social.coop

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦The City of Edmonton has declared today, March 21, as Save Soil Day. I was at City Hall for the presentation of the official proclamation, and to speak to the gathered group about our recent Senate report on soil health. Tomorrow, the Save Soil group hosts a free double-bill at Campus Saint-Jean theatre: first, the documentary film Common Ground, followed by a one-woman show by Dale Hamilton called She Won’t Come in From the Fields. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yegcc" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yegcc</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/SenateofCanada" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SenateofCanada</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/SoilHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SoilHealth</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Earlier this week, I had a honour of joining two of Edmonton, and Canada’s, most extraordinary queer rights advocates, Doug Stollery KC and Justice Julie Lloyd, onstage at the <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> Timms Theatre to discuss the impact of the historic Vriend decision, which established equal rights protections for <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/LGBQT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LGBQT</a> Canadians. Our conversation, moderated by Fiona Kelly, the new Dean of Law, was inspired by a screening of the terrific Vriend documentary Pride vs Prejudice. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Vriend" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Vriend</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Pre-registration has closed - but there are still plenty of tickets at the door for this showing of Pride vs Prejudice - which includes FREE SNACKS at the pre show reception. Come on down! <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/en/law/events/2025/3/pride-prejudice.html#:~:text=The%20documentary%20film%20explores%20the,2SLGBTQ%2B%20people%20across%20the%20world" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.ualberta.ca/en/law/events/2025/3/pride-prejudice.html#:~:text=The%20documentary%20film%20explores%20the,2SLGBTQ%2B%20people%20across%20the%20world</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/LGBQT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LGBQT</a>

Bridget StirlingSuper excited to be invited to give this talk at the University of Lethbridge on March 27. I've been thinking a lot about temporality and childhood in this new era of fascism. <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/uleth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#uleth</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/academicchatter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#academicchatter</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/ChildhoodStudies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ChildhoodStudies</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/childism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#childism</a> <a href="https://www.ulethbridge.ca/notice/events/childhood-time-monsters" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.ulethbridge.ca/notice/events/childhood-time-monsters</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Wonderful news for Edmonton's AI mage Rich Sutton, for the University of Alberta, and for AMII, the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. I've had a couple of chances over the years to interview Rich and his colleagues, and tour their labs. Their work on reinforcement learning - far more interesting than LLM - has made Edmonton a real AI centre of excellence. Meeting him is the closest I'll ever come to meeting Gandalf. <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2025/03/computing-science-professor-wins-turing-award.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2025/03/computing-science-professor-wins-turing-award.html</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/TuringAward" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TuringAward</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Turing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Turing</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AI</a>

socoolAmazing! My Becomes Music EP is at #2 on the most recent Electronic music chart for CJSR 88.5FM. It's been wonderful to see Canadian campus & community radio stations like CJSR supporting this music ☺️ <a href="https://www.cjsr.com/2025/02/charts-and-hot-wax-february-24-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.cjsr.com/2025/02/charts-and-hot-wax-february-24-2025/</a> <a href="https://socool.bandcamp.com/album/becomes-music" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://socool.bandcamp.com/album/becomes-music</a><a href="https://ravenation.club/tags/radio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#radio</a> <a href="https://ravenation.club/tags/edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#edmonton</a> <a href="https://ravenation.club/tags/CJSR" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CJSR</a> <a href="https://ravenation.club/tags/cjsrFM" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cjsrFM</a> <a href="https://ravenation.club/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Senator Rob Black will be in Edmonton this week to deliver the annual Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture this Wednesday. Rob, who until prorogation chaired the Senate’s agriculture committee, was the guiding force behind our major study of soil health in Canada. He’ll be speaking (mostly) about our report. The lecture, at the Westin, is free and open to the public. Rob is a peach of a guy! Delighted to welcome him to <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a>. <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/en/renewable-resources/events-and-lectures/bentley-lecture/index.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.ualberta.ca/en/renewable-resources/events-and-lectures/bentley-lecture/index.html</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/SoilHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SoilHealth</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/cdnpoli" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cdnpoli</a>

Tim MillsTrying to stem the tide of anti-intellectual, anti-conservative "Conservative" funding cuts in Alberta. Here's the latest appeal - to protect funding and front-line academic workers at the Univesity of Alberta: <a href="https://action.supportthespark.ca/letters/stand-up-for-the-university-of-alberta?source=direct_link&" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://action.supportthespark.ca/letters/stand-up-for-the-university-of-alberta?source=direct_link&</a><a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/SupportTheSpark" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SupportTheSpark</a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/Alberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Alberta</a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/PostSecondary" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PostSecondary</a>

Anastasia EliasIt was a beautiful night to see the planets at the <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> observatory on the roof of the CCIS building last night. And, it wasn't even that cold!We were promised a view of the ISS but the clouds came by at the wrong time, so now I need to figure out how to find that myself. Folks in <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> might be interested to know that the observatory open 7-8 Thursdays and it is free to visit.

