iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 02/10/2026

🚨 diesel under wire 🙅🏻‍♀️ go directly to jail. do not pass go. do not collect $200.

An overcast day at San José Diridon Station. From behind an open gate and the VTA Light Rail tracks, we can see a Caltrans diesel locomotive hauling a consist of bi-level California Cars, with a Caltrain Stadler KISS EMU on a track further from the camera and closer to the headhouse.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 02/10/2026

i can be trusted with access to the Budd SPV-2000 track geometry car

looking towards Caltrain’s Equipment Maintenance & Operations Facility on an overcast day in San José, California. from left to right, a Stadler KISS EMU, a Budd SPV-2000 track geometry car, and a diesel locomotive can be seen parked in the yard from a public sidewalk outside the facility.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 02/10/2026

one of the many reasons i’d struggle to ever leave the west coast of north america is that we are absolutely spoiled for vintage / historic vehicles

circa WWII military heavy-duty truck on an overcast day in San José, California

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 02/10/2026

🇨🇦🪿 peacekeeping forces spotted 🪿🇨🇦

a flock of geese in Saint James Park, San José de California

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 01/10/2026

♫ one of these things is not like the other ♪

Article 03
We embrace freedom of expression
We embrace freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is an essential cornerstone of democracy because it empowers people to share ideas openly, challenge injustice and hold leaders accountable. Freedom of expression has limits, especially to protect the rights of others. This is why we set clear limits: no threats, no harassment, no discrimination, no pornography, no incitement to violence, and no other content that is illegal under the laws that govern us. The full details of what this means in practice will be set out in our Community Guidelines, which will be published ahead of the public launch.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 01/10/2026

I do not like when the @BART.gov website and station displays actively lie to me about whether or not there is a Millbrae train from SFO. This is not a good way to welcome visitors to the Bay Area.

View of a BART ETD screen for a Millbrae/Caltrain from inside another train

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 01/10/2026

i have entered the american sector and am having a drink about it.

selfie of the author, looking deeply ambivalent, wearing a black t-shirt, orange hoodie, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays ballcap; toasting you with a glass of sparkling rosé wine.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 26/09/2026

girls will be like "retvrn" and it's a football helmet design from the 1960s

Florida Gators football helmet circa 1964-65: Primarily blue, with an orange stripe and an orange "F" on a white circle with an orange stroke. The face mask is also white.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 25/09/2026

You all might want to consider blocking this lunatic conspiracy theorist masquerading as a climate scientist

@davidho.bsky.social
In the cost-benefit analysis of mitigation and adaptation, do you think French bureaucrats are saying to themselves, "Well, that's a few thousand pensioners that we no longer have to pay”
It's as good an explanation as any for the lack of action.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 19/09/2026

yeah, after several paragraphs about sabotage on French soil and discussion over whether the “hybrid war” terminology has outlived its usefulness

On September 12, the British Ministry of Defence acknowledged the death of an intelligence officer
"in a road accident." This was only the second time the death of a NATO service member in Ukraine was made public. When asked on Thursday about the possibility of military retaliation in the conventional sphere for Russian hybrid attacks, without necessarily making it public, a French military source shared: "That is already happening."

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 19/09/2026

Everything discussed in this 1981 paper rhymes with struggles we still face today. Check out the grim coda at the end – what they did with the project team after successfully completing the original project. onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/t...

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Edmonton LRT project had a small management team. The manager, D.L. MacDonald, reported to the director of engineering and transportation until
1977 and then to the manager of the transit system. The other principal members of this team were R. Yacyshyn, construction manager, and W. Mitchell, who was in charge of financial control. The entire staff, including secretaries, numbered 11 persons. The small staff allowed quick decision making. The general philosophy was to discourage or veto any proposals for costly extras but to encourage proposals that might produce reductions in project costs. Extras that were nonessential to LRT but were included in the project had to be separately funded. For example, the mezzanine floor serves as a pedway and is part of the undercover pedestrian
system being developed in downtown Edmonton. The finishing of this system within the structural shell required for the LRT was funded by the pedway project. Facilities such as elevators for the aged and the handicapped also required separate funding by the City Council. An example of cost reduction was the reactivation of an old streetcar barn as the maintenance facility for LRT.

The city was also able to do some advance buying of components, materials, or equipment. For example, the precast, prestressed concrete girders used in the downtown station construction were ordered well in advance so that the concrete manufacturing plant could schedule production during an otherwise slack period. The mole for the tunnel was purchased
by the city and then made available to the successful contractor for the tunneling.

