folk from Toronto's [Sarah Hiltz at the Cask & Barrel](https://www.instagram.com/caskbarrel104/p/DUQyvB6jrMb/ ). 4pm, no cover, 18+.
Jazz-pop & ska from [Audrey Ochoa at the Blue Chair](https://bluechair.ca/ ). 7pm music, probably at least $20 cover, reservations strongly recommended on Valentine's Day.

2026-02-06 02:47:15 UTC

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Thu, Feb 12:
Classic Canadian roots-rock-reggae from (the current incarnation of) [Big Sugar at Pawn Shop Live](https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/big-sugar-presented-pawn-shop-live-formally-known-tickets/14702043 ). 8pm, $50, 18+.
Monthly local [Unplugged showcase (5 acts) at The Dive Bar](https://www.facebook.com/events/s/unplugged-ft-ember-nickole-bia/4282754425327718/ ). 7pm, $5, 18+.
Fri, Feb 13:
Electro pop from [Lights at Midway Music Hall](https://www.ticketmaster.ca/lights-come-get-your-girl-tour-edmonton-alberta-02-13-2026/event/11006330C4DD68BE ). 7pm, $60, 18+.
Energetic piano stylings from [Barrington Simpson at Carrot Coffeehouse](https://www.thecarrot.ca/events-at-the-carrot/barrington-simpson ). 7pm, $10 (kids $5).
Funky New Orleans-style jazz-blues as [Rooster Davis & Dave Babcock present The Music of Dr. John’s Bluesiana Triangle, at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/rooster-davis-dave-babcock-present-the-music-of-dr-johns-bluesiana-triangle/ ). 8pm, $31.
Latin rock from [Maracujah at The Commercial](https://bluesonwhyte.com/shows/ ). 9:30pm, few remaining tix at $32, 18+.

2026-02-06 02:46:36 UTC

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Also Saturday, Feb 7:
A reggae tribute to Bob Marley on his birthday featuring [Saint & the Full 100 Band and Love Empire at the Rec Room South](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bob-marley-birthday-reggae-show-tickets-1979332291165?aff=ebdssbdestsearch ). 7pm, $33.
More reggae from [Knotty Royal & the Reggae Rock Band](https://www.tiktok.com/@knottyroyalmusic/video/7602389470565895444 ) at [Trench Town Rock Lounge](https://jdctrenchtownrocklounge.ca/ ) (151 St near Stony Plain Rd). 8pm, $5, 18+.
Sun, Feb 8:
Afternoon sweet soul-R&B from [Sierra Jamerson at The Yardbird Suite](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/matinee-sierra-jamerson/ ). 2-4:30pm, $29.
Afternoon old-timey folk & jazz from [The Misery Mountain Boys at City Hall's Swing'n'Skate](https://www.edmontonarts.ca/event/winter-city-weekends-ice-grooves-swing-n-skate ) (indoors or listen from the rink). 1-4pm, free.
Afternoon songwriter-folk from [Rob Heath at Frank's Pub](https://www.frankspub.ca/events ). 2pm, no cover.
Soul-roots from [Donita Large & The Small Band at the Fringe's Westbury Theatre](https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:6895/601:44275/ ) to release a new album. 6:30pm, $24.

2026-02-06 02:45:53 UTC

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Also Fri Feb 6:
R&B theme party with live karaoke (sing with the band) from [The Setlist at Rocky Mountain Icehouse](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-setlist-edmonton-february-session-tickets-1980397969638 ). 9pm., $17, 18+.
Feel-good acoustic rock from [Adam Holm at Five & Dive](https://www.fiveanddive.ca/ ). 9:30pm, no cover, 18+.
Sat, Feb 7:
Southern soul from [The War & Treaty at the Arden Theatre](https://stalbert.ca/events/calendar/arden-theatre/war-treaty/ ) (St Albert). 7:30pm, $65.
Millenial power-rock from [Danko Jones at Festival Place](https://festivalplace.ca/events/danko-jones-2/ ) (Sherwood Park). 7:30pm, $45-49.
Soul-pop from [AV & The Inner City at the Roxy (Nancy Power Theatre)](https://theatrenetwork.ca/events/av-the-inner-city-ep-release-show/ ). 8pm, $27.50 ($17.50 for students/musicians/broke-ass keeners).
Jazzy hip-hop as the [Biboye Onanuga Blacktet plays tribute to J Dilla, at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/biboye-onanuga-blacktet-j-dilla-tribute-fan_tas-tic-vol-2/ ). 8pm, $29.

2026-02-06 02:44:33 UTC

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##
Amelia's #YEGmusic Picks(check my other pinned threads for suggestions of where to find more events if your tastes don't match my own, as well as regular weekly music nights)
Thurs, Feb 5:
Acoustic rock & alt-country from [Ryan Holmes and Charlie Scream at River City Revival House](https://www.facebook.com/events/1607917883570139/ ) for their monthly more-than-just-country Big Tent Revival night. 9pm, no cover, 18+.
Fri, Feb 6:
Tight grooving juke-joint blues from [Cedric Burnside at The Starlite Room](https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/cedric-burnside-the-starlite-room-tickets/14711743 ). 8pm, $52.
Country-folk from [The Western Thistles at Roam Cafe](https://www.showpass.com/the-western-thistles-2/ ). 7:30pm, $22.
[The Queen’s RnB Cabaret at The Yardbird](https://yardbirdsuite.com/shows/the-queens-rnb-cabaret/ ) is a Black History Month celebration of hip-hop, jazz, & spoken word led by Charlee Queen XO. 8pm, $29.
Folk-rock with a penchant for scaled-down arena anthems by [Benjamin Williams at Sherlock Holmes Campus](https://www.thesherlockspubs.ca/campusinfo/f70x9sdup3bhzgiluxzojgpuogsnom ). 8pm, no cover.
Also at Sherlock's Downtown on Feb 20&21.

