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Mike Leipe

@mleipe.bsky.social
222 followers 499 following 462 posts

"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one." - Voltaire Ottawa, Canada

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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Just imagine - in less than 17 years you’ll be posting a similar sentiment, except it’ll be a Rolling Stones record in the photo.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Lobster traps?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
In Canada these days it seems it's one or the other, but yeah, rain-inflicted damage is more fixable than the type inflicted by wildfires for sure.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
And here in Ottawa we've just had the rainiest month on record, not just for July but the most rain we've had in any month ever, since we started keeping records in 1873. Hasn't done much for my cycling!
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Maybe train a couple of them to clean your keyboard...?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Saw them here in Ottawa, Jayhawks opening. And some random unknown group they'd picked up on their way through Toronto called "Big Sugar", their first appearance in Canada's Largest Company Town that I'm aware of. Scary amount of talent up on that stage that night. Grateful to have been there.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
And don't forget Arc Angels, he was part of that, too. Killer band, killer record.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
"But if you don't doubt yourself, how can you ever learn?" - @susiedentwords.bsky.social, "Guilty by Definition"
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Right up there with "you're wrong because this YouTube video".
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
"wholesale substitution of consumer enthusiasm for clinical evidence" is brilliant. Sara & Jack Gorman's "Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us" provides some helpful insights into the type of thinking that leads to this sort of behaviour. Highly recommended.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
"When you are cured, the world cheers; when you are dying, it mourns. But when you are simply maintaining, the world is at a loss." A thoughtful and helpful reflection on living with stage four #cancer. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
I have stage four cancer – there will be no cure, but death isn’t necessarily imminent: this is how it feels to live in the long middle
When you are cured, the world cheers; when you are dying, it mourns. But when you are simply maintaining, the world is at a loss
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
This is great, thanks for writing and sharing! I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy your deep digging into the background of this sort of thing. I love "powerful influencers who do not understand expertise and consensus", and find it tremendously sad that so many people are swayed by these people.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
This piece on the very real angst of living with cancer well beyond your sell-by date hits home for me. "They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away." ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
ottawacitizen.com
What happens when you don't die on time?
Hélène Campbell was supposed to be long dead by now. She emptied her bucket list, bank account — and at 34, is left to wonder: “What next?”
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Rumour has it that there's a very good book coming out in the fall that's set in that city...
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
I assume you're aware of this? ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/ridea... I use the interactive map a fair bit to decide whether it's worth the trip in from Barrhaven.
ncc-ccn.gc.ca
Rideau Canal Skateway
Each winter, the historic Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becomes the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest skating rink.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Seven years ago today, on February 23, 2019, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which despite radiation, surgery, and chemo later metastasized to my lungs twice. Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends. #hope
Me at the bottom of the chair lift at Sommet Edelweiss near Wakefield, Quebec.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
I just had this weird brain fart in which, as I'm about to go under for surgery (I've had many...), the lead surgeon says, "alright team, remember to move fast and break things". After decades in the tech business, few things scare me more than a Silicon Valley approach to health care.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
"[C]hange doesn't stop just 'cause you're standing still" - @karinslaughter.com, "We Are All Guilty Here" An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Good to see that someone's keeping Oscar warm over the winter! 🇨🇦🥶🎹
The Oscar Peterson sculpture outside the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, surrounded by snow and clad in a toque and scarf.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
"Ever notice how dumb luck seems to follow smart people around?" - @johnsandford.bsky.social, "Shock Wave"
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
While I listened to this interview my mind kept going back to @naomioreskes.bsky.social's and @erikconway.bsky.social’s classic "Merchants of Doubt". Terrifying to see the strategy described in that book used by a government agency to discourage vaccine uptake and even vaccine development.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Okay, so maybe the Rideau Canal Skateway can live without my presence today. 🥶
Ottawa area weather on January 24, 2026, showing the current temperature as -29 degrees Celsius.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
... but not available as an ebook on Kobo! What's up with that, do you know?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Exactly. People are where they are because Makary and his mob put them there. Do you think he's being disingenuous, or does he truly not get that?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
