Mark Zaugg
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zarquil.bsky.social
Mark Zaugg
@zarquil.bsky.social
83 followers 130 following 110 posts
e.g. I eat #AlbertaGrassYak and spoil dogs, usually with #AlbertaGrassYak. Adding new social media tabs each and every day.
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zarquil.bsky.social
A letter to my MLA. Bill 9 is wrong. Hiding behind the notwithstanding clause is unconscionable.

Relying on the notwithstanding clause to pass this offensive bill is unacceptable.

Not a fan of my provincial government.
An email sent to my provincial representative complaining about a terrible law. The government intends to use the "notwithstanding clause" - a measure that says despite violating certain rights enumerated in the Canadian constitution, the government wants to pass this legislation. I strongly oppose the notwithstanding clause under pretty much any circumstances, I find using it indefensible with Bill 9.
November 19, 2025 at 6:27 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Dr. Zhivago. #HappyHalloween #Halloween2025 #Okotoks
Lucy van Pelt's psychiatrist booth, this year decorated in the theme of Dr. Zhivago. The sign above says "Poetic Help, 5¢". There is a smaller sign hanging below it that says "Only in Russian" in Cyrillic text. The sign on the booth says "The Doctor is... Searching for Lara." There is a fake medical wagon to the side, the wheels turn slowly. To the opposite side is a cemetery with Orthodox crosses, a faux maxim gun hidden amongst them. Our good doctor looks wistfully between a bowl of candy and a carved pumpkin. The pumpkin has a large heart with three figures in silhouette, a man flanked by two women.
November 1, 2025 at 12:07 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Happy Halloween Hints!

#NoContextTheatre #IGrewUpToEnjoyHalloweenAgain #Okotoks
A sign that says "Psychiatric Help 5¢" with a board reading "Poetic" nailed over psychiatric. There is a small sign hanging on the right with strange and mysterious writing. The Doctor is.... with another small sign that can be flipped. It says OUT on one side (not shown here), while it says "Searching for Napa" on the other. Car problems? Surely that can't be right! Be careful, comrade. I think there is a Maxim near the graveyard. Orthodox crosses with a wooden gun hidden amongst them. A dark grey woolen coat, with a white armband and a red cross, with one of those furry hats.
October 31, 2025 at 2:39 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Don't mind me, just dropping by for a moment.
A Northern Flicker jumps out of my crab apple tree after picking at an apple near the top of the tree. It's wings are open and sunlit as it swoops downward just before it levelled out and flew off behind my garage.
October 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
@naheednenshi.bsky.social I'm enjoying a few memories tonight as I'm sorting through old boxes. I'm still proud to participate in making Calgary just a little bit better in 2010. 💜
September 10, 2025 at 1:26 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Slava Ukraini. Heroyam Slava.

Slava Ben's SMOs.

My sunflowers stand in solidarity.
August 15, 2025 at 12:13 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Anyone up to share a lovely pot of specific gravity tea this morning?
Tea made in a French press. I have added milk and sugar, but I have not yet stirred the pot. Layers of tea have formed naturally according to the density of each layer of liquid. I occasionally get two or three distinct bands, this time the pot shows two clear bands on top above a third, with the lower band showing at least three fainter bands within it. Not shown here is a lovely shimmer as the band's dance around each other as they expand, contract, and swirl into each other. A lovely Sunday morning sight.
July 6, 2025 at 1:07 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Guess who has not been to the off leash park in a week...
Laika, a little brown ACD with an orange throwing ring in her mouth runs full tilt back to me. The grass is green, the skies are broodingly cloudy with the sun sending spotlights of sunshine splashing down like a Hollywood premier. Laika taunts me with her toy while Bobik, the black and white doggie, walks by obliviously.
July 4, 2025 at 2:32 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
What do you do when you’re all stressed out and you don’t know what to do?
Build something to store and organize your tools? ... ...
Me too!
On the left is a shelving unit. There is a mitre saw at the top, a bench grinder in the middle, and a small bandsaw on the bottom. There is an empty space in the middle where one more tool could be stored. All the tools are mounted on a 2 foot length of 2x10" board. On the right is a small stand made with a space that is just large enough for the two foot long 2x10" board to fit. This system allows me to swap the tool I'm using on the stand, and while the other tools are not in use they can be stored safely and securely on the shelf beside it. The stand was built a while ago, I built the shelf yesterday using lumber too awful and disgusting it couldn't be used for anything decent.
June 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
"Mmmm, treats!" Says Laika.

