Wendy W @WendyW@qoto.org

In my view, @BrentToderian, the best thing with cities is the concentration of excellence.

I know this is an assertion with a potential to annoy, so I'll try to illuminate:

To me, with both a rural and urban personal history, a city is defined by a high density of The Very Best - in whatever field, be it thinkers, musicians, actors, craftsmen or maids.

(To me, a "city" has a cathedral, a university, and/or a harbour. Plus a history.)

#urbanism

Musk's new round of dumbassery has clearly given a boost to #mastodonmigration but not nearly as big as in the past waves. Then there were days with 5-10k news users per hour. But we'll take it.

If your city isn’t embracing the PERMANENT post-pandemic transformation of streets as places for outdoor seating & cafes (aka #Streeteries) then your city hasn’t yet learned one of the most important lessons for better streets & cities in recent years. #Montreal is a city that REALLY understands.
#cities #urbanism #StreetsForPeople #streets

Lists of journalists banned on Twitter, please.

Now that there's another wave incoming, I've been trying to keep my feed pretty tailored to my niche. So if you're into #playwriting #musicals #theatre #ttrpg #ThemeParks #ImmersiveTheatre #anarchism or anything tangentially related, give me a shout.

I've discovered a lot of great stuff since joining that I never would have found before. I've read new plays, played some experimental games, and bought some new mystery boxes. Turns out that when you're free from the #algorithm - you actually see stuff you like!

90% of all trips in dense Hong Kong are by public transit — I’m told that’s the highest in the world. 11 million people use the profitable & efficient transit system every day, with the Octopus stored value card making payment on all modes easy, even for taxis and other things. Integrated, efficient, easy. Pics from my 2018 deep dive in the city.
#PublicTransit #HongKong #cities #urbanism #transportation #city #PublicTransport #cars

Maynooth College winter wonderland

I popped out to the shops as London's first snowflakes of the year were falling. Two excited cafe staff ran out into the street in their shirt sleeves, laughing and dancing. I asked, "First time?" and they said "yes!". First time for me too, after 23 years in the tropics. It really was magical. A romcom moment. Don't have a photo but I can replay the experience in my head.

Had a tough day on Facebook. I still don’t know what you’re supposed to comment under a photo of a new baby, but I’ve learned it isn’t ‘Yikes’.

How can the EU really become independent of Russian gas? Accelerating energy efficiency (light blue) and renewables (light green) are the big ones!
https://iea.li/3uL2EP3

@BrentToderian @TheGentYYC I think climate policy that relies on any single thing as a magic bullet is a problem. We have a large integrated society/economy and cutting our emissions requires changes in a lot of areas. EV’s will help but we also need changes across the board, not just cars.

Her mother, worried that Lord Byron's poetic temperament might be familial, insisted that Ada be tutored in math, science, and logic. Those things, she reasoned, might counter Ada’s volatile inheritance.

Ada was tutored by the renowned mathematician and astronomer Mary Sommerville, “the Queen of Nineteenth Century Science,” who was nominated for membership in the Royal Astronomical Society at the same time as Caroline Herschel.

Image: Mary Sommerville (self-portrait)

Ada Lovelace, née Augusta Ada Byron, was born #OTD in 1815. A mathematician and the first published computer programmer, she offered a prescient vision of what computing would become.
Portrait: Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1836)

Ouch. Talk about #abandonware. This is why I’m last in the queue for implants. I’ve been involved with #IoT things for far (far) too long. 😱 https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-022-03810-5/index.html

The “E-Bike Effect:” Those who bought e-bikes increased their average daily bicycle use from 2.1km (1.3 miles) to 9.2km (5.7 miles), a 340% increase. The e-bike share of all their transportation increased dramatically too; from 17% to 49%. Via @Treehugger
https://www.treehugger.com/e-bikers-ride-much-farther-and-more-frequently-than-regula-bikers-5076231
#ebikes #bikes #cities #transportation #urbanism #mobility #CityPlanning #Urban

Störche.

Storks.