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Andrew Kurjata @akurjata.ca · 8h

That's the thing about this swing to involuntary care: people can't get voluntary care. People who are incarcerated can't get care. Where are the resources to support involuntary care suddenly going to come from?

Mike Hager @mikehager.bsky.social · 8h

B.C. prisoners with complex mental illness aren’t getting necessary treatment: Review Board’s annual report. Outgoing chair’s scathing intro included this: “In my view, these shortages put the safety of the public and the rights of individuals at risk” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/briti... #bcpoli

B.C. prisoners with complex mental illness aren’t getting necessary treatment, report says

British Columbia Review Board chair Brenda Edwards says chronic underfunding has brought the forensic health care system to a breaking point

www.theglobeandmail.com

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OneCity Vancouver @onecityvan.bsky.social · 8h

"Recent actions announced by the City of Vancouver do not add up for our economic survival. Asking every city department to arbitrarily cut budgets by a blanket percentage is not only a ineffective short-term measure, it could negatively affect our long-term recovery."

-- Ken Sim in 2020

City must set priorities during economic crisis

Across-the-board cuts not the answer, Ken Sim says.

During the course of the health crisis that has tragically taken too many lives and pushed essential service workers to the limit, an economic crisis has been brewing that will devastate our city if not handled properly.

Article content
Recent actions announced by the City of Vancouver do not add up for our economic survival. Asking every city department to arbitrarily cut budgets by a blanket percentage is not only an ineffective short-term measure, it could negatively affect our long-term recovery.

In my experience as a business owner, an investment banker and a Fellow of Chartered Professional Accountants, all organizations, including municipal governments, must take financial decisions seriously and do so with great tenacity and diligence. Such diligence is absolutely necessary during our current economic crisis where households are struggling and businesses are failing at an unprecedented rate.

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Mihai Cirstea @mihai-cirstea.bsky.social · 22h

This budget is reckless. Our infrastructure is crumbling, our amenities are quite literally falling apart. A 0% increase combined with a raise for the VPD means big cuts to already struggling services and infrastructure, no matter how ABC wants to spin it.

The Vancouver Aquatic Centre with a chunk of its wall broken off.

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 18h

Ah, I'm behind then. Trying to hold too many things in my brain at once right now.

Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 18h

If taxes don't increase, the VPD will still take its cut and your landlord's just going to raise the rent anyway.

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 18h

Take 5 minutes this morning and leave Vancouver City Council a note to oppose Motion 1: 0% tax increase. Vancouver has some of the lowest taxes in Canada and we pay for that through deferred maintenance on infrastructure and cuts to arts and essential services. vancouver.ca/your-governm...

Contact Mayor and Council

Contact City Council and the mayor as a group.

vancouver.ca

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 22h

The new economics of media is the old economics of media. Affiliate marketing links to Prime Day and related seasonal sales events generates a not-insignificant revenue for these companies. Something I first encountered hawking my debut novel. Which I thought for sure had to be illegal in some way.

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 2d

People dropping by my office this week to say sorry #Kyanite won, we know you were really excited about #Tugtupite. It's okay guys, I'll live. #MinCup25

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 4d

End of day madder, coreopsis, walnut #ehgautumnalreds #wool #botanicaldyes

Many small piles of wool in many colours ranging from yellow-green to red, peach, orange, brown

People sitting and having tea around a long table with many small piles of wool in many colours ranging from yellow-green to red, peach, orange, brown

Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve been waiting for this all year. It’s madder day! #botanicaldyes

Fresh bright red wool locks out of the madder pot with colourful tongs

Samples of wool and yarn in various shades of peach, orange and pink

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mcc @dryad.technology · 5d

So I'd like to show a demonstration of what this "waffles" thing is. Here's a conversation between *this site's* CEO, some random guy, and the cofounder of "Tangled", a GitHub clone built on top of Bluesky's protocol.

Please take a moment to really think, about the shape of this thoughtlessness.

Jay.bsky.team:

Harassing the mods into banning someone has never worked. And harassing people in general has never changed their mind.

Steven:

Then you should probably stop trolling your user base.

Anirudh Oppiliappan:

bro got mad at waffles

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 5d

Crumpet is a great name for a cat.

