Iain Campbell
@iainmc.ca
web person, photographer, urbanist
https://iainmc.ca
https://iainmc.ca
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Reposted by Iain Campbell
China is bringing the hammer down on hyper-fast EVs, setting a minimum 5 seconds for accelerating from 0 to 100 KMH (62 MPH).
For context, the Rivian R1S hits 60 MPH in 2.6 seconds, as does the Tesla Cybertruck in "Beast Mode." (H/t @reillybrennan.com)
For context, the Rivian R1S hits 60 MPH in 2.6 seconds, as does the Tesla Cybertruck in "Beast Mode." (H/t @reillybrennan.com)
China mulls limiting cars' default performance as EV crashes frequently occur
China plans to require passenger vehicles to default to a state where acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes less than five seconds upon each startup.
cnevpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:10 PM
China is bringing the hammer down on hyper-fast EVs, setting a minimum 5 seconds for accelerating from 0 to 100 KMH (62 MPH).
For context, the Rivian R1S hits 60 MPH in 2.6 seconds, as does the Tesla Cybertruck in "Beast Mode." (H/t @reillybrennan.com)
For context, the Rivian R1S hits 60 MPH in 2.6 seconds, as does the Tesla Cybertruck in "Beast Mode." (H/t @reillybrennan.com)
Reposted by Iain Campbell
It's crazy that so much of Toronto being flat or shrinking is unremarked or actively hidden. You get Cllr Mike Colle, whose ward grew only 1.7pc, saying his constituents are "threatened" by constant change. Or residents in the Annex, which has fewer people, saying there's no space for more density
November 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
It's crazy that so much of Toronto being flat or shrinking is unremarked or actively hidden. You get Cllr Mike Colle, whose ward grew only 1.7pc, saying his constituents are "threatened" by constant change. Or residents in the Annex, which has fewer people, saying there's no space for more density
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
November 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Superb skills development fund scoop from the Toronto Star, which has got its hands on a database of scores for applications.
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Secret data reveals which low-scoring applicants still received millions of dollars from the Ford government’s skills fund
Secret government data obtained by the Star shows 26 applicants scoring 50 per cent or lower received $36.6 million from Premier Doug Ford's controversial Skills Development Fund earlier this year.
www.thestar.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Superb skills development fund scoop from the Toronto Star, which has got its hands on a database of scores for applications.
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Reposted by Iain Campbell
This man has just described the quality that makes cities distinctive and wonderful - and he hates it.
Councillor Holyday worries about retail stores that "sell some zany thing that has very little value." He wants to know if council could define a list of what stores can sell.
Staff say they can regulate things like size, noise and property standards, but generally not what stores sell.
Staff say they can regulate things like size, noise and property standards, but generally not what stores sell.
November 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
This man has just described the quality that makes cities distinctive and wonderful - and he hates it.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Thanks to everyone who participated but it turns out that none of you were able to imagine the greatest horror: a successful small business with beef patties.
Councillor Shan moves to exclude three streets in his ward. He worries the retail spaces created won't just be small shops selling ice cream to locals, but things like "beef patties that are so popular that people from the 905 will come to get it." That'll just add to traffic problems, he says.
November 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Thanks to everyone who participated but it turns out that none of you were able to imagine the greatest horror: a successful small business with beef patties.
“…vibe-coding actual completed apps without ever dropping down to write or read code is zeno’s paradox: every prompt gets you halfway there, so you inch closer and closer but never really get to your destination.”
i wrote everything that i've been kind of nervous to write about @val.town: here's how things have been going the last three years, and read to the end for how we're hiring for two people macwright.com/2025/11/11/v...
Val Town 2023-2025 Retrospective
The whole story
macwright.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM
“…vibe-coding actual completed apps without ever dropping down to write or read code is zeno’s paradox: every prompt gets you halfway there, so you inch closer and closer but never really get to your destination.”
Reposted by Iain Campbell
inviting the neighborhood kids to check out my Baudriyard
New uncanny valley unlocked: inflatable corn maze for urban fall fests.
