B. McKean

Please read and retweet the tweet below. It says it all. Think of it this way: anything can be destructive at the wrong scale. If you replace your residential street with a four-lane highway, you destroy your neighbourhood. If you put a wrong-sized airport on a waterfront, you destroy it as a place for gathering, respite, and connection. Ford’s expansion plan must be stopped. It’s another assault on the livability of our city, driven by someone settling old scores, who doesn’t care about the city as a thriving urban place. We’re building a dense, urban, walkable city, and this airport expansion isn’t necessary. And it conflicts with that goal. “This tiny speck of ecological paradise provides critical respite from our dense and urban concrete jungle and is vital for mental health, community, and happiness.”

Ahora sí hablemos en serio de la foto. Este es un trino para interesados en fotografía, astrofotografía y el que quiera ¿Por qué esta foto es increíble? Algún conspiranóico, dándoselas de suspicaz, preguntó que por qué esta foto tomada por el comandante del Artemis II se veía más opaca que la foto tomada por la tripulación del Apolo 17 en 1972. Bueno. Acá viene lo emocionante. Esta fotografía hubiera sido imposible tomarla con una cámara análoga; y no cualquier cámara digital puede tomarla. El archivo original de esta foto está disponible para su descarga en la página de la NASA. En las propiedades del archivo se puede ver con qué cámara fue tomada y los ajustes de exposición que se usaron. Hasta el serial de la cámara. Esto, primero que todo, garantiza que la foto que estamos viendo no fue creada digitalmente, ni con IA, sino capturada por una cámara real por un humano. Sé que no es suficiente argumento para los conspiranóicos, pero ni modos. Esa que está ahí es la Tierra. Ahora sí lo interesante. ¿Por qué se ve como más opaca que la del 72? porque resulta que en la cara de la tierra que vemos en esa foto, está de noche; si hacen zoom pueden ver el brillo de la iluminación nocturna. Pero ¿cómo, si es de noche, puede verse como si fuera de día? Porque la foto se hizo con un altísimo ISO de 51200! El ISO es la sensibilidad del sensor a la luz. Con la mayoría de cámaras digitales, con ISOs de más de 6400, el ruido es tanto que la foto se ve prácticamente ilegible. Pero la cámara que tiene el comandante Reid Wiseman es una NIKON D5, que no es una cámara muy nueva; tiene 10 años de haber sido lanzada. Pero su sensor es reconocido por garantizar una calidad decente de imagen con ISOs altos. Y eso, para los que siempre preguntan cómo se hace una buena foto del cielo, es fundamental ¿Por qué? Pues para poder tomar fotos de los astros sin tener que bajar mucho la velocidad de exposición. Porque si bajas mucho la exposición apra que entre más luz, queda capturado el movimiento de los astros y de la rotación de la Tierra, cuando estás en la Tierra. Así que un iSO tan alto hizo posible que Wiserman pudiera disparar a una velocidad de 1/4 de segundo. Que es baja, pero no tanto. Es digamos, el límite para la astrofotografía. Por eso esta foto tiene ruido, porque de todas formas es un ISO altísimo. Pero lo que más me emociona a mí, es que la tomó con un lente 14 -24mm F2.8. Es decir, en terminos coloquiales, que esta foto no tiene zoom. Para que lo dimensionen: cuando uno quiere tomar una foto de la Luna desde la Tierra que salga así de "cerca" tiene que usar un lente de unos 400mm de distancia focal. Wiserman usó un ¡gran angular de 22mm! Es decir que él estaba viendo la Tierra asi de grande frente a sus ojos. Porque la foto no fue recortada en edición y eso lo sabemos porque en las propiedades del archivo siempre aparece cuando una foto fue editada. El archivo está limpio, tiene la resolución original de la cámara. La tierra era inmensa frente a su mirada. Hermoso. Pero para mí lo más mágico de esta foto, incluso más que las auroras boreales, es que se ve como la luz de sol, que está del otro lado de la tierra, ilumina nuestra atmosfera. Y eso es magia pura, porque esa atmosfera tiene una composición milimétricamente perfecta para permitir que la vida, tal y como la conocemos, sea posible. Esta foto, es un regalo precioso para la humanidad. Les dejo al link para que descarguen la foto en alta resolución y el pantallazo de las propuedades del archivo.

