Richard Switzer's Avatar

Richard Switzer

@rswitz.bsky.social

Product guy, bike riding pinko, x-country socialist, hockey-playing Torontonian. CBC, Globe and Mail, TWG, eCampusOntario, Bad Gateway, PaymentEvolution. Old hipster-> hip oldster.

434 Followers  |  976 Following  |  227 Posts  |  Joined: 20.11.2024
Posts Following

Posts by Richard Switzer (@rswitz.bsky.social)


cc: bsky.app/profile/worl...

20.02.2026 13:51 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

athlete: so if triathlon is running, biking and swimming, that must mean biathlon is running and biking?

coach: [taking out skis and a gun] haha yeah you’d think so

08.02.2026 17:58 β€” πŸ‘ 355    πŸ” 67    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 2

The big difference is that solar+battery is fit and forget. Once it's installed, whether from China or anywhere else, it's yours and you are independent. No more payments to anyone.

With fossil fuels you're an addict, dependent on your dealer who can make you dance to their tune.

04.01.2026 11:59 β€” πŸ‘ 82    πŸ” 27    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

The book was the best thing I read last year, but all the gen AI clips in the doc really turned me off. Like a shiny new toy that fades fast, it already looks dated and cringy. Awesome interviews though, looking forward to recut.

04.02.2026 13:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Before Black Sabbath: How Psychedelic Rock Became Metal
YouTube video by Trash Theory Before Black Sabbath: How Psychedelic Rock Became Metal

Ha ha! I remember watching their Before Black Sabbath one. The Whale one looks entertaining.

youtu.be/Cuc0V_FRGNE?...

04.02.2026 00:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Should we do away with childhood vaccine mandates? It would be nice if voluntary programs were sufficient, but that’s not the case

In a perfect world, vaccine childhood vaccine mandates wouldn't be necessary. But we live in a world where grifters will sacrifice children for political and financial gain, so we need to protect kids, by @picardonhealth.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/0fc7a92... via @theglobeandmail.com

27.01.2026 22:36 β€” πŸ‘ 55    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

Same. Not sure if it’s @atrupar.com β€˜s videos but 100% of the time I have this video issue.

10.01.2026 04:06 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Hospital hallways, dining rooms, phsyio spaces turned over to patients during extreme flu season | CBC News An unusually virulent respiratory illness season in northeastern Ontario is pushing hospitals to their limits like never before, and forcing them to put patients in more unconventional spaces.

We need a phrase for when the news headlines are the same every winter yet try to sound like something novel is happening.

Hospitals are overcrowded... so during flu season they become catastrophically so.

Who could have predicted that doing nothing to fix this would lead to the same bad outcome?

07.01.2026 13:52 β€” πŸ‘ 63    πŸ” 24    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
tweet from Joyce Carol Oates @Joyce CarolOates
not complaining but who among us asked to live in a world in which, on your phone, composing some message vaguely meant to be witty, you struggle several times to type out the word SWEEPSTAKES but each time the word vanishes & a wee little icon resembling a broom takes its place.
7:24 PM β€’ 12/30/25 β€’ 56K Views

tweet from Joyce Carol Oates @Joyce CarolOates not complaining but who among us asked to live in a world in which, on your phone, composing some message vaguely meant to be witty, you struggle several times to type out the word SWEEPSTAKES but each time the word vanishes & a wee little icon resembling a broom takes its place. 7:24 PM β€’ 12/30/25 β€’ 56K Views

i’d die for her

31.12.2025 22:28 β€” πŸ‘ 2869    πŸ” 290    πŸ’¬ 22    πŸ“Œ 15
Video thumbnail

Christ on a bike, this is brilliant.
And disgustingly historically accurate. 10/10

24.12.2025 19:10 β€” πŸ‘ 2608    πŸ” 1098    πŸ’¬ 37    πŸ“Œ 86
Post image

Peak Geminids Meteor shower this past Saturday night captured over Stonehenge.

Photo credit: Sandra.Davies6869

16.12.2025 15:57 β€” πŸ‘ 5614    πŸ” 916    πŸ’¬ 135    πŸ“Œ 58

Solar+storage costs continuing to fall faster than the most aggressive forecasts, as it’s done for a decade.

Examples abound of countries putting the equivalent of 1 or 2 nuclear plants online *every year* for a fraction of the cost of nuclear generation.

All we need is courage in government.

15.12.2025 13:19 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It’s true.

13.12.2025 18:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A flow chart shows 17.4 million leave voters in 2016, vs 16.1m remain. In 2025, 5 million of those people have died, and 3 million new voters have come of age.