"The real world does not conform to the mathematical tidiness of simple scenarios" - @adamjkucharski.bsky.social, "Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty" Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Despite this, it was a ton of fun starting the ski season with a bunch of friends up at Camp Fortune this morning. More snow, please!
Weather conditions in Chelsea, Quebec the morning of Friday, December 5, 2025, -22 degrees Celsius!
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Yup. And some will jump on that sort of thing and use it as ammunition in their crusades to discredit nutrition science. Sadly, some of those who are inclined towards this sort of doubt-mongering are currently in charge of your national health institutions.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Agreed. I see a lot of a sort of "well even the official mainstream experts with all their highfalutin' statistical skills can't agree on what this means so it's essentially meaningless" rationale for dismissing quantified-evidence-based science and analysis and thereby sowing doubt.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
I can't help but wonder how much of a role this sort of vulnerability to "statistical shenanigans" plays in distrust of science and institutions. For those - most of us - who don't understand this level of analysis, falling back on social media anecdotes in our search for certainty can be tempting.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Thanks for the heads-up, I've just pre-ordered it for my e-reader. Really looking forward to this one. 👍
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Fall colours are great when they're on the trees, not so much when you find yourself spending a couple hours a week raking them off your lawn. Worth it, though, IMHO, and a lot less work than shovelling the 5 - 15 cm of snow that are forecast for later today. 🤞->⛷️
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Something else the podcast touches on near the end also struck me reading her books - her dietary advice generally seems quite reasonable. I can understand why some who follow it might end up feeling better, but that in no way supports her assertion that it's all about the avoidance of seed oils.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Appropriate to include her IMHO, as she seems to be the most outspoken in this space, having published two books on the subject. Also, it's her that people point me towards to justify their assertion that the anti-seed-oil thing is scientifically justified. And she's been on this track for 5+ years.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
I've two of read her books. Classic examples of what @caulfieldtim.bsky.social calls "sciencesploitation", cherry-picking impressive-sounding studies and scientists that support her hypothesis while ignoring or dismissing the wider body of research and evidence. Very speculative and mechanistic.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Cool! If you drop me a line next time you're headed that way maybe I'll stowaway in your suitcase. Although as I recall you travel pretty light, so I'll need some advance notice to lose some weight.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Here's the correct link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley%...
en.wikipedia.org
Smiley's People - Wikipedia
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
p.s. a Wikipedia edit might be in order. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley'...
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Thanks for giving me an excuse to read the book again! 😉
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
I don't imagine Smiley's gold lighter is still lying on the ground there where Karla dropped it...? Any idea, @nickharkaway.com?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
My main interest would be WWII-era historical artefacts. Most have been destroyed, but my understanding is that there's still enough around to make it worth a trip for me. I've got relatives I'd like to visit there, too - it's not often I get to meet someone who shares my surname! Some day...
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Definitely one of the few cities still on my bucket list.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Did you first take Manhattan?
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Meanwhile, here in Canada, 6 hours drive from the most distant city in Vermont, I've just had a tumour removed from my lung, my 4th cancer surgery. Pre-op, surgery, 5 nights in the hospital, post-op follow-up, etc., total cost for this one was $93.60, for hospital parking. There is a better way. 🇨🇦
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
I grew up in the mountains of northern British Columbia, and people often ask me how I could leave such a beautiful place. Every time I leave the house in the fall here in eastern Ontario I have an answer to that question. And even in winter, with all the gorgeous browns in the fields.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I also recall people saying that this coin was disrespectful to the monarchy, because it had a picture of the queen with a bear behind.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Feels a bit like passing the buck, including potential liability, from HHS to clinicians.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, I can't help but wonder how much of the "talk to your doctor about acetaminophen in pregnancy" guidance will result in malpractice lawsuits by mothers who were told by their physicians that it's okay to take it and ended up with children on the spectrum.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Doing it with cancer is even worse.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Our cottage neighbours, on whose property this stands, think it's funny as hell. I think it belongs on the cover of a @stephenking.bsky.social novel. #creepy
A tree with a bunch of old shoes nailed to it.
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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I've got a black '76 Rickenbacker bass that I bought used in '79 and I always say that when the house is burning down, as soon as the wife and kids are safe, I go back in for the Rick. Funny how you get attached to the things, eh?
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