Dear Prime Minister Mark Carney (@markjcarney), I was on the Toronto Ferry last year staring at our majestic waterfront. I saw paddlers, kayakers, dragon boaters, sailors, windsurfers, fishers, paddleboarders, water taxis, and cruisers all sharing the space in harmony. When we docked at Hanlan’s Point on the Toronto Islands I was surrounded by hikers, joggers, cyclists, birders, picnickers, swimmers, photographers, beachgoers, frisbee golfers, naturalists, and thousands of tourists and locals enjoying this lush ecological paradise surrounded by our sparkling freshwater lake. Please don’t destroy this by paving Lake Ontario. Three weeks ago Ontario Premier Doug Ford (@fordnation) announced he will "seize" Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) in order to expand runways into Lake Ontario (1), bring in jets against the legal contracts governing the airport (2), and nix 14,000 mixed-use homes slated to go up on the shore (which taxpayers have already spent $1.4B developing). (3,4) Although this decision is not his to make — Billy Bishop is governed by the City of Toronto and the federal government (5) — Premier Ford says he will overrule the City to "bring in jets one way or another." (6,7) Premier Ford says he has the "full support" of your federal government to do this. (8) Prime Minister Carney: It is not too late. Please say no to expanding Billy Bishop airport into the lake. We don’t need this, we don’t want this, and we can’t afford this. We don’t need this. We can already go anywhere we want to go. I live right in downtown Toronto. I can be anywhere I want in the world, tomorrow. I can walk to bus, subway, streetcar, and UP express stations from my house and I fly 40x per year. In the past year I have been to over 35 airports on 3 continents and YYZ is one of the absolute best. In fact, in the past month it has won "Best Airport Staff in North America" (9), been ranked 4th in all of the Americas in efficiency (out of 50 airports) (10), and won Best Large Airport on the entire continent (an award it's won eight times in nine years.) (11) Right this second, checking Uber, I can get from my house by car to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in 21 mins and to Toronto’s Billy Bishop Island Airport (YTZ) in 14 mins. Right this second, if someone at Union Station wanted to get to YYZ on public transit it would take 28 minutes (UP Express) and to YTZ would take 22 minutes (TTC streetcar). We are talking about a 6 minute time savings here. If we want to serve southwestern Ontario’s population with expanded jet service we simply need to use the 7000m of existing, high-capacity, under-utilized jet runways within 2 hours of Toronto at Hamilton (@flyYHM ), Waterloo (@flyYKF), and London (@flyYXU) versus entertaining a "special economic zone" to force a jet-strip into the most environmentally sensitive and densely populated waterfront in the country. We don’t want this. This tiny speck of ecological paradise provides critical respite from our dense and urban concrete jungle and is vital for mental health, community, and happiness. Over 400 peer-reviewed studies show urban forests and parks mitigate depression and anxiety and enhance overall mental well-being. (12) I know you agree because four days ago on March 31, 2026 you announced your "Force of Nature" strategy with the vision of "protecting, restoring, and valuing nature." This wonderful program declares a federal investment of $3.8 billion dollars into "protecting critical habitats and aligning industrial strategies with biodiversity conservation." (13, 14, 15) Also, I looked into the runway expansion into the lake that Premier Ford has promised. Right now the shortest jet runway in Canada is 1832m (YHM Hamilton, ON) and the shortest jet runway in the world is 1508m (LCY London City Airport, UK). There are also new Canadian Aviation Regulations (RESA) stating all runways need to add 150m on each end for safety. (16, 17, 18) Today the Billy Bishop runway is 1216m. (19) Even the most conservative assumption — building the shortest jet runway in the entire world! — still requires a minimum of 600m more runway to land jets. Here is a current aerial view of Billy Bishop Airport. (Photo 1 / attached) Here is an aerial view of Billy Bishop Airport with the smallest possible runway extension of 600m added. (Photo 2 / attached) (Of course this photo doesn’t include additional parking, hangers, gates, aprons, tarmacs, fueling stations, de-icing stations, blast fences, control towers, baggage carousels, taxi pickups … ) We can’t afford this. Premier Ford was first elected in 2018 as the right wing candidate (PC) with 40.5% of the vote (left wing