Random Raves 54: You will succeed. It is inevitable.

[Zardnaar]

We like one of our neighbors. Denmark, to be specific. The shared land border isn't very long, but it is a shared land border.

I liked the ones I grew up with.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Good news on the Canadian election front!

Quebec riding of Terrebonne flips to Liberals after recount shows candidate won by single vote

Liberals now have 170 seats in House of Commons, two shy of a majority government

Benjamin Lopez Steven · CBC News · Posted: May 10, 2025 5:18 PM MDT

After a judicial recount, the Quebec riding of Terrebonne has flipped to the Liberals, who have beaten the Bloc Québécois by one vote. The result means the Liberals have 170 seats in the House of Commons — just two shy of a majority government.

On Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Stéphane Perrault announced the judicial recount after results showed incumbent Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné beat Liberal challenger Tatiana Auguste by 44 votes.

Now, Elections Canada's website shows Auguste received 23,352 votes. Sinclair-Desgagné received 23,351 votes.

According to Canada's election rules, a recount is automatically triggered when a candidate wins by less than 0.1 per cent of the overall vote in that riding, which applied to Terrebonne. In certain circumstances, candidates can also request a recount.

The recount was conducted by Superior Court of Quebec Justice Danielle Turcotte.

Terrebonne had originally been called for the Liberals the day after the votes were cast. But the riding flipped to the Bloc during the validation process — which is different from a recount. Validation is a procedure in which Elections Canada double-checks and verifies the numbers reported on election night.

Results in three other ridings are currently being recounted.

Elections Canada announced Friday that a recount will take place in Milton East-Halton Hills South, where the Liberal candidate edged the Conservative by 29 votes. That riding was initially declared for the Conservatives, but flipped to the Liberals after the validation process.

A recount is also taking place in the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of Terra Nova-The Peninsulas, where the Liberal candidate won by 12 votes.

On Friday, a judge ordered a recount in another Ontario riding — Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, where the Conservative candidate won by 77 votes.

The Liberal candidate had requested that recount, citing more than a dozen affidavits from scrutineers for his campaign who had witnessed ballots be rejected that they say were valid.

The Liberals are now just two seats short of the 172 required of a majority government. But even if the recounts all turn out Liberal victories, the party will still be one short.

The recounts in Terra Nova-The Peninsulas and Milton East-Halton Hills South will begin next week. Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore's recount will start on May 20.

(bolding in second-last paragraph mine)

This election is still a nailbiter. I don't remember anything like this since 1993, when seats kept flipping back and forth between the Bloc and the Canadian Alliance.

Now would be the time to offer a very nice deal to both the NDP and Elizabeth May (if she doesn't end up as Speaker, as has been rumored; the Speaker doesn't have to come from the governing party). It's so close to a majority.

And let this be a lesson to people who don't think their vote matters. If one less Liberal voter had gone to the polls that day, this victory wouldn't have happened.

 

[warpus]

My new home library is now a reality!

Spoiler :

The books are not sorted yet at all, for now I've placed them on the bookshelves partially randomly in order to make room in my bedroom, which is where all the stuff from the 2 rooms being renovated was being stored. Once the home library is 100% finished and the bedroom is cleaned up, I will begin the process of sorting the books in some sort of coherent order.

The main 3 large bookcases are for my mass market paperback collection, which is mainly sci-fi. I have actually just ordered 3 of the exact same bookcases to install them on the opposite wall. Do I have books to fill all these bookshelves? No. Do I care? Nope.

My mom has donated some books to my library, and I will ge getting more books from her as well. My aunt (her sister) is also donating books, mainly older Polish ones passed down from my late grandfather - he is the inspiration for the home library. Initially it was going to be named after him, but I am now naming it after his last name to honour my late grandmother as well, who passed away earlier this year. It also becomes a reference to my mother's maiden last name, which I think is fitting.

This room also contains a comfy reclining seat that I will be using to relax in and read, as well as 2 round wooden tables, one larger, and one smaller yet taller. I will probably post more pictures of all this at some later date.

I hope to beef up my library with of course more sci-fi paperbacks, but I also want to buy some more classics. I have a couple non-sci-fi classics, and I want more. I also want more travel related books, autobiographies, cooking books, art books, astronomy stuff, history books, and anything that looks interesting really.