2026-02-06 02:42:09 UTC

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Feb 20-21: [Unkls Stiv's Looping Machine](https://theatrenetwork.ca/events/unkl-stivs-looping-machine/ ) is some sort of psychedelic spoken word story refreshed from Fringes past. At the Roxy's Lorne Cardinal Theatre, $25.
Feb 20-21: Alberta Ballet presents [Romeo & Juliet](https://jubileeauditorium.com/edmonton/alberta-ballet-romeo-juliet ), as choreographed by Francesco Ventriglia to music by Sergei Prokofiev. At the Jubilee, $50-188.
Feb 20-21: Brian Webb Dance Company presents Toronto dancer/choreographer [Peggy Baker](https://bwdc.ca/peggy-baker ), in both roles. At UAlberta Timms Centre's Second Space, 8pm, $43 with discounts.
Feb 28: UAlberta opera program presents Handel's [Hercules](https://www.showpass.com/hercules/ ) at Convocation Hall. $20 with discounts.

2026-02-06 02:41:46 UTC

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Feb 14: [Oh, Henny! A Queer Cabaret](https://www.showpass.com/oh-henny-in-love/ ) (which sounds like it will be a semi-regular event, this month with a special "in love" theme), at the Grindstone. $25.
Feb 14-Mar 8: [Burning Mom](https://citadeltheatre.com/shows/burning-mom/ ) is a one woman play about a woman on an RV trip to the Burning Man festival. In the Citadel's Rice Theatre (but in a theatre configuration, not cabaret style), $40-79 (limited tix left).
Feb 17-28: [Countries Shaped Like Stars](https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:6807/ ) is a new production of a former Fringe hit, a music story-telling surrealist fantasy long-distance love story. Or something. At the Fringe's Backstage Theatre, $26.
Feb 19-Mar 8: [I Meant What I Said](https://teatrolive.com/i-meant-what-i-said ), a new comedy from Teatro Live's Stewart Lemoine. No hints on the plot, but Lemoine fans don't need that. At the Varscona, $42 with discounts or pay-what-you-can Tuesdays.

2026-02-06 02:41:11 UTC

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Feb 5-14: Molière's [Tartuffe](https://www.ualberta.ca/en/drama/on-stage/tartuffe.html ) (about a self-serving priest) is presented by UAlberta Drama at the Timms Centre. $25 with discounts and half-price matinees.
Feb 11-15: [My Testimonial](https://www.workshopwest.org/mytestimonial-26 ) depicts an actor coaching a key witness preparing to testify in a criminal trial. Pay-what-you-will ($40 suggested, and advanced purchase recommended).
Feb 13-14: [Hilda's Yard](https://shelltheatre.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/1654252949 ) from Rare Form Theatre at Shell Theatre in Fort Saskatchewan is a story of family chaos when adults move back in with their retired parents. $18-20.
Feb 13-15: Ballet Edmonton presents [Threshold](https://balletedmonton.ca/performance/threshold/ ), two newly choreographed works inspired by pushing boundaries of the dance medium. At MacEwan's Triffo Theatre, $45 with discounts.
Feb 14: Past Fringe-fest favourite [Josephine](https://stalbert.ca/events/calendar/arden-theatre/josephine-cabaret/ ) returns to town for one night at the Arden in St Albert. 7:30pm, $37.50.

2026-02-06 02:40:40 UTC

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##
#YEGtheatre CalendarUntil Feb 8: Shadow Theatre presents [An Illiad](https://www.varsconatheatre.com/iliad ), a modern retelling of the Homer tragedy, in the classical form of a solo storyteller. $40 with discounts and pay-what-you-can / 2-for-1 nights.
Until Feb 15: The mid-20th-century classic [Death of a Salesman](https://citadeltheatre.com/shows/death-of-a-salesman/ ), as presented by the Citadel (in their Shoctor Theatre), with John Ullyatt in the lead role of Willy Loman. $40-152.
Feb 4-14: [This Is War](https://www.walterdaletheatre.com/67th-season/this-is-war/ ) is an unusually heavy piece from Walterdale Theatre, exploring the aftermath of a failed Canadian military mission in Afghanistan, told through individual interviews with 4 soldiers. $27, with content warnings.
Feb 5-8: [New Works Festival: Time Everlasting](https://www.showpass.com/time-everlasting/ ) presents staged readings of new plays (7 total, 3 per session). At UAlberta Timms Centre' Second Play Space, $13-17 per session.

2026-02-06 02:40:04 UTC

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Sat, Feb 14: [Winter Blues Festival at St Basil's hall](https://edmontonbluessociety.net/buy-tickets-here ). Details in music calendar below.
Feb 20 (Fri): Telus World of Science's adults-only night [Dark Matters presents the Science of Sex](https://telusworldofscienceedmonton.ca/explore/experiences/darkmatters/ ). 6:30pm, $35.
Feb 26 - Mar 1: [Ice Climbing World Championship & YEG Ice Fest](https://www.climbyeg.com/icefest ) in Louise McKinney Park. Free to attend ($10-50 for VIP tickets, hands-on activities & workshops, or the community climbing competition).