side of NDP and Liberal was 53.2%) and campaigned as a fiscal conservative. (FN) He attacked the Liberals for their $6.7B deficit and vowed a "return to balanced budgets" that would "begin in 2019." (20, 21) Since then Premier Ford has won two more elections — with a nearly identical right / left vote split and record lows in voter turnout — and has now presided over 8 budgets. (22, 23) In order from 2019 to 2026 those eight budgets have been for *deficits* of $8.7B, $16.4B, $13.5B, $5.9B, $5.6, $1.1B, $12.3B, and, most recently, just announced last week on March 26, 2026, coming in at a 77% increase on his own 2025 forecasts, $13.8B. (24, 25) Since Premier Ford was elected he has *increased* Ontario’s debt from $338B to $485B. Ontario now pays $17.2B a year … just in interest payments. (26, 27, 28) Notably, Premier Ford’s most recent $13.8B deficit budget does not include any money for the projected $1-2B cost of expanding Billy Bishop airport. (Prime Minister, you and Premier Ford are both 61 and have a seemingly warm relationship despite wildly different education and business paths. (29, 30, 31, 32) Might you have time for some evening finance tutorials?) Prime Minister Carney: We don’t need this, we don’t want this, we can’t afford this. Please say no to this expansion plan. Please allow the legal agreements governing the airport to remain in the hands of those who legally own it — the City of Toronto and the federal government — and not with Premier Ford’s provincial government who is attempting to autocratically rule something in which it has no stake. At the Junos six days ago on March 29, 2026 you praised 82-year-old @jonimitchell and justifiably called her "one of the greatest artists of all time." (33) Joni warned us about "paving paradise to put up a parking lot" and now that’s exactly what Premier Ford is proposing we do. The Toronto Harbour, Toronto Harbourfront, and Toronto Islands are a crown jewel for the functioning of our great city, our great province, and our great country. Would New York City pave over Central Park? Would Paris put runways on the Seine? We absolutely should not pave the paradise of Lake Ontario to put up runways and parking lots we don’t need, don’t want, and can’t afford. It's not too late. Please say no. Thank you, Neil Pasricha // (1) theglobeandmail.com/gift/08407f44d… theglobeandmail.com/politics/artic… (2) portstoronto.com/wp-content/upl… (3) environmentaldefence.ca/2026/03/24/ont… (4) thestar.com/news/gta/tens-… (5) billybishopairport.com/wp-content/upl… (6) theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… (7) cbc.ca/news/canada/to… theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… cbc.ca/news/canada/to… (8) theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… (9) torontopearson.com/en/corporate/m… (10) britishaviationgroup.co.uk/knowledge/toro… (11) nowtoronto.com/news/pearson-b… (12) nature.com/articles/s4428… (13) pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-r… (14) canada.ca/en/services/en… (15) audubon.org/news/audubon-a… (16) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._M… (17) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Ci… tsb.gc.ca/eng/surveillan… (18) toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… (19) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bis… (20) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Onta… (21) occ.ca/rapidpolicy/on… (22) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Onta… (23) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Onta… (24) globalnews.ca/news/11746458/… (25) budget.ontario.ca/2026/brief.html (26) ofina.on.ca/borrowing_debt… (27) budget.ontario.ca/2026/chapter-4… (28) ontario.ca/page/public-ac… (29) #Early_life_and_education" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Carn… (30) proquest.com/docview/301464… (31) #Early_life,_family,_and_education" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Ford… (32) theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/g… (33) youtube.com/watch?v=6pbVWy… // CC: Minister of Transport @SteveMcKinnon, Minister of Environment @JulieDabrusin, Mayor of Toronto @OliviaChow, MP @RunChiNguyenRun, MP @J_Maloney, MP @JulieDzerowicz, MP @Coteau, MP @Rob_Oliphant, MP @Vgasparro, MP @Yvan_Baker, MP @Jzerucelli, Ontario Minister of Transportation @PrabSarkaria, Ontario Minister of Infrastructure @KingaSurmaMPP, @PortsToronto, MPP @MaritStiles, MPP @JessicaBellTO, MPP @ChrisGlover, Councillor @BravoDavenport, Councillor @DianneSaxxe, Candidate @Massey_Toronto, @Nieuport, @JenniferQuinnTO, @Envirodefense, @BirdsCanada, @NoJetsTo, @CycleTO, @TheGlobeAndMail, @TorontoStar, @CBCToronto, @TheCurrentCBC, @BlogTO

