Hisham Zerriffi
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hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Hisham Zerriffi
@hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
17K followers 7.6K following 2.5K posts
Energy Resources, Development and Environment Lab (ERDELab) PI, @UBCforestry Assc Dean EDI. Energy, equity, justice, climate change, bioenergy. But also TTRPGs and photography (https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/499807930552574625). he/him.
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hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
TIL: If you raise the idea of travelling by train with a European be prepared to have your train system be ridiculed.

Vancouver-Jasper is about 100 km further than Munich-Hamburg but takes an extra 13 hours.

And, yes, mountains. But look at Quebec-Toronto (~same distance and 9 hrs + connection)
Screenshot of Via Rail website showing that the train from Vancouver to Jasper covers 847 km and takes 19h on average Train from Deutschebahn showing the train from Munich to Hamburg (over 700 km) takes 5.5 hours
November 2, 2025 at 12:25 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Always nice to know your Himalayan Pink Salt is not genetically modified.
A bag of Himalayan Pink Salt (coarse grain). There is a masked or tattooed face and labels indicating it is Kosher and GMO free. There is also the company’s logo and name (Soeos). I think the GMO labeling was a mixup in making the bag because the pic online does not include the non-GMO label while some of their other spice products do. Still find it amusing.
October 25, 2025 at 6:37 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Water flowing through El Charco del Ingenio in San Miguel de Allende

Also at my photo site:
pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
Black and white image of water flowing throw a high desert scrub landscape. The water has been slowed down so it looks silky and smooth.
October 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Alleyway in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Also on my photo site at: pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
A narrow alleyway that curves to the left. It’s framed by two walls, each painted in red on the bottom and the yellow (left) and off-white (right) about 3 feet from ground. The buildings in the alley are mainly brick. There is a motorcycle parked in the alley
October 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
I am a very fortunate man.

I am about to spend a week or so housebound. And likely very bored.

My wife *who does not play role-playing games at all* surprised me with this single player game to keep me occupied.

I think she’s a keeper. :)

#TTRPG #NerdLife
Book showing a group of adventurers about to enter a dungeon. Text says: “Four Against Darkness: A solitaire dungeon-delving pen-and-paper game
October 9, 2025 at 1:59 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Great to see John Holdren, Obama's Science Advisor, make a very clear statement about how equity and diversity improve science and technology. When I do EDI training for hiring I am clear. We're looking for great researchers and teachers and we risk missing out on those people.

buff.ly/JkgKiy6
One of the things Obama said early on—he liked sports analogies—was it’s hard to win if half your team is on the bench. And he was talking about women and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and medicine. A large fraction of the country’s talent base is not being effectively used because of lack of access, lack of inclusion, and lack of equity. And to the extent that we fixed that, we improved the system. There’s now a substantial amount of scholarly research that shows that diversity is beneficial in science and technology. And the idea that diversity, inclusion, equity, per se, are bad ideas—which is obviously the stance that the Trump administration holds—are very destructive to the future of this country in these fields.
October 7, 2025 at 3:41 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Today was Truth and Reconciliation Day to recognize the ongoing legacy and survivors of Indian Residential Schools.

Very grateful to all who came to our Inter-Generational march at UBC on the land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people and to our wonderful team of volunteers and organizers.
A grassy hill with lots of cards in the shape of orange t-shirts with messages written on them. The messages are people's commitments to reconciliation and/or why they attended the march or who they were commemorating. A grassy amphitheater with many people sitting, almost all of them are wearing orange shirts. The UBC engineering cairn painted orange with the message "Every Child Matters" in white and white handprints. Two people are standing to the left after adding handprints to the structure.
October 1, 2025 at 5:49 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Cowboy checking his messages

Also on my photo site:

pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
A man wearing black jeans, boots, white and black shirt with fancy embroidering, big belt buckle and white cowboy hat standing on a sidewalk in front of sign for the San Miguel de Allende artisan market
September 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Street snacks

Also on my photo site at:

pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...

#Mexico #SanMiguelDeAllende
A man with a yellow shirt and jeans has a dolly with various buckets and containers out of which he is selling corn with condiments as a snack. There are two women on the sidewalk waiting to get a snack. To the left is part of a doorway with some flowers on the side.
September 20, 2025 at 6:41 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Vancouver is shrouded in smoke (at least where I am). Metro Vancouver air quality map has us at highest risk level. But it doesn’t seem to be translating into warnings.

gis.metrovancouver.org/maps/Air
Map showing metro Vancouver air quality ratings. Vancouver itself is at 10+ but it also says there are no warnings
September 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
"Exploring Sustainable Futures" through lenses of modeling/scenarios, planning and speculative fiction.

Can't wait to teach this new grad seminar starting Tuesday. Should be a ton of fun.

HMU if you are a modeler, a planner or a writer and interested in popping in to chat with the students. (1)
Course poster showing a person, hands on hips, staring at two diverging paths. There are circles showing a desert, an industrial scene and a forest. Text says: FRST-V-532-C-101 Directed Studies in Forest Management Exploring Sustainable Futures Sustainability challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss are “wicked problems” with long-term, uncertain outcomes. This graduate seminar explores how we think about the future, who shapes it, and how future-oriented thinking drives action today. Through three lenses—scenario modeling, strategic planning, and speculative fiction—we’ll examine how different disciplines approach sustainable futures and how their interaction can strengthen decision-making in the face of complexity.
September 1, 2025 at 12:16 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
FYI, someone is stealing your pic. I’ve reported the post.
Screenshot of a plagiarism post
August 31, 2025 at 4:36 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Going to setup to sell to the tourists at Teotihuacan

#Mexico #Ruins #Teotihuacan

Also at pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
A women walking with heavy bags in front of a massive stone pyramid. Picture is in black and white.
August 30, 2025 at 10:29 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
"The environment in which we live is much more structured for the well-being of technology."