2026-02-06 02:38:40 UTC

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Feb 7 (Sat): [Vietnamese Tết Lunar New Year Festival](https://edmonton.taproot.events/calendar/2026/02/07/vietnamese-tt-lunar-new-year-festival-concert ) at Villa by Nerval (48 St @ 93 Ave) has free family activities during the day with cultural dance performances & a ticketed concert in the evening ($30).
Feb 6-16: [Silver Skate Festival](https://silverskate.ca/schedule/ ) in Laurier Park (near the zoo) features both snow and *fire* sculptures, illuminated art and interactive storytelling performances, the [festival of winter cinema](https://www.ifwc.ca/ ) projected onto an outdoor snow screen, winter sports competitions, and new this year a [Rave on Ice](https://silverskate.ca/rave-on-the-ice/ ) Fri Feb 6.
Feb 11 (Wed): [Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media](https://libcal.macewan.ca/calendar/library/RobertGehl ) is a discussion panel inspired by the book of the same name by Robert Gehl. 1-3pm, free but registration required.
Feb 13-15: [Nordlys Film & Arts Festival](https://www.nordlysfestival.com/ ) at the Bailey Theatre in Camrose.

2026-02-06 02:37:57 UTC

February in Edmonton! When the sun stays in the sky longer, but the snow & ice still stick around — and there's lots to do indoors & out.
And hey, we're less than a week in & I've got a calendar thread for you all! Which is important because there are lots of excellent concerts, plus theatre & festivals, all starting this weekend!##
#YEG Festivals & Special Events:Still on: [Winter City Weekends](https://www.edmontonarts.ca/event/winter-city-weekends-ice-grooves-swing-n-skate ) at the City Hall rink. "Ice Grooves" has DJs planning Fri & Sat evenings, while "Swing & Skate" on Sunday afternoons has live bands playing inside City Hall (dancing encouraged), with the audio piped outside to the skaters.
Back on after melt-related closure (unless it's melted again...): [Ice Castles](https://icecastles.com/edmonton/ ) at Fan Park downtown. $15-24 (+fees).
Feb 7&8: [Togather Chinatown Arts Festival](https://www.togatherchinatown.com/ ) at Pacific Mall (105 Ave @ 97 St), with a vendor's market and live performances.
1/19-ish

2026-01-31 16:28:51 UTC

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See, this is more evidence for my pitch that the way to revitalize frozen juice concentrate is by selling it in a form you can use just a bit as a flavour hit rather than mixing up an entire jug.
I don't have a fancy soda machine, but I've also taken to sometimes making up a single glass of OJ from a spoonful of concentrate, since I don't always drink a full jug before it goes off. And an OJ & soda or a cran & soda is my usual drink at a bar, more flavour & less sugar than typical soda pop. 🤔
But as for who is *really* going to miss frozen concentrated juice: anyone who lives in the far north or other places where groceries get flown in. The cargo cost of the premixed would be 4 times for the concentrate just because of all the extra water you're shipping.

2026-01-31 05:28:25 UTC

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I also appreciate frozen concentrate juice mostly for the portability getting it home from the store. It certainly hasn't been much cheaper for a while now. And it's probably been nearly a decade since I've seen any types of real juice other than orange as concentrate (not including sugar-added punch or limeade/lemonade).
So it seems with declining juice sales overall and juices in cartons getting cheaper, the frozen concentrate has been squeezed out of their niche as the affordable option. Can't make it cheap enough to be worth the extra hassle of mixing it up.
The article talks about maybe smaller companies innovating now that the big players have bowed out. It must still be possible to source bulk commercial juice concentrate, so it's more a question of packaging & marketing. I was thinking someone should sell frozen concentrate in single-serving ice cube trays: add one to your water bottle & shake it up, or add it to a blender smoothie. Make it a convenience, not a cheap version.

2026-01-27 04:46:32 UTC

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I can imagine this being the result of training some AI model on a data set that ends us overfitting on sweatpants as a proxy metric (like those "does this medical scan show cancer" models that ended up detecting the font used at specialized cancer clinics vs generic hospitals).
Except I have no idea what data this ring thing is collecting that can be used to proxy sweats vs jeans. Maybe you change your posture?

2026-01-12 16:14:25 UTC

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Hey, I'm pretty sure things get delayed here, too, when temperatures are in the low minus 30s. At that temperature, they need to get the plane moving down the runway as soon as the de-icer truck is finished otherwise they have to do the whole de-icing routine again.

2026-01-11 16:53:32 UTC

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It's not going against any of our server rules (other than not being marked a bot account in the UI).
I'd rather save server-level blocks for actually malicious content. Anyone can mute the account directly if they don't like seeing it in the hashtag results.

