Christopher Solar 🇨🇦
@christophersolar.bsky.social
Furniture designer/maker, cyclist, inside the Ottawa bubble. He/Him.
Pinned
How about a little intro? I'm a furniture designer/maker in Ottawa. Some of my work is one-off/custom pieces, some of that in turn are pieces that use reclaimed roofing copper from the Parliament buildings. Here are two cabinets and a mirror using the copper cut up and rearranged.
For sale: one skate, slightly worn.
Short story writing prompt. Go! (from this morning at Dow's Lake)
November 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
For sale: one skate, slightly worn.
Short story writing prompt. Go! (from this morning at Dow's Lake)
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Short story writing prompt. Go! (from this morning at Dow's Lake)
can the redblacks play there
Ottawa should buy this privately-owned landfill in the east end | Opinion ottawacitizen.com/opinion/big-...
November 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM
can the redblacks play there
My winter cycling enthusiasm has a lot to do with being unenthusiastic about taking an hour to get home on the bus or crawling along in gridlock in the car. The bike is just better for me even when -- especially when -- the weather is shitty.
Enthusiastic cyclists gearing up for another Ottawa winter ottawacitizen.com/news/cyclist...
November 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
My winter cycling enthusiasm has a lot to do with being unenthusiastic about taking an hour to get home on the bus or crawling along in gridlock in the car. The bike is just better for me even when -- especially when -- the weather is shitty.
Continuing adventures in Artificial Intelligence...
November 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Continuing adventures in Artificial Intelligence...
"a cyclist braved the snow on the bike path..."
JFC @ottawacitizen.com it's just a person calmly riding their bike on bare pavement.
JFC @ottawacitizen.com it's just a person calmly riding their bike on bare pavement.
November 11, 2025 at 3:03 AM
"a cyclist braved the snow on the bike path..."
JFC @ottawacitizen.com it's just a person calmly riding their bike on bare pavement.
JFC @ottawacitizen.com it's just a person calmly riding their bike on bare pavement.
the mayor is a big supporter of local sports franchises (when they are owned by an OSEG guy)
Let’s pack TD Place at Lansdowne on November 9 and support Atlético Ottawa as they go for the Canadian Premier League title!
Remplissons le TD Place à Lansdowne le 9 novembre et soutenons Atlético Ottawa dans sa quête du titre de la Premier League canadienne !
Remplissons le TD Place à Lansdowne le 9 novembre et soutenons Atlético Ottawa dans sa quête du titre de la Premier League canadienne !
November 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM
the mayor is a big supporter of local sports franchises (when they are owned by an OSEG guy)
Reposted by Christopher Solar 🇨🇦
It's actually insane that the feds are promising to put more than double the amount of money they're putting into childcare, into AI.
Why not just set it on fire and dance around it hoping to sway the gods to our favour?
Why not just set it on fire and dance around it hoping to sway the gods to our favour?
November 5, 2025 at 2:49 AM
It's actually insane that the feds are promising to put more than double the amount of money they're putting into childcare, into AI.
Why not just set it on fire and dance around it hoping to sway the gods to our favour?
Why not just set it on fire and dance around it hoping to sway the gods to our favour?
Our @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social styles himself as a savvy businessman and at one time seemed to view everything through that lens ("is there a business case for this bike lane?"). Now he's head cheerleader for a project that only works if you accept best-case-possible projections 50 years out.
Ottawa Auditor General doubles down on her risk assessment for Lansdowne 2.0: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Auditor general highlights risks of latest plan to retool Lansdowne Park | CBC News
The Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment plan faces risks including a tight construction timeline, tariffs, Redblacks attendance and the uncertainty built into a financial deal that lasts until 2075, according...
www.cbc.ca
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Our @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social styles himself as a savvy businessman and at one time seemed to view everything through that lens ("is there a business case for this bike lane?"). Now he's head cheerleader for a project that only works if you accept best-case-possible projections 50 years out.
