Do not adjust your monitor. There were no filters used on this picture I took at 11 am while out for a walk on an otherwise sunny day. This is what the sky looks like. In fact, I think it’s even oranger now.

There are wildfires now raging through northern Ontario and apparently Toronto has the worst air quality in the world today, which I find kind of hard to believe but somebody professional-sounding said it.

These conditions are supposed to last through tomorrow. Then the worst of the smoke will have been sent to our good neighbours to the south.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Binstagrammed post. Almost two years. But I was walking through the blissfully deserted university campus last week and saw all these troopers lined up behind the University Centre building and couldn’t resist taking their picture.

Then, right after I put my phone away, I was walking past and I heard thumping noises coming from inside a couple of them. It actually scared the heck out of me. It sounded like somebody was locked in there! Then squirrels came popping out. It’s not that the lids weren’t fastened, but several of the bins had holes chewed right through them. It’s amazing what animals will do to get to the good stuff. And green bins, for organic waste, definitely have the good stuff.

So I was looking to buy a postcard recently. My first stop was the Dollar Store, where you can usually pick up a lot of cheap cards. Alas, there was no rack for postcards. So I asked the woman working there, who I would have put in her early 30s, if they had any postcards. She looked at me blankly. I asked again and she shook her head, not saying anything, apparently in some confusion. Then she said that they sold envelopes for cards. I told her that postcards don’t go in envelopes. This seemed to confuse her even more and I don’t think she knew what I was talking about. But I chatted with her for a while anyway and left without thinking any more of it.

My next stop was a drug store that also has a post office desk in it. I asked the woman running the place (another thirty-something) if they had any postcards. She didn’t understand me so I repeated “Postcards?” I got another blank look. I honestly thought I wasn’t speaking clearly enough, as I do tend to mumble a bit. So I leaned in closer and said “Post. Cards.” She leaned back away from me (I can be a bit intimidating) with a look of nervous confusion on her face. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said. I said “Postcards. They’re like pictures . . . that you mail.” She still looked at me with a total lack of understanding. She honestly had no idea what I was talking about.

I realize people don’t mail postcards that much anymore, but still this was a bit surprising. Two youngish people who didn’t have a clue what a postcard was? The times they are a-changing.

Ugh. This is going to be a monster. The whole neighbourhood is full of styish mid-century modern bungalows and this thing is going to be three stories. Eventually all the bungalows on the street are going to be pulled down (one side of the street has already been bought up) and these big townhouse-style residences will be everywhere.

The houses behind me are coming along quite quickly now. They were out yesterday working in the rain even. These pics are from last week and you can tell they’re not wasting any time. The first picture is even an action shot as they’re pouring stone into the foundation.

And here are a couple of pics from the end of work yesterday.

And from the other side.

They weren’t messing around this week! Here are some daily snaps taken from the other side of the project from the previous updates (see here and here).

Tuesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday.

Friday.

And here’s what things looked like after work on Friday from the other side of the street. (You can click on the pics to make them bigger.)

I pass this bit of signage every time I walk downtown. It’s been up in the same window for years and seems to express some firmly held beliefs. Beliefs about what, I’m not sure.

So, starting from the top left and working clockwise:

(1) OK, it is a Stephen King quote. I looked it up, though the exact line reads “Any game looks straight if everyone is being cheated at once.” It comes from his novel The Long Walk, which he wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym. I haven’t read the book or seen the recent movie.

(2) “That old serpent” is a reference to Satan from the Book of Revelation. I don’t know what the connection to NASA is though. The T-minus is countdown to apocalypse?

(3) Your guess is as good as mine. Is that a cross or a swastika? There’s a Star of David in the middle of what seem to be an arrangement of binaries (wet and dry, material and spiritual) as well as some alchemical symbols thrown in for good measure.

(4) Some sketchy etymology. The word “scientific” comes from Latin and has the meaning of pertaining to knowledge (in Latin scientia). The suffix -fic doesn’t denote fiction but comes from the Latin facere, to make or to do.

I get the impression, taking all of this together, that the person behind the window doesn’t trust science (represented by NASA), or perhaps any kind of received knowledge or wisdom, seeing it as a crooked game. True gnosis only comes through some kind of mystical revelation.

Anyway, there’s also a letter posted on another window that goes into a bit of explanation that I might post a picture of later. I couldn’t make much sense out of it either.

You can click on the pic to make it bigger. Just try not to read too much into the reflection of the handsome fellow in the window.

For those of you who have been keeping score, I initially had a post back a couple of years ago complaining about YouTube ads that were 3 or even 8 minutes long. Then I was hit with a 17-minute ad and had to post about that. Then I was served one that was 28 minutes long and only a few days later 31- and 40-minute ads dropped in.

Well, yesterday I was watching a documentary on Frank Lloyd Wright that was 59 minutes long and about ten minutes from the end I was interrupted by an “ad” (“alternative programming” might be a better way of putting it) that apparently would have run 1:15:48 if I’d let the whole thing play. I honestly thought I’d clicked on the “play next video” link by accident. Of course I hit the skip button after the obligatory six seconds so I never even figured out what this ad was for. They were just starting to run the opening credits and music!

Wow. An hour and fifteen minutes. And again I ask: what’s the point? Verily, verily I say unto you that ain’t nobody got time for that. Something has gone haywire.

Anyway, I’ll just keep tracking these things as the enshittification process continues apace. Though I have to think an hour and fifteen minutes will be hard to beat.

I’ll bet you didn’t know Guelph had a B.A.C. That’s a Big Ass Cathedral. It’s right downtown and its proper name is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Or just the Basilica of Our Lady for short. If you want the brochure bit:

The Basilica of our Lady Immaculate has been a place of worship and reflection for over 125 years. The Basilica is constructed of local limestone in the Gothic Revival style. It towers over the Guelph community as a constant reminder of God’s love and a community’s resilience. Designated a National Historic Site, it is the most visited tourist destination in the city of Guelph.

After an intensive five phase restoration spanning many years, the restoration was completed in December 2014. There was a special dedication mass at the Church on December 8, 2014, and it was at this mass that Bishop Crosby announced that our Holy Father Pope Francis had elevated our church to the status of a Basilica in honour of its rich history and the importance of this parish in the Diocese of Hamilton and the City of Guelph.

In the fall of 2015, the Basilica of our Lady Immaculate was recognized for the restoration of the church. The Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals awarded their 2015 Award of Excellence to our Church. This is the largest respected collective of heritage professionals involved in the preservation of our national heritage properties. In November we received the Peter Stokes Award by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

You can read a lot more, and see professional pictures at their website.

I’ve been inside it exactly once, to listen to a chorus a friend was singing in.

This is a view from the parking lot.

And this is the view taken standing in the same spot as the first picture, but turned around and looking at beautiful downtown Guelph. Photos have a way of flattening hills. If you look over that hedge there are three steep flights of steps leading up to the cathedral. That street is a long way down.

Anyway, there’s your local tour. Drop by and visit anytime!

They have these banners up now all over downtown. Civic pride, I guess. Because this town isn’t a real tourist destination so most of the people seeing them are locals anyway. So isn’t that a little like loving yourself?

Not sure I love Guelph. But on balance it’s a nice place to live. Nicer than most other places I’ve been, or can think of.

The crowns, by the way, are a reference to our identity as “The Royal City.”