iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 20/03/2026

If you precisely time the preparation your beverage of choice this morning, you can toast the first minute of spring officially arriving at 10:48 am, EDT today.

View of earth from space with the sun just kissing the arc of the horizon, illuminating land, clouds, and ocean below.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 10/03/2026

Q. What’s an example of adding insult to injury? A. An OC Transpo bus station. #ottawa

Photo. A glassed in bus stop with a row of benches on the right. The concrete floor is strewn with garbage including paper wrappers and plastic bottles.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026

Rites of Spring It was round about now, mid-March or so, when the marbles would come out. We bided time until conditions were just right: that point when disappearing snow revealed the soft earth long buried by winter. Not too waterlogged. Not too dry. Goldilocks […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Close up of a hand about to shoot a marble into a round hole carved into soft earth. A few other marbles are lying on the ground.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2026

Am I the only one puzzled by time change math? Consider: Eastern Standard Time started November 2, 50 days before the winter solstice. Eastern Daylight Time starts March 8, 77 days after the solstice. Why such an imbalance? Why wouldn’t EDT restart 50 days after the […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Photo: A clock store with dozens of clocks of various styles and sizes on display.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2026

After a run of 56 days this winter, the Rideau Canal skateway closes for the season today. The longest overall skating season (from opening to closing) was during the 1971–1972 winter, when the canal remained open for approximately 90–95 days. #ottawa

Photo: Two pairs of skates, one men’s, black, one wonen’s, white, are hanging from hooks on a dark blue wall

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 17/02/2026

An air quality alert just popped up. Any theories as to why? #ottawa

Screen shot of Apple’s weather app showing an air quality index of 5 (moderate health risk).

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 17/02/2026

Back in the Before Times, I would ocassionally buy a pair of jeans online from a U.S. supplier. They sent me a survey this morning. My response:

Text of my letter:

Re: Your opinion truly matters to us
Why are you sending me this email? I haven't bought anything from you guys for months, and have no intention of doing so until that crazy monster of a president you have down there is impeached and incarcerated.
Do you think, as a Canadian, I would be so foolish as to purchase anything from a country whose government threatens Canada weekly, tries to stir political unrest in our country, slaps on punitive tariffs for no apparent reason, and insults us and our prime minister, not to mention turning your own country into a tyrannical hellhole?
Nothing against you guys personally, but sheesh.
JD
Ottawa, Canada

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 05/02/2026

‘Tis the season! Sure are some *searches for technical term* doozies out there.

Photo: A roadway full of water-filled potholes.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 02/02/2026

A question for you: is it just me or is this guy starting to turn orange?

Pierre Poilievre wearing a dark blue suit, standing up in the House of Commons surrounded by other MPs. His face does indeed seem to have a more orange hue than those of the others in the photo.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 01/02/2026

OK little fella. Tomorrow’s your big day! We all rootin’ for ya! . . . . . . Just don’t you go screwing it up, now, ya hear?.

Photo: A ground hog sitting on a patch of half grass, half snow.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 26/01/2026

According to this post, Tiktok is already blocking anti-Trump, anti-ICE posts. If so, time to abandon it altogether. Are there Canadian/ other alternatives?

Screen shot of a post by David Leavett. I’m not sure what social media its on. Anyway it says that “TikTok has begun censoring anti-Trump and anti-Ice content.”

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 25/01/2026

After all the lies, after all the abuse, after all the attempts to ruin our economy, we still do this . . . Convoy of linesmen heading from Canada to the US to help out with the winter storm aftermath.

Linesmen trucks on an Ontario highway heading south.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2026

Found this on Reddit. Thought some of you guys would enjoy.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 23/01/2026

The Roman historian Tacitus (50-120 CE) nailed it. “Tacitus was especially good at describing the effect the tyrant has on the people around him. When the tyrant first takes power, there is a “rush into servitude” as great swarms of sycophants suck up to the great […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 20/01/2026

This morning: Trump displays an AI map of North America in the White House showing Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela as part of the US. www.newsweek.com/trump-shares-map-o…

Trump in the White House with half a dozen visitors in front of the map of North America. The countries of Canada, Greenland, and Canada are overlaid with the American flag, as is the United States.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 15/01/2026

I wrote to the National Observer about this (thought they might be more investigative than the legacy media) and received this reply.

Message exchange with the National Observer:

Hi John,
Thanks for sending your scoop via Canada's National
Observer's scoop link.
Your scoop has been forwarded to our editorial team. They will contact you if they require any further info.
Thanks again for sharing your scoop with National
Observer.
Kind regards,
Jan 15, 2026, 07:30 PST
Submitted on Thu, 01/15/2026 - 07:30
Submitted by: Anonymous
Submitted values are:
Name
D
Email address
Subject - reason
I've got a general question
Message
Politico Europe quotes an anonymous diplomat saying that Canada is sending troops to Greenland, though it's officially denied. See paragraphs 5, 6.
Any chance NO could find out more? There's no mention that I could find in the Globe, Star, or NP.
https://www.politico.eu/article/denmark-allies-boost-greenland-military presence-donald-trump-ramps-up-pressure/

