Weldon got SWATTED. I’m “honored” with urinalysis equipment. New management, same Billy’s. PP is back in our face. Legionnaires finally pinpointed.
In life:
Wow – I was going to post this on Labour Day weekend. Oops. I was obviously distracted last month. Lots happened. This was written 2025-09-02
Weldon Library got SWATTED during pre-frosh week. A very scary thing to happen where I lib’rare for my living. I get emergency texts. Report of a weapon happening at Library and Schmeichel building. What? I was on my typical wfh research day and not in my campus office. I got a flurry of emergency system text messages for library staff to leave, and then to shelter in place. Holy crap was I scared for my colleagues and any one inside. The sirens I was hearing went on and on and on far too long. Until the all clear and policy report (false alarm) I was triggered. I literally know people working at libraries during a shooting. I wanted to text them and find out boots on the ground what’s happening.
Fortunately, I remembered not to make giveaway noises in potential or active shooter situations. And that emotion of fear for anyone in my forever library at absolute peril, is a doozy. I handled myself. Didn’t panic. Also remembered that it was pre-frosh week with its assorted shenanigans. It used to be bomb threats. My 100% my experience is that it always turns out to be a hoax. So, yay! Those thoughts kept me holding it together imagining positive outcomes while getting social media reports of cops with automatic weapons on campus
Hilariously, there’s a medical device out there with my name on it. Laura: Smart urinalysis monitor. A mini chemical assay machine. How lovely to be associated with pee-on-a stick. Can I parody the Hot Dog Stick on the corner of the food court in the mall? I’m only half joking. As a performance art project, it has potential.
That should read “The Laura”: Smart monitor. Those who love me know I like a good embodied medicine tool (have you seen my heart rate monitor and sports journals for keeping track of my training?). Too bad it’s not THE Laura Smart heart rate and exercise tracker. Can you imagine the trademark specie flowing between the potential of losing my name to a corporate entity? Fact is, I’m tickled. I love gathering data about myself to better understand how my body functions best under medical level dieting for chronic conditions.
Weather has been unseasonably cold but it’s not unheard of to get a whiff of Fall in late August. It’s been a relief tbh. I’m getting a bit more done on the ever behind gardening project. Hippy Steve would be proud. I’m working on sheet mulching the beds, removing invasive species, and generally getting things to where I can manage maintenance a bit better. It’s been a summer of week on week off heat waves. Also unusual. No gardening in that type of humidex. Today I’ll be lucky if I can manage to mow the grass. The holiday weekend was full of all good London Ontario things and I’m in tired from over-funning. Today is a day for recovery mode. (ed. note – as of October it’s been unseasonably hot for the past week with more to come. Expecting a record breaker today. This is NOT normal)
I’m stay-cationing again with more use-it-or-lose it vacation days. It’s orientation week on campus which means bloody huge cluster fuck of traffic with added danger of clueless undergrads ignoring intersections and dopily jay walking with their headphones on. Many near miss accidents between pedestrians and cyclists. I highly recommend avoiding the university area in early September until after Homecoming. Alternatively, keeping alt-hours schedules. I work with folks who do their career 6am-2pm .
No Burning Man = about three weeks I need to use up before the winter holiday break. Who’s up for a Yule trip to Ontario? Lots to do and plenty of time for me to show you around to do it. Skating at night in Victoria park with the xmas lights on every tree. Taking in a Knights hockey game. How about a movie at the Hyland, or very own very cool rep cinema? Winter hiking at one of our incredible trails? How about some day trips? Niagara Falls in the winter is quite lovely frozen with lights behind it at night. Vintage shopping in Toronto. Saturday evening at Billy’s Wing Co. in the Scarborough district? My brother bought out his partner in Wingporium and now the sports bar is all his (so proud!). Live sports on screens. Live music. industry night. Try the peg rolls – pierogi filling in a spring roll wrapper. omfg.
In news: London finally pinpointed the source of the Legionnaire’s breakout. Water cooler tower at a meat processing plant. It took long enough. Too many people got sick. County medical health authorities can do better at helping businesses conform to best practices. Ontario has laxer regulations than other provinces which could be tightened up.
Alas, Pierre Polievre won the by-election so he’s got a seat in Parliament again. He remains the leader of the Conservative party and a vicious Vichy shit-stirrer. It was “the safest seat in Canada.” When a party leader loses in an election here, a back bencher gives up their seat to create a byelection in a riding they can take for their horse to piss in. The worst thing is that once again we’ll see his face on the news every day as the leader of the Official Opposition. He’s Trumpism-lite, now with dribbly dick! Hmmm. That may be too many pee descriptions for one report.
There’s a possibility this may be a passing thing but it seems unlikely. The Conservative Party will be having their leadership review meeting in December and in theory they would force him out. Typically Canadian party leaders who lose their own seat resign. There’s been a couple who haven’t and they generally don’t survive the next party leadership vote. The same politics that keeps idiots from getting primaried in the United States is on display. The strategy? Stoking the minority successionist sentiment and making it legally easier to have a referendum. Appealing to big oil by keeping loyal to the carbon economy. Supporting the convoy quiet riot. And railing against civil rights causes and promoting fear of anybody different to them.
The ongoing tilt towards fascism in the States continues to concern us in Canada. We’re still Elbows Up and kicking at the darkness till it bleeds daylight. As always, love and courage my friends!