Heather

I like to read a lot.

[Heather @hwall39]

What a lovely fantasy library!

[Ted Gioia @tedgioia]

I once got to meet Umberto Eco—who was very memorable. But this film clip of him tracking down a book in his personal library makes him seem all the more impressive. https://t.co/HPbcZq9TyB

[Bradley Intl Airport @Bradley_Airport]

Some-bunny new has joined our Bradley Buddies team. 🐇

Say hello to Bun Jovi and Berlin 👋 our newest pet therapy members. And yes, we can confirm… they are VERY soft. 🥕✨

[horse dentist @equine__dentist]

me and my lemur wife if we were just enjoying each other’s company in a serene field

[cats with jobs 🛠 @CatWorkers]

Don't work with the pros if you can't handle the heat.

[gail @gailloveswolves]

The face of a boy who broke the mirror and now is sitting in the spot the mirror was

[horse dentist @equine__dentist]

i bet it feels good as hell to be a fat bear floating down the river

[allie g @temujoandidion]

How the actual fuck do we explain to our cat sitters that now she demands swaddling to take a nap? She’s been next to me swaddled and purring for over an hour while I’m on zoom meetings

[Nature Unedited @NatureUnedited]

Everyone, stop what you're doing and watch this. It'll make your day 100x better

[𝕐o̴g̴ @Yoda4ever]

Majestic kitteh..that tail..🐈🐾🤯😍

[Heather @hwall39]

@VPDTrafficUnit @VancouverPD @RoadSafetyBC @BeyondThePost @CityofVancouver Thanks for this. There are so many helmetless scooter people out there. As a driver, I find it concerning, especially the ones who zip around unpredictably.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Wolfers: "The most important thing for the Canadians to understand now is there is literally no such thing as a deal anymore ... the value of a piece of paper signed by this president is zero. Therefore, you should give up zero to get it."

[positive side of X 🌞 @positivityofx]

Chillin

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

SPEAKER #92 - On Vancouver's "Villages Plan"
Below is the 5-minute presentation to @CityofVancouver council on Wed. by @UBC education prof. emeritus Anthony Clarke.
A highlight:
"I respectively ask Council to reject the SEDUCTIVE SIMPLICITY of the Villages Plan. As presented the One-Size-Fits-All algorithm is a fiction. It does not represent the reality of Vancouver nor is it based on modern and sound urban planning principles."
#vanre #vanpoli

Mayor (Chair) and Members of Council,

Good morning!

My name is Anthony Clarke. I am a recently retired academic from UBC. I live just off 33rd Avenue between Fraser and Knight in East Vancouver. I spent the first 30 years of my life in the city of Melbourne and have now lived in Vancouver for over 30 years.

For reasons that I will explain shortly, I oppose the Villages Plan.

I am fortunate in that nearly every year I return to Melbourne to visit family and friends.

I am the envy of my family and friends because I get to live in two cities—Vancouver and Melbourne—that are consistently ranked every year in the top 10 list of most liveable cities in the world.

Why are they in the top 10?

In the past eight hours of this hearing, the factors listed by those who have encouraged the Council to re-think the Villages Plan are the same criteria used to judge Vancouver’s place in that top ten list.

So congratulations, what you have been doing and what you continue to do is already an extraordinary success. When you make a decision about the proposed Villages Plan, I urge you not to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Today, I would like to present a new way of thinking about the Villages Plan.

It has to do with the way we think about phenomena in the world.

For the purposes of this hearing, I suggest that there are two broad categories of phenomena in the world; Simple phenomena and Complex phenomena.

Simple phenomena have very few variables and we can isolate and study them independently.

On the other hand, complex phenomena have many variables that interact with each other and can only be studied through their interaction.

Like you, after listening to all the speakers over the past 8 hours, I noticed a curious feature emerging. For the majority of those speaking in favour of this Plan, they typically cite a single factor when presenting their case. Whereas the majority of those speaking in opposition to the plan refer to multiple factors in supporting their case.

This curiosity prompted me to look into the theories underpinning urban planning to better understand why this might be so.

What you will find is that complexity theory (or complexity science) underpins most, if not all, current theories on urban planning. Why? Because urban planning is a complex phenomenon.

Therefore it is curious that the Villages Plan opts for a One-Size-Fits-All approach which is to be applied across 17 different and distinct communities.

The problem with a One-Size-Fits-All approach to urban planning is that it is an algorithmic approach to problem solving.

Algorithms are great for simple, technical, and precise problems. Algorithms are wonderful for simple phenomena. But urban planning is a complex phenomenon.

The question then becomes, how did the staff who presented the Plan to Council manage to reduce it to a One-Size-Fits-All algorithm?

The only way they could do this is by removing enough variables from the system, so that it no longer looks complex but is rendered as a relatively simple phenomenon. And that is what I believe has happened here.

As I listened to the presenters of the plan at the beginning of the first meeting, I was struck by how they constantly qualified their response to your questions about the absence of key variables by using modifiers like: We could consider that in the future; We might have some flexibility later; That might be an amendment down the track, We will get back to you on that, etc.

Others who have spoken in opposition to the Plan have also pointed out these missing variables.

In essence, by deliberately stripping out key variables from the context of the problem you are trying to solve (and rendering it as a simple phenomenon) doesn’t change the reality of the complexity you are faced with. It only means that the simplistic solution you devise (in this case, One-Size-Fits-All algorithm) is not only misguided but imperils the very things that you argue are most desirable and needed in the city.

Two Points In Conclusion
I respectively ask Council to reject the seductive simplicity of the Villages Plan. As presented the One-Size-Fits-All algorithm is a fiction. It does not represent the reality of Vancouver nor is it based on modern and sound urban planning principles. Our neighbourhoods and communities are complex systems and that is their strength.

I ask that you request your staff to present you with an alternative plan for the growth and development of Vancouver that incorporates the principles of complexity and ensures that Vancouver stays in the top 10 list of most liveable cities in the world.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this hearing.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The cat who keeps asking for the trampoline

[Cats with Aura 😺 @catwithaura]

If bowl not for Dennis, why Dennis-shaped?

[Cats with Aura 😺 @catwithaura]

This is koko, our cat. This is NOT our house

[cats with jobs 🛠 @CatWorkers]

Helping to deliver the parcels.

[Heather @hwall39]

@ShakailaElise I think it was a mistake not to put the models in heels. Heels elongate the legs and make it easier for models to walk as they usually do in fashion shows.

[Heather @hwall39]

Wordle 1,799 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[Matt Ilich @MattIlich]

I was stuck in traffic as a result of the police incident on the Granville bridge.

I just heard today that the person fell.

This was someone’s sibling, child, loved one.

Incredibly tragic.

Suicide barriers are a must.

No excuses. Just do it

#vanpoli