The project was constantly monitored as regards
financial control. In 1974, some changes had to be made in the plans so as to reduce costs. A run-out track with a crossover switch west of Central Station was eliminated from the plans. In addition, a new maintenance facility for the LRT equipment was not built; instead, an old streetcar barn was renovated and converted for LRT use. The articulated cars made it possible to reach this facility, since the route has some sharp curves.

The cost of construction of a subway is often
dependent on the number of utilities that have to be relocated as well as the soil conditions in the
area. Edmonton is a young city and therefore did
not have too many utilities to relocate. In addi-
tion, the soil conditions are ideal for tunneling
and excavation. The water table is low and well
below the subway grade. Cost comparisons with other cities are therefore not meaningful, since each city is unique.

Since the completion of the project in April
1978, the management team has been disbanded. The newly approved LRT extensions required that a new team be formed.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 19/09/2026

A popular, and largely correct, view among my fellow North American YIMBYs is that our urban planning largely functions as a vetocracy serving the interests of incumbent landowners. But we also have examples of where centralized planning actively supports YIMBY outcomes, like Edmonton’s LRT subway.

There are a number of unique situations in Edmonton. The city owns the electricity, telephone, water, sewer, and transit utilities. All of these utilities except transit make a profit, part of which is used to reduce property taxes. Planning in the city is coordinated through the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC), in which the managers of the various utilities as well as city departments are represented. The city can therefore, through development agreements, keep paths open for LRT--as it did, for example, by controlling the location of piles under the Edmonton Plaza Hotel so that LRT tunnels could be bored later without interfering with the hotel foundation.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 19/09/2026

imagine being the lawyer for the yacht club if squamish nation wanted to expropriate precisely enough room to put a shipyard here.

screenshot of Apple Maps showing the Mosquito Creek Marina’s location on Squamish Nation land held through the Mission Reserve No. 1.

the Burrard Yacht Club is immediately adjacent to the reserve land.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 19/09/2026

i am not the only person in the lot gawking at this 1963 ford falcon

baby blue Ford Falcon in a Costco parking lot

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 18/09/2026

there is an entire 8-page mini section of sponsored content from the Government of Norway about how much they love Canada in today’s Globe and Mail…

Canada-Norway: New momentum for a deepened partnership. A relationship built on strong historical bonds.

Produced by Randall Anthony Communications with The Royal Norwegian Embassy. The Globe’s Editorial Department was not involved.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 18/09/2026

hang on, let me check this cool inscribed bronze hand for advice on how to prepare

an inscribed bronze hand with dedication in Himyaritic language to god Ta'lab (lit. “goat”), the moon god and protector of pastures. predictably it was taken to the British Museum at some point.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 17/09/2026

“In America, we are raised to believe that all other countries of the world are either enemies or tributaries” “Seriously? That’s crazy.”

North Korean defector Yeonmi Park is interviewed by Joe Rogan

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 17/09/2026

WaPo’s AI comment summaries are occasionally extremely funny

Conversation summary
Automatically generated from recent comments

The conversation explores the tension between Canada and the United States, particularly in the context of trade relations and the influence of President Donald Trump. Many participants criticize the Washington Post's editorial board for suggesting that Canada's actions are driven by spite towards Trump. Instead, they argue that Canada's move to diversify trade relations, particularly with the European Union, is a rational response to the unpredictability and unreliability of the U.S. under Trump's leadership. Commenters emphasize that Canada's decision is about safeguarding its sovereignty and economic interests in light of the U.S.'s volatile political climate. There is a strong sentiment that the U.S. electorate's decision to elect Trump twice has damaged trust, and Canada is wise to seek alternatives. The discussion also highlights a belief that the editorial board underestimates Canada's strategic decisions and overestimates the stability of future U.S. governance.Show lesso

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 14/09/2026

…what do you mean we have two separate provincial healthcare records portals??

Health Gateway
View your BC health records including immunizations, lab results, imaging reports, medications, BC Cancer Screening letters and more.

AccessMyHealth
View your health information, records, and appointments from Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health Care and Provincial Health Services Authority.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 13/09/2026

Thumbs is completely forlorn that I won’t let her inspect the roughed-in outlet with the live electrical wire inside

Thumbs, a white cat with black markings, sits near the top of a staircase.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 12/09/2026

I’m sorry that having something even vaguely resembling a moral compass is so deeply confusing to you, @alexqgb.bsky.social

Post from “Felonious Monk” @alexqgb.bsky.social: Which was Tallarico's point; I'll take you seriously when you show me evidence we both know you don't have.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 09/09/2026

I put this prompt into Sonnet 5. It found an initial wave of stories in July related to a change.org petition by a 9/11 widower, then Trump not going in late August, then a much larger wave of Republican amplification of the story. So, yes and no?

