I'm imagine he'll tackle this later but the word "collection" is doing a lot on this @parismarx.com' s slide. A lot of AI data was theft and there's plenty of work going on to retroactively legitimise it and give AI companies legal cover for future theft or forced content purchase "deals".

But of course Newfoundland is not immune from AI nonsense!

I've been here in Newfoundland for 7 years now- I think @parismarx.com may be my first public lecture by a Newfoundlander public intellectual with an international following not talking about NL things (mainly the politics of resource extraction). Probably I missed a few? Better late than never?

My favorite fact from the @happycity.ca issue guide: In 2024 only 80 new housing units have been started in St John’s itself, according to the CMHC (up from 48 the previous year). Meanwhile, across the St John’s Metropolitan Area excluding the city itself 791 housing units were started in 2024.

Proud to be on the board of @happycity.ca which put on the first of its three municipal debates - did my heart good to see nine city councillor candidates nearly all of whom seemed to have a sense of the changes St John's desperately needs. And a packed house of engaged residents!

Just found this site that ranks cities worldwide by access to key services on foot or by bike. Central St John's looks not bad, especially as no North American city is in the best 50, but the method doesn't include snow clearing or (absent) cycle paths. whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/

Just from a transit perspective the single family homes throughout there now make it hard to build up ridership and all the cul de sacs must make it hard for residents to walk to any stop. So at present transit there is awful. A single non-accessible, infrequent and winding route.

The first stage of consultation for Cowan Heights' neighborhood plan was discussed at St John's council this week. Cllr Hickman called the area, "the first well-planned neighbourhood post-1950s Churchill Park”... No offence to those who live there but it looks like precisely the opposite.

These guidelines suggest (correctly!) that most of downtown St John's should have a 30 Km/H speed limit as an increasing number of cities do internationally. Almost all of the city's roads would count as "high conflict density"...

This got fed to me in Facebook presumably because of an interest in Dungeons & Dragons but I confess when I saw "party in combat" for a moment some wires crossed and I thought "Carney the Barbarian? The Medusa of misinformation"?

Seems this is not the first time the province has tried to make an impression on the UK with dubious results. Bill Bryson claims in At Home the colony's 1851 exhibit was only about cod liver oil and therefore an "oasis of tranquility". Here's similar ecidence from 1924! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Guy on the left probably complained he couldn't park closer to the furrier.

Enjoying my last chance to ride a train for a while - going to see @castelmar.bsky.social and...er... rail at him about various planning and development policy woes in the GTA, YYT and beyond!

Took the GO train and headed through the new Union Station - what better way to head to the Canadian Urban Transit Association conference?