Peter Binkley<a href="https://code4lib.social/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> folks, IST's Research Computing Bootcamps are coming up - well worth it if you need an introduction to stuff from shell scripting to cloud environments from Digital Research Alliance <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/en/information-services-and-technology/research-computing/bootcamps.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.ualberta.ca/en/information-services-and-technology/research-computing/bootcamps.html</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Happy left-over Friday, which some people have off and some don't! A good day to eat holiday left-overs in your fridge, and to look back at the year that was. Since I have so many new followers, I thought I'd take the liberty of re-posting a few of my favourite <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/AlbertaUnbound" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AlbertaUnbound</a> episodes of 2024 - in case you missed them the first time, or just wanted a re-listen. To start? My conversation with author, academic, TV host, and defender of science, Timothy Caulfield. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7eNP4xHWXYlv71Pu7ZQ8Rc?si=V2NgRmyjQjucKowPu4VjXg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/episode/7eNP4xHWXYlv71Pu7ZQ8Rc?si=V2NgRmyjQjucKowPu4VjXg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a>

Dr. Young-Leslie 🇨🇦Provincially imposed funding restrictions = hiring freeze at <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a>. Announcement released Dec 17'24:

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦For those who haven’t heard it before - or those who need to hear it again - here is my conversation with queer social work Kristy Harcourt and University of Alberta trans inclusion staffer, Alex Marshall, wherein we discuss Alberta’s three anti trans bills, which passed this week. <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/alberta-unbound/id1511810939?i=1000653968385" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/alberta-unbound/id1511810939?i=1000653968385</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ableg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ableg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/abpoli" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#abpoli</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ualberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Alberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Alberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/TransRightsAreLegalRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TransRightsAreLegalRights</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/AlbertaUnbound" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AlbertaUnbound</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/SenateofCanada" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SenateofCanada</a>

Anastasia EliasI spent a long time outside on foot last night looking for northern lights near <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Ualberta</a>. I was lucky to get these great pics around 10:30 pm.If you have aurora FOMO, just know that pics like these (that I took with 'Night Mode' - which gives a long exposure) actually look much more vibrant than IRL!<a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/YEG" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#YEG</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/auroraborealis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#auroraborealis</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/northernlights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#northernlights</a>

Anastasia EliasThe weather in <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/YEG" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#YEG</a> was both crazy and beautiful last night. I took this picture next to the butterdome at <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Ualberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Ualberta</a>. The leaves on the sidewalk are all moving to the right in the wind. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yegwx" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yegwx</a>

Tim MillsA substantial portion of university teaching is done not by tenured professors but by contract instructors. Here at <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> in Edmonton, about half of undergrad courses are taught by contract instructors like me.We have similar credentials to tenured professors, but usually have lower pay, less job security, and worse benefits.<a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/AASUA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AASUA</a>, the academic union at <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a>, is doing some awareness-raising for <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/FairEmploymentWeek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FairEmploymentWeek</a>, October 16-20. Check us out, and join in: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/few-2024-signup?source=direct_link&" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://actionnetwork.org/forms/few-2024-signup?source=direct_link&</a>

Bridget StirlingI've been sitting on this news for a couple of weeks now, and I'm excited to finally share it with everyone.I just signed the contract today for my forthcoming book, "All Thy Sons Command: Childhood and the Canadian Far Right" (working title). It's going to be a while because I have a dissertation to finish first, but I'm really thrilled to have this opportunity at this stage in my academic life.<a href="https://zirk.us/tags/PhDchat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PhDchat</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/AcademicBooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AcademicBooks</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/ChildhoodStudies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ChildhoodStudies</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/AcademicPublishing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AcademicPublishing</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Writing</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/PhDlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PhDlife</a>

Laux Myth (aka Martin)I was hoping for so much more from the Egyptian exhibit at the Muttart Conservatory. Seemed like high school pop culture research. Certainly some people believe pyramids channel energy but that is not supported in archaeology. Shame the UofA museums gave real artifacts.<a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/YEG" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#YEG</a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/archaeology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#archaeology</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦We were all amazed by the pure AI research - and by the way engineering grad students are teaching AI to run smart energy grids or perform autonomous surgery. But I have to say, my Ontario friends were astonished by the university itself. They had never visited the campus, and had no idea that Edmonton had such a large research university, attracting top talent from all over the world. I was proud to show things off - and spread the word. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AI</a>

Senator Paula Simons🇨🇦Post Stampede, I welcomed three of my Ontario Senate colleagues to Edmonton. Together we visited several AI labs at the University of Alberta, and met with extraordinary professors and grad students to learn about UAlberta’s world-leading work in reinforcement learning. This is VERY different than the large language models behind ChatGPT. This is actually teaching the AI so it learns to do tasks. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Edmonton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Edmonton</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/yeg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#yeg</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/UAlberta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UAlberta</a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AI</a>

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