November 9, 2025 at 6:55 AM
inviting the neighborhood kids to check out my Baudriyard
Reposted by Iain Campbell
How Toronto killed Sesame Street. My column on the retreat from allowing shops in neighbourhoods
& other watering down of good ideas.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
& other watering down of good ideas.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Shawn Micallef: How Toronto killed ‘Sesame Street’ with its heritage rules — and how we can bring it back
In the face of opposition from even small groups, the city ends up watering down even the best ideas.
www.thestar.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:27 PM
How Toronto killed Sesame Street. My column on the retreat from allowing shops in neighbourhoods
& other watering down of good ideas.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
& other watering down of good ideas.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Six people died from tampered Tylenol and the company pulled 30 million bottles off the market. ChatGPT is accused of urging seven people towards suicide, and OpenAI just assures us they’re still working out the kinks. Billions in investment, zero accountability.
OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide, delusions
OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues.
apnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Six people died from tampered Tylenol and the company pulled 30 million bottles off the market. ChatGPT is accused of urging seven people towards suicide, and OpenAI just assures us they’re still working out the kinks. Billions in investment, zero accountability.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
November 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Iain Campbell
This is not the gift of a government. This is the gift of the sun. And it has some really interesting implications… #actuallyexistingsolarpunk
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
This is not the gift of a government. This is the gift of the sun. And it has some really interesting implications… #actuallyexistingsolarpunk
Reposted by Iain Campbell
lmao this is incredible, strong contender for one of the least useful charts ever made
you could do this with anything, draw a straight trend line plus one exponentially up and one exponentially down
average baseball fastball pitch speed in 2050:
0mph, 105mph, or 1000000mph
you could do this with anything, draw a straight trend line plus one exponentially up and one exponentially down
average baseball fastball pitch speed in 2050:
0mph, 105mph, or 1000000mph
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
lmao this is incredible, strong contender for one of the least useful charts ever made
you could do this with anything, draw a straight trend line plus one exponentially up and one exponentially down
average baseball fastball pitch speed in 2050:
0mph, 105mph, or 1000000mph
you could do this with anything, draw a straight trend line plus one exponentially up and one exponentially down
average baseball fastball pitch speed in 2050:
0mph, 105mph, or 1000000mph
Reposted by Iain Campbell
“We need candidates […] who will clearly state their vision for Toronto and how they’ll get there. They also need to […] have the backbone to weather a flurry of opposition rather than caving to people who loathe what puts our neighbourhoods and city on the map.”
#topoli
#topoli
I wrote an op-ed on what I think about the fight for local neighbourhood retail (and the grousing about Badiali's) means for the urban vision of Toronto. Gift link here: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
When even the humble corner store is impossible to open in Toronto, it’s a sign of something deeply wrong
We need to accept that Toronto is now a big city.
www.thestar.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:08 PM
“We need candidates […] who will clearly state their vision for Toronto and how they’ll get there. They also need to […] have the backbone to weather a flurry of opposition rather than caving to people who loathe what puts our neighbourhoods and city on the map.”
#topoli
#topoli
Reposted by Iain Campbell
This fantastic overview of the obstacles and opportunities for missing middle housing is a greatest hits list of our favourite topics: single-stair, gentle density, zoning reform, will-it-pencil.
All described in a wonderfully accessible manner that sums up to: How do we get more quality housing.
All described in a wonderfully accessible manner that sums up to: How do we get more quality housing.
November 1, 2025 at 6:30 PM
This fantastic overview of the obstacles and opportunities for missing middle housing is a greatest hits list of our favourite topics: single-stair, gentle density, zoning reform, will-it-pencil.
All described in a wonderfully accessible manner that sums up to: How do we get more quality housing.
All described in a wonderfully accessible manner that sums up to: How do we get more quality housing.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
I recall a thread by @oliver-moore.bsky.social with pics of obscured / illegal plate coverings in Toronto police parking lots.
As I mentioned during our DC show the other night, years – decades! – of mayors tacitly tolerating cops and other city employees defacing their plates has made this much more difficult to deal with now.
