Martin Grasdal 🍁

Alberta regulator rejects Canada’s largest data centre | The Narwhal Lack of public consultation means project that would have consumed as much power as Edmonton won’t go ahead — for now

FACT: Somebody at the Alberta Utilities Commission is getting fired.

Read: thenarwhal.ca/olds-data-ce...
#abpoli #UCPCorruption #ableg #yeg #yyc

Canada Is Starting To Issue Chinese EV Import Permits Canada issues Chinese EV import permits under a new quota system, slashing tariffs from 106 percent to 6.1 percent for Tesla, Polestar, and others.

I think it's optimistic to assume we will see BYDs in Canada any time soon. I wish it were otherwise. The Chinese made EVs we see here are likely to be Teslas, Volvos, and Polestars.

gmauthority.com/blog/2026/03...

Left: Black-and-white 1860s portrait of Louisa May Alcott seated at a small table, wearing a dark Victorian dress with a high collar and ribbon tie. Her hair is pulled back and up neatly, and she gazes calmly to the side with a thoughtful expression. Right: Modern paperback cover of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Signet Classics edition). Four young women in colorful 19th-century dresses and shawls stand arm-in-arm on a grassy hill, seen from behind, with the title in elegant blue lettering and "LOUISA MAY ALCOTT" in white at the bottom.

American novelist and poet Louisa May Alcott died #OTD in 1888.

Alcott’s most enduring work is the novel 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 (first published in 2 parts in 1868 & 1869). Never out of print, it has sold millions of copies worldwide in 50+ languages. #booksky #fiction #WomensHistoryMonth #WHM

Alberta, Ottawa agree on deal that would see province front its own major project reviews | CBC News Ottawa and Alberta have reached an agreement that will see the province take control of regulatory approvals for major projects, something they say will deliver those projects more expeditiously.

Pro-hydrocarbon expansion & fossil fuel future, pro trophy hunting, pro-coal; pro dumping effluent into rivers and pumping pollution underground, this is not a good idea at face value, and just after it has been declared the #Alberta government has lost the confidence of First Nations. #EIA #AbPoli

I think a better name for "liberation day" might be "presidential hubris day", "tariff day", or something similar.

Iran War Update 3 Events from the last 24 hours

Where we are now.

“War-a-Lago”

By Barry Blitt @newyorker.com

"The latest employment report just came out... and this is my worried face."

I accidentally came across this recent interview with tech nutter fascist Nick Land, "The Apocalypse Has Already Happened", which makes the same point, it's chock full of tech-gnosticism and as far as Land is concerned, AI has won & the human era has already ended:
archive.ph/jMjER

The media is complicit. They sure like to show videos of missiles launching and hitting targets, though, as if this war were some kind of video game we are experiencing, abstracted and removed from real death and suffering.

So, a return to colonialism and piracy?

It's not a complicated relationship. It is a bitter divorce with no hope of reconciliation. The two will never live in the same house again.

Other than the fact she can't help herself from doing it, the primary reason she lies so shamelessly and egregiously is that her base is too ill informed and stupid to see through her bs.

Having worked for months on Mario Guevara’s case, I am worried but not surprised: the Trump admin has been courting lawless violations of due process & free speech since he entered office the first time. Worse than ever now. Cc @freepress.bsky.social @pressfreedom.bsky.social @freedom.press

Why I want an EV. Yes, you may have to replace the battery at some point, and that could be expensive. But you won't have to do many other repairs that you can expect to do with an ICE vehicle that can be very costly over a 15 year period.

Great news.

Welcome to Bluesky @doctorow.pluralistic.net !!!

There is actual science we should be following, not the random feelings of narcissists who are emblematic of the Dunning-Kruger effect and discount science at every turn when it does not suit their ill-informed prejudices.

A Report From Iraqi Kurdistan On the CIA Arming Kurdish Iranian Militias Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex

I listened to this podcast from @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social last night that provided a lot of context for me about the role of the Kurds in both this and past conflicts. Worth listening to.

on.soundcloud.com/UdsVn0bAOas0...

Ditch Daylight Savings Time - Coalition for Permanent Standard Time The Coalition for Permanent Standard Time (CpST) is a dedicated group of diverse organizations and individuals who support the elimination of biannual clock change in the United States through the res...

Who cares what she prefers? Experts have researched this and say that staying on standard time is best for health.

ditchdst.com

A better quote for her to use is this:

"All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force."

She might also add that she was happy to contribute to both efforts.

Actually laughed out loud when I read this. She is such an embarrassment to herself and, more importantly, to the province. I wish she had more self-awareness and could feel some shame for the lies she tells. Better yet. I wish she would stop lying.

All Aboard! For Miles and Miles of Entitlement Saskatchewan MLAs - including the Saskatchewan NDP - have turned their own expense claims into a permanent gravy train.

tammyrobert.substack.com/p/all-aboard...

Well, I guess Tuberville is going to win the prize because Mullin is withdrawing from the race to become the undisputed dumbest person to run DHS, edging out Kristi Noem by a whisker.

Especially not when much of that disinformation is coming from within the house.

Isn't Mullin in a dead heat with Tuberville for the dumbest senator.

Thankful I live in Canada.

Something Big Is Happening A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

There are many uses for AI, a lot of them bad, some of them good, but all of them transformative. The impact will be significant. Here is a great article on the advancements in AI from @mattshumer.bsky.social, who I wish was active here.

shumer.dev/something-bi...

Bluesky Dems are the enemy, apparently, at least according to Favreau. Anyway, I did not know until now that "Bluesky Dems" were a thing. If they are, they are probably a lot better than "Twitter/X Dems".

A man asked me last night what publishing needs to do for literary fiction to begin appealing to men again. I said, as nicely as I could, that, with over 2,000 books published every Tuesday, of which many would appeal to men, it’s not a publishing problem, it’s a men problem.