Archive (Page 17) • Hit and Miss • Buttondown

Hit and Miss #118: Thirty years later

December 8, 2019

Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the École Polytechnique shootings. Thirty years on, we find ourselves still grappling with the same issues. The freshly...

Hit and Miss #117: Principles of parliamentary practice

December 1, 2019

It’s the start of December! While that carries with it bits of stress for various reasons, we’re* lucky this year because it also marks the start of a new...

Hit and Miss #116: Web links

November 24, 2019

When I want to feel optimistic about technology, I turn to people who help shape the web. (Woo, “web”!) Often these folks have thoughts on blogging, on web...

Hit and Miss #115: P-p-p-policy!! (Or, what Lucas does at work)

November 17, 2019

Hello there! A happy Sunday to you. I’m writing after a weekend of coffees, walks, reading, and Don Giovanni. Also rom-coms. I hope yours was equally...

Hit and Miss #114: A parliamentary (precinct) tour

November 10, 2019

Yesterday, some friends and I toured the House of Commons and Senate. On the way over, one asked whether I’d hold back from correcting the guide—which I...

Hit and Miss #113: Stories beyond the data

November 3, 2019

Happy day of the time change, “when 2 becomes 1”! Datasets can be seductive. A series of aerial photos, a building registry, or a big table of biographical...

Hit and Miss #112: Public service

October 27, 2019

Earlier this week, a friend shared a profile of Art Allen, an American public servant whose quiet work over several decades greatly improved marine search...

Hit and Miss #111: Functions of a living situation

October 20, 2019

Last night, I was reflecting on the essential functions of a living situation. What kind of activities should a living situation support? I arrived at a...

Hit and Miss #110: The sites I visit

October 13, 2019

Hello! Waterloo for the long weekend, voted yesterday, and visiting with family. It’s a good time. I’ve been playing with structured data a lot lately (more...

Hit and Miss #109: The slump

October 6, 2019

Whether feeling especially up or down, it’s good to remember that the other will come soon enough. The peak transforms into a slump. But some things can pull...

Hit and Miss #108: Models for decision and action

September 29, 2019

How do we organize to take decisions and act on the results? Thinking here of processes that often—but not always—produce some thing as a result. Two...

Hit and Miss #107: A drop-in space

September 22, 2019

Hello there, My parents have been part of a walking group for almost 6 years; it’s been around for at least 12. Every Saturday morning, folks meet up, walk...

Hit and Miss #106: Bookmark finds

September 15, 2019

Hello! I’m in Waterloo for a brief family visit. It’s nice to be here. Enjoying time together, I’ve had little time to read or write. Here, then, are some...

Hit and Miss #105: Travelling in place

September 8, 2019

Next weekend, Ottawa’s LRT will open to the public, after more than a year of missed deadlines. In the coming weeks, most of the system’s routes will shift...

Hit and Miss #104: Through the eyes of another

September 1, 2019

This weekend, I visited some family friends. We discussed many things during my visit, conversing over meals and a puzzle and a campfire. A few times, we...

Hit and Miss #103: Structure

August 25, 2019

Hello there! Structure matters. It often goes unnoticed, unmentioned. But it’s always there: a guiding force, influencing what happens within, around, or...

Hit and Miss #102: A geography of intentional sound

August 18, 2019

A neighbour’s A/C unit powered on, adding a buzz to the sounds of bees, cicadas, and traffic. It was quiet there, in a suburban backyard, quiet and private....

Hit and Miss #101: Happy days

August 11, 2019

Hello there! I’ll try to keep this one short, as I’m soon off to help a friend move and then head home to Waterloo. Yesterday was a very happy day. One I’d...

Hit and Miss #100: Living principles

August 4, 2019

I often distinguish principle and practice. It’s hard to know in advance how to act in a given situation; it’s much easier to decide why we’ll act. The...

Hit and Miss #99: Levels of critical digital work

July 28, 2019

Hello there! I’m writing at the end of a fun weekend filled with family and friends. (My sister’s in town, and we’ve passed some fun hours together with good...