The Human Cost of Failing to Name COVID ‘Airborne’ Pls share widely thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/…

1/ The long term heart risks of C-19 💔 A massive new study in the European Heart Journal confirms what many feared: SARS-CoV-2 is not just a respiratory virus. It’s a long-term cardiovascular threat. The risk of major heart events remains elevated for years after infection.

@skateflowers98 I literally review infectious disease studies professionally. There are now 500,000 studies on Covid, and tens of thousands of them prove that covid wrecks the brain and the immune system. Repeated infections cause more neuron damage.

This is truly the most beautiful video I’ve seen lately So tender and heart-warming, yet it makes you stop and reflect, with a subtle touch of sadness We may have gained so much, but perhaps we’ve lost even more✨

@PaulaYScanlan The number of people i still see not wearing masks in 2026 after 6 years and half a million studies confirming that each infection cumulatively damages your health and intelligence is genuinely concerning. I am a leading medical researcher.

You know that covid infection can cause inflammation in the skin, lungs, and gut, right? "Alzheimer’s may start with inflammation in the skin, lungs or gut" newscientist.com/article/251773…

Imagine looking at this graph and thinking that Covid has *nothing* to do with it. No, I can't either. It just blows my mind.

Read ,digest and share! An excellent summary of what our phones are doing to us and how to regain control.

Covid-19 is not just a respiratory infection. Cardiovascular symptoms are seen in acute and long covid. Katharine Lang reports on what we’ve learnt since the onset of the pandemic bmj.com/content/392/bm…

@1goodtern As a retired public health policy person, I cannot get over the suspension of the Precautionary Principle. With a BSL-3 virus. After almost 20 years of data on those who survived SARS-CoV-1. While knowing that coronaviruses tend to mutate frequently.

Bruce Fanjoy has launched a petition to require all federal party leaders to obtain and maintain top security clearance. It's open for a couple of months. ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/P…

Yeah. A mask cult. Sure. Call it that. You know what else was a “cult”? Hand-washing. Seatbelts. Clean drinking water. Surgery without sawdust and whiskey. Every time humans figured out how not to die stupidly, someone yelled cult. So yeah—if a “cult” means noticing that breathing shared air spreads airborne disease, then congrats, you cracked the case. If it means using a simple tool that reduces viral dose, protects your brain, your heart, your kids, your coworkers—then hail Satan, pass the respirators. Here’s the part you don’t want to hear: Masks aren’t about fear. They’re about pattern recognition. They’re about looking at six years of data and saying, “Huh. That keeps wrecking people’s bodies. Maybe raw-dogging the air in a pandemic isn’t the flex we thought.” You don’t call it a cult when firefighters wear gear in a burning building. You don’t call it a cult when surgeons glove up. You don’t call it a cult when athletes tape ankles or wear helmets. You only call it a cult when the protection reminds you that you were lied to— that “mild,” “over,” “everyone gets it,” and “back to normal” were sales pitches, not science. This isn’t religion. It’s physics. Aerosols don’t give a shit about your vibes, your politics, or how tired you are of hearing about it. And here’s the uncomfortable truth that really pisses people off: Some of us never stopped paying attention. We watched cognitive decline get normalized. We watched “brain fog” get rebranded as quirky. We watched kids get sick over and over and were told it’s “good for their immune system” like this is 1820. So yeah—call us a cult if you need a word that lets you stop thinking. But don’t confuse discipline with delusion. Don’t confuse adaptation with weakness. And don’t confuse people who protect themselves and others with sheep—especially when the herd is walking straight into the slaughterhouse smiling. This isn’t faith. It’s survival with receipts.

A Public health department FINALLY produced a video explaining how airborne viruses work. Next step, getting videos like this on TV and all over social media. Too many people think handwashing will prevent covid or the flu🫤

Wow. This is remarkable.

😷 There are a group of people trying to shake everyone else awake, urgently trying to inform us that COVID-19 is ongoing and an existential threat. "Normal isn't coming back. The question is how much more we're willing to lose before we accept that." brennan.day/the-schizophre…

Sincere thanks to @bmj_latest and @guardian for covering our letter to @WHO on: 😷 respirators: a universal standard 🦺cloth/surgicals are not adequate #PPE 🌍 #WorkSafety, #PatientSafety, #OneHealth 📖 BMJ bmj.com/content/392/bm… 📖 The Guardian theguardian.com/global-develop…

@Calvinn_Hobbes Best cartoon ever. I grew up on Calvin and Hobbes.