Tree for Boston has arrived! π
Every year, Nova Scotia gifts Boston a tree in gratitude of our support after the 1917 Halifax Explosion.
This 54 year tradition was extra special this year as @mayorwu.boston.gov helped cut down the tree in Nova Scotia.
Join us Dec 5: boston.gov/holiday-lights
Iβm back, birches.
If you go to a ceremony today, please remember why you're there.
There is no such thing as neutral technology because technology by definition exists in the context of humans, and humans are not neutral by any means.
As soon as there is a desire for other people to use a technology - which is pretty much given in our economic state - neutrality is impossible.
Crystal Palace secure their place in this season's FA Cup final, beating Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley.
"Government should be run like a business" okay fine, let's be specific then. Do you mean the kind of business that:
- has hidden fees, like airlines, so the price they advertise is way less than what you actually pay?
- makes you jump through hoops to unsubscribe?
- denies most of your claims?
one of my biggest beliefs about tech in government is that it simultaneously needs to
- stop being sidelined
- stop being idolized
it is currently both, & we now have a stunning example how vulnerable this makes governments to bad technology actors - but less dire vulnerability is there every day
1/ Here's my take on what's happening with DOGE.
I've got fed experience through contracting with Health & Human Safety, Head Start, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and DOD. I get brought in when people need to get shit done. Other people here have way more experience than me.
There's such a tone of sadness to the CBC reporting right now. Adrienne Arsenault says, βI feel like the whole country, all of us, are getting both a history lesson and a politics lesson and an economics lesson and a lesson in heartache.β
ποΈ Our latest @theglobeandmail.com opinion piece: Will artificial intelligence really fix Ottawaβs troubled Phoenix pay?
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/46b24b2...
This week I sat down and wrote some thoughts down on the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government. Tldr? : Exciting, bold, and hugely ambitious. Bring it on. www.laurayarrow.net/blog/theres-a-lot-to-be-excited-about-in-the-blueprint-for-modern-digital-government
Today's column is a loving ode to the smoked meat sandwich of Montreal, and their literary bard, the Canadian-Jewish novelist Mordecai Richler: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
ICYMI:
"Almost without exception, Survivors talked about the places they were born and raised. They described the Land that nurtured them and their relationships with Land." - Crystal Gail Fraser and @jdunkin.bsky.social
niche-canada.org/2025/01/09/h...
#envhist #cdnhist #indigenous
DHS Unveils Playbook for the Deployment of Artificial Intelligence by the Public Sector. See www.dhs.gov/news/2025/01...
What are you doing to support the music you love?
Thanks to everyone who suggested ideas and improvements to my initial list
#music #independentmusic #gigs
The impact of AI: Why I have no idea what it'll be, and neither do you! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBCS... (my talk from last November at @aifortherestofus.live)
π₯°π I don't promote my book as much now that I work in government, but I did write one & I believe it's still pretty useful as we enter a time of major shifts & messy information in both government & tech
www.goodreads.com/book/show/55...
get a headstart on tomorrow's awards ceremony with this comprehensive playlist of all my favorite songs from 2024
#shoegaze
The Godfather Part II is a New Yearβs Eve movie
Iβve received three complaints about this playlist
ππ» and HNY, Sean! π
Are there people in other countries named Gord, or are all Gords Canadian?
The January transfer window is now open.
The haunting beauty of fireworks in the fog.
View from the top of a mechanical hockey table
Iβm busy for the rest of the night. Knitting to stop me from biting my nails
#WorldJuniors
#TeamCanada π¨π¦
#ItsOnlyAGame
#TheyreJustKids
Sitting in the dark with a glass of wine listening to 'The End's not Near' by The New Year πΆ
This is (actually) fine π
youtu.be/WqZzFvONbIs?...
My advice for the incoming new year
Good to see some progress here. π
The algorithmic transparency records from #UK #PublicSector organisations has π increased in number from 9 > 23 records in the past month. π€
www.gov.uk/algorithmic-...
If you see this post a concert picture you took this year.
Pulp
30/05/24
Barcelona - Primavera Sound
#Halifax, #NovaScotia is changing rapidly.
We have to act fast to preserve the best of our architectural inheritance before it disappears forever.
An update from the Halifax Memory Maps Project:
www.mapsofmemory.com
youtu.be/YNNp0W_Ltzs
