Retired software engineer, interaction designer, and UX exec in the #VFX software field. Original Maya team member. 🏳️‍🌈 I write about a lot of things […] [bridged from https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gyhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwoncgj5syq2@grimalkina My sister just now picked up your book (which is sitting on my coffee table as I re-read it) and exclaimed “Oh — for a moment I thought it said CAT CHICKS”29 Sep 2026 20:13 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwoncgj5syq2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwofcnlsqh52I was not in Toronto last weekend, which meant that I missed the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, I came back just in time to get half-price mooncakes from the local Chinese grocery! #MidAutumnFestival #Mooncakes29 Sep 2026 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwofcnlsqh52https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwgxzljvuwz2Third and final play of my visit to the Stratford Festival: “Tao of the World” by Jovanni Sy, based loosely on the 17th-century restoration comedy “The Way of the World”. This one is set in Singapore just after the Covid pandemic. They’re playing Singaporean pop […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]26 Sep 2026 19:03 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwgxzljvuwz2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwfbyltzyrc2Tonight’s show at the Stratford Theatre Festival: Guys and Dolls. #StratfordFestival26 Sep 2026 02:57 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwfbyltzyrc2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwe2vdzcco32If it’s not obvious, I’m a Chow supporter. I remember decades ago, during the AIDS crisis, that Chow and her husband Jack Layton stood with the LGBT+ community when it was very unpopular to do so. She has principles and stands by them. I remember when she was on the Toronto police services board […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11733234094041942625 Sep 2026 15:17 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwe2vdzcco32https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwe246s2mrr2It’s been interesting (and depressing) reading the comments on political ads for the Toronto Mayoral election. Aside from generic boosterism, the comments support between Chow and Bradford feels very different. Pro-Chow comments tend to point specifically at her track record and things she’s […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11733228453031719025 Sep 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwe246s2mrr2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwchcduiqzs2I bought this theatre ticket in January, and kind of forgot about the details. Now I’m in my seat, delighted that Past Me decided to treat Present Me to second row, centre! Thanks, Past Me! And now to discover The Importance of Being Earnest. #StratfordFestival24 Sep 2026 23:54 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwchcduiqzs2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwbv6y7wc6x2Yesterday I visited Fort York in downtown Toronto. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve never been there, in spite of living in this city my entire life. But it seemed like a good time to review what happened the last time the USA threatened to annex us, during the War of 1812. The US […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11732743636062793424 Sep 2026 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwbv6y7wc6x2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mw73knenoz22In an unlikely twist of fate, I have just found myself with the job of running the lighting board at an upcoming Lesbian Burlesque Show. I guess the organizer figured I wouldn’t get distracted.23 Sep 2026 15:45 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw73knenoz22https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mw33konteb62Sadly, the entire Olympic canoeing team was lost in the transporter accident. #ForksOfTheDon #Toronto22 Sep 2026 01:35 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw33konteb62https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvzpuw2g6ap2I have a small electrical mystery! My bedroom is lit by six pot lights, all on the same circuit. When I turn on the light switch, they all turn on instantly. Or at least, they used to. A few days ago I swapped out the light switch in the room, since the old one was getting unreliable after 25 […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11730904778080317121 Sep 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvzpuw2g6ap2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvt5yblu7vz2I feel that I should be donating more to charities and political causes. But the number one reason that holds me back is knowing that any good deed of this sort will result in an unrelenting deluge of emails for the rest of my life. I have my own domain, so maybe I should set up other email […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11729427440640764218 Sep 2026 21:56 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvt5yblu7vz2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvqcvkn6clq2A thoughtful article about a traditional Albertan grievance against the rest of Canada, written by an economist, putting it into perspective. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026/09/15/Alberta-Does-Not-Subsidize-Rest-Canada/ #CanPoli #Alberta17 Sep 2026 18:47 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqcvkn6clq2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvohgcwqk672“Coyote vs Acme” is a really good film. (No spoilers follow) I was expecting the jokes and the Easter eggs, but the film also delivered a great story and character development. The director had to walk a very fine line in making the coyote completely himself, while also taking him through a […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11728368317455015717 Sep 2026 01:03 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvohgcwqk672https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mv6u33beqcb2Usually when I see an eighteen-wheeler on the highway, I don’t expect all eighteen wheels to be on the same axle.10 Sep 2026 20:06 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv6u33beqcb2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mv45ilb7o6f2[Grieving and death] A friend of mine died on the weekend, unexpectedly. He was young and handsome, healthy, well-loved, a pillar of the local queer community, and someone I saw as the next generation of leadership. He had just bought a home and was planning a number of events. On Monday I got […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11724245208644408009 Sep 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv45ilb7o6f2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3muxtlkfb4pd2Imagine if haters online talked about adoptive mothers the same way they talk about trans people? — “Raising a child doesn’t make you a mother. You either gave physical birth or you didn’t. That’s just science.” — “Adoptive ‘mothers’ shouldn’t be permitted in mom groups. They didn’t go […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11723274763611221308 Sep 2026 01:09 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3muxtlkfb4pd2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3muwmhfpuxfz2I’ve just started to read my next French novel. It’s been a while since I’ve read one, and my French has slipped a lot. I find myself looking up words that I should know. It’s very hard to keep up a language unless you have the opportunity to use it pretty regularly. The novel I’ve chosen is […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11722999405207751307 Sep 2026 13:29 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwmhfpuxfz2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3muuwpgiynar2I just finished reading “The Lost Reliquary” by Lindsay Ely. It’s a fantasy novel set in the worlds where all the gods are dead, save one. And our protagonist — seemingly a devoted servant of the living Goddess — wants nothing more than to kill her. It was a good read, with interesting […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11722621188302637606 Sep 2026 21:27 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3muuwpgiynar2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3musmlxmi4au2Making lemongrass soup from lemongrass and tomatoes in our garden. Kitchen is full of All The Best Aromas.05 Sep 2026 23:21 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3musmlxmi4au2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3musi6jcv3dc2Went for a bike ride up the Don Valley this afternoon. The aftermath of Wednesday’s big storm is still visible, with whole fields of low bushes flattened all towards the south. Lots of tree branches down too, of course. We stopped at the future West Don […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]05 Sep 2026 22:01 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3musi6jcv3dc2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3mupph4p332y2In better news, I have successfully moved all my passwords out of 1Password, so I can cancel my account. I swear, we need something like a “Fair Trade” certification for software.04 Sep 2026 19:34 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3mupph4p332y2https://bsky.app/profile/jvschrag.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy/post/3muppbde3lbu2Doug Ford is about to start removing the safe bicycling infrastructure on Bloor Street and University, falsely claiming that this will somehow reduce traffic congestion. This is in spite of hearing deputations from city planning and traffic experts all pointing out that what will really happen […] https://hachyderm.io/@jvschrag/11721442919946221104 Sep 2026 19:30 +0000at://did:plc:okxvr2adogk2cv7ukht75e7g/app.bsky.feed.post/3muppbde3lbu2