The result (plus some people changing their mind) is 19.8 million voters now back rejoin, versus just 11.7 million wanting to stay out.

A flow chart shows 17.4 million leave voters in 2016, vs 16.1m remain. In 2025, 5 million of those people have died, and 3 million new voters have come of age. The result (plus some people changing their mind) is 19.8 million voters now back rejoin, versus just 11.7 million wanting to stay out.

Absolutely amazing chart from @peterkellner.bsky.social's piece in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social today:
www.thenewworld.co.uk/peter-kellne...

09.12.2025 21:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1596    πŸ” 623    πŸ’¬ 61    πŸ“Œ 104

That they poop NFT’s is just πŸ‘ŒοΏΌοΏΌ

05.12.2025 14:04 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Uh-huh. So you’re creating new incentives for differences of opinion. Because why should politicians be the only ones to exploit that.

04.12.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

alas

03.12.2025 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Don’t @me but try asking ChatGPT? It’s often very good at this type of question.

03.12.2025 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence πŸ”₯

01.12.2025 11:09 β€” πŸ‘ 27599    πŸ” 10756    πŸ’¬ 546    πŸ“Œ 922
How Jaywalking Became a Crime  |  Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
YouTube video by Apostrophe Podcast Network How Jaywalking Became a Crime | Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

Did you know that the term β€˜jaywalking’ was invented by marketing companies hired by car manufacturers in the early 1900’s to shame pedestrians when cars started killing them? I didn’t. youtube.com/shorts/N8Xwk...

@terryoinfluence.bsky.social #VisionZero

30.11.2025 17:38 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Game repects game

30.11.2025 14:06 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Colin Powell holds up a vial he said could contain anthrax as he presents evidence of Iraq's alleged weapons programs to the United Nations Security Council. | Elise Amendola/AP Photo

Colin Powell holds up a vial he said could contain anthrax as he presents evidence of Iraq's alleged weapons programs to the United Nations Security Council. | Elise Amendola/AP Photo

29.11.2025 16:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh sorry, that last image showing Venezuela having the worldβ€˜s largest reserves of oil is TOTALLY UNRELATED

29.11.2025 16:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image Post image Post image

According to the US State department Venezuela is a transit hub for about 10 to 13% of Colombian-produced cocaine that enters the United States. Almost all meth and fentanyl comes from Mexico, with China supplying chemicals.

Is Venezuela Flooding the U.S. With Drugs? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/w...

29.11.2025 16:10 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
But according to data shared by Coun. Rowena Santos β€” collected by speed cameras that were no longer distributing tickets but which were still capturing vehicle speeds - Brampton saw 71,258 speeding incidents from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22 in the areas where cameras were located. That compares to 31,581 incidents the week prior when the cameras were still distributing tickets.

But according to data shared by Coun. Rowena Santos β€” collected by speed cameras that were no longer distributing tickets but which were still capturing vehicle speeds - Brampton saw 71,258 speeding incidents from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22 in the areas where cameras were located. That compares to 31,581 incidents the week prior when the cameras were still distributing tickets.

so our government made a big deal about banning speed cameras but one city left theirs running to see what difference the ban would make and you are not going to believe this

28.11.2025 00:56 β€” πŸ‘ 217    πŸ” 99    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 12
Preview
Fifteen Years

i’m not crying you’re crying

xkcd: Fifteen Years

25.11.2025 01:58 β€” πŸ‘ 5042    πŸ” 1348    πŸ’¬ 78    πŸ“Œ 142

Try The Lowdown. Great characters, really funny.

25.11.2025 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.

Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...

24.11.2025 00:31 β€” πŸ‘ 15603    πŸ” 6114    πŸ’¬ 687    πŸ“Œ 593

Customers/users articulate problems.

PMs should provide solutions that are the best compromise between the needs of the user and the needs of the business.

Prototypes are much better than PRDs - use them whenever possible.

Lovable, Figma Make etc. have vastly reduced the resources required.

22.11.2025 15:54 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A cropped screenshot from a Canadian government website with the prompt "What's your occupation?"

The answer "Writer" has been provided, generating the red text error response "Please enter a valid occupation."

A cropped screenshot from a Canadian government website with the prompt "What's your occupation?" The answer "Writer" has been provided, generating the red text error response "Please enter a valid occupation."

Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.

21.11.2025 21:10 β€” πŸ‘ 16346    πŸ” 2312    πŸ’¬ 149    πŸ“Œ 103