Richard
@rwpickard.bsky.social
Reader, tree-hugger, teacher, preserver of foodstuffs. Canadian.
Deleter of rwpickard from Twitter/X.
http://boughtbooks.blogspot.com
Deleter of rwpickard from Twitter/X.
http://boughtbooks.blogspot.com
Pinned
Richard
@rwpickard.bsky.social
· Aug 30
Neighbourhood radical: A story about "AI"
Last night, at a kind neighbour's gentle garden party, I found myself calling for revolution and telling someone to choose which side they'd...
boughtbooks.blogspot.com
Re-upping this post, just to make my feelings about AI unmistakeable. #noAI #againstAI
boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/neig...
boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/neig...
Reposted by Richard
The Tumbler Ridge newspaper puts it better than I could
February 17, 2026 at 12:58 AM
The Tumbler Ridge newspaper puts it better than I could
I've said this before about other books, but seriously: drop everything and go read Aislinn Hunter's PEEPSHOW WITH VIEWS OF THE INTERIOR. You won't regret it! (Actually some will regret it, but the rest of you are in for such a treat.) #booksky boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/aisl...
Aislinn Hunter, A Peepshow with Views of the Interior: Paratexts
Although not every reader will appreciate Aislinn Hunter's A Peepshow with Views of the Interior: Paratexts , those who get it will find it...
boughtbooks.blogspot.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:41 AM
I've said this before about other books, but seriously: drop everything and go read Aislinn Hunter's PEEPSHOW WITH VIEWS OF THE INTERIOR. You won't regret it! (Actually some will regret it, but the rest of you are in for such a treat.) #booksky boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/aisl...
Reposted by Richard
A message from Trent Ernst, the only reporter who lives in Tumbler Ridge
February 11, 2026 at 6:50 AM
A message from Trent Ernst, the only reporter who lives in Tumbler Ridge
Reposted by Richard
A few years ago, my colleague @amandafollett.bsky.social wrote this portrait of Tumbler Ridge, a former coal mining town. thetyee.ca/News/2020/11...
February 11, 2026 at 3:51 AM
A few years ago, my colleague @amandafollett.bsky.social wrote this portrait of Tumbler Ridge, a former coal mining town. thetyee.ca/News/2020/11...
Reposted by Richard
Thousands in Tumbler Ridge will be feeling numb. My heart aches for them with the grief coming. I hope they can find strength from others for as long as they'll need it.
- Tumbler Ridge from the hiking trail "The Bald Spot"
- Tumbler Ridge City Hall
- Sunrise over Hwy 29 leading to Tumbler Ridge
- Tumbler Ridge from the hiking trail "The Bald Spot"
- Tumbler Ridge City Hall
- Sunrise over Hwy 29 leading to Tumbler Ridge
February 11, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Thousands in Tumbler Ridge will be feeling numb. My heart aches for them with the grief coming. I hope they can find strength from others for as long as they'll need it.
- Tumbler Ridge from the hiking trail "The Bald Spot"
- Tumbler Ridge City Hall
- Sunrise over Hwy 29 leading to Tumbler Ridge
- Tumbler Ridge from the hiking trail "The Bald Spot"
- Tumbler Ridge City Hall
- Sunrise over Hwy 29 leading to Tumbler Ridge
Reposted by Richard
All of BC is wrapping the families of Tumbler Ridge with love.
Supports are available:
BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789
Kids Help Phone: Text “CONNECT” to 686868
Thank you to the emergency responders on the ground for the work they are doing.
Supports are available:
BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789
Kids Help Phone: Text “CONNECT” to 686868
Thank you to the emergency responders on the ground for the work they are doing.
February 11, 2026 at 4:47 AM
All of BC is wrapping the families of Tumbler Ridge with love.
Supports are available:
BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789
Kids Help Phone: Text “CONNECT” to 686868
Thank you to the emergency responders on the ground for the work they are doing.
Supports are available:
BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789
Kids Help Phone: Text “CONNECT” to 686868
Thank you to the emergency responders on the ground for the work they are doing.
Reposted by Richard
I spent part of the weekend in my hometown. This was shot from the NW side of the South Thompson River on Secwépemc Territory. That's Little Shuswap Lake on the left and the Village of #ChaseBC to the right.
Pretty ... but it should not look like this in the first week of February.
Pretty ... but it should not look like this in the first week of February.
February 10, 2026 at 4:56 AM
I spent part of the weekend in my hometown. This was shot from the NW side of the South Thompson River on Secwépemc Territory. That's Little Shuswap Lake on the left and the Village of #ChaseBC to the right.