2026-01-11 05:57:49 UTC

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Yeah, I'm not sure where they're getting the actual forecast data, but it's definitely been a bit off. As I said, probably some of it is city vs airport, but it could also be a less sophisticated or slightly outdated model.
[@linux_mclinuxface](https://fosstodon.org/@linux_mclinuxface ) Yeah, it's something about a bot dressed up to be something that it's not, clouding the information with often-inaccurate fluff, that is most annoying for me. But so many people seem to like this sort of thing. 🤷🏻‍♀️
And I'll probably end up muting them, too. Haven't yet because it's one post per day, vs the weather records account (which I did mute) sometimes has a lot of posts during a heatwave or whatever. For that one, I wished I could mute them from the hashtag feeds but still see the occasional post if an actual person boosted or commented about it. But I've got actual reliable sources of forecasts.

2026-01-11 04:10:46 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@CanavuHQ/115871928889939122
This weather bot account has been popping up on my Edmonton hashtag feed this week & I keep rolling my eyes at the obviously LLM-generated text. So pleasant, so chatty, so completely void of any useful information beyond the basic forecast.
"Keep your winter tires ready" for minor flurries??? Clearly generated by a word association algorithm with no understanding of winter driving. (There is packed snow turning to slush on every street in Edmonton, & no one swaps out their tires mid-winter based on daily weather forecasts, anyway!)
But it is well written. It has interesting tidbits. It is *engaging*. And if you, also, did not have any knowledge of winter driving, it would probably read as helpful.
Me, I prefer structured, easily scannable data:
Edmonton, Saturday Jan 10
High of 1°C, mostly sunny, with clouds increasing by evening.
Overnight low of -6°C*, with chance of flurries.
Everything else is LLM fluff.
* this is clearly based on an airport forecast, not city, but that's another matter.
#YEGwx
#note1uj5…99u3

2026-01-09 17:11:58 UTC

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Given the forecast (lows above freezing for a week), I'm not worried about the plows smoothing things out. *Everywhere* that still has snowpack will be ice rinks once the temperature drops again. Anything that can remove the amount of snow & ice build-up will increase the chance of getting down to dry ground by the end of the thaw.

2026-01-09 16:31:03 UTC

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Ah, that's true. So, with blading instead of plowing there will be a reduction of the amount of snow that will be there to melt, but people will still need to go clear the drainage basins if they want to see any pavement!
Also, now that I check the main city website, the residential parking bans don't start until Monday, so things will already be quite melty by then.
https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/on_your_streets/seasonal-parking-ban
The plows are all over the main roads again on the live map today, so I guess they're still doing windrows & other clean-up.

2026-01-09 02:30:43 UTC

I would like to congratulate the Ritchie / Bonnie Doon areas for winning the Edmonton snow-clearing sweepstakes. Also select neighbourhoods in Mill Woods & the far south side. Your residential streets & alleys are currently listed as scheduled for plowing, so you might get pavement instead of rivers & lakes when the week of above-freezing temperatures starts on Saturday.
(PS, get yer cars off the street so the plows can do their jobs)
[Find out when your neighbourhood gets added to the clearing schedule on the interactive map.](https://gis.edmonton.ca/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?appalias=SnowAndIceControl&id=2a42dc8809704d618e3e1bcd97500887&page=Status#widget_1=active_datasource_id:dataSource_4,center:-12627937.521488683%2C7081951.680565736%2C102100,scale:141856.52903721321,rotation:0,viewpoint:%7B%22rotation%22%3A0%2C%22scale%22%3A141856.52903721321%2C%22targetGeometry%22%3A%7B%22spatialReference%22%3A%7B%22latestWkid%22%3A3857%2C%22wkid%22%3A102100%7D%2C%22x%22%3A-12627937.521488683%2C%22y%22%3A7081951.680565736%7D%7D )
#YEG #YEGwx

2025-12-30 18:00:21 UTC

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@paulisci/115805626839656006
In one match, two excellent headline puns are duking it out.
In the other semifinal, two concise commentaries on tech company dominance of society in 2025.
Which news headline is the most noteworthy of the year?
(actual headlines & polls in @npub169v…l7un 's thread)
#note1l2l…yfn7

2025-12-27 00:00:07 UTC

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In 2019, I think. Or no, that was Midway Music Hall. Which then moved across the tracks to the former Ranch, and Union Hall took over this space. So yeah, maybe less than 3 years? Since I started doing my calendars here, I think.
I have never been to either of them, despite them not being far from me. Pricey tickets & no seating mean it's always a maybe & never a yes. And it's not exactly an area I would choose to walk through to get somewhere else.
Which... might have something to do with why they're shutting down. Best of luck to the Pawn Shop team, but their previous experience was with a space on Whyte, so I don't know if they're factoring in the total lack of foot traffic or transit access.

2025-12-26 22:15:11 UTC

Remember, folks:
"formally known as" = this is the official name, the other is a nickname or short form.
Like "the Oscars, formally known as The Academy Awards".
"formerly known as" = this is a previous name, which is no longer correct.
Like "X, formerly known as Twitter".
This tip brought to you by the Edmonton music venue Pawn Shop Live, which is taking over the space formerly known as Union Hall, and all their bookings for the new year.
Well technically, it's still Union Hall for another week, so I guess for now it is *formally* known as Union Hall, too. But I don't think that's what they meant when they updated their ticket listings page:
https://www.ticketweb.ca/venue/pawn-shop-live-formally-known-as-union-hall-edmonton-ab/144965
And I haven't even mentioned how Pawn Shop Live formerly existed in a different venue...
https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2025/12/12/two-former-edmonton-venues-reopening-a-decade-after-closures/
#YEGmusic

2025-12-14 17:08:09 UTC

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Ouch! Glad they got it sorted for you, even if they had to put full body weight into it. Having to go to a hospital in a foreign country, especially if you don't speak much of the language, is certainly an extra stress on top of the injury itself.
(I almost ended up in a Japanese ER on a conference trip after a my foot swelled up in response to some cold meds. But a bath & a sleep was enough to ease things a bit so I can't report on the efficiency of their system.)

