Archive (Page 16) • Hit and Miss • Buttondown

Maybe the groundhog was right—spring feels on its way. We’ve a run of above-zero days, the Canal has closed “until further notice”, and the air is gradually...

Hit and Miss #128: Family time

February 16, 2020

Two things happen when I return home to Waterloo: I track my time much less rigorously. Of the time I do track, much of it is filled by long stretches with...

Hit and Miss #127: Collected links

February 9, 2020

Hello there! I’ve had a bit of an off week, thanks to some health troubles. No alarm bells going off today, but heading in for more checkups tomorrow. Fret...

Hit and Miss #126: Mining my messages

February 2, 2020

Somehow it’s February already?? This morning, a friend and I did a site visit for a course on Indigenous histories and public discourse in Ottawa. (We went...

Hit and Miss #125: Facilitating access

January 26, 2020

I’m writing to you from one of my favourite spots, a library. Libraries are institutional versions of the role I’d like to play in life, that of a trusted...

Hit and Miss #124: Snow slow

January 19, 2020

Snow has been the story the past few days, here in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada—particularly in Newfoundland. There have been some entertaining stories...

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...