I am quite passionate about this project! I really needed a space like this. Now I have a place to organize all my books and keep them safe. I also have a lot of space for future expansion of my library. I love going book shopping and I will be doing more of that going forward. One of my passions is hitting up used book stores in other cities and raiding them for books I want in my collection. I could spend hours doing that. I've already pretty much gotten all I can from the used bookstores here where I live. Toronto has a lot of options and I've already visited all the important used bookstores there. I will be visiting them again sometime this summer, on a coordinated used bookstore raid.

I have also built a storage system in the closet in this room, which will be used to store.. hmm.. one day probably books. I have some oversized books there that don't fit on the bookcase for now, and some other assorted stuff. What exactly ends up there will probably sort of fall into place over the coming months.

I am also tempted to build my own book cataloguing system. I use librarything.com but don't like some things about it. I want to build my own system that does everything I want it to do. But that might be a project for later down the road, we'll see. For now I'm excited that I finally have a home library.

 

[Gori the Grey]

What did you put inside your globe?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My new home library is now a reality!

Spoiler :

View attachment 732403

The books are not sorted yet at all, for now I've placed them on the bookshelves partially randomly in order to make room in my bedroom, which is where all the stuff from the 2 rooms being renovated was being stored. Once the home library is 100% finished and the bedroom is cleaned up, I will begin the process of sorting the books in some sort of coherent order.

The main 3 large bookcases are for my mass market paperback collection, which is mainly sci-fi. I have actually just ordered 3 of the exact same bookcases to install them on the opposite wall. Do I have books to fill all these bookshelves? No. Do I care? Nope.

My mom has donated some books to my library, and I will ge getting more books from her as well. My aunt (her sister) is also donating books, mainly older Polish ones passed down from my late grandfather - he is the inspiration for the home library. Initially it was going to be named after him, but I am now naming it after his last name to honour my late grandmother as well, who passed away earlier this year. It also becomes a reference to my mother's maiden last name, which I think is fitting.

This room also contains a comfy reclining seat that I will be using to relax in and read, as well as 2 round wooden tables, one larger, and one smaller yet taller. I will probably post more pictures of all this at some later date.

I hope to beef up my library with of course more sci-fi paperbacks, but I also want to buy some more classics. I have a couple non-sci-fi classics, and I want more. I also want more travel related books, autobiographies, cooking books, art books, astronomy stuff, history books, and anything that looks interesting really.

I am quite passionate about this project! I really needed a space like this. Now I have a place to organize all my books and keep them safe. I also have a lot of space for future expansion of my library. I love going book shopping and I will be doing more of that going forward. One of my passions is hitting up used book stores in other cities and raiding them for books I want in my collection. I could spend hours doing that. I've already pretty much gotten all I can from the used bookstores here where I live. Toronto has a lot of options and I've already visited all the important used bookstores there. I will be visiting them again sometime this summer, on a coordinated used bookstore raid.

I have also built a storage system in the closet in this room, which will be used to store.. hmm.. one day probably books. I have some oversized books there that don't fit on the bookcase for now, and some other assorted stuff. What exactly ends up there will probably sort of fall into place over the coming months.

I am also tempted to build my own book cataloguing system. I use librarything.com but don't like some things about it. I want to build my own system that does everything I want it to do. But that might be a project for later down the road, we'll see. For now I'm excited that I finally have a home library.

I see that we have some SF books in common, though I have the hardcover editions of some of them instead of the paperbacks. Cyber Way by Alan Dean Foster is really cool. That one appealed to me mostly because 1. I've met him and he's got a really interesting way of getting inspiration for his writing (plus just generally being a nice, friendly person); and 2. I studied Navajo religion in one of my cultural anthropology courses in college.

Your library is still lacking a globe. That's one of the things that came up during your last discussion of what you wanted to do with this place.

LibraryThing is useful up to a point. But it was created by librarians, for librarians, and isn't very useful for people who are specifically into science fiction and fantasy and need another way to organize things. If you come up with a user-friendly way of cataloguing a collection of SF/F books that can include novels, anthologies, short stories, poetry, and fanzines, that would be wonderful. LibraryThing is next to useless for short stories and situations where you need to keep track of both authors and editors.

And in the case of fanfiction, I've got print 'zines that were originally published as long ago as the late 1960s, through the 1990s. A lot of that has since been uploaded online, to various sites, minus the poems and gorgeous original artwork. In the case of the Valjiir Star Trek stories, I don't think there's even one of them that didn't go through at least a minor rewrite between print version and online version (I realize there are reasons for that which aren't relevant here, but it makes cataloguing extra-difficult for those stories).