November 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I recall a thread by @oliver-moore.bsky.social with pics of obscured / illegal plate coverings in Toronto police parking lots.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Your regular reminder that a minority of anti-everything people have de facto control over quality of life in our city. They spout easily refutable lies, eg. "neighbourhood interiors were never intended for commercial activity", but councillors still take their side, almost every time.
No corner coffee shops: Toronto committee waters down neighbourhood retail plan
It’s the second time in less than a year councillors balked at allowing certain businesses to open on some residential streets
www.torontotoday.ca
October 31, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Your regular reminder that a minority of anti-everything people have de facto control over quality of life in our city. They spout easily refutable lies, eg. "neighbourhood interiors were never intended for commercial activity", but councillors still take their side, almost every time.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Sign the petition in the thread. NIMBY groups are gathering again to defeat retail in neighbourhoods. Just saw a letter from “no more noise” objecting. It’s a city. Stop sterilizing it. Biz/cafes/even bars in neighbourhoods work in humane cities around the world.
I submitted this letter into the public record ealier today telling the committee we had over 2600 signatures on our petition. When I do my deputation tomorrow, I will gleefully be telling them we have over (at least ) 2700.
October 30, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Sign the petition in the thread. NIMBY groups are gathering again to defeat retail in neighbourhoods. Just saw a letter from “no more noise” objecting. It’s a city. Stop sterilizing it. Biz/cafes/even bars in neighbourhoods work in humane cities around the world.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
I regret to inform everyone that my pedantic brain couldn’t let me live until I knew whether or not dodger blue and blue jays blue are the same blue. They are ONE PANTONE NUMBER APART.
October 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
I regret to inform everyone that my pedantic brain couldn’t let me live until I knew whether or not dodger blue and blue jays blue are the same blue. They are ONE PANTONE NUMBER APART.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
I submitted this letter into the public record ealier today telling the committee we had over 2600 signatures on our petition. When I do my deputation tomorrow, I will gleefully be telling them we have over (at least ) 2700.
October 29, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I submitted this letter into the public record ealier today telling the committee we had over 2600 signatures on our petition. When I do my deputation tomorrow, I will gleefully be telling them we have over (at least ) 2700.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
I’m sick of sharing this link so help me bury the NIMBY opposition to cute neighbourhood shops! They just put a petition with a measly 209 signatures into the record to kill—not modify, kill—this small step towards maybe having corner stores again
Let’s tell them what we want: c.org/fYSGWfvYJv
Let’s tell them what we want: c.org/fYSGWfvYJv
Sign the Petition
Save Finch Store/Martin Cafe and Protect TO Neighbourhood Retail
c.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I’m sick of sharing this link so help me bury the NIMBY opposition to cute neighbourhood shops! They just put a petition with a measly 209 signatures into the record to kill—not modify, kill—this small step towards maybe having corner stores again
Let’s tell them what we want: c.org/fYSGWfvYJv
Let’s tell them what we want: c.org/fYSGWfvYJv
Reposted by Iain Campbell
"Since becoming Premier, Doug Ford has overseen dramatic year-by-year drops in the number of homes being built. In fact, shortly before tabling Bill 60, they backed away from their promise to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. Tenants make an easy scapegoat for his housing failures..."
Doug Ford’s retreat on this controversial idea shows why we must keep fighting him on housing
The housing crisis isn't being caused by tenants.
www.thestar.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"Since becoming Premier, Doug Ford has overseen dramatic year-by-year drops in the number of homes being built. In fact, shortly before tabling Bill 60, they backed away from their promise to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. Tenants make an easy scapegoat for his housing failures..."
Reposted by Iain Campbell
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Iain Campbell
The Residents Associations have started their email campaign to block even the watered down neighbourhood retail item. Please write into the Planning and Housing Committee to express your support. If you're able, register to speak on Thursday.
secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Agenda Item History 2025.PH25.3
Agenda Item History 2025.PH25.3
secure.toronto.ca
October 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The Residents Associations have started their email campaign to block even the watered down neighbourhood retail item. Please write into the Planning and Housing Committee to express your support. If you're able, register to speak on Thursday.
secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...