2025-11-29 19:36:48 UTC

Do I know anyone whose employer would be interested in sponsoring a high school robotics team in Toronto?
My nephew's current fundraising strategy seems to be to ask family members for money, and as someone without a lot of money who also doesn't think that school extracurriculars should be restricted to students with well-off families, I was trying to think of what else I could do to help.
I personally think they should build robots that will fundraise for them. Maybe a lemonade-making robot that could staff a lemonade stand? But I guess they first need enough funding to get to the point of being able to design & build such a thing!

2025-11-25 16:58:14 UTC

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I mean, it *is* hard to find a hospital-sized lot somewhere that already has great transit access.
Huh, well, *except* for the large empty lot, almost as big as the chosen one, that is right *next* to the South Campus LRT station. 🤨
But I think that one might be owned by a residential development company, not the university (it has previously housed a sales office trailer for a condo development).
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/611/373/906/770/829/original/8c0b8bba013f0a97.png

2025-11-25 15:56:36 UTC

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Oh. I'd thought it sounded interesting from the synopsis: a bit of a flip-the-perspective narrative (Canadian indigenous family visiting Europe on holiday and reacting to all the exotic & strange cultural traditions there).
But any time you're approaching minority culture perspectives in a humorous way, it of course depends entirely on who is telling the story. I had assumed it was written by someone from a local indigenous community & being produced from that perspective, with indigenous performers. If not, then I could see how it would be an issue.

2025-11-22 01:00:41 UTC

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🤦🏻‍♀️ I've never been past the ground floor, so I'm a bit disappointed to find out the atrium isn't actually fresh with plant life. I wonder if the original plan had been to have real plants but they didn't survive / were to costly to take care of, or if they've been fake all along?

2025-11-18 22:58:17 UTC

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It's not even an ornately carved stick! It's like something that might be passed down with grand ceremony at a kid's summer camp:
"Jimmy, as the winner of this year's wacky obstacle course race, we entrust to you the keeping of the Beaver Lodge Log for the rest of the session. Keep is safely, keep it proudly, and for goodness sake's, Jimmy, keep it away from the campfire."
(I kind of love it.)

2025-11-15 17:08:14 UTC

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Not sure if opera is Britt's thing, but an FYI for Kyle: There's budget opera later this month when the Edmonton Opera hosts a national competition:
https://www.edmontonopera.com/rumbold-2025

2025-10-23 22:26:28 UTC

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The PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) has some nice colour schemes: https://shop.thepwhl.com/collections/team-jerseys
No light blue & pink, but the purple Minnesota Frost ones are nice.
You could do a little research to pick an extra gay & proud player whose name to display. I'm sure there must be a few on each team.
And of course, when you're ready to be extra out & proud yourself, lots of pro teams have rainbow Pride edition jerseys now.
E.g., US women's soccer: https://store.ussoccer.com/products/us4plz2514-womens-nike-uswnt-2025-pride-personalized-brilliant-home-stadium-jersey
(But also: Ohmygoodness, those prices. Can you invoice this as a work expense???)

2025-10-14 15:58:45 UTC

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In all those satellite views, the golf courses really stand out & I'm surprised he didn't mention them. Green space but not greenspace.

2025-10-08 01:10:50 UTC

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Oof! I hope you can at least find a deal for buying multiple appliances at the same time. Do you think things can hold out until Black Friday?
@npub1tpt…kvpg

2025-09-28 16:36:58 UTC

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I need to learn the art of folding my scarf into a west-African style sun-shading headdress.

2025-08-31 03:11:15 UTC

Edmonton! Close your windows!
Smoke from the industrial fire on the city's east border is now blowing heavy at ground level across the southside & the wind direction forecast all night is "variable" so it might go anywhere.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/firefighters-battle-blaze-in-industrial-area-east-of-edmonton-1.7622065
https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-raw-pm25?opt=%2F1%2Fi%2Flp%2Fa10%2Fp604800%2FcC0#9.73/53.5176/-113.4332
#YEG #YEGaq
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/121/171/987/055/623/original/9c8a8b5d934c0951.png

2025-08-22 16:39:15 UTC

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To clarify: are you the type of millennial who wouldn't put any punctuation at all, or are you the type who would use an exclamation mark (or many)?
I've never understood the argument that periods at the end of a message make it sound terse or serious, but I do tend to lean heavy on the exclamation marks!
But of course, it depends on your father in law's character, too. Some granddads would say "Congratulations" in a non-exclamation voice in person, just a "nicely done, good job" tone with a nod & half-smile. (The "That'll do, pig, that'll do" tone, if you get the reference.)

2025-08-11 21:14:59 UTC

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Wait: "Historians?" WTF? Is that an AI mistranslation of something?

2025-08-11 15:12:28 UTC

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So, pre-ordering is now available, but has there been any sort of announcement about what it will cost? Or are they waiting until they know how many people order it???
There's absolutely nothing about fall 2025 vaccine availability change on their main information website
( https://www.alberta.ca/covid19-vaccine.aspx now redirects to https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans#vaccine, which is information about the 2024-25 immunization campaign.)

