Just as as outside observer, the fact that Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI Director by the US Senate is one of the most glaring examples of Trump’s complete capture of the Republican party. He seems so monumentally unqualified that I can’t conclude his confirmation was the result of anything other than fear of reprisal on the part of the senators.

I also don’t like giving my Pokemon nicknames. Don’t worry, I’m sure there are dozens of us.

The scent of my grandparents’ house.

It had a very distinctive sweet aroma. I was never sure what is was, and I never asked. The scent followed them when they moved into a condo in a retirement facility. The last time I visited them in their condo was 2019, and they’ve both since passed away.

They gave me a book many years ago, the pages of which used to smell like their house. I know if I dig that book out of storage, it might still have a trace scent in it. But otherwise, it is now just a memory.

I’m starting a master’s in a few weeks, and because most of the courses involve group work, I’m concerned about someone in my group sinking a project for everyone else by using an LLM for their portion.

And given the program, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more than a few AI boosters in the courses who will try it, above the normal number of such people you might find in postgrad studies.

Disclaimer: am Canadian, will be discussing using that lens.

On a daily basis, most people I interact with are about where I am. I probably have different reasons for believing and voting how I do, but if an election were to be called tomorrow, all my friends and most of my co-workers would be voting in roughly the same direction as me.

My family is a mixed bag. On the one hand, my father has never voted for anyone further left than the old Progressive Conservatives, and has even voted for the Christian Heritage Party on occasion. My mother also normally votes conservative, though she has confessed to be that she finds American-style conservatism in general and Pierre Poilievre in particular to be too odious to stomach and so I think she may have been spoiling her ballots recently. I don’t know how my one sister votes, but her husband is a also an outspoken conservative, being a card-carrying member of the CPC.

On the other hand, my other sister has never voted for anyone further right than the NDP, and her husband is apathetic - he thinks all politicians are the same and doesn’t bother voting.

Holidays are generally fine, as political opinions are generally off-limits, though inevitably at some point my father and brother-in-law (the CPC one) have an extended grouse session about the state of the country and how much they hate the Liberals.