"The temple bell stops but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers."

Hello there! 👋

Cherry blossom season has hit Greater Vancouver and I have gotten my camera out for the first time in a while. So many different kinds of flowers have been blooming, it is wonderful! Kelowna does not get this many flowers. I only remember how it kinda transitions from a dark, wet brown to a light, dry brown. Basically two tone seasons.

With spring, festival season has begun. In fact, just a little while ago I just got back from the Spring Fair at my younger daughter’s school. Her dance team performed for the crowd while my older daughter put out a craft booth in the fair market to sell some of her work and make some cash (to buy anime merch probably…).

The good spring weather has seen us visiting nearby communities and participating in different activities (including archery). There are some trip reports and photo albums linked below.

This month I have been taking a deep dive into artificial intelligence, researching various aspects including new techniques (yes, MCP), national and regional policy, a rising “non-aligned” movement, and what it means to introduce intelligence to various levels of the open web stack. It also means I have been shopping for a new machine to experiment with local-first models, which use way less resources and respects privacy. I am not quite ready to publish any of my learnings yet, but I think I have hit on a couple of insights so far.

Oh! One last thing to report. I was accepted to Birken Monastery for a week-long retreat in September! I didn’t make it last year after we got back from Japan. The last time I have been there in purpose is before the beginning of the COVID pandemic! I am really looking forward to being reunited with Ajahn Sona, Sister Mon, and the rest of the great crew at the monastery. And I am very much looking forward to 5 days in the silent woods for some dedicated reflection and practice.

Anumodana 🙏

Chad (aka Sanghapāla)

🖋 From the Blog

“Even in Kyoto, I long for Kyoto”
A send-off for John Dougill

Cherry Blossoms of Vancouver
🌸🌸🌸

Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey
Over 500,000 people!

Boats to Nanaimo for the National Association of Japanese Canadians conference
Trip report with photos

🧭 Elsewhere

Love this tool. How much bigger is Brazil than Greenland? Link →

The Foro Forest 😍 Link →

Let’s go back to a website 🎶 When there used to be an end to the page 🎵 Link →

Local First software landscape Link →

Vancouver Rise kicked off the Canada’s first-ever professional women’s soccer match. Love the kit! Link →

MS Word. Real Link →

Excellent writing from Gordon about Network Society Link →

Kezuroukai, Japanese wood planing competition Video →

📖 What I’m Reading

Ways of Being — Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence by James Bridle
(70% Complete)

Bridle gets us thinking about all the different kinds of intelligence (plants that learn, animals, pre-home sapiens) and then all the different kinds of computer (slime mold, crab, water) to expand our mind about how humans and “artificial intelligence” will operate together as part of the “more than human world”. This book is the opposite of the singularity… the book is perspective-enhancing with its gentle empathy.

Connect with me on GoodReads → or on Bookwyrm →

Oh! And if you are into audiobooks AND supporting local bookstores, check out Libro.fm. Here is my referral link (www.libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm237689). If you set up a membership I get a free book credit. I promise to put it to good use.

Also, Andor is so great, isn't it!