2025-08-09 21:48:10 UTC

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The NCF is a pretty great org, yes. Getting in on CRTC's bulk-DSL reseller system certainly helped them remain relevant, but I'm sure it's also due to good admins & volunteers over the decades. It may have also helped that the servers were hosted at a university until very recently — longer-term stability than a tech company!
And they were indeed inspired by that Cleveland project:
https://www.ncf.ca/en/who-we-are/our-history/

2025-08-09 19:48:09 UTC

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Oh, that's neat. (Adding to the to-read open tab pile...)
Is Edmonton Freenet still around?
I still have my personal email through the National Capital Freenet in Ottawa. Send them a little bit of money every year to keep it active. They still provide internet service, too, although as a DSL reseller, not the dial-up I remember from the 90s.

2025-08-08 21:24:07 UTC

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Of course, you realize that the lock might just result in someone banging on your door, saying "Hey, I know you're working, but I just need to talk to you a second. Can you open up?" (while you do your best to keep a straight face & listen to what a colleague is saying on your headset...) ?
So, you'll still need to work on trying to redirect people's urgent thoughts into asynchronous message formats.
But hopefully, a privacy lock will at least reduce the frequency of interruptions.

2025-08-08 21:14:25 UTC

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Yeah, "I just need to say {5 minutes pass}" does indeed sound like a hyperfocus brain dump.
Ideally, that person would get in the habit of redirecting their urgent-feeling thoughts into writing for follow-up at an appropriate time. But they have to be the one to recognize the problem & want to change for that to happen. I was trying to think of a way for you to model / force that pattern.
If you go for a lock, given your health issues, do you think you could get away with a bathroom doorknob privacy lock? So someone can't barge in, but if you have to call 911 no one needs to actually smash the door down?

2025-08-08 20:57:32 UTC

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Given you work from home, I assume this is a family/household member interrupting you?
So you don't have the option of pulling rank at work, or telling a superior something like "is this conversation important enough to push back the deadline on what I'm currently working on?" (and if so, can we get that in the ticket tracker in writing? 🙄)
Hmm...
In a workplace, you could also try to insist people book a meeting time. Maybe a possible strategy, to convince your household interrupter that you're not dismissing or ignoring them, is to make it clear you're scheduling them in for later?
Like, grab a notepad and write down something based on that first sentence after "I wanted to tell you..." (something like "Alex -- grocery list" or whatever). Then interrupt with "OK, got it, I'll find you when I'm finished work & you can give the details." If they start talking again: "Is there an emergency that absolutely needs my input in the next X hours?"
But of course, you need to actually follow up later!

2025-08-07 00:28:47 UTC

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My best guess is that this is the same sort of "error" (if you can call it an error when someone just doesn't GAF) that censored the USS Enola Gay. Someone insisted that all references to Trump's impeachments get scrubbed from federal websites, someone else tasked an AI to do it, and voila, we eliminate the constitutional provisions that were cited in the articles of impeachment.

2025-08-04 01:57:29 UTC

Checked another essential Edmonton experience off my list today: went to the Heritage Festival! Somehow I'd never gotten there although always meaning to, but maybe the weather wasn't good or I wasn't feeling great or there was just lots else going on during the long weekend.
But a friend messaged me yesterday. He suggested we go for lunch & then check out the festival. I laughed & explained: you have lunch *at* the festival, the food is the biggest reason to go!
We ended up spending more than 5.5 hours this afternoon, wandering around the full loop of 66 national pavilions in assorted weather. (My friend wondered why I was bringing a knapsack, but I made good use of the rain jacket & umbrella, & sun hat & shades, & summerweight jacket, too.)
We seemed to have a bad habit of arriving at a performance stage just as things were wrapping up, but still managed to witness quite a variety of dancing & drumming & more. (I'll post photos later/tomorrow.)
Still on tomorrow until 8pm.
https://www.heritagefest.ca/

2025-07-23 18:21:03 UTC

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I'm staring at this headline & trying to remember if The Register is a satire publication or serious tech journalism.
This is the state of the world we live in.

2025-07-16 20:42:29 UTC

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It is both comforting and depressing to know how universal that doctor's office tightrope-walk is. 😭

2025-07-12 17:02:49 UTC

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I don't think this is about Poilievre not knowing all the reasons he lost his Carleton seat. It's about him setting up a narrative for his campaign in Alberta: Those whiny entitled public servants in Ottawa didn't like me, because I'm going to make the tough cuts to save your tax dollars.

2025-07-09 22:18:37 UTC

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I also love the little chevrons on the leaves. And a lawn full of clover is much nicer to sit on than prickly cut grass.

2025-07-05 19:45:19 UTC

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(Of course, Edmonton has its own problem: a downtown arena in a city with crappy transit beyond the core, so all of downtown becomes a parking lot on a big event night. The old arena in Edmonton was actually a quite reasonable location, about 5km from city centre, across from the Expo lands which are an empty parking lot most of the year, but also with a light rail transit station at its door.)

2025-07-05 19:40:25 UTC

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Honestly, the only reason I know what that arena looks like is because you pass it on the highway when you're going to Toronto via bus.
I think the farthest west I ever regularly went via OC Transpo was the IKEA & Lee Valley stores, and that's like half the distance to the arena from downtown. (I lived near South Keys.)
I'm rather surprised that an O-train to Kanata & the arena still isn't even in planning. I guess they're counting on a new downtown arena being easier to build?

