Thanks to the good offices of the talented Jason Richard, my canoe is repaired: the seat in the bow is re-affixed and the bow deck is re-attached.

Next step: find the paddles and life jackets.

I’ve been doing my banking with Provincial Credit Union for 28 years. Which is funny to think about as I still consider myself a “new customer,” when clearly I am that no longer.

I was an enthusiastic early-adopter of the Credit Union’s “MemberDirect” online system, to the point where I only need to go into the physical branch two or three times a year. The system, which was built in-house by collaborating credit unions, is kind of weird, but I’ve grown used to its weirdness, to the point where it seems natural and like all online banking platforms should work.

The one exception to this has been use of reCAPTCHA as a gate on login. Which means that every single time I login, I have to go through the “Select all the images with X” where X is bicycles, or fire hydrants, or motorcycles, or crosswalks. Like this:

From a security point of view I understand this, especially given the lite password requirement that’s always been in place — just a 4 digit numeric PIN.

But from a human point of view it’s been a pain in the ass, especially as sometimes, for reasons unknown, I get prompted with multiple reCAPTCHA challenges, one after the other, even if I answer each one correctly.

But, rejoice, the end of this is near; I received this email this afternoon:

2-Step Verification is the new industry standard and will replace reCAPTCHA when you first login.  reCAPTCHA is the system enabling web hosts to distinguish between human and automated access to websites.  So instead of having to verify numerous images (select all squares with traffic lights) members will be prompted to input a one-time verification code, that you will receive via text message or email.  It’s an added layer of security for our members. 

I’ve yet to learn if this will support TFA apps in addition to SMS and email validation, which would be nice. But never having to identify traffic lights or motorcycles or Australian wolfhounds will be very, very nice.

From Wade MacLauchlan’s biography of Alex Campbell:

When it came time to choose a name for the new fixed link, Alex Campbell, by then a justice of the PEI Supreme Court, was asked to chair the panel. After considering hundreds of submissions, Campbell’s committee recommended the name Abegweit Crossing, referring to the original and affectionate Mi’kmaq name for the Island, meaning “cradled on the waves.” The federal government did not accept the recommendation, preferring the name Confederation Bridge. This was not the first time that Alex Campbell had his advice and sense of place overridden by perceived national interests.

My Apple AirTag arrived today by FedEx. Apparently the relaxed “you don’t actually need to sign for anything” COVID regime is over, so I got my first “your package will be at the depot after 4:30 p.m. for you to pick up” sticker on the door in 18 months.

With the FedEx depot located right on the Confederation Trail, it seemed like a reasonable thing to cycle out for the pickup. So that’s what I did:

I cycled out the Confederation Trail to MacAleer Drive, and then decided that, rather than cycling back the same way, I’d explore the terrain beyond, cycling up MacAleer to the Brackley Point Road, and down a harrowing stretch thereof to Oak, which I used to cut across to the St. Peters Road megasection, where I joined the new Riverside Drive AT path toward home. It being 26 degrees out, my challenge with this trip wasn’t so much the physical effort to pedal–it was mostly flat or a slight grade–but the heat. So I stopped at Riverview Country Market for a water bottle fill-up and a rest before the last dash home.

Total trip, home to FedEx and home, was 15.11 km. The ride from home to FedEx took 20 minutes; the ride from FedEx to Riverview Country Market took 25 minutes, and the ride from there to home was a quick 10 minutes. Despite the heat, it was a completely reasonable ride for an out-of-shape neo-cyclist like me, and I’d encourage anyone to give it a try next time you’re in the same situation.

Here’s the GeoJSON of my route, annotated with guidance at significant points.

Trailer.

The Shed has these sweets, made for them by Angel, that are apparently gluten free and dairy free, but are nonetheless very very good; kind of like Nanaimo bars, but less all-consuming. They go very well with coffee.

You are allowed to order them as long as you leave one for me.

Travel Is No Cure for the Mind, from Lawrence Yeo:

When we are obsessed with travel, we are intently focused on changing and revising our external venue while neglecting the one constant we all travel with: our minds.


If your mind is not at ease, then the same angst and restlessness you feel today will inevitably make itself known as you travel. That point can be delayed through novel experiences, but regardless of where you are, an uneasy mind will always unveil itself in the end.

I unknowingly ended up wearing an outfit today that could be the uniform for a casual boutique hotel.

From the latest issue of Huck, an article about Bicycle Stokvel:

It’s easy to find Lesogo Konupi on the block. A small bicycle figurine on his postbox reveals him as the owner of a certain rectangular house, which stands surrounded by grass in the middle of a small plot – just like his neighbour’s to the left, his other neighbour’s to the right, and most of the houses in Vosloorus, the township he lives in.

The sun is rising slowly this morning, the sky is a crisp, cloudless blue, and the residents of Vosloorus – or ‘Vosloo’– are waking up to the cries of the Kunguru, a bird named after the distinctive sounds it makes. Situated 25 kilometers south-east of Johannesburg, the township is home to around 160,000 people.

Lesego is already wide awake and full of energy, despite the fact it’s 6am on a Sunday morning. Dressed in a beige cap, white shirt and black shorts, he smiles as he opens the metal gate to his plot. “I had to be ready,” he says. It’s a ride day.

The 36-year-old was born here, just like the other co-founders of Bicycle Stokvel: a collective who combine art and cycling to create new opportunities among areas around Joburg. The group – “a movement by creatives, for creatives” – launched around five years ago. For Lesego and his friends, Bongani Maleswena and Lungile Mofokeng, it was about trying to solve some of the problems they had identified in the townships they themselves grew up in.

“We wanted to create a space for people like us,” says Lesego, who works as a photographer and art director. “Because if we don’t have that space, you end up in other spaces – ones you don’t want to be in.”

My friend Carmin Smith-Hanson made a documentary about the demise of the last grain elevator in Meacham, Saskatchewan. There’s a lot of wisdom in the film.