And yet others, like Canada, are still playing Railroad Tycoon from the 19th century. #highspeedrail #canada #canpoli #cdnpoli https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/03/high-speed-rail-trains-britain-europe-japan?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The most dynamic countries are surging ahead with high-speed rail. Others, like Britain, are stuck in the station | Christian Wolmar

Around the world, these trains have boosted economies, development and prestige. The costs of missing out are high, says transport writer and author Christian Wolmar

theguardian.com

Sometimes I just put a big spoonful of peanut butter in a mug and throw in dark chocolate chips and eat it as a treat. I can do this because I’m an adult.

Ok... so a couple of things I've learned from people's responses: These aren't formal code review requests. People are just asking me to look at a thing they made with AI-generated code and tell them if it seems scientifically accurate (which... I don't think is possible for me to do). Also […]

I'll add that I think 2 of the requests were extremely well-intentioned. They just wanted to get an expert to check before sharing widely. I'm sure they didn't think about how much work it would be to actually review their code up to the standards of science (likely impossible). If I think of […]

RE: https://mastodon.social/@hannorein/116993738619160318 So... after naively asking @hannorein earlier in the week for advice on someone for the first time asking me for vibe-coding review (because it relates to a paper we're working on that's *almost done*), I've now been asked two more times […]

At 3pm on CKMS #CommunityConnections Michael Druker of @tritag.ca talks about all things traffic, transit, and transport. Listen to @radiowaterloo.ca on the radio at CKMS-FM 102.7, online at radiowaterloo.ca/listen/ or YouTube Live youtu.be/ifA-QhSN4jk #CommunityRadio #WaterlooRegion #PublicTransit

Huh just read my way through the performer bios for this year ... at least 4 acts which are literally on fire? Not counting those who just casually throw a couple torches into their juggling routine. Something in the air? Guessing there will be extra hoses on hand around uptown.

I don't like when social media posts are labeled like "2 years ago". Just gimmie the timestamp bro

@bobjonkman Very similar situation in Winnipeg, with municipal elections scheduled for October

RE: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@bobjonkman/116962664848062396 I'm sad we're losing Royce and Jen, two of my favourite people on council. Scott Piatkowski running is interesting. #waterloo #wrpoli #waterlooregion

Bob Jonkman@bobjonkman.mastodon.sdf.org.ap.brid.gy · 2w ago

One month to the close of nominations for the municipal elections. I don't know what bothers me most: -Incumbents who have not yet declared if they're running or not; -All the ridings with no candidates; -All the ridings with only the incumbent; -Candidates who registered on 1 May whose websites […]

One month to the close of nominations for the municipal elections. I don't know what bothers me most: -Incumbents who have not yet declared if they're running or not; -All the ridings with no candidates; -All the ridings with only the incumbent; -Candidates who registered on 1 May whose websites […]

RE: https://spore.social/@samnabi/116909155913344107 Kay-Dub, I will be forever disappoint if Sam does not earn his seat on Kitchener City Council this fall. It's not my ward so I don't get to vote, but there is no other candidate in the entirety of Waterloo Region who is this engaged in what […]

Science communication pro-tip I learned from setting up my telescope+solar filter on the sidewalk outside the library in a nearby small town this afternoon: you get much more positive reaction from asking "Do you want to look at sunspots?" than "Do you want to look at the Sun?" Also, everybody […]

Kid and I did lighten up on the walk home, getting into a set theory and language discussion on the interrelationships of birb, chonk, and borb after passing a dozen or so fat robins having a field day on a wormy lawn in the rain. I was told I have to ask the fediverse: is borb a special case […]

So in case you are wondering how my weekend went, I think this photo sums it up. #OutdoorMoments #BikeNite #cycling #bikeTooter

At 3pm on CKMS #CommunityConnections Adrean Farrugia, pianist, composer, and Jazz musician joins Bob Jonkman in the studio. Listen to @RadioWaterloo.ca on the radio at CKMS-FM 102.7, online at radiowaterloo.ca/listen, and YouTube Live: youtu.be/mf4LmD3pMQk #CommunityRadio #WaterlooRegion

I've had this ridiculous idea bouncing around my head for years, and tonight I finally did it. Take that, overhanging greenery! #biketooter

New grass parade!

#Kitchener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0e53heybXI

At the @kwlug meeting. Today we learn from Chris Nicholl about #Elixir, a functional progrMming language, and we visit people's home labs. More info: https://kwlug.org/node/1455 Online at https://webconference.kwlug.org/room/kwlug ; in-person at UofW Davis […] [Original post on mastodon.sdf.org]

Lots of updates to #WaterlooRegion's municipal candidate info! https://poliblog.jonkman.ca/Poliblog-Elections/2026-10-26-Municipal-Election/ It's just over two months into the campaign with less than two months to the close of candidate registrations (21 August). I'm a bit alarmed at how many […]

I thought the neighbourhood kids were screaming louder than usual: EEEEEE! EEEEEEEEEE!! EEEEEeeeeEEEEE!!! Was just someone cutting with an angle grinder. Good horror movie sound effect, though!

There's a particular writing contest in Ontario which requires all entrants to send in photographs of their photo ID. This includes children. When I sent an email to them saying this reeks of identity theft, the organizer got huffy with me.

also the NEMA 5-15 receptacle is upside-down in the picture.

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@thenarwhal/116777030473820296 The government is so damned corrupt. So many critters are gonna die when that ecosystem is destroyed because of greed. And absolutely no mention of the Indigenous Peoples whose traditional land that is.

[#cdnPoli #cdnPolitics #electoralReform] Ford's ON Conservatives have won 3 "majority" govts, each time with ~18% of the eligible vote. 😨 18%! & our last fed. election pushed us closer than ever to a 2-party system. Evidence is clear: proportional representation delivers better outcomes for […]

Working is not nearly as fun as riding a bicycle.

@bobjonkman nginx if a very different kind of Swiss army knife compared to Apache. I spent decades with both and like the beauty of the Apache configuration and the speed of nginx. Since then though, we've started to stuff things in containers, and the mantra now is that less is more. Smaller […]

@bobjonkman While nginx itself is still very much alive, the nginx ingress controller for Kubernetes isn't. For various reasons, it's been abandoned. The traefik ingress controller is an alternative solution, which is almost a plug and play replacement.

At 3pm on CKMS #CommunityConnections Dorothy Wilson and Ashley Ropp talk to Bob Jonkman about the Nith Valley and the Ecoboosters. Listen to @RadioWaterloo.ca on your radio at CKMS-FM 102.7, online at radiowaterloo.ca/listen/ or YouTube Live: youtu.be/HUczx8ZnGfU #WaterlooRegion #CommunityRadio