Hit and Miss

Hit and Miss #200: “You give me life”

July 4, 2021

Good evening! Somehow, I’ve been writing this newsletter for 200 weeks in a row. Half the archive ago, I wrote about my principles for living. Happily, they...

Hit and Miss #199: Loading

June 27, 2021

Hi friends! It’s been a busy weekend for me—packing things up, cleaning, and more of the above. I’ve accumulated a fair number of links to share, but they’ll...

Hit and Miss #198: Cooking, staying hungry

June 20, 2021

Hello! I’m writing this from the kitchen, a comfortable, cheery spot. I’ve just finished reading Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner. If you’re not...

Hit and Miss #197: Responding to violence

June 13, 2021

Hello! I hope this finds you well. It’s warm in Ottawa, but compared to the heat we had earlier this week, it’s rather nice. It’s sometimes difficult to know...

Hit and Miss #196: Doors Open (online)

June 6, 2021

Hi there! This weekend is normally one of my favourites in Ottawa: Doors Open, when numerous interesting organizations, big and small, open their doors to...

Hit and Miss #195: 215 children

May 30, 2021

This week, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir shared the heavy announcement that the bodies of 215 children were found on the former...

Hit and Miss #194: What’s on the mind

May 23, 2021

Hello there! The weather here in Ottawa is all over the place. Scorching yesterday during the day, a hot breeze in the evening, then we barely touched 20...

Hit and Miss #193: Lilacs

May 16, 2021

Hello! We’re solidly into spring, now—it certainly feels so outside. The days heat up, though they’re not too muggy yet—here’s hoping for a gradual...

Hit and Miss #192: The world is cool

May 9, 2021

Hello! Just a few links for you today. I spent much of the weekend reading, finishing Dune for a book club this afternoon. I realized that most of the books...

Hit and Miss #191: Anniversaries

May 2, 2021

Hello! I hope you’ve enjoyed a proper weekend. It’s a week of anniversaries for me. May marks the anniversary of my joining the Canadian Digital Service...

Hit and Miss #190: To what grounds us

April 25, 2021

Somehow, inexplicably, this is the last weekend in April. (It is explicable, of course—it’s the inexorable march of time.) This is the same week the budget...

Hit and Miss #189: Furious, heartbroken—but not surprised

April 18, 2021

Hello! Well, it’s been quite a few days, hasn’t it? There’s been a lot of gloom. But today my family gathered on Zoom today to wish my Nonna happy birthday...

Hit and Miss #188: Daydream believer

April 11, 2021

Cheer up, sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean To a daydream believer I spent much of yesterday afternoon lazing about, basking in the sun and feeling a cool...

Hit and Miss #187: Sunshine escape

April 4, 2021

Allo! We’ve the gift of gorgeous weather on this extra-long long weekend, and I’m indulging in it. Also I’m hiding from the news, which SUCKS. Briefly, some...

Hit and Miss #186: Rainy day people

March 28, 2021

Hello! It’s a drizzly day here in O-town. This afternoon, I’ll flop on the couch, read the paper, maybe play some video games—I’m aiming high, in other...

Hit and Miss #185: Spring—change, or not

March 21, 2021

Yesterday was the first day of spring. I woke relatively early, layered up (these edge weeks are so odd—chilly mornings, “hot” afternoons), and ventured out,...

Hit and Miss #184: On we go

March 14, 2021

Hello! The week was filled with speaking, writing, and all the thinking that demands. My brain is melted as the snow, but nourishing walks are setting it...

Hit and Miss #183: Reporting thoughtfully

March 7, 2021

A week today, the time change will slide sunsets an hour later, brightening the evenings even as we face a few more heavy months. Today marks the final day...

Hit and Miss #182: Keeping it light

February 28, 2021

It was a morning of hoar frost and slowly clearing fog, a perfect scene setter for my riverside ramble. The birds are on their way back, slowly—the weeks...

Hit and Miss #181: Close to home

February 21, 2021

It’s “cold” but not really cold today. After a few months of winter, the body adjusts—what feels unacceptably frigid in early fall becomes a pleasant winter...

Hit and Miss #180: Another day older, closer to the grave

February 14, 2021

It was a lovely week here in Ottawa—sunny, not too cold, ideal for long rambles. My adventures brought me to Hog’s Back Falls and the skateable extent of the...

Hit and Miss #179: Chase the sun

February 7, 2021

nervous laughter It’s February!? I know, I know, mentioning time passing is as clichéd as talking about the weather. But, goodness, it’s just zooming along....

Hit and Miss #178: Coding by any other name

January 31, 2021

Hello! It’s a wonderfully sunny day here—sunshine, cheer for the heart and soul. I recently learned that you can only open 500 tabs in Safari on iOS. I know,...

Hit and Miss #177: Gettin’ sauced

January 24, 2021

Goooood day! I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning—thanks no doubt to the glorious sunshine and crisp, cold air. I hope you’re similarly energized,...

Hit and Miss #176: Working (again)

January 17, 2021

When I first started at the Canadian Digital Service (in May 2018!!), I (unintentionally) wrote a mini-series on working. #35: Working #37: Working...

Hit and Miss #175: This week in anti-democracy…

January 10, 2021

A sunny walk, Motown (from Ikechúkwú Onyewuenyi’s “chez baldwin” playlist), and quiet kitchen puttering—I’m settling into winter routines. But this week was...

Hit and Miss #174: Zoom zoom

January 3, 2021

Hellooooo! I hope you’re well. The snow on the trees feels properly like winter and the holiday season—hoorah! This week, I’ve watched opera (it was...

Hit and Miss #173: Revisiting

December 27, 2020

I’m cozied up in bed, looking out on snow-covered trees, a few birds hopping form branch to branch, doing the quiet work of staying alive on this bright,...

Hit and Miss #172: Five books for the year

December 20, 2020

I have few traditions in my life. One, though, has emerged from this newsletter: a pre-Christmas roundup of significant books from my year’s reading. (For...

Hit and Miss #171: Ugh, algorithms

December 13, 2020

We’re living in one of the least interesting timelines, as far as consumer algorithms go. Allow me to weave a few threads together… 1. Revealed preference...

Hit and Miss #170: PolySeSouvient

December 6, 2020

Today’s newsletter is heavier, discussing violence against women. All good if you’re not in the headspace for it. Today is the anniversary of the École...

Hit and Miss #169: Waiting

November 29, 2020

Whew, here we are. The end of November. I hope you’re keeping well. C’est busy, hereabouts. I muddle through by grasping at little routines: the morning...

Hit and Miss #168: Adventuring

November 22, 2020

Hello! I’m off on an adventure this morning, to buy valve oil from a music store in suburban Ottawa. Ah, the joys of living without a car. But I’m excited to...

Hit and Miss #167: For the love of knowledge

November 15, 2020

Shortly after I sent it, the title of last week’s newsletter took on new significance. I wrote “Trivial links” to bring together some different pieces that’d...

Hit and Miss #166: Trivial links

November 8, 2020

Morning! If your week went anything like mine did, there was a lot of refreshing Twitter, scrolling, doing something else, refreshing Twitter, scrolling, etc...

Hit and Miss #165: Blowing hot air

November 1, 2020

A windy Sunday to you! I love intense winds: walking in them, buffeted about, breath catching unexpectedly—what a thrill! I’ll be brief today, as I have some...

Hit and Miss #164: Argh

October 25, 2020

It’s been a heavy week, and the first section of today’s newsletter reflects that—if that’s not for you this week, that’s totally cool. Please skip ahead to...

Hit and Miss #163: On Mi’kmaw waters

October 18, 2020

Sometimes Twitter* seems to turn its attention to one issue. The feed fills with folks discussing something unfolding in real time. These past few days have...

Hit and Miss #162: A sense of perspective

October 11, 2020

Hi! It’s been a weekend full of long walks and calls with family and friends—wonderfully so. I spent the morning rambling among trees, yellow, orange, and...

Hit and Miss #161: Leafing through

October 4, 2020

The last days of September and first few of October are always special ones, but this week especially so. It was filled with anniversaries, birthdays, time...

Hit and Miss #160: Books at hand

September 27, 2020

As stores gradually reopened over the summer, I realized it’d been several months since I’d bought a book. This was probably a good thing—growing the stacks...

Hit and Miss #159: COVID crime

September 20, 2020

A fine Sunday to you! Earlier this week, Ontario announced a new set of “compliance mechanisms” to try to reduce community spread of COVID-19. Billed as “the...

Hit and Miss #158: Rainy morning adventures

September 13, 2020

Hullo! This morning was spent adventuring along Ottawa River paths with a fun group of folks. Trying to respect public health measures while not spending...

Hit and Miss #157: Maintenance, care, attention

September 6, 2020

Good morning! It’s been a quiet week for me, filled with walking and reading. I’ve been happily in my own head—but am looking forward to emerging and re-...

Hit and Miss #156: Week in review

August 30, 2020

Good afternoon! The morning: I’ve been back in Ottawa less than a day, and I’ve already walked 12 km. I feel like Craig Mod after a long walk—refreshed,...

Hit and Miss #155: TV time and world-building

August 23, 2020

No, you spent two and a half hours diving into digitized microfilm this morning instead of, I dunno, enjoying the sunshine or something. (If you’re curious,...

Hit and Miss #154: Remembering (how) to relax

August 16, 2020

Friday afternoon, I wrapped up work and began my longest stretch of time off since 2017. It started with driving country roads to a windy fish and chips...

Hit and Miss #153: Roads

August 9, 2020

Yesterday was a driving day, so naturally I’m thinking about roads. Antidote, my dictionary app of choice, tells me that “road” is “from the native lexical...

Hit and Miss #152: Rainy day thoughts

August 2, 2020

I put two ice cubes in my glass fifteen minutes ago, and they're only half melted. That’s a good sign—the temperatures this morning are reasonable (indeed,...

Hit and Miss #151: Some links

July 26, 2020

Hullo! I’m trying to not over-do the computer time today, so I’ll just send along some links. How does civic tech (in the broadest sense of the term)...