Author Archives: CKirkby

Far from pharmacare

Posted on 2024-03-01 by CKirkby

The new federal pharmacare bill has been posted.

I was curious to see how far left the NDP had managed to push the Liberals, and to guess how long it might plausibly be before Canadians start getting even contraception and insulin paid for, much less any other drugs required to live a happy and health life. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Health | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Covid-19 in 2024

Posted on 2024-02-29 by CKirkby

I still wear a mask when I go to the mall or take the bus. Continue reading →

Posted in Health | Tagged | 2 Comments

Upcoming: profile(s?)

Posted on 2024-02-28 by CKirkby

I’m working on a profile of a friend who is doing some cool shit that I think more people should learn about. Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Leave a comment

Bragging about times when I Did Good / Gave Heck

Posted on 2024-02-26 by CKirkby

Today I am reminiscing on some minor successes as I think about what I want to do with my time, which is finite. Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

“Mischief”

Posted on 2024-02-26 by CKirkby

Good article from Emily Leedham at PressProgress: “Ottawa Police Using ‘Intimidation Tactics’ Against Striking Workers, Canada’s Biggest Federal Public Sector Union Says” (15 Feb 2024). Continue reading →

Posted in Policing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Proposed norm: commute time = work time

Posted on 2024-02-22 by CKirkby

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about norms in the employer-employee relationship. Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Employment | 2 Comments

Coming soon?

Posted on 2024-02-21 by CKirkby

One current area of interest is the gap (/gulf) between what would be useful for users and what providers provide. Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Leave a comment

Complaining about journalism, which is not the path I chose

Posted on 2024-02-19 by CKirkby

I’m having a lot of trouble “consuming” the news lately. It’s all so status quo all the time, when we quite clearly need non-status quo action. I want journalists to ask things like: “Okay, but what do 95% of subject … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Journalism, Politics | 3 Comments

Chatbot as agent

Posted on 2024-02-17 by CKirkby

A sensible decision from the Civil Resolution Tribunal in British Columbia, holding Air Canada responsible for the “misleading words” of its “customer service” chatbot. Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gray bar

Posted on 2024-02-17 by CKirkby

Apparently the basic paid plan with WordPress doesn’t include colours. That feels very budget airline to me, but I’m still not used to software as a subscription service.

Posted in Technology | Leave a comment