iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Lamb

@abject.ca

755 followers 541 following 110 posts

Against my better judgment... abject.ca

Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 31/07/2026

About ten years of this here… maybe Canada can rethink that 1-10 scale. But I guess ramping up profits for fossil fuel multinationals is a higher priority.

air quality map centered on Kamloops, BC, dated July 30, 2026, 10:07 PM PDT. Most sensors in the West End, Lower Sahali, and Upper Sahali neighborhoods show dark red circles with readings in the low-to-mid 30s and low 40s, indicating very poor air quality (top of the color scale, 10+).

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 08/05/2026

Hours into catastrophic ransomware meltdown and Canvas URLs (at SFU and UBC) still posting that it's "scheduled maintenance". Instructure has more than 2000 employees, and nobody does comms? The old Simpsons image would be less insulting and unprofessional. Are they so owned they can't change it?

Canvas LMS scheduled maintenance page showing a cartoon rocket with two small robots floating beside it and the message "Canvas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance — Check back soon."

Cartoon "Technical Difficulties — Please Stand By" graphic from The Simpsons, featuring a wobbly cameraman holding a jug of moonshine next to a TV camera.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 19/04/2025

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”

Tweet by George Siemens saying "AI as returning us to our humanity:" with a link preview titled "Matter and Space" from matterandspace.com, showing a close-up image of skin.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 21/02/2025

A screenshot of a Bluesky post by user “Matt” (@matttomic.bsky.social) calling for a retweet of Jon Bois’ overtime hockey tweet, using medieval-style language and humor. Below, a repost by Teddy Wilson includes a screenshot of Jon Bois’ 2014 tweet, which humorously compares watching overtime playoff hockey to an extreme adrenaline rush: “why watch overtime playoff hockey when you can simply snort cocaine and ride a motorcycle out of a helicopter.”

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 26/12/2024

Remember what Christmas means, folks... Take it easy and don't make this one your last.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 12/12/2024

Huh, so far my homepage setting doesn't do that... I get this search box. But I expect to be taken on a wild journey.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 12/12/2024

Ian is such a bad influence on me... He's even gotten me to install the Edge browser.

A webpage showing "Assessment Option 3" instructions with the question "Why does accessibility matter in your context?" highlighted. A dropdown menu next to it includes an option to "Ask Copilot."

A Moodle forum page displaying "Assessment Option 3" instructions. On the right, a Copilot panel outlines reasons why accessibility matters, including inclusivity, legal compliance, and user experience.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 10/12/2024

Observing the photogenic Adjuster assassin phenomenon reminds me of how Obama wouldn't touch single-payer healthcare in the name of not being ideological (LOL), preserving what Graeber called the bullshit jobs of the industry. People suffer and die for profit, it's a bi-partisan priority.

**Descriptive text:** The quote features Obama addressing single-payer healthcare and its economic implications. He notes that proponents often emphasize savings from reduced insurance and paperwork costs. However, he points out that such savings translate to the loss of millions of jobs—1 to 3 million—held by individuals working for insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield or Kaiser. He then poses critical questions: "What are we doing with them? Where are we employing them?"

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 29/11/2024

Listening to a podcast “Tournament of Toughest Road Signs” (epm.fireside.fm/300 — @jonkimball.bsky.social), I tried to think of the most bad-ass signs that I’ve come across. Remembered this one from a backroad in Utah. Bullet holes add a certain something. Damned big government and its permits.

A weathered sign reads “High Level Nuclear Waste Prohibited Except by Permit” with a radioactive symbol crossed out. The sign has bullet holes and stands in a rural landscape.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 22/10/2024

Very grateful to attend #mootglobal24 in Merida, after five long no-Mexico years.   One of the best sessions was put together by my TRU LT&I colleagues Jamie Drozda and Melanie Latham. Demonstrating how custom Moodle roles allow students to create H5P activities.  h5pintheclassroom.trubox.ca

A large group of attendees sits in a conference room facing a stage. Two speakers are presenting in front of a screen displaying sponsor logos for the event. Some attendees wear “Catalyst U” shirts.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 14/09/2024

I asked ChatGPT o1-preview to provide an analysis of Donald Clark's latest, "Has ChatGPTo1 just stolen 'Critical Thinking' from humans?" via the persona of someone with actual expertise and knowledge of artificial intelligence. At least GenAI knows what to say about ed tech thought leaders.

A section from a critical analysis of AI advancements. It discusses the overstatement of AI's critical thinking abilities and misconceptions about the proximity of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

A critical analysis of AI, highlighting a lack of empirical evidence, underestimation of limitations like reasoning and mathematical errors, and the overgeneralization of AI's use cases across specialized fields.

A critique of AI, addressing the misrepresentation of AI's planning abilities, ethical challenges such as bias, accountability, and privacy, and the importance of human expertise in fields like healthcare and education.

A critical analysis addressing the misunderstanding of AI scaling and the use of hyperbolic language without evidence. The conclusion emphasizes a balanced perspective on AI advancements and the need for ethical collaboration.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 04/04/2024

Quinn “huggy bear” Hughes. Brilliant, wildly entertaining defenceman and Captain of the Vancouver Canucks. And my favourite active NHL player even before I saw this photo.  Oh Captain, my Captain!

Photo of Quinn Hughes looking like a bleary-eyed stoner next to some Asian take-out food.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 27/03/2024

Today our LT&I media designers spent time with two talented co-op students to share theme design, and how to make recent developments in WordPress work for our team. Their natural generosity of spirit was a thing to see. I mostly sat in the back, catching up on email and enjoying the ambient vibe.

TRU's LT&I team members seated, engaged in WordPress design on a monitor in a tech-equipped room.

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Brian Lamb @abject.ca · 03/03/2024

Inspiring to see North American liberals showing moral clarity on fascism. The future of democracy is on the ballot this year!

Screenshot of article in The Atlantic. Headline: the return of fascism, showing photo of Italian PM Meloni.

Photo of Biden kissing Italian PM Meloni.

Photo of Trudeau holding hands with Italian PM Meloni.

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