2025-07-01 15:30:54 UTC

PS to all y'all #mstdnca folks: It wasn't just you, it was weirdly quiet here yesterday because of server issues post-update:
https://status.mstdn.ca/incident/612191
There are probably lots of posts you missed that are now in your feed if you keep scrolling back to yesterday.
Or don't. Live in the moment. Let things pass you by. You don't have to see *every* adorable photo or hilarious meme. You'll be fine. 😶

2025-06-29 14:38:34 UTC

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The No Frills I go to was nearly all US produce, too. I broke my rule and bought a few of the Washington-grown apples because apples are pretty much a staple for me. I assume they're just buying whatever's cheapest, but the price of the bagged US apples is still 25% more than 4 months ago because of tariffs, so the remaining stores of BC apples must be running thin & in high demand.
I didn't buy the cherries, despite the good price; the Okanagan ones should be ready in a few weeks. 🤞🏻

2025-06-28 23:51:31 UTC

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I agree. Senators should be focused on the substance of the bill, not MPs' vacation schedules.
But I also understand why many Senators are still hesitant to outright obstruct policy that has been passed with a solid majority by the elected chamber. There is still the fear that if they are seen as too "political", then they threaten the future of the Senate. From that perspective, the Senate's role is of editor & reviewer, identifying small details that need fixing.

2025-06-27 16:40:37 UTC

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I think all the photo-recognition plant apps are over-trained on flower features & not on leaves & other parts of the plant, because that's what the photos in sales catalogues & such show. But the flowers are also the part that tends to be modified the most in cultivated varieties of flowers, while leaves & seeds & such tell you more about the genus & family!

2025-06-27 16:18:55 UTC

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(Psst, that's a lily-lily not a daylily. But yeah, probably not a native one.)

2025-06-26 03:34:31 UTC

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My guess is that the Cloudflare cache must have been dumped again when the server went offline, and so now the server is under a lot of strain (generating fresh HTML for each request) even more than 30 hours after the original incident. Things are functioning, but still really slow & with lots of errors. I just deleted a batch of duplicate replies to you Stéphanie: it looked like the post had timed out on my end, but I guess it went through without confirming back.

2025-06-26 03:25:57 UTC

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But the dead nettle is so pretty, though! It flowers early spring to late fall and the bees love it! And it grows where nothing else will, in deep shade & poor soil! 🤩
And... if you let it get anywhere with good growing conditions, it will completely smother anything else you planted there.* 🫣
(* except for large shrubs or tall, well-established irises or lilies that can quickly tower over it).
I do need to do a pass over my yard and pull out a lot of it.

2025-06-21 19:57:33 UTC

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Oh no!
Time to break out those board games back at the cabin, I think.

2025-06-20 18:27:23 UTC

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🥵 And this is why I'm not complaining about our very chilly (but thankfully not smoky!) first day of summer here in Edmonton (high 17 forecast for tomorrow; 6 days in a row with highs below 21 if the forecast holds).
When thinking about staying here vs moving back to Ontario, it really is a debate on which one makes summers more miserable: wildfire smoke vs humid heat waves. But of course, we're getting more heat & you're getting more smoke, every year, either way.

2025-06-14 16:34:38 UTC

The suspect in the shootings of Minnesota legislators & their spouses was dressed as a law enforcement officer, according to new reports.
That's a clear, factual description based on the evidence available.
But then there's quotes from the Public Safety Commissioner about how the suspect was "posing" as a cop & "exploited the trust of our uniforms".
If they haven't identified the suspect yet, how do they know that he wasn't actually a cop in work uniform?

2025-06-12 14:47:57 UTC

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Aren't you due for a couple hours of anesthesia soon? And maybe some hospital-grade meds afterwards? Sounds like it's not the *worst* timing...
But seriously, that is an extra stressor on a stressful day, and I hope you are able to keep on your schedule of everything you need to do.

2025-06-11 23:29:19 UTC

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Presidential protective custody, they could call it. Keep him locked down in the Whitehouse for his own safety in these tumultuous times. No internet to avoid him being influenced by foreign agents.
Meanwhile, teams of military clerks & cryptosecurity specialists are sent out to public administration officers everywhere to see if they can revert the dodgy destruction.
[ uspol for people's filters]

2025-06-07 02:24:57 UTC

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On the west coast there were definitely people wearing masks for smoke prior to Covid.
I did buy some hardware-store N95s to have on hand for smoke, after our bad smoky summer in 2018. Never ended up using them because 2019 & 2020 weren't that bad, and by 2021 I had better fitting N95s (the dome ones trap so much stale breath!).
Lots of the cloth masks with filter inserts that were sold early in the pandemic were designs created for smoke & smog.

2025-06-06 19:59:05 UTC

Today's lesson in why to camelCase your hashtags and @-handles:
Apparently the Edmonton Oilers are facing off in the Stanley Cup final against a team called the flapanthers, per their social handle. Which I initially read as Flap Antlers (🫎), before realizing it was of course Flap *Anther*.
A floppy little bit of plant pollen doesn't sound like a particularly scary opponent, now does it? Well, not if you bring your anti-histamines, anyway.
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/638/169/067/944/502/original/cd96c991b3b9cac0.png

2025-06-06 14:20:58 UTC

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This was me a week ago. (Today we have clean air & I'm airing out the house, although I'm keeping an eye on the numbers.)
Somehow the smoke (& news about the related fires & evacuations) just seemed to hit that much harder with the political climate of even allegedly left-of-centre politicians happily ditching all climate & environmental policies in favour of stimulating the economy and/or stopping the conservatives' name-calling. And that spilled to frustration over so much else.

