Geese

The Canada geese are back in Ottawa, at Tunney's Pasture and the Revenue Canada Data Centre campus and the RA Centre soccer pitches. The first, CBC News has confirmed, and the latter two are extrapolations of past experience of visiting those neighbourhoods at this time of year. Also, the city's been seeing overflights of returning flocks making their traditionally noisy way northward over the last few days. Including last night. That was a noisy bunch in particular around 7 PM EST, I tell you now.

The non-human world is working its way around us, as ever.

My exam is done and "handed in". First time I've done one of those from home, and an interesting experience. No idea when I'll get my grades back.

TREK: Octonary Star Systems

Phil Plait takes a deeper dive than I can re: the Aia system from "PIC: Broken Pieces".
And he's right about at least one species that could manage to build something like that. Go read!

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/octonary-stars-and-broken-pieces-can-the-eight-star-system-from-star-trek-picard-actually

JOB SEARCH: Is It Me Or...?

Are we all becoming media research analysts lately? As at least a "side hustle" to whatever else we're doing in our lives?

I was looking at this one advert by Cision Canada seeking such specialists of late, and it seems like I've been living my life in such a way that requires building up that skills set.

(Has it happened over the course of years/decades since we got our respective access to the Internet? I think so.)

Sidebar:

https://twitter.com/ferretthimself/status/1242477468264660998

OTTAWA-GATINEAU: Public Libraries' Online Services

In case you don't already know, our local public libraries have online operations still available to us:

Ottawa Public Library

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/fr/

Gatineau Public Library

https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/bibliotheque

To those of you working to keep those online services running smoothly during this time of pandemic, I thank you all.

NEWS: Canadian Ambassador to the USA Officially Appointed

Welcome to your *official* ambassadorship, Kirsten Hillman! As they used to say to new members of the X-Men, hope you survive the experience!

Rideau Branch - OPL

Taken before the shutdown.

NEWS: "Populism" vs. "technocracy"

The broader struggle against the restoration of feudalism:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/26/rightwing-populist-leaders-oppose-experts-not-elites

Scam Artists

An acquaintance of mine on NCF is keeping an eye on computer security news, and flagged this to the attention of our membership. Seeing as NCF is a co-operative-style ISP, it's a good idea to pay attention to such advice.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/03/26/watch-out-scummy-scammers-target-home-deliveries/

Hospital Ships

I am remembering "All Good Things", the wrap-up of The Next Generation's branch of Star Trek. Specifcally, one of the "guest" starships in that episode, the hospital ship USS Pasteur as captained in an alternative future by Beverly Crusher Picard.

Well, hospital ships are a real thing in some few real-worlds wet navies. The USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort are in US service and have been for some decades. Since I was in grade school, I think.

Anyway. It's occurred to at least one naval affairs blogger that maybe more hospital ships would be a good thing for the USN to have at hand in case of future crises, domestic and overseas. Whether new-built or refitted from private hands. I would agree re: Canadian purposes as well, if we get through this current mess reasonably intact enough. If we don't need them at home, there's UN/WHO operations that could be supported, right?

But again, we have to get through this mess without being annexed by "Trumpistan" or being remade into a province of Xi Jinping's or Putin's regimes. Or bankrupted and whatever else our nightmares can dream up.

And on to whatever's next between now and the end of the first season of Picard...

Related note: https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2020/03/cruise-ships-and-usnr-covid-19-public.html