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Nora Loreto @nolore.bsky.social · 5d

Two Indigenous women MLAs in Winnipeg have had their offices firebombed in the past six weeks. And yet, it hasn't been national news. Hear about this and more on today's 7-minute Daily News podcast.

sandyandnora.com/daily-news-o...

Daily News – Oct. 3, 2025

Story 1 – Someone is firebombing the offices of two Indigenous women MLAs in Winnipeg Story 2 – New Auditor General report in Ontario strongly suggests corruption in Ford’s government Story 3 -A new s...

sandyandnora.com

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Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 5d

This makes me feel crazy. Being aware of the speed limit is like step 1 for driving! "Stealing is illegal, sure, but how are people supposed to know which stores they can steal from without getting caught if the camera ones don't have giant 'NO STEALING' signs??"

www.thestar.com/news/gta/20-...

Chow is pushing for larger signage and changing Toronto’s program so that once a driver is fined for speeding the first time, they cannot be fined again for seven days. It gives drivers an opportunity to receive their fine in the mail and become aware of the camera’s location.

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 7d

I didn’t really have sharing the gym with the Dallas Mavericks on my bingo card today but okay.

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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 7d

"If you receive this updated LP8.1 dose, you actually will get [a] nice fourfold increase in the antibody levels compared to if you didn't get this vaccine."

COVID-19 vaccine campaigns launch across Canada for 2025-26 | CBC News

Provinces and territories are starting to roll out updated vaccines to protect people from COVID-19.

www.cbc.ca

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Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 8d

While blue kyanite is used in jewelry, porcelain & pottery glazes, plus gets physics points as an index mineral, it’s the extraordinary ‘reindeer blood’ tenebrescent, & phosphorescent tugtupite “King of Fluorescent Minerals” which is also a gem, gaining both art and physics points for me. #MinCup25

Kyanite is a naturally occurring aluminum silicate mineral that typically forms as bladed crystals, and occasionally it occurs as radiating masses of crystals. The name kyanite is derived from the Greek word kyanos which means “blue.” Gem quality kyanite has a royal blue color similar to fine sapphire. This material is highly prized by those who cut gemstones. Kyanite can be cut en cabochon, faceted, or fashioned into beads, however its variability in hardness and color zoning can make it difficult to fashion and facet. Transparent intense blue kyanite is beautiful and is considered to be an exotic gemstone because it is not often seen in jewelry. Kyanite is predominately found in shades of blue and green, but it can also be yellow, white and orange. This 5.87ct gem is an intense deep blue color and the largest and finest kyanite from Nepal in the National Gem Collection. Smithsonian Museum"

The Smithsonian acquired two “ulu” silver pendants with tugtupite cabochons (ulu is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut women), designed and created by Mike Møller. These are the first tugtupite gems acquired for the National Gem Collection. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/object/nmnhmineralsciences_14272125?geogallery=Tugtupite&node=14624I’m

Tugtupite 6.00 ct Oval Cut 15.10 x 9.50 x 6.50 mm The same oval cabuchon is shown under regular light as white and blood red and under UV as scarlet and burgundy, against a black background. Via https://gemologicalcollections.com/product/tugtupite-6-00-ct-oval-cut-15-10-x-9-50-x-6-50-mm-greenland-w399/

Gorgeous cut blood red tugpite gem from Greenland in the Smithsonian mineral collection

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 7d

Go for blood. Vote #Tugtupite! #MinCup25

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 8d

#MinCup25 Final: After a month of learning and laughter, we’re at the final match to determine the 2025 Mineral Cup Champion! We have blue blades of #kyanite up against optical magician #tugtupite.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r5...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in 2025 Final Match — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Kyanite vs Tugtupite Photo credits: John Sobolewski and Parent Géry

www.mineralcup.org

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Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 9d

How any Jews can read this and not hear our own history is utterly beyond me.

Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 9d

"I am making a choice that defies what is expected of us.

Israel wants Gaza City empty, silent, depopulated, and erased. But as long as even one family refuses to leave, the city will live on."

7/7

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If you know you know @privatechand.bsky.social · 9d

This would be why I am such a strident critic of digitization as a substitute for actual archival preservation. My sixteenth century documents are far sturdier and likely to survive another 500 years than the detritus on the internet. And digitization is not democratization.

