Hit and Miss #123: Retreat to the wholesome

January 12, 2020

Well, it’s been quite the start to the year, hasn’t it? It’s been a hard week in Ottawa, in Canada, and beyond. And this morning Ontario Twitter came...

Hit and Miss #122: Archives and walking and links

January 5, 2020

Hello! Here’s to you, here’s to 2020—let’s take this one with gusto, shall we? (Or, y’know, with whatever we can muster. I’m here with and for you...

Hit and Miss #121: Engage!

December 29, 2019

Hello! Apologies if you only got last week’s issue yesterday. My newsletter provider had a bit of a hiccup, but it’s been sorted. I’ve been home sick since...

Hit and Miss #120: This year’s books

December 22, 2019

Goodness, am I glad it’s the Sunday before Christmas. I was drawing a blank as to what to write about—it’s been a long week—before remembering that in 2018...

Hit and Miss #119: Top shelf (think books, not booze)

December 15, 2019

Hello there! Today’s been for squirrelling away on a paper, hence the late(ish) hour. (But it’s an interesting one! Comparing civic tech to the American...

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...

Hit and Miss #98: Questions for learning

July 21, 2019

One fine morning to you! I could comment on the heat. But I already did that, a year ago tomorrow. Instead, let’s talk about questions. Earlier this week, a...

Hit and Miss #97: Digital government and civic tech

July 14, 2019

Hello there! It’s been a while since I gave an update on my work and work-adjacent life. On the surface, it’s much of the same: I’m still working in digital...

Hit and Miss #96: Opera

July 7, 2019

A beautiful Sunday morning to you. I’m quite content today: the sky is blue, the air is cool, and I’ve little to do. Yesterday was hotter, so I minimized my...

Hit and Miss #95: Let’s take a walk

June 30, 2019

Shall we take a walk? We could walk around idly and discuss whatever we see along the way. Or we could follow a thematic route. We might hire a guide or join...

Hit and Miss #94: Word and links

June 23, 2019

Hullo! This letter’s late hour is thanks to my being on vacation—what feels like the first in a long while, too long. My vacation is about what you’d expect:...

Hit and Miss #93: Accessible public spaces

June 16, 2019

Restless, I went for a walk last night. When restless on a weekend, I often go through Ottawa’s Byward Market, winding through the streets full of people...

Hit and Miss #92: A working carrying capacity

June 9, 2019

Last December, I had a challenging week. I had six days to complete four finals for school. Surprisingly, I emerged from this period having worked an average...

Hit and Miss #91: Doors Open

June 2, 2019

Today’s clouds seem to extend to my mind. Some notes: Yesterday I visited Library and Archives Canada and a branch of the Library of Parliament. Today, I’ll...

Hit and Miss #90: Walking toward a social summer

May 26, 2019

Hullo there! (Apologies for any mixed up tenses. I’m writing this Saturday afternoon. If all goes to plan, you’ll get this some time Sunday morning.) I’m out...

Hit and Miss #89: Three blobs of words

May 19, 2019

Good evening! The long weekend happily surprised me. In my head, today’s Saturday—hence this letter’s late hour, hence its slapdash contents. I’m not itching...

Hit and Miss #88: Grounding history

May 12, 2019

Hi! A hopefully happy Sunday to you. You may know that I’m very interested in local history. I read almost every plaque I encounter—though sometimes...

Hit and Miss #87: A day off

May 5, 2019

It’s May. (!!!) It’s been a packed week. There’s something I want to write about social balance and reconfiguration. My patterns of socializing have shifted...

Hit and Miss #86: Look up

April 28, 2019

Hello! Each morning, I try to do three things. One of them is to “look up”. Literally, this refers to raising my eyes from the ground, directing them up and...

Hit and Miss #85: Valuing openness

April 21, 2019

Hello! Openness is a value. Three recent episodes highlight the value/valuing of openness from different angles: On Wednesday, I presented at uOttawa’s...

Hit and Miss #84: Thinking frames

April 14, 2019

What should education foster? By “education” I mean our formal system, plus its informal supplements—elementary and secondary schools, post-secondary...

Hit and Miss #83: Boomer empowerment

April 7, 2019

Tonight, I watched Gloria Bell. It’s a remake of the 2013 Gloria. I fell asleep during the 2013 movie, and nearly did so again tonight. But I left tonight’s...

Hit and Miss #82: Making time for music, for silence

March 31, 2019

I really think that for us, who all grew up listening primarily to recorded music, we tend to forget that until about 120 years ago ephemeral experience was...

Hit and Miss #81: A family day

March 24, 2019

Hello! I travelled briefly back to Waterloo this weekend, for my nonno’s birthday. Time with family has kept me happily occupied—I’ll keep today’s letter...

Hit and Miss #80: Communicating depth

March 17, 2019

I recently talked through a tricky situation with coworkers. I went to use a favourite slogan—“Be radical in changing how an organisation works, but...

Hit and Miss #79: The signs

March 10, 2019

The people along the sand All turn and look one way. They turn their back on the land. They look at the sea all day. … The land may vary more; But wherever...

Hit and Miss #78: I, you, we (maybe?)

March 3, 2019

To conclude last week’s issue on considered language, I wrote this: We unconsciously edit our potential conversations all the time, by editing what we...

Hit and Miss #77: Words I avoid

February 24, 2019

Some words I try not to say. They’re everyday words—seemingly innocuous, but possibly harmful or exclusive. Some examples: “Just” (not in the “justice”...

Hit and Miss #76: The 80s and links

February 17, 2019

Hello! I’m briefly back in Waterloo to celebrate my birthday, so (out of necessity, out of luxury) I’m often driving and listening to the radio. My favourite...

Hit and Miss #75: Standing in place

February 10, 2019

After writing last week’s newsletter, I bundled myself off to the National Gallery to stare at art. This differs from how I normally visit the Gallery, when...

Hit and Miss #74: When you want to get out and read

February 3, 2019

A very happy February to you! I had several ideas for this week’s newsletter, but then I slept in this morning (gloriously) and now find myself wanting to...