Dammit, dog. I better look that up now!

#NotSickYet #ShesAStreetDogSheCanTakeIt
Very lovely iridescent Lytta Nuttalii beetles on the forage at the dog park. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytta_nuttalli
June 19, 2025 at 12:38 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Watch out for those riffler rustlers!

#NoContextTheatre
June 16, 2025 at 3:04 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Rainbow rainbow.
A beautiful double rainbow above my neighbour's tree.
June 15, 2025 at 3:02 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
This set up will last until Saturday, then the little fokker will move somewhere else in the yard. #woodwork #whiligig
The great World War I ace on his dog house, attired in flying gear. Above him and to the right is the Red Baron in his Dr.1 Fokker Dreidecker, stalking our unfortunate prey nursing his stricken Sopwith Camel to ground, safety, and a frothing mug of root beer at the end of this dual. The view from the dastardly Red Baron, looking below to his victim. Hoping to see smoke billowing from the rotary engine, or perhaps a spar in the wing collapsing, or at the very least his landing gear giving out from the strain of touchdown, or even the tail getting ripped free upon landing, and yet knowing our hero will most likely be found at the cafe later while his ground crew attend his plane. A look at the two whirligigs together. Snoopy's scarf flaps up and down as his propeller turns, the Red Barons flaps go up and down. Snoopy turns into the wind nicely with a large plastic tail painted to say "Curse you Red Baron!" I don't expect the Red Baron's plane to turn into the wind as nicely, but if it catches the wind right their props will turn synchronously.
May 8, 2025 at 11:05 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Expect (more) GREAT Things. #Handmade #Woodworking
A wooden carving of a Monarch butterfly and a larva. They are mounted on a branch, the butterfly on the left, the larva upside down on a small side branch going off to the right. The base is an oval and has a raised platform in the middle. It has "Expect GREAT Things" written on it. Great is written in large script to give it added emphasis. There is a small button exposed through the surface of the wood. The butterfly has been moved to a darkened area. The button has been pushed and the butterfly has been lit up from lights inside of it. The larva reflects slightly reddish tones back to the butterfly.
April 30, 2025 at 1:25 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Scattered showers.
Looking up a small hill at the off leash park. Clouds fill the left and right sides of the picture with grey precipitation under them, in the center is a rich, deep blue sky.
April 9, 2025 at 11:49 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Guess who has a new name!!!

Her name is Mud.
A brown and white dog, hiding in the shadows. Muddy paw prints cover a tiled floor.
March 26, 2025 at 2:38 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Expect Great Things.
A wooden monarch butterfly and instar on a branch of Manitoba maple. The pedestal, also maple, has "Expect Great Things" burned into the wood. A close up of the butterfly and the instar from below. The butterfly is lit up with lights buried inside. This is from below, you can see the legs I used to mount it on the stick. The butterfly lit up from above.
March 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Yes, I wrote my MP an email. I absolutely stand behind every word. Thanks to @realjakebroe.bsky.social - you inspired me when you declared yourself a single issue voter. That works just fine for me too.

