Scott Wahl 🇨🇦

Ugh at many levels and also - do you *not* sneer at chocolate-covered pretzels

I for one am not talking about hydrochlorous acid sprays. Or even thinking about them much

Currently reading The Whale and the Reactor by Langdon Winner. Written in 1986, prescient look at how technology shapes society. Timely in the age of AI. #booksky

Dissolution book cover

Dissolution by @bingewriting.bsky.social is a sci-fi thriller (with a touch of horror) that is full of both big ideas and big heart. Once I got into it, couldn't put it down. #booksky

How to Rekindle Your Love of Reading

Worth a read (gift article). Then put your phone down and pick up a book! /via @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...

A must-read from @parkermolloy.com, maybe even more so for those of us working in tech. Also I've now deleted ChatGPT from my phone.

Donald Trump is on the brink of becoming a dictator. Can he be stopped? As the guardrails of American democracy fall one by one, it is no longer a question of where the President is going, but how fast he will get there

A stark summary of the state of things in the US, from a clear-eyed observer Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...

What if AI Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This? - Cal Newport In the years since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, it’s been hard not to get swept up in feelings of euphoria or dread about the ... Read more

Interesting take from Cal Newport: "I think it’s safe, at least for now, to turn your attention away from the tech titans’ increasingly hyperbolic claims and focus instead on things that matter more in your life"

calnewport.com/what-if-ai-d...

This is an amazing story from @dougsaunders.bsky.social . Worth your time to read.

(And subscribe to a quality paper like @theglobeandmail.com and support journalism like this.)

Books

Ozzy Osbourne Obituary: For the Back Street Kids John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats reflects on the loss of the singular frontman.

I've never really listened to Ozzy or Black Sabbath and I know basically nothing about him (beyond the bat and the TV show), but this strikes me as one of the best pieces I've ever read about music.

pitchfork.com/features/ozz...

The triple contradiction of Trumponomics could crash the world economy The U.S. President wants lower interest rates, the reshoring of industries and fewer immigrants - the result could be chaos

On the triple contradiction of Trumponimics. He wants three things: Lower rates, reshoring of manufacturing, and a smaller working-age population. If he gets any one, the other two become implausible. If he seriously tries for two, the world economy crashes

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e33036f...

Also quite pleased with the Blue Jays this afternoon so far #BlueJays #MLB

Book A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

A bit obsessed with these stories by Lucia Berlin. So much here. #booksky #books

The triple contradiction of Trumponomics could crash the world economy The U.S. President wants lower interest rates, the reshoring of industries and fewer immigrants - the result could be chaos

Nice summary from @dougsaunders.bsky.social via @theglobeandmail.com on the cliff that Trump is driving to. #econsky

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...

A shrinking population is hardly what this country needs right now Why on Earth would we want to cut off the lifeline of imported labour, at this of all moments in history?

Insightful piece from Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com

We need immigration now more than ever.

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...

America has two labor markets now Welcome to the low-hire, low-fire job market.

Really interesting analysis from @axios.com behind the headline jobs numbers in US. #econsky

www.axios.com/2025/07/06/u...

• Canada has borne the brunt of the damage from US tariffs so far, with its long-run economy -1.9% smaller in real terms. China’s economy is -0.2% smaller, about 2/3 as large as the hit to the US. The UK’s is 0.2% bigger thanks in part to the benefits of US-UK trade deal.
8/10

Opinion | The Ugliness of the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill, in Charts (Gift Article) Steven Rattner reveals the ugly reality lurking within the ‘big beautiful bill.’

You think something can't be *that* bad. But then you realize, it really is. Disastrous implications across multiple dimensions: social, environmental, economic. @steverattner.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

average change in annual income for americans once the big beautiful bill passes (imminently)

Opinion: The digital services tax was bad policy, but killing it now makes us look terribly weak Trump could decide that supply management is his real gripe, and call talks off again

@robynurback.bsky.social sums it up perfectly via @theglobeandmail.com
#ElbowsUp

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Book cover So Far Gone by Jess Walter

If you've never read Jess Walter you really should. #booksky

This needs to end

Book cover Kalmann and the Sleeping Mountain

Another winner from the always reliable @bitterlem0n.bsky.social. Second in the series by Joachim B Schmidt (tr. Jamie Lee Searle). A mystery that is full or charm and heart. #books @booksky.club

Credit to my bro @andrewwahl.bsky.social for getting me back into the habit of donating blood!

A.I. Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, Even as New Systems Become More Powerful (Gift Article) A new wave of “reasoning” systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies don’t know why.

Seems bad. "On one test, the hallucination rates of newer A.I. systems were as high as 79 percent." #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...

Cover of book James by Percival Everett

What a magnificent book @doubledaybooks.bsky.social #books #reading

Cover of book Chain-Gang All-Stars

This one blew me away.... Full of rage, thrilling and devastating @pantheonbooks.bsky.social #books #reading

Volunteering brings so much joy and meaning to my life. And one of the reasons is meeting and working alongside inspiring people like Tara.

Get involved in your community. Help a neighbor. Do the good in front of you.

#NVW2025 #volunteer

REPORT: Meeting you didn't pay attention in could've been an email you didn't read MONTREAL - A new study into your workplace’s efficiency habits has found that all the meetings you zone out in at work could easily have been replaced with an email that you would’ve pretended to skim...

REPORT: Meeting you didn't pay attention in could've been an email you didn't read