Dan Gillmor @dangillmor.bsky.social · 10d

Google deletes history:

Google just erased 7 years of our political history

Google appears to have deleted its political ad archive for the EU; so the last 7 years of ads, of political spending, of messaging, of targeting - on YouTube, on Search and for display ads - for countless elections across 27 countries - is all gone. We had been told

www.thebriefing.ie

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Martin Hajovsky @martinhajovsky.bsky.social · 9d

In the end, while this is a very tough choice between two I love, I vote #Hematite. It turns Mars red, tells the story of the oxygenation of Earth AND possible presence of water on early Venus, crucial in art (ancient & modern) & was my gateway drug into geology. Say YES to the bloodstone! #MinCup25

Hematite in early Earth and Mars. Guess which is which!

Hematite, a common mineral to these three sisters.

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Erin Braaains!-John 🧟 @eebeejay.bsky.social · 9d

Feeling tired, fatigued, headaches and restless legs? Get some iron in your diet and vote #Hematite!

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 10d

#MinCup25 Semifinals 1: It's a battle of classic minerals for red #hematite vs blue #kyanite.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in Semifinal 1 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Hematite vs Kyanite Photo credits: John Sobolewski

www.mineralcup.org

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Jess Davis @jessmarindavis.bsky.social · 9d

Canada has listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity.

This continues the trend of both listing criminal groups as terrorists and the politicization of our listings process.

A short (grumpy) thread:

www.canada.ca/en/public-sa...

Government of Canada lists the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity - Canada.ca

Acts of violence and terror have no place in Canada, especially those that target specific communities to create a climate of fear and intimidation.

www.canada.ca

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Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 10d

Though kyanite is used in the arts, hematite is the most important pigment left standing, & vital to millennia of art history so easily wins the art vote. Red ochre, earth, Venetian red, mars red & English red. A stable, rich, vibrant red in cave paintings through contemporary paintings! #MinCup25

An image of a cave painting and analysis of pigments used. There’s a rotund beige horse outlined in black from the Lascaux caves, and a collection of squares of browns and black labelled with the mineral pigment used to produce these colours at Lascaux. 6 squares are due to Goethite in umbers and browns. 2 dark browns from Hematite. Black from magnetite. 5 brown squares from: Lepidocrocite, Akaganeite, Maghemite, Feroxyhyte, Ferrihydrite and Fe(III) hydroxy-Sulfate.

Johannes Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring
ca 1665

Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 44.5 cm x 39 cm
Art period: Baroque
Mauritshuis, The Hague
Painting

This is the famous painting of the young Dutch woman in gold jacket with white collar, gold and blue turban with large pearl earrings looking over her shoulder at the viewer, against a near-black background.

“Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring is an exceptional example of Vermeer’s genius, it is a portrait of an unknown girl or maybe a generalized female head (called a ‘tronie’ in Netherlands). The pigment analysis revealed a limited palette consisting of red, brown and yellow ochre, natural ultramarine, indigo, lead white, and the rare yellow pigment weld (luteoline).”

Red ochre is hematite.

Via ColourLex

Edgar Degas, Portrait of Elena Carafa
ca 1875

Medium: oil
Support: canvas
Size: 70,1 x 55 cm
Art movements: Impressionism, Realism

National Gallery London
NG4167

“The sitter for this portrait, Elena Carafa, was Degas’ first cousin, who lived with her sister Camilla and their mother Stefanina, Duchess Montejasi-Cicerale, in Naples.
The portrait of Elena Carafa by Edgar Degas shows an assured young lady” wearing a black dress and blue shawl, seated back in a floral armchair with red floral wallpaper and white door behind her. She has dark brown hair piled high on her head and looks at the viewer with her chin forward like she’s daring you to judge her.

Uses red ochre (hematite) as a pigment

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 10d

I'm sure Canada's just-announced AI Task Force and Cohere, the AI company tasked with identifying governmental uses for AI, will be all over this report.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 10d

“In a new report, management consultants Bain & Company found that despite being ‘one of the first areas to deploy generative AI,’ the ‘savings have been unremarkable’ in programming.”

AI Coding Is Massively Overhyped, Report Finds

The AI industry's claims about AI coding assistants boosting productivity significantly appear to be massively overblown, per a new report.

futurism.com

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