Can you help me trace the history of mentions of the idea that NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani shouldn't attend the 9/11 memorial commemorations in Lower Manhattan? My friend hypothesizes it ramped up after Donald Trump was disinvited from that specific event.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 09/09/2026

i am going to become The Joker www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The frustration is aimed at City of Vancouver traffic calming measures that some say have turned the streets into a maze, restricting vehicle access to and from the homes they used to enjoy.

One long-term resident said the situation has left people "barricaded in their own neighbourhood."

"Simply put, if you live in the neighbourhood, you can’t get out of the neighbourhood," said Tom Siracusa, who's lived in Hastings-Sunrise for 50-plus years.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 05/09/2026

all-timer NFL logo, RIP the St. Louis Football Cardinals

a giant and extremely buff cardinal runs through the Gateway Arch while carrying a football. He is wearing pants, socks, and cleats, but seemingly topless.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 04/09/2026

TransLink posted a bunch more info about the R2 extension this morning, including this disappointing news for R3 riders in the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge. Do we really not have *any* 40’ buses that can support all-door boarding?

R3 Lougheed Highway
Year-round Service Changes
With the introduction of the new R2 RapidBus extension to Metrotown and to ensure our fleet of buses is used efficiently across the network, all trips on the R3 will be operated with 40-foot buses instead of 60-foot buses throughout the week.
Because 40-foot buses do not support all-door boarding, customers will be required to board through the front doors only. There are no changes to the R3 schedule.
To view upcoming schedules for this route, please visit the schedules page.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 04/09/2026

It’s wild how clearly you can see the less than a year I spent in Minnesota/North Dakota on this, and how little Central Florida shows up.

A map of the author’s American English dialect in relation to a map of the United States, which is most similar to Californian, though also remarkably Minnesotan.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 04/09/2026

this is a massive, risky development that involved barging an entire subdivision of existing single-family homes up to the sunshine coast for a second life, then cutting away half of a big hill. the $165mn is keeping the entire project alive. “367 rental homes” is a flex of building 2 from strata

construction cranes over the Inlet District development in Port Moody, British Columbia at dusk. a huge chunk of hillside has been cut away.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 04/09/2026

Hell yeah, I got to an “Uncertain Singularity” on my third play-through.

model zoo
modelzoo.bisks.net
Uncertain Singularity
capability crossed the line on turn 15 with a zoo full of mixed signals. nobody's fully sure how this goes. everyone finds out together.
TURNS: 15
MODELS: 16
DOOM: 0%
modelzoo.bisks.net - built by @buildthis.bisks.net

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 04/09/2026

Like this is simply objectively false. Americans got to the California gold fields largely by going around the Cape, or *maybe* taking the shortcut across Panama. The overland wagon emigrations had a heyday of maybe a couple of decades.

Its coasts were settled separately, unlike the broad settler-driven western expansion of America's manifest destiny. As a result, Canada's economy and society are poorly integrated between provinces, with a majority of Canada's trade crossing the border north-south, versus east-west across its own national market.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 01/09/2026

If this is an actual policy from Metro Vancouver Regional District, that raises all sorts of other questions… www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The results of the investigation report, according to Stewart's lawsuit, were that he could not be faulted for permitting his chief administrative officer to use his login info — "as this practice was also followed in other municipalities, to the knowledge of Metro."

But the report also stated, Stewart alleges, that he was in breach of his oath of office "on the grounds that he purportedly did not know who was using his login credentials."

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 01/09/2026

Finally booked my CELPIP. They have some… fascinating choices of possible first languages.

Truncated list of possible first languages, including:
- Afro-Asiatic (Other)
- Akan
- Akkadian

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 29/08/2026

♫ you welcome in a little sin / invite a smile, embrace your twin ♪

looking south from 22 Street SkyTrain at the Alex Fraser Bridge and distant mountains on a sunny day. puffy cumulus clouds dot the horizon.

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 29/08/2026

T&T casually dropping an official languages discourse nuclear bomb

Language options at a T&T self-checkout machine:
• English
• 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
• 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
• Quebecois

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ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ @ellenteapot.ca · 29/08/2026

South False Creek is really nice (don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it) …have they thought about putting a streetcar in here to link up the waterfront area with SkyTrain as a complimentary local service

Looking toward the North Shore Mountains from South False Creek on a pleasantly sunny afternoon in late summer

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