2025-06-04 13:20:44 UTC

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😬 "Dear translation services client: Please provide links to any source documents you quote & definitions for any buzzwords & neologisms you use!"

2025-06-04 13:14:23 UTC

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Ah, I understood that French had the additional non-sensical meaning because of carbon = char, but I didn't realize that dropping a syllable could have at least fixed that part (if they'd had a proper human translator work on it!) 🤦🏻‍♀️

2025-06-04 00:25:20 UTC

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Oh disappointing.
We've had really up & down temperatures over here, too, and I think that's why I've lost a number of my tomato transplants to "damping off" (the roots / stem near soil surface dying). I've never had that happen to such large, previously healthy & well hardened-off transplants.
Or maybe it was all the ants in that plot, I don't know.

2025-06-03 20:52:54 UTC

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Oh, don't worry: "decarbonized oil" doesn't make any sense in English, either.
The only way to de-carbonize oil (from a chemistry perspective) is to convert it to hydrogen gas. (Which oil & gas folks also like to suggest as a magic cure for emissions, on the assumption they can put the removed CO2 deep underground where no one will notice it when it leaks back out, but that's a different green-washing strategy....)

2025-06-03 15:18:59 UTC

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Oh, that's interesting. I wonder what type of tree they use for the trunk? I'm not aware of any lilac variety that grows like that naturally.
But yes, lilac smell is the best!

2025-05-30 03:03:59 UTC

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Yeah, wind gusts can be deadly even without tornado rotation. Think of that tent collapse at the retreat north of the city last summer, or the stage collapse a while back at Big Valley Jamboree. And you don't see those gusts coming.
It didn't get that bad in my neighbourhood (although it was strong enough to knock around garbage bins), but I'm guessing it was showing up as a potential in their forecasts.

2025-05-29 02:39:24 UTC

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Groundhogs are about the same size as the jackrabbits we get in Edmonton, but a little tubbier around the middle. Substantially larger than a prairie dog / ground squirrel.
Never noticed one in our yard in Ottawa, but there were always lots on the grassy slopes on either side of the southside leg of the Transitway (an express bus route that was built below grade so that it could pass under cross streets).

2025-05-26 23:57:12 UTC

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pinging @npub1jay…80k8 for expert franco-Canadian translation assistance ⬆️

2025-05-25 14:39:23 UTC

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Still not as noisy as the grackles.

2025-05-22 00:03:42 UTC

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Sorry, what? This is the same PM Carney from the Elbows Up / Never 51 campaign ads, right? That was supposed to imply a strong mandate for *increased* military dependence on the US???

2025-05-18 16:06:04 UTC

FYI to Edmonton folks who aren't diligently following hockey but who may need to adjust plans around playoff games:
With the Winnipeg Jets losing last night (😿), the schedule for the Western final (Oilers vs Dallas Stars) has been announced. This week will be Wednesday & Friday away games (6pm start Edmonton time) then a Sunday 1pm matinee downtown.
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/schedule/
PS, You may also run into some noisy Leafs fans at pubs this afternoon. They have somehow still not been eliminated.
#YEG

2025-05-18 02:40:04 UTC

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A very "Wet Coast" day! (and not at all ironic 😆)

2025-05-14 23:25:01 UTC

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"Using food as a political tool" sounds like something you might say when discussing the affordability impact of Canada's retaliatory tariffs on food imports from the US.
But of course, if she said "using starvation of the civilian population as a weapon of war," then the Canadian government would be acknowledging war crimes committed by an allied nation, & would be expected to do more than just tut-tut.
But yeah, at least they're tut-tutting, now. 🫤

2025-05-13 21:00:29 UTC

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I'd missed this story at the time, so thanks for digging it up. Definitely living up to the stereotype of "Liberal elites" making insider deals, there.

2025-05-13 15:16:19 UTC

[CdnPoli] We have a minister of artificial intelligence now? You F-ing kidding me?
And even in a cabinet where they are now distinguishing "Minister" from "Secretary of State", that gets a Minister designation? Are we going to have a new federal Department of Artificial intelligence, too?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-cabinet-revealed-today-1.7532951

2025-05-12 17:34:09 UTC

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I love the violets that grow in the lawn, but I must say that this big cheery mound is absolutely delightful, too.

2025-05-11 21:06:03 UTC

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😬 The problem with "organic fill" patterns is that they look like, well, organic growing things?

2025-05-09 14:53:47 UTC

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? So they know if you've used it & won't let you return it ?
I've bought electronics that have a plastic cap over the plug prongs, but that has a clear electrical insulation benefit. A zip tie wouldn't protect against accidentally touching the plug to something electrically charged. But maybe it's still supposed to be a one-time-only child safety lock to prevent plugging in normally?

2025-05-09 00:56:46 UTC

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🤦🏻‍♀️ Ah, I didn't catch the *next* in there. Well, I think you had plenty of other plants to work on, didn't you? 😆