Tom 🇨🇦

Is Thursday a good day to post a photo of these (admittedly cute) troublemakers? #toronto #backyard #wildlife #raccoon

@jaredwhite@indieweb.social Unfortunate that the acronym AI is in use, otherwise you could deem yourselves "Actual Intelligence"

@DeliaChristina This regression to racist norms is so depressing to watch. We still have plenty of issues with racism, both individual and systemic here in Canada. But I'm mighty glad I'm not American right now.

@chu Toronto city council decided making them illegal was the right approach: too blunt an instrument in my view. Ignores all the nuance you've rightly captured here.

@kralcttam@mastodon.social @bweller@mstdn.social Uh... Cannibalism? #EatTheRich

@mjg59@nondeterministic.computer Full self-driving plane no doubt

@Npars01 @chu All for regulation, me. Just not the absolute ban (which I swear would never have been enacted if it was mostly old white guys on those scooters) Also favour pothole repair fwiw... And 'tis the season!

@SecularJeffrey@ohai.social That can't be right: Roadrunner must be on Road! I don't make the rules...

@vruba I have that exact same coat!

@chu @dragonfrog @justjanne @ahltorp A whole bunch of the noise around parking on King St was one asshole with two vintage luxury cars that he wanted to continue parking in front of the restaurant he owned across from TIFF

@chu Definitely. Also to your earlier point: mandatory helmets (with enforcement)

@_elena@mastodon.social No ads. No algorithm. Just a chronological feed of ideas, links and inspiration from people I've chosen.

@chu @dalias @unlofl It did. As always, it's all about enforcement. Just gives cops one more thing they can hit poor, young, often non-white people with at their discretion

@dragonfrog @justjanne @ahltorp @chu Some cities in Europe build bike lanes wide enough for emergency vehicles: reduces response time substantially, as bikes (and scooters) can get out of the way while cars too often cannot #UrbanDesign #SmartUrbanDesign

@chu @dalias @unlofl When transit vehicles are the home of last resort for a growing number of unhoused people, that family will be further discouraged from using the system. Our grotesque shortage of public washroom facilities doesn't help with that situation either.

@chu @dragonfrog @justjanne @ahltorp Yup. Part of the problem too is that our emergency vehicles are relatively immense compared to those in, say, Amsterdam: need even wider lanes

@chu @dragonfrog @ahltorp This also represents a law enforcement bias against youth

@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com @pluralistic@mamot.fr It's an interesting question. Trump certainly seems to be accelerating the American empire's decline Since that empire has become largely enshittified, captive to the whims of soulless, arguably evil LLCs and their ultra-wealthy puppeteers, rapid decline seems like not a bad thing The racism and bigotry that have surged out of the shadows there also make me think the whole enterprise would be better relegated to history

@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com Or wealth and power more equitably distributed

@chu @dalias @unlofl When I first heard about that I was so enraged as I had just a day or two before chatted with a group of young men (I'd be surprised if any were over 20) in a take out food place on Danforth who were clearly extremely proud of their e-scooters. Theirs had the larger wheels you're talking about, and a couple even had helmets Responsible riders, now outlaws I only slightly regret ranting to councillor Perks about it 😉

@dalias @unlofl @chu In Toronto it would be a compromise to satisfy city council, whose decision to ban e-scooters outright was driven by an uptick in emergency room admissions of people hurt while riding them

@chu @dragonfrog @justjanne @ahltorp I imagined a campaign for this based on saving lives through faster response times, but even without the car-culture maniacs there are rules on the books about lane width etc. that would get in the way

@rysiek@mstdn.social TL;DR Don't use Telegram unless you're comfortable giving Russian authorities and intelligence operatives access to all your activity on that platform.

@michael_w_busch@mastodon.online Have you read China Mieville's Perdido Street Station? The species he describes rival some of the most bizarre critters in the natural world

@kimlockhartga@beige.party Fantastic idea!

@kasimir @chu @faket There are plenty of owned ones in Toronto, mostly ridden by young people

@dragonfrog @chu In a similar vein, people complain about e-bikes, but still order food online for delivery (by e-bike)

@kim_harding@mastodon.scot Hell just read TLOTR to see what a bad idea getting up close and personal with a Palantir is Sauron/Thiel sees all, and shares with minions and other assorted evildoers

@feff@sakurajima.social Entomology or etymology?

@chu @dalias @unlofl Honestly true for all of east Asia When I came back from a month in Taiwan, Japan, China and Korea in 2024 riding the TTC was incredibly depressing Lack of washroom facilities, for sure, but biggest thing was the lack of platform barriers here, both because of related delays, as well as heightened risk of suicide by train

@faket @kasimir @chu Quite so I fully expect there are multiple videos on YouTube alone providing step-by-step guidance on defeating the limiters on these vehicles

@abrody @mattblaze Clicked through in hopes of seeing a certain duck represented Alas, no cartoon waterfowl in evidence