a sibilant intake of breath

Active on iNaturalist

In the past month, I have gone from 371 Common Milkweed observations on iNaturalist (17th in the world) to 678 observations (9th). Previously, I had not tried the “Identify” feature, but now I am up to 3,602 identifications.

Urban Density

All my Toronto walks an bike rides since 2020

Controlling parents

I learned when I was very young — so young that I don’t even remember what age — that I needed to tightly control anything my parents knew about my life because, as soon as they became aware of something, they would decide what the right thing to do was, steamroll me, and insist that … Continue reading "Controlling parents"

Strong will

They had one too many divers. They had selected eight men and one woman, and the woman was unable to dive with a rebreather. This made her the weak link, the General and the Priest agreed. She needed to go. The Colonel wasn’t so sure. Yes, her participation would add a layer of technical complexity. … Continue reading "Strong will"

Observing Milkweed

Since July 27, 2025 I have observed 371 Common Milkweed (Asclepius syriaca) plants, almost entirely around Toronto. That makes me the #1 observer in Toronto, #4 in Ontario, #7 in Canada, and #17 in the world.

Proud Prophet and how nuclear wars end

The National War College is located inside the National Defense University, which is located just across the river from the Pentagon. Each day, to play the [1983 Proud Prophet war] game, the secretary of defense would pick up a red phone and call the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss various ideas … Continue reading "Proud Prophet and how nuclear wars end"

Far and slow

I took my Dutch bike in for servicing today (to get my brake pads replaced) and calculated some usage statistics. Indeed, on the ride from home to the bike store, I crossed 7,000 km of total distance on the bike. One interesting element of that is how it has nearly all been done at a … Continue reading "Far and slow"

Libraries are the best

A couple of weeks ago I decided to read John Green’s book, Everything is Tuberculosis, in part as research for the novel I am writing about a tuberculosis outbreak. Initially I considered buying it, but remembered the weak state of my finances and checked the Toronto Public Library system. A library 150 metres away had … Continue reading "Libraries are the best"

Bloom times

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Up to 470 iNaturalist observations

My observations

Ellsberg on the Cuban Missile Crisis

If Khrushchev had not, surprisingly, initiated an abrupt, humiliating withdrawal of his missiles Sunday morning—without even waiting for an official American response to his proposal of Saturday morning, which Kennedy had argued to his advisors was “very reasonable”—there was every likelihood of the fuse to all-out war being lit by that afternoon. How close did … Continue reading "Ellsberg on the…

Black Cohosh wands, still green