Rereading bits of Ursula Franklin's amazing book (from 1990) on tech for developing my Sustainable Futures course. I really wonder what she'd say about the GenAI hype-craze we are in now.
Cover of "The Real World of Technology" by Ursula Franklin that came from her CBC Massey Lectures. The cover is blue with the text of author name and title on the top half and an image of two separate halves of a ring with their rounded parts facing each other below. Text: The common theme that runs through many disaster-minimizing endeavours is the conviction that ordinary people matter - in the way Schumacher meant when he called his book "Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered." But we must remember that, in the real world of technology, most people live and work under conditions that are not structured for their well-being. The environment in which we live is much more structured for the well-being of technology. It is a manufactured and artificially constructed environment, not what one might call a natural environment. While our surroundings may be a milieu conducive to production, they are much less a milieu conducive to growth.
August 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Custom Speed Shop

Steveston, BC

Also at: pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
Black and white photo of an old Chevy pickup front end in front of a garage. Garage window lettering says Custom Speed Shop and lists a number of automotive services
August 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Ta-Da!

Dia de los locos in San Miguel de Allende

Also at pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
Person in skull mask, long haired wig and top hat with arms spread wide
August 13, 2025 at 1:45 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
La Parroquia of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at night

Also at: pixelfed.social/p/nomademode...
Black and white image of a gothic looking church lit up at night. Black and white image of a gothic looking church lit up at night.
August 12, 2025 at 8:11 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Roller Dance Studio under the overpass

#Mexico #CDMX #MexicoCity #RollerSkating
A Roller Dance Studio is in the centre of the image. On the left and the right above the roller rink are lanes of an overpass. In front and framing the name of the roller rink are the trunks of two palm trees
August 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Not sure if it meets your definition of “1990s-aesthetic” but this Digable Planets cover is what first came to mind.
Cover of Digable Planets’ “reachin’ (a new refutation of time and space)”. The top half and bottom half backgrounds are mirrors of each other with a circle in the square. The circle is a pinkish-red and the square is purpley in the top half and reversed in bottom. The three members of DP are depicted waist up at the centerline of the album one behind the other with the ones behind leaning to the side to be seen. Below the torsos where their legs should be are a clump of roots.
August 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Mariachi consulting the internet

More pics at: pixelfed.social/nomademoderne

#SanMiguelDeAllende #Mexico #Mariachi #StreetPhotography
Two men in off-white mariachi outfits carrying trumpets. One, facing the camera, has his trumpet to his lips. The other is turned partway away from the camera, towards the first one. He is looking at something on his phone and showing it to the first.
July 27, 2025 at 11:59 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
The church tower of the Templo de la Purisma Concepcion. The attached convent has, for many years, been an art school. Formally the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez “El Nigromante” but better known simply as Bellas Artes.

#SanMiguelDeAllende #NightPhotography #Church

pixelfed.social/nomademoderne
A night scene with the second floor of some buildings seen going from the right hand side towards the left and from behind the buildings a church tower. To the right of the top of the church tower is a crescent moon.
July 27, 2025 at 10:12 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Typical Sunday evening in the Jardin in #SanMiguelDeAllende

Mariachi? ✅
Mojigangas (tall puppets)? ✅
La Parroquia (church)? ✅
More mariachis milling about looking to perform? ✅
Firecrackers? ✅

Guy dressed as #DarthMaul? Sure, why not? ✅

#Mexico
July 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
Filling out a survey from researchers based in Europe. One question is about household income and I should not include “special payments” such as “13th and 14th month’s salary”

Sorry, what? Extra month’s salaries?
Screenshot of a survey that says: What is your approximate monthly net household income (after tax) in Euros? If * needed, you may use a currency conversion tool to estimate the amount. Please do not include special payments such as the 13th and 14th month's salary or any holiday or Christmas bonus.
July 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
First day in San Jose, Costa Rica (last month):

“Huh, there sure are a lot of street vendors selling rainbow flag stuff here. Must be a story there.”

Yeah, sure enough there was. It was the day of the San Jose Pride Parade! A wonderful chance to see Pride celebrated somewhere else.

#Pride
Women standing on a float and smiling. She has a glittery crown, black dress and sash that read “Reina Pride CR” (CR Pride Queen) Pride parade participant with fan posing for camera. They have a black fan, red top and rainbow hoop skirt. Close up of two masked figures facing each other. The one on the left is a white face with open mouth and sharp teeth and a red tipped nose. The one on the right is a red mask with horns and vampire like teeth. Pride parade participant on a float. They are wearing a white/silver sequined outfit with an elaborate headdress that looks like a big unicorn.
July 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social
#Coati party on the deck.

The females and young travel in large groups and as they passed by our treehouse a few decided to check out the deck. There were about 20 total all around the house.

#CostaRica #Monteverde
A coati sniffing at a glass door. Coatis are kinda raccoon like with a long snout and long tail and brown fur. A group of coati on a deck
July 14, 2025 at 2:36 PM