Disappointed, but not surprised
Hit and Miss #375
Monday through Wednesday
I spent a few days this week back in familiar territory, attending FWD50 (I assume that page’s copy will eventually be about 2024, not 2023—the great organizing team needs some rest!). As ever, it was lovely to see old friends and keep a finger on the pulse of digital government efforts.
But it felt different this year, too. There was a visibly smaller in-person crowd, likely due in part to shrinking training budgets. It also felt like a very familiar crowd: a gathering of a community that feels besieged in its efforts to siege traditional ways of delivering services in government, without as much—as far as I could figure out—attendance by those more conventionally responsible for service delivery. Who’s not being reached, who feels excluded, who’s elsewhere?
Smatterings:
- The workshop stage was a lot of fun, as were some of the in-person day events. Trying to take more advantage of these uniquely in-person offerings, versus attending talks I can listen to later (though whether I ever do is another question entirely). The workshops were good in that there were frequently people at my tables with whom I disagreed—essential practice for the hard work of (digital) government.
- Public Digital was around a lot, including the launch of A Radical How for Canada (a thought-provoking policy piece that I hope is one day available in a non-PDF format!). Nice to see their slowly expanding Canadian presence, with, perhaps even more importantly, a non-federal focus.
- Biking to and from Lansdowne each day was good fun. As were lunches and coffees and drinks and walking diversions with good people.
Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning
I didn’t watch the election results come in. I caught up with old CDS policy colleagues that evening (lovely, the best people!), and went to bed unaware. T broke the news over breakfast.
Sigh? Scream? How do you even react?
I don’t think anyone needs my election takes. I did some election adjacent reading. Jenny Zhang shared some good thoughts. (I also enjoyed her recent piece on tech modernity because whew yeah this stuff is so frustrating.) Dan Davies excerpted a bit about complexity and populism from his recent book. There were others, more directly related, but those two stuck in my mind.
Mostly, sending love to my American friends and friends in America. But also to the world, because that’s how it works in hegemony—we are very much all along on this ride.
Saturday
Last night, I saw Springsteen again, this time in Ottawa. Probably for my last time, unless he miraculously continues touring for several more years or I irresponsibly outlay yet more money on tickets and travel to see him.
This time was different, in ways more and less good. I was there with a friend—it was awesome to introduce him to Springsteen live, and to catch up with him and SR after the show.
Big shows in Ottawa, though, what a contrast to Montreal (or other civilized cities)! Either you pay $60 for an Uber (one way), or you drive out to Kanata, hopefully avoid a backed-up highway, wait 20 minutes to enter the lot, pay $26 for parking, then wait 30 minutes (or more!) to leave the lot. And there’s nothing nearby worth dawdling at. Just roads and roads and suburban neighbourhoods.
This is what “having to drive” looks like. There’s a real cost to it: owning or having access to a car isn’t cheap, let alone using it! (And risk: how many people leave the arena and drive after a few drinks?) And in a province seemingly intent on ripping up bike lanes, underfunding transit, and so on, a cost we’ll seemingly continue to have to bear.
While walking LeBreton a few weeks ago, the heckling man asked about the arena tentatively planned for the site, and how it would deal with all the traffic. Good sir, the point is to not have so much traffic—to properly design transit and other supporting services so that people don’t feel the need to drive. But this is Ottawa, so he’s probably right—people will still drive, and it’ll be a mess on event nights. But for those finally able to walk or cycle or transit to events? My goodness how lovely that’ll be.
Sunday
I assembled the carcase for our blanket chest today. It was seeming not quite square all through the glue-up, but once in the clamps it seems now to be alright. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Woodworking—fun, but oh so constantly humbling.
Anyway. The next few weeks are a bit up in the air, but I’m trying to keep an even keel.
Jeremy Keith listed recent retellings of Greek mythology, which I’m looking forward to reading more of in the months ahead. Reach back to look forward, as it were.
All the best for the week ahead—let’s hope not to need it.
Lucas