As for visiting bookstores... psst! There's one in Calgary called The Sentry Box. It's part books, part games, and I've even found some artwork there back in the days when I could go there once or twice a year.

 

[warpus]

What did you put inside your globe?

I haven't got one yet, but it's on my list. I need to buy more furniture and other stuff for my renovated home office and walk-in closet, globe will have to come later. The nice ones I want don't open though and cost an arm and six legs. The ones that look like what I want are secret booze/drugs/porn stash globes, I haven't decided that that's what I want either. I think I need to stumble on some antiques store that has a perfect globe, so I can touch it and see it in person, and decide that it is the one. Looking at stuff online it's tough to decide if it would fit what I want.

I see that we have some SF books in common, though I have the hardcover editions of some of them instead of the paperbacks. Cyber Way by Alan Dean Foster is really cool. That one appealed to me mostly because 1. I've met him and he's got a really interesting way of getting inspiration for his writing (plus just generally being a nice, friendly person); and 2. I studied Navajo religion in one of my cultural anthropology courses in college.

Your library is still lacking a globe. That's one of the things that came up during your last discussion of what you wanted to do with this place.

LibraryThing is useful up to a point. But it was created by librarians, for librarians, and isn't very useful for people who are specifically into science fiction and fantasy and need another way to organize things. If you come up with a user-friendly way of cataloguing a collection of SF/F books that can include novels, anthologies, short stories, poetry, and fanzines, that would be wonderful. LibraryThing is next to useless for short stories and situations where you need to keep track of both authors and editors.

I will have to pick your brain a bit if/when I decide to build this thing. I want to build it for myself, but if it ends up actually being good enough, it would make sense to open it up to the general public. But yeah, I'd want to see what sort of functionality it should have. I have my ideas for my own book collection, but I haven't exactly thought through all the details.

I haven't read Cyber Way yet, but once my bedroom is ready to go I will be finally sleeping at my place again, and that hopefully means reading a lot more. So I should be going through a lot more books per year than I currently do.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

An arm and six legs? So get two insects and you'd still have part of an insect left over to squash.

Are there any estate sales or garage sales in your area where they're clearing out libraries or things from older people's stuff? That's where you could find a globe for less. Mind you, the countries' borders would probably be out of date.

 

[Smellincoffee]

An arm and six legs? So get two insects and you'd still have part of an insect left over to squash.

Are there any estate sales or garage sales in your area where they're clearing out libraries or things from older people's stuff? That's where you could find a globe for less. Mind you, the countries' borders would probably be out of date.

But that's the fun part. I long to find a globe with the Ottoman Empire. Best I've done is Rhodesia and the USSR.

 

[warpus]

An arm and six legs? So get two insects and you'd still have part of an insect left over to squash.

Are there any estate sales or garage sales in your area where they're clearing out libraries or things from older people's stuff? That's where you could find a globe for less. Mind you, the countries' borders would probably be out of date.

A coworker linked me to a globe they found at an estate sale, and it was old and antique looking, but it was a bit too damaged for my tastes.

I assume that one day I will come across the perfect globe for that room and it will just be.. destiny. Until then I have other things to focus on anyhow, I need to finish renovating upstairs and cleaning the main floor, also planing a trip to I think South Korea.

 

[Birdjaguar]

But that's the fun part. I long to find a globe with the Ottoman Empire. Best I've done is Rhodesia and the USSR.

You might consider a pre WW1 atlas. Keep it on a book stand even. They are full of old misinformation as well as outdated stuff.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I will have to pick your brain a bit if/when I decide to build this thing. I want to build it for myself, but if it ends up actually being good enough, it would make sense to open it up to the general public. But yeah, I'd want to see what sort of functionality it should have. I have my ideas for my own book collection, but I haven't exactly thought through all the details.

Feel free to drop a PM or tag me in a thread, whenever you're ready to brainstorm about it.

I haven't read Cyber Way yet, but once my bedroom is ready to go I will be finally sleeping at my place again, and that hopefully means reading a lot more. So I should be going through a lot more books per year than I currently do.

 

[dusters]

Gave my first lecture at national university (University of Latvia) on pedagogy regarding kids on the autistic spectrum disorder. I'm still a BA student, just that the Prof trusted me that I knew about autism more than her.

I prepared for this lecture for 3 weeks. Presentation was 29 slides long. After 70 minutes of talking I gave the audience ( 40 young teachers) a chance to ask questions and Q&A followed for 15 minutes.

I got an applause. It was yesterