@janis.bsky.social
Vancouver librarian, writer, music and radio type (etc.), often worrying about mis/disinformation and AI. I block profiles that give a weird vibe -- sorry if this leads to some errors. (Opinions are my own.)
Reposted
Petition to heritage protect the Toys R Us sign so the new store has to keep both it and the bow mac sign.
Vancouver's first FreshCo grocery store to replace former Toys 'R' Us Broadway | Urbanized
Sobeys' Freshco discount grocery store will open at 1154 West Broadway in Vancouver, replacing the former Toys 'R' Us.
dailyhive.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Petition to heritage protect the Toys R Us sign so the new store has to keep both it and the bow mac sign.
A thousand times yes.
A Washington Post article suggests that, beyond a certain threshold, larger homes don't make people happier. Instead, well-being is correlated with affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods where they feel socially connected.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
![Excerpt reads: "Prioritize your neighborhood
Neighborhoods drive our happiness (or unhappiness) more than we think.
When Lina Martinez, director of POLIS, the Center for Wellbeing Studies at Universidad Icesi in Colombia, studied the happiness of households in the city of Cali, she couldn’t find much difference between poorer and richer areas. “Their happiness is pretty much the same,” she said. But that changed when she isolated neighborhood conditions, such as access to transit, health care and parks. “The conditions of the neighborhood affect happiness,” she said. “I can’t link that to the space where [people] live.”
That aligns with findings from a 2023 study of the Vancouver metro area: Researchers found no significant differences in well-being between people living in single detached homes, duplexes, townhouses, laneway houses and apartment buildings (basement units smaller than 300 square feet were the only negative exception). What did people say they missed most in their neighborhood? Affordability, proximity to family and friends, and a sense of community. Home design was eighth on the list."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreicapfknasylzk2lqzaxxeb5mchgnru75obggn45dusda6j5zogvuu@jpeg)
January 7, 2026 at 7:13 AM
A thousand times yes.
Reposted
More than 1000 French academics from universities countrywide have signed a manifesto declaring their conscientious objection to the deployment of degenerative AI in their institutions. #ResistAI ✊🏽
January 7, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reposted
ICYMI: Texas A&M admin is requiring a faculty member to either remove *Plato* from their syllabus for being too woke
or
be reassigned to teach “Ethics for Engineers” at 8am
or
be reassigned to teach “Ethics for Engineers” at 8am
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 7, 2026 at 1:11 AM
ICYMI: Texas A&M admin is requiring a faculty member to either remove *Plato* from their syllabus for being too woke
or
be reassigned to teach “Ethics for Engineers” at 8am
or
be reassigned to teach “Ethics for Engineers” at 8am
Reposted
So many reasons not to use Grammarly even beyond genAI sloppification, but this is hilariously bad.
January 6, 2026 at 7:28 PM
So many reasons not to use Grammarly even beyond genAI sloppification, but this is hilariously bad.
A fun and tricky one.
Wordle 1,662 5/6
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Wordle 1,662 5/6
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 6, 2026 at 1:46 PM
A fun and tricky one.
Wordle 1,662 5/6
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Wordle 1,662 5/6
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
It's the same with my young adult kid -- nothing but ads and garbage, just horrible.
For me it's completely different, 98% people I know and like, presumably because I have "friends" there and the kids don't.
For me it's completely different, 98% people I know and like, presumably because I have "friends" there and the kids don't.
My MiL asked me to help her with her Facebook app recently and it was appallingly full of scams, propaganda and AI bullshit, and nothing at all about the people she actually knew and followed. I've kept my Facebook locked down for so long I forgot how bad it was if you're not tech-savvy.
my 75yo mother told me last night that she’s planning to delete Instagram and Facebook because she’s sick of not being able to tell what’s AI and what’s not, and I genuinely don’t think tech companies have reckoned with this kind of move as an actual possibility
January 6, 2026 at 5:10 AM
It's the same with my young adult kid -- nothing but ads and garbage, just horrible.
For me it's completely different, 98% people I know and like, presumably because I have "friends" there and the kids don't.
For me it's completely different, 98% people I know and like, presumably because I have "friends" there and the kids don't.
No kidding. I remember when our local government wanted record stores to track names of everyone buying metal records. (Maybe rap too and I’ve just forgotten?)
(Why do I remember this? A good friend of mine owned a record store, and as a new librarian I had some strong opinions, and ideas.)
(Why do I remember this? A good friend of mine owned a record store, and as a new librarian I had some strong opinions, and ideas.)
*laughs derisively as someone who lived thru Satanic Panic, Parent Groups killing cartoons wholesale, all Rap being labeled “obscene” to the point of 2 Live Crew being vilified, MTV being deemed a pop culture wasteland & the 1619 Proj/CRT being discoursed into hell*
But the suicide machine is ok 🙃
But the suicide machine is ok 🙃
30 years ago they were like we have to ban song lyrics for the children but it’s full steam ahead for the here’s how to do drugs until you die machine
January 6, 2026 at 1:38 AM
No kidding. I remember when our local government wanted record stores to track names of everyone buying metal records. (Maybe rap too and I’ve just forgotten?)
(Why do I remember this? A good friend of mine owned a record store, and as a new librarian I had some strong opinions, and ideas.)
(Why do I remember this? A good friend of mine owned a record store, and as a new librarian I had some strong opinions, and ideas.)
Reposted
We could all learn a lot from Finland's approach
It's brilliant that they're just adding AI education to the existing media literacy curriculum
www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...
It's brilliant that they're just adding AI education to the existing media literacy curriculum
www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...
Finnish children learn media literacy at 3 years old. It’s protection against Russian propaganda
The battle against fake news in Finland starts in preschool classrooms.
www.ctvnews.ca
January 6, 2026 at 12:09 AM
We could all learn a lot from Finland's approach
It's brilliant that they're just adding AI education to the existing media literacy curriculum
www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...
It's brilliant that they're just adding AI education to the existing media literacy curriculum
www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...
A very tough call, but it's still Totoro for me.
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 PM
A very tough call, but it's still Totoro for me.
"Over and over again, journalists report breathlessly about a historian who has 'discovered' or 'uncovered' or 'found' something exciting" [leaving out that the discovery is only] "because it was appropriately described by a cultural heritage institution and made accessible to them"
January 5, 2026 at 8:56 PM
"Over and over again, journalists report breathlessly about a historian who has 'discovered' or 'uncovered' or 'found' something exciting" [leaving out that the discovery is only] "because it was appropriately described by a cultural heritage institution and made accessible to them"
Wordle 1,661 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 5, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Wordle 1,661 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Reposted
Decided in this moment to reread some Galeano. First page: “The more freedom is extended to business, the more prisons have to be built for those who suffer from that business.”
February 15, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Decided in this moment to reread some Galeano. First page: “The more freedom is extended to business, the more prisons have to be built for those who suffer from that business.”
I admit this thread made me chortle.
January 4, 2026 at 9:44 PM
I admit this thread made me chortle.
Remember when people used to say history was boring?
Now I think a lot about the "storytelling" around it.
Of course this is as old as time. Silly example (from recent TCM viewings), but compare the King Richard the Lionheart in the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie to the one in Robin and Marian.
Now I think a lot about the "storytelling" around it.
Of course this is as old as time. Silly example (from recent TCM viewings), but compare the King Richard the Lionheart in the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie to the one in Robin and Marian.
January 3, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Remember when people used to say history was boring?
Now I think a lot about the "storytelling" around it.
Of course this is as old as time. Silly example (from recent TCM viewings), but compare the King Richard the Lionheart in the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie to the one in Robin and Marian.
Now I think a lot about the "storytelling" around it.
Of course this is as old as time. Silly example (from recent TCM viewings), but compare the King Richard the Lionheart in the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie to the one in Robin and Marian.
Reposted
Honestly, signs point to yes.
January 3, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Honestly, signs point to yes.
Reposted
Screenshot this GIF.
The bird you end up with will be your guide for 2026.
The bird you end up with will be your guide for 2026.
January 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Screenshot this GIF.
The bird you end up with will be your guide for 2026.
The bird you end up with will be your guide for 2026.
Wordle 1,659 3/6
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 3, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Wordle 1,659 3/6
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Reposted
I am not, by disposition, an optimist, but I am one who tends to “well… actually” my doomsaying friends. The hopefulness of this piece is a boon in that regard.
That said, if our climate salvation really does come via the invisible hand and technical innovation, I shall have some crow to eat.
Yum.
That said, if our climate salvation really does come via the invisible hand and technical innovation, I shall have some crow to eat.
Yum.
Climate advocates lost some political battles in North America last year, but technology and economics are winning the war everywhere else.
2026 will make the inevitability of the energy transition even more difficult to ignore.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/01/02/o...
2026 will make the inevitability of the energy transition even more difficult to ignore.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/01/02/o...
How to (still) be a climate optimist
2025 was a year defined by climate policy retreats in North America — and climate technology expansion in the rest of the world. Good news: Nothing stops this train.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:09 AM
I am not, by disposition, an optimist, but I am one who tends to “well… actually” my doomsaying friends. The hopefulness of this piece is a boon in that regard.
That said, if our climate salvation really does come via the invisible hand and technical innovation, I shall have some crow to eat.
Yum.
That said, if our climate salvation really does come via the invisible hand and technical innovation, I shall have some crow to eat.
Yum.
Okay, sometimes I'm ok with fake news.
January 3, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Okay, sometimes I'm ok with fake news.
I was talking with a bookseller the other day who gets a tonne of requests from self-published authors. I sure know what it's like to be on the receiving side of this, as a longtime indie music reviewer and as a librarian too. It's overwhelming.
January 2, 2026 at 11:44 PM
I was talking with a bookseller the other day who gets a tonne of requests from self-published authors. I sure know what it's like to be on the receiving side of this, as a longtime indie music reviewer and as a librarian too. It's overwhelming.
Reposted
“Turtle,” said Frog. “You will have to go away.”
“Why should I?” asked the turtle.
“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does not want you to see him,” said Frog.
“Why should I?” asked the turtle.
“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does not want you to see him,” said Frog.
January 2, 2026 at 11:37 PM
“Turtle,” said Frog. “You will have to go away.”
“Why should I?” asked the turtle.
“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does not want you to see him,” said Frog.
“Why should I?” asked the turtle.
“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does not want you to see him,” said Frog.
Using AI to generate police reports — what could go wrong? Oh.
“‘The body cam software and the AI report writing software picked up on the movie that was playing in the background, which happened to be ‘The Princess and the Frog…'”
Cops Forced to Explain Why AI Generated Police Report Claimed Officer Transformed Into Frog
AI-powered software Draft One automatically generates police reports from body camera footage. It thought an officer turned into a frog.
futurism.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Using AI to generate police reports — what could go wrong? Oh.