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 12/01/2026

I received a reply from the Minister. It mentions improving platform safety and accountability but there’s no mention of moving the Canadian government from the X platform. #x #GROK

Text of Evan Solomon’s letter (truncated as it is over Mastodon’s character limit):

RE: Use of X and Grok by the Canadian Government
Thank you for reaching out to share your concerns regarding recent reports of deepfake images generated by the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok on the social media platform X.
I want to be clear: deepfake sexual abuse is violence. Canadians should be able to participate online without fear that their image will be misused or manipulated without consent, particularly women and young people.
Platforms and Al developers have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent this kind of harm.
Our government is continuing to advance the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence in Canada. A key part of this work is Bill C-16, which would amend the Criminal Code to clarify that non-consensual deepfake intimate images are treated as intimate images for the purposes of the offence of publication without consent. This legislation would strengthen protections for victims and help ensure that those who misuse these technologies are held accountable.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 12/01/2026

I’ve written several times trying to get someone—anyone— to show a little initiative on this file. Crickets so far. Undeterred, here we go again. I’ll let you guys know if I get a resoonse this time. #x #GROK

Letter:

To:
Evan Solomon,
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Canada.
Dear Mr. Solomon,
I understand the Canadian government is reconsidering its use of X as a social media platform in the wake of controversies surrounding its Grok Al service, and X generally.
Good. The sooner the federal government stops using X, the better.
. . .
Governments urgently need to find ways to wean themselves from this platform.
In the recent past, X has helped foment right-wing riots in Britain, threatened to curtail essential military communications in Ukraine, promoted violent and extremist views and, in Canada, attempted to discredit the CBC by labelling it a
'government funded media'
Fortunately, there are alternatives: alternatives which are not owned by any corporation and through which governments can own, operate, and control their own social media platforms. The Fediverse is one such alternative worthy of investigation. Fediverse servers are relatively easy and inexpensive to implement.
International government agreements and co-ordinated roll outs would help solve the chicken-and-egg problem in transferring to a new social media platform. For this reason I propose that the issue be put on the agenda of the next G7 leaders meeting with a view to securing such agreements as soon as possible.
Thank you.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 09/01/2026

Someone isn’t on this list and most certainly wishes he were, especially with a certain leadership review looming.

A screen shot from CTV news showing the 10 most searched Canadians in 2025. They are, in order, Mark Carney, Justin Trudeau, Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, Jagmeet Singh, Ryan Reynolds, Drake, Ryan Gosling, Shawn Mendes, Rachel McAddams.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 06/01/2026

What surprises me most is that The Orange One hasn’t sent his Black Hawks into Norway to, er, ‘extract’ one of its natural resources.

Photo: A close-up image of the gold Nobel prize medal with a relief of Alfred Nobel on its surface.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 26/12/2025

Years when there were white, green, or mixed Christmases in Ottawa since 1976. (via Reddit)

A chart showing the years that Ottawa has had a white, green or mixed Christmas since 1976. Green Christmases were in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2015 2019, 2020, 2023.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 24/12/2025

All the best to all you magnificent Mastos! Tout le meilleur pour vous tous magnifiques Mastos ! ¡Todo lo mejor para todos ustedes, magníficos Mastos! / jd

Clipart. A sprig of green holly with red berries.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 21/12/2025

Excited to share the news that tomorrow we’ll have two seconds* more sunlight than today. ————- * Ottawa Ontario. Your kilometrage may vary. #solstice

Graphic: an illustration of the earth from space with the sun illuminating its surface.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 18/12/2025

@crispius You are hereby granted the Mastodon award for stickwithitness!

Photo. An award in the shape of a star upon a gold base.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 18/12/2025

Travel to the US from Canada is down by 40% over last year. So where are Canadians going? According to Flight Centre, these are the top spots. Turks and Caicos: +350% Saint Lucia: +116% Japan: +88% Colombia: +75% Switzerland: +64% Barbados: +61% Vietnam: +56% […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Photo: An Air Canada jet flying above puffy clouds

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 17/12/2025

I can’t for the life of me figure out why Trump has taken such an interest in Venezuela. #oil

A circle chart showing countries with significant oil reserves. It shows that Venezuela has 18 percent of the world’s oil reserves followed by Saudi Arabia 17%, Canada 10%, Iraq 9%.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 17/12/2025

“Paper money accounted for just 20 per cent of all transactions last year, down from 54 per cent in 2009. One-fifth of Canadians say they no longer carry any cash on a daily basis.” (Globe and Mail) Although I do carry a couple of $20 notes for emergencies […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Photo: A spread of Canadian paper currency notes including 5, 10, 20, and 50 dollar bills.

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jd 🔆 Account moved March 22 2026 to ottawa.place @jd.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 10/12/2025

News item: “The US State Department is to revert to the Times New Roman font instead of Calibri, blaming “radical” diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs for what Marco Rubio said was a misguided and ineffective switch from the serif typeface Times […] [Original post on mstdn.ca]

Samples of both Times New Roman snd Calibri typefaces.

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