Pretty ... but it should not look like this in the first week of February.
Pretty ... but it should not look like this in the first week of February.
Reposted by Richard
fuck this lady, fuck the nyt reporter, fuck all of this. fuck amazon for introducing the KU page read model that makes this possible, fuck our tech overlords.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
The New Fabio Is Claude
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:35 PM
fuck this lady, fuck the nyt reporter, fuck all of this. fuck amazon for introducing the KU page read model that makes this possible, fuck our tech overlords.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
Reposted by Richard
Archives matter - but not to the Carney government. Canada has only ONE federal funding program for community archives, and they just killed it. Gone.
@wgreaves.bsky.social
www.canada.ca/en/library-a...
@wgreaves.bsky.social
www.canada.ca/en/library-a...
February 6, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Archives matter - but not to the Carney government. Canada has only ONE federal funding program for community archives, and they just killed it. Gone.
@wgreaves.bsky.social
www.canada.ca/en/library-a...
@wgreaves.bsky.social
www.canada.ca/en/library-a...
Lovely piece in BC Review about Diana Hayes' new book of poetry HAWKING THE SURF: always worth my time to read Harold Rhenisch! #booksky #poem #surfing thebcreview.ca/2026/02/04/2...
Harold Rhenisch reviews Hawking the Surf, by Diana Hayes
Harold Rhenisch reviews Hawking the Surf, by Diana Hayes (Vancouver: Silver Bow Publishing, 2025) $23.95 / 9781774033890
thebcreview.ca
February 6, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Lovely piece in BC Review about Diana Hayes' new book of poetry HAWKING THE SURF: always worth my time to read Harold Rhenisch! #booksky #poem #surfing thebcreview.ca/2026/02/04/2...
I responded to this survey: it was AWFUL. The questions are listed in an appendix to the report, so look for yourself. #resistAI #noAI ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...
February 5, 2026 at 6:03 AM
I responded to this survey: it was AWFUL. The questions are listed in an appendix to the report, so look for yourself. #resistAI #noAI ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...
Watch those typos, @mashable.com. (Good story to cover, though!) #bowser #againstAI #resistAI mashable.com/article/mozi...
February 3, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Watch those typos, @mashable.com. (Good story to cover, though!) #bowser #againstAI #resistAI mashable.com/article/mozi...
It's important to have good things to read, yes? Let me recommend NEVER SHOOT A STAMPEDE QUEEN, by @leirenyoung.bsky.social: it won the Leacock Award when it came out, and it holds up really, really well! #booksky #review boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/mark...
Mark Leiren-Young, Stampede Queen
As surprised as he might have been at the time, it makes excellent sense that Mark Leiren-Young 's memoir Never Shoot a Stampede Queen wou...
boughtbooks.blogspot.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:07 AM
It's important to have good things to read, yes? Let me recommend NEVER SHOOT A STAMPEDE QUEEN, by @leirenyoung.bsky.social: it won the Leacock Award when it came out, and it holds up really, really well! #booksky #review boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/mark...
You guys, everybody has to drop what they're doing for 15 minutes a day and read the stories that make up THE OTHER SHORE, by @rebeccacampbell.bsky.social. Irreplaceable. #booksky #review #fiction #SF boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/01/rebe...
Rebecca Campbell, The Other Shore
Short story collections can be tricky, for writers and readers both, but let me eliminate any potential suspense: Rebecca Campbell's collect...
boughtbooks.blogspot.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:41 AM
You guys, everybody has to drop what they're doing for 15 minutes a day and read the stories that make up THE OTHER SHORE, by @rebeccacampbell.bsky.social. Irreplaceable. #booksky #review #fiction #SF boughtbooks.blogspot.com/2026/01/rebe...
It changes, but a regular contender for most challenging tiny element of parenting a book-happy adult with special needs is distinguishing between libraries, little libraries, bookstores, and second-hand bookstores. Don't even get me started on rewilded library books with the crossed-out barcodes.
January 29, 2026 at 6:38 PM
It changes, but a regular contender for most challenging tiny element of parenting a book-happy adult with special needs is distinguishing between libraries, little libraries, bookstores, and second-hand bookstores. Don't even get me started on rewilded library books with the crossed-out barcodes.
The wifi wasn't working in my office for the start of office hours today, so in desperation I fired up my phone's hotspot and was horrified to realize that many years ago, I had named it "pretty fly for a wifi."
