Ph.d. in Political Science. Retired academic, now a Professor Emeritus. Ottawa, Canada.https://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlnxnqferk2kGood morning, Ottawa. Bonjour, Ottawa.12 May 2026 14:08 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnxnqferk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlnxje4gc22kTo those of you who are continuing to use a leaf blower, to blow the same leaves around day after day, only to have them settle in the same place, Have you considered a less dusty mode of repetitive meditation? Just saying Thank you for your attention to this matter12 May 2026 14:06 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnxje4gc22khttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlnn66uo4k2kWhy is Phil so fat, despite strictly measured food rations and an exercise regime? Mystery solved. He got into a cupboard and ripped open a plastic food bin with his giant paws12 May 2026 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnn66uo4k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlmgejszlk2kCherry cake from the European Deli on Merivale. Omg. Want. More. Every day. For the rest of my life. Dammit, I really wanted to move back to Halifax.11 May 2026 23:26 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlmgejszlk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlihho4w222h⬇️ [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 May 2026 09:35 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlihho4w222hhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlhcu77wak2aI had an unusual day today as a retired person, where I wore a "dress" and "shoes" in the morning and rushed home to change into another "dress" and "shoes" for an afternoon event, which made me realize that I've been wearing gym clothes for 10 months. Verdict: I like the dresses, hate the shoes09 May 2026 22:40 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhcu77wak2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlg345gmqs23Watching the opening of the new Hungarian parliament on the Youtube! Very beautiful building, much ceremony.09 May 2026 10:49 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlg345gmqs23https://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mleiffcjgk2dWhat is the plural of gyoza? Or is it already a plural?08 May 2026 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mleiffcjgk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlbctuar5c2eShoutout to the jerk who took it upon themselves to put a peanut butter ice cream container in my recycling, on my lawn. I have anaphylactic allergy. A trace of peanut gets on my skin, and I'm off to Emergency in an ambulance. Don't do this, friends. Get rid of your own damn peanuts.07 May 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbctuar5c2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mlb7ajt5zk2eSometime decisions are unpopular because they are wrong and because three dissenting judges wrote a lengthy dissent showing just how wrong a bare majority of judges were. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 May 2026 12:20 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlb7ajt5zk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3ml7jq4he622sWhen we adopted this fool from the Humane Society, he was in Solitary Confinement in a big room full of cat toys and almost 8 years later, I definitely know why. Two misadventures today alone. Energy level in inverse proportion to his IQ and spatial awareness. Sociable, athletic cat, but -- oof.06 May 2026 20:22 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7jq4he622shttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3ml6mjdio2c22"The hill I will die on: heavy, awkward and you have to keep washing them: we don't need mugs, plates and bowls. Abolish them! They offend me personally! Styrofoam plates should be mandatory for all!" [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 May 2026 11:39 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml6mjdio2c22https://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkx5t5jhj22tName your top 15 shows ever, gut instincts only: Loudermilk Transplant The Pitt Heated Rivalry Get Smart 30 Rock The Beverly Hillbillies ER Shetland Bordertown Arrested Development Tatort MASH Trailer Park Boys The Kominsky Method [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 May 2026 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkx5t5jhj22thttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkx4ocf5w22tHe seems nice I don't think he's fond of Canadians, though [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 May 2026 12:07 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkx4ocf5w22thttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkvm2i4wxk2pMy effort to make origami tulips today for someone in the hospital was a dismal failure. I was gifted a kit from my spouse's cousins in the Netherlands, with very clear instructions, so I am just incompetent. Then I thought, why don't I just give him the daffodils from my otherwise unkempt garden?02 May 2026 21:37 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkvm2i4wxk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkuzpjadek2gNext time this happens I'm going to whip out Thucydides and read The Pellopenesian Wars until these clowns move their sorry asses [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 May 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkuzpjadek2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkuzgvd47k2gWhen people have parked their cars blocking the bike lane, they REALLY don't like it when you stop on your bike, stare at them behind sunglasses, and decline to go around them, choosing to wait. It freaks them out. My own personal sitting protest. I cheesed off 3 people today before 10 a.m.02 May 2026 16:04 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkuzgvd47k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkt33azjwc2nI will now accept my Medal of Heroic Leaf-Raking 5 extra-large bags filled in 1 hour 3 worms rescued 2 cats entertained 2 neighbours engaged in light banter 2 raspberry bushes uncovered 3 bouts of leaning on rake lost in thought pondering whether worms live in families01 May 2026 21:28 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkt33azjwc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkpxeqhpvk2aPhil is "helping" me write about protest by protesting the fact that it's 11:40 and no lunch has been provided. Look at that face30 Apr 2026 15:44 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpxeqhpvk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mknjt44oos2zwithout downloading anything new, where are you mentally? [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Apr 2026 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknjt44oos2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mklkenim522bI'm watching ER on Netflix, and George Clooney is really good at playing the part of George Clooney I'm not dissing him, he's great. One of my parents was a moody, bureaucracy-hating doctor. It's just that George Clooney always has the air of wandering into the hospital by mistake28 Apr 2026 21:40 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklkenim522bhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mke7tx2q6s27Used bookstore where I only accept anti-fascist books, I repair damaged books, and I just give books away for free. Really not a business at all, just an indoor Little Free Library where I am the curmudgeonly custodian with a tea samovar and a jar of honey. Cats. Cookies. Music, but no Cranberries. [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Apr 2026 23:43 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mke7tx2q6s27https://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkdpjmlae22aStill some finishing touches left, but this formerly dilipidated, disintegrating paperback is now .... a re-bound hardcover, with the marvelous original cover glued back on.25 Apr 2026 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkdpjmlae22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkbvk3yt322zWhat are five topics you can talk about unprepared for five minutes? 1) How to make a large turkey dinner 2) How the Soviet political system worked 3) How to get small children to bed by 7:30 4) How to find free legal parking near the Ottawa Hospital complexes 5) Serhii Zhadan's The Orphanage [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Apr 2026 01:33 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbvk3yt322zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkbr7gqj6227I don't know what just happened, but I was minding my own business watching Netflix on headphones while the menfolk watched basketball on "television," and all of a sudden the menfolk wanted to argue with me about Steely Dan I mean, can't they just watch the game and banter about it already?25 Apr 2026 00:16 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbr7gqj6227https://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkbjjm35fc2z@martadyczok.bsky.social @popovaprof.bsky.social did you see who is scheduled for the Munk debates in May? Mearsheimer,Walt, Pompeo and Nuland🙄 I will be skipping it, as I have a lot of vacuuming to catch up on, and also because IT'S 202624 Apr 2026 21:58 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbjjm35fc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mkabheyyvc2dUp early repairing this worn-out, out-of-print, well-read paperback! Pages falling out. Re-glued the pages with Japanese paper, added new fly leaves, made hardcover binding! Will assemble when the glue dries. The original paperback cover and spine will be securely re-attached to the new cover.24 Apr 2026 10:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkabheyyvc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mk72pfrql22oIs there anything good on TV? I've rarely watched it in years. I watch a lot of stuff on streaming, but is there anything on old-fashioned TV? No shows about cutthroat capitalists, no rom-com, no YAY POLICE shows, no cute old people. Bitter, eccentric old people and burned-out detectives welcome.23 Apr 2026 22:28 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk72pfrql22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/andreachandler.bsky.social/post/3mk6oynsifc2lNot much has changed since 1974, has it? from Peter K. Eisinger, "Racial Differences in Protest Participation," American Political Science Review, 68 (2), June 1974, p. 593.23 Apr 2026 18:58 +0000at://did:plc:ptovspysocoovexpdp53invn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6oynsifc2l