Speaking of inappropriate use of Gorillaz, honest to god this was Meta's suggestion for putting music over my photo of the Atomic Bomb memorial in Hiroshima:
October 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Speaking of inappropriate use of Gorillaz, honest to god this was Meta's suggestion for putting music over my photo of the Atomic Bomb memorial in Hiroshima:
Japan travel note: they have this turbocharged Presto card called suica, and here is the 'welcome' version that tourists can buy in the airport. Used it for all manner of public transit and train travel all over the country, plus some use in stores and at vending machines. Tap in, tap out.
October 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Japan travel note: they have this turbocharged Presto card called suica, and here is the 'welcome' version that tourists can buy in the airport. Used it for all manner of public transit and train travel all over the country, plus some use in stores and at vending machines. Tap in, tap out.
I would _hope_ that when we spend half a billion dollars we at least get some construction jobs. Then again we could just hire people to dig a big hole and fill it in over and over. That would create jobs too. The question is: is this the best use of public funds and land? He knows the answer is no.
Lansdowne 2.0 will create nearly 500 jobs each year during construction and more than 400 permanent jobs once completed. It will add $590 million to Ottawa’s GDP over the next decade.
tinyurl.com/pymx85tf
tinyurl.com/pymx85tf
October 24, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I would _hope_ that when we spend half a billion dollars we at least get some construction jobs. Then again we could just hire people to dig a big hole and fill it in over and over. That would create jobs too. The question is: is this the best use of public funds and land? He knows the answer is no.
Doug Ford chould check in with school bus drivers re: the effectiveness of flashing lights for traffic control.
P1: Ok we need a vehicle to move some kids to school
P2: How about a bus?
P1: Perfect.
P2: Lets make it big and yellow so no one misses it
P1: Great
1/
P2: How about a bus?
P1: Perfect.
P2: Lets make it big and yellow so no one misses it
P1: Great
1/
September 26, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Doug Ford chould check in with school bus drivers re: the effectiveness of flashing lights for traffic control.
I wonder what other areas of law/rule enforcement can be replaced by simple flashing lights? Doug Ford is a genius. No one else thought of this.
September 26, 2025 at 12:45 PM
I wonder what other areas of law/rule enforcement can be replaced by simple flashing lights? Doug Ford is a genius. No one else thought of this.
I finished a thing today: a 4-door sideboard in white oak with doors clad in reclaimed Parliament copper and white oak latticework. Each door ended up having 50 individual parts to fit together. (There was some self-directed cursing.)
September 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I finished a thing today: a 4-door sideboard in white oak with doors clad in reclaimed Parliament copper and white oak latticework. Each door ended up having 50 individual parts to fit together. (There was some self-directed cursing.)
[me, opening Bluesky] well what parade of fresh horrors awaits me now
September 12, 2025 at 4:39 PM
[me, opening Bluesky] well what parade of fresh horrors awaits me now
Age verification.
I used to play video games on my home computer...but first I had to type in the game's code from pages of dense hexadecimal machine code printed in a magazine.
I used to play video games on my home computer...but first I had to type in the game's code from pages of dense hexadecimal machine code printed in a magazine.
September 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Age verification.
I used to play video games on my home computer...but first I had to type in the game's code from pages of dense hexadecimal machine code printed in a magazine.
I used to play video games on my home computer...but first I had to type in the game's code from pages of dense hexadecimal machine code printed in a magazine.
If there really was an epidemic of well-meaning drivers getting dinged while going barely over the limit, surely the Premier would be in a position to show some data? And just as surely a problem like that could be fixed with a few clicks on a keyboard? But no, we have to stop all enforcement.
In Ontario, criminal vigilantism works and will influence gov't policy.
Keep that in mind.
Keep that in mind.
‘Get rid of the speed cameras,’ Doug Ford warns municipalities after several cut down in Toronto overnight
Premier Doug Ford says he plans to take matters into his own hands if Ontario municipalities don’t “get rid of the speed cameras” in short order.
www.ctvnews.ca
September 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
If there really was an epidemic of well-meaning drivers getting dinged while going barely over the limit, surely the Premier would be in a position to show some data? And just as surely a problem like that could be fixed with a few clicks on a keyboard? But no, we have to stop all enforcement.
Heads up #ottbike: morning commute derailed by two path closures: QEDr canal path btw. Bank & Bronson, and then Trillium path under 417.