What new, student-friendly name should I go with? #sendhelp #batsignal
What new, student-friendly name should I go with? #sendhelp #batsignal
January 28, 2026 at 7:51 PM
The wifi wasn't working in my office for the start of office hours today, so in desperation I fired up my phone's hotspot and was horrified to realize that many years ago, I had named it "pretty fly for a wifi."
What new, student-friendly name should I go with? #sendhelp #batsignal
What new, student-friendly name should I go with? #sendhelp #batsignal
Reposted by Richard
It turns out that counterfeiting human thought may have some adverse consequences.
OpenAI just released Prism, a LaTeX editor with embedded ChatGPT for free.
Writing a paper has never been easier.
Clogging the scientific publishing pipeline has never been easier.
It took me 54 seconds to write up an experiment I did not actually conduct.
prism.openai.com
Writing a paper has never been easier.
Clogging the scientific publishing pipeline has never been easier.
It took me 54 seconds to write up an experiment I did not actually conduct.
prism.openai.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:17 PM
It turns out that counterfeiting human thought may have some adverse consequences.
Informally, of course, there's already a citizen-driven global boycott of US goods
there will prob be a global boycott of US goods by the end of his term
January 17, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Informally, of course, there's already a citizen-driven global boycott of US goods
Reposted by Richard
I got a lot to say about this study and no time to say it, but any time someone thinks using AI is helping students learn writing it is likely to be the opposite and rooted in a view of what learning writing is like that must be challenged and revised. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...
The risks of AI in schools outweigh the benefits, report says
A new report warns that AI poses a serious threat to children's cognitive development and emotional well-being.
www.npr.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:08 PM
I got a lot to say about this study and no time to say it, but any time someone thinks using AI is helping students learn writing it is likely to be the opposite and rooted in a view of what learning writing is like that must be challenged and revised. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...
Reposted by Richard
Do we need a whole new model for writing instruction? Or do we need to stop pretending that AI is a problem for individual professors to solve through responsible pedagogy and not a symptom of systemic issues in higher education that can only be addressed through collective action?
January 7, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Do we need a whole new model for writing instruction? Or do we need to stop pretending that AI is a problem for individual professors to solve through responsible pedagogy and not a symptom of systemic issues in higher education that can only be addressed through collective action?
Are they stupid enough to think that everyone will leave the US and go back to Cuba, Venezuela, etc, just because the US decides to stomp bloodily around in their countries of origin? (Narrator: They were exactly that stupid.) www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Marco Rubio says he believes Cuba is 'in a lot of trouble'
The secretary of state's latest remarks came after he told reporters that he'd be "concerned" if he were a government official in Havana.
www.nbcnews.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Are they stupid enough to think that everyone will leave the US and go back to Cuba, Venezuela, etc, just because the US decides to stomp bloodily around in their countries of origin? (Narrator: They were exactly that stupid.) www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Reposted by Richard
Colombian President Petro commenting on the US;
“A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil."
“A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil."
January 4, 2026 at 3:40 AM
Colombian President Petro commenting on the US;
“A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil."
“A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil."
Remember that oil and gas companies in Canada are heavily American, and American imperialism steals from the world in all kinds of ways. A random invasion of Venezuela is just a variant on how American oil companies in Canada make money here.
And one more last-last thing: lawless US foreign policy and acts of naked imperialism are, without fail in my lifetime, applauded/encouraged by the oil and gas companies in Calgary. Every time. So watch for that, and understand the perspectives you may be reading from academics, think tanks etc
January 3, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Remember that oil and gas companies in Canada are heavily American, and American imperialism steals from the world in all kinds of ways. A random invasion of Venezuela is just a variant on how American oil companies in Canada make money here.
I don't comment often on American news, because there's too much and it's all the same, but just to make the point: fuck ALL those people involved. It's Trump, sure, but they're all criminal at this point. #venezuela #sovereignty #ruleoflaw www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...
Trump says U.S. is 'going to run' Venezuela until safe transition of power can take place | CBC News
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flown them out of the country amid strikes by the U.S. on Caracas, Ven...
www.cbc.ca
January 3, 2026 at 6:31 PM
I don't comment often on American news, because there's too much and it's all the same, but just to make the point: fuck ALL those people involved. It's Trump, sure, but they're all criminal at this point. #venezuela #sovereignty #ruleoflaw www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...
Reposted by Richard
A real news outlet publishing the phrase "Grok apologized" should result in like a week-long timeout. Think about what you've done.
January 2, 2026 at 10:31 PM
A real news outlet publishing the phrase "Grok apologized" should result in like a week-long timeout. Think about what you've done.