#SlavaUkraini
John Barlow MP, Foothills Mr. Barlow, I am one of your constituents in Okotoks. I live in the house my mother built in 1998, my roots run deep in Southern Alberta and I intend to die here, hopefully many years in the future. My children intend to live here once I have gone. We are dedicated, fiercely loyal, bound by our heritage and we all want to make our world around us a little bit better. I am writing to tell you that in this year’s election I will be a single issue voter. It comes with corollaries which must be decided and acted upon after a decision has been made, but I will support every single issue that supports the primary cause. This arises from my deeply held personal values of the rule of law, of human rights, liberal democracy and accountability for our actions. I express this with every ounce of passion I can place on a ballot: In the upcoming election, I shall support the person who will most strongly act to support victory in Ukraine. I shall support the person who will most valiantly fight for support in funding and aid. I shall support the person who will most fervently lead their party to the view that we have a shared responsibility to help and assist as much as we are able. I write this just after watching the shameful meeting between President Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. That was the single most amoral and offensive action I have viewed in my lifetime. One must go back to my grandparents’ lifetimes to see it’s equal. I promised I would do what I can - no matter how large or how small - in order to support Ukraine drive back the evil unleashed upon it. There will be consequences. We shall need to strengthen our military. Mark Rutte has recently suggested that NATO members will need to spend ‘considerably beyond 3%’ of our GDP, I support that. Those are our Canadian heroes and heroines, we need to support them with the best training and equipment we can provide. We need to support them after they return. I have long held this view and find …
March 1, 2025 at 2:04 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
HEY YOU KIDS! GET OUTTA MY YARD!
A doe stretching to grab dried crabapples from my tree. A buck in my snow covered garden. He appears to be eating my mint, entirely undeterred by the small metal perimeter fence. The doe looking at me directly, why the buck snuffles through the snow to find some grass -- or maybe dog turds. The buck stares me down defiantly. I am not warning the dogs, but Laika would enjoy nothing more than chasing him away.
February 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
Nope.
No pictures here.

Don't mind me whilst I scroll the thread....
One of my favourite photos of the dogs. We have Bobik on the left, an Australian Cattle Dog x Corgi mix that makes me giggle every single time I think of it. He has a white chest, brown around his eyes and a black streak running from his nose over his noggin'. He is looking to the top right of the photo, with his mouth slightly open looking pleased. I think of him as bemused, naive, and happy. Just like me. To the right is Laika, a brown and white Australian Cattle Dog. She appears to be whispering sweet nothings into Bobik's ear, looking very earnestly as she does so. Frankly, I think they're spoiled. Spoiled rotten.
February 8, 2025 at 5:57 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
What do you mean, we can't walk without our Muttluks?

Oh, maaaaaan! And you call *us* monsters! You're probably going to post this on Bluesky next. YOU MONSTER!
Bobik and Laika, all dolled up to the nines. Bobik is wearing his stylish, orange Muttluk boots that accentuates his thick, shiny coat of fur. Laika is wearing her graceful red Muttluks,, plus a knit doggie jacket because her fur isn't quite as thick and she benefits from that extra bit of warmth when we don't walk at 50 miles an hour.
February 3, 2025 at 11:47 PM
zarquil.bsky.social
"tap/die for aviation section equipment, US military, WW2
...
Bottoming taps extra:
9/64-40
5/32-38
3/16-32
..."

Well. Crap. What was I thinking?
A broken 5/32-38 tap. It is slightly tarnished and noticeably broken on the right. I might make it work if I drill just-the-perfect hole and get the thread started, but I imagine that's going to be a hard tap to replace...
January 31, 2025 at 12:20 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
AI still can not do this.

At least not in person.
Cloud to the west at sunset. The clouds are dainty and interlaced and appear to originate from the point of sunset. The colours shift with distance from the horizon, with bright orange and peach colours appearing low at mid-photo near the sun's position, while simultaneously dimming and shifting hues from pinks to purples to indigos and dark navy blue above and behind me.
January 30, 2025 at 12:50 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Tonight I have crossed a new threshold into manhood. Participated in a new rite of passage, as one does.

I have (successfully) tapped my own hole.

Take that as you wish.
This is a picture of a #10-32NF tap lovingly rammed through a 5/32" drilled hole in a small, narrow bar of steel (actually labelled as a tension bar - I have a long, terrible history against torsion bars.) It is, of course, the right thread count but the wrong diameter of the hole.
January 29, 2025 at 4:01 AM
zarquil.bsky.social
Sky's on fire, yo!
In front of my house, the sky is deeply red at the top of the toboggan hill. My bare maple tree, and fake Christmas tree under my weather station featured on the right.
January 15, 2025 at 12:25 AM