Canal path will be out of service for a while, but there is a detour of sorts. Trillium just for today, but choose-your-own-adventure detour.
Canal path will be out of service for a while, but there is a detour of sorts. Trillium just for today, but choose-your-own-adventure detour.
September 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Heads up #ottbike: morning commute derailed by two path closures: QEDr canal path btw. Bank & Bronson, and then Trillium path under 417.
Canal path will be out of service for a while, but there is a detour of sorts. Trillium just for today, but choose-your-own-adventure detour.
Canal path will be out of service for a while, but there is a detour of sorts. Trillium just for today, but choose-your-own-adventure detour.
Me, opening the Photos app on my phone and seeing that all the AI crap features are now front and center and I have to dig past them to basic stuff like adjust brightness.
I didn't take this photo so that I could then edit it to include a bunch of stuff that wasn't there! What is the point!
I didn't take this photo so that I could then edit it to include a bunch of stuff that wasn't there! What is the point!
September 7, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Me, opening the Photos app on my phone and seeing that all the AI crap features are now front and center and I have to dig past them to basic stuff like adjust brightness.
I didn't take this photo so that I could then edit it to include a bunch of stuff that wasn't there! What is the point!
I didn't take this photo so that I could then edit it to include a bunch of stuff that wasn't there! What is the point!
Repeated my google query this morning and now I have three different but confident answers from Google AI Overview™:
- not taxable, for reasons
- yes taxable, for different reasons
- actually she has to pay tax TO the festival (???)
- not taxable, for reasons
- yes taxable, for different reasons
- actually she has to pay tax TO the festival (???)
Helping filmmaker daughter with a tax question (does she have to collect HST on screening fees she earns from festivals?). Google it and the AI summary says: no tax on that and here's why etc..
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
August 29, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Repeated my google query this morning and now I have three different but confident answers from Google AI Overview™:
- not taxable, for reasons
- yes taxable, for different reasons
- actually she has to pay tax TO the festival (???)
- not taxable, for reasons
- yes taxable, for different reasons
- actually she has to pay tax TO the festival (???)
Helping filmmaker daughter with a tax question (does she have to collect HST on screening fees she earns from festivals?). Google it and the AI summary says: no tax on that and here's why etc..
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
August 28, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Helping filmmaker daughter with a tax question (does she have to collect HST on screening fees she earns from festivals?). Google it and the AI summary says: no tax on that and here's why etc..
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
Repeat the very same search moments later: AI now says yes it *is* taxable and here's why...
So useful!
Spotify always seemed to know when I had my hands full with something difficult and/or messy (gluing, finishing a piece of furniture) and queue up something truly awful. Standout example was a live Throbbing Gristle track that was over 9 minutes long.
"Surely this must end eventually...please..."
"Surely this must end eventually...please..."
Nobody's cracking another beer when you put this sucker on. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fih-...
Hamburger Lady (Remastered)
YouTube video by Throbbing Gristle - Topic
www.youtube.com
August 28, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Spotify always seemed to know when I had my hands full with something difficult and/or messy (gluing, finishing a piece of furniture) and queue up something truly awful. Standout example was a live Throbbing Gristle track that was over 9 minutes long.
"Surely this must end eventually...please..."
"Surely this must end eventually...please..."
I seem to have a distressing number of friends who are completely uncritical of AI, happy to ask it how to do anything and everything. I'm not thrilled to learn the Minister for AI is in the same category. Not thrilled but I guess not surprised, either.
Evan fucking Solomon, just guzzling down the AI hype.
He doesn't want to play the game about AI killing jobs when he can point to it creating jobs! Isn't that just great?!
macleans.ca/culture/evan...
He doesn't want to play the game about AI killing jobs when he can point to it creating jobs! Isn't that just great?!
macleans.ca/culture/evan...
August 26, 2025 at 1:18 AM
I seem to have a distressing number of friends who are completely uncritical of AI, happy to ask it how to do anything and everything. I'm not thrilled to learn the Minister for AI is in the same category. Not thrilled but I guess not surprised, either.
I made a Venn diagram to cover off some recent opinion pieces.
August 25, 2025 at 12:21 PM
I made a Venn diagram to cover off some recent opinion pieces.