Blog

Welcome to the OMB, where everything’s made up and the rationale doesn’t matter

Throughout my undergrad degree in planning, I was taught to take pride in the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). My professors lauded the virtues of this independent, arm’s-length body that rises above petty politics in the name of ‘good planning’. Supported by provincial legislation that gives it the …

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In Boston, real reporting falls prey to hysteria

The ferocious zeal with which news organisations have tried to piece together an explanation for the Boston Marathon bombing is astounding. Tripping over conflicting reports in a rush to break the story first, they appear to have done more harm than good. Mere moments after the explosions, we all …

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Raw data for the 2013 Liberal leadership results: you're welcome

Good on the Liberal Party of Canada for releasing riding-by-riding results as soon as the leadership vote was over. The website they used was decent enough for drilling down to a particular riding, but unfortunately they didn't publish machine-readable data that can be parsed and analysed with any …

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Portrait of a frozen city

As Winter reluctantly hands control over to Spring, a city just about to bloom is frozen in time. Branches yearning for the sun are wrapped in a cocoon of ice. Even street signs get caught in the cold, glacial embrace. Buds, about to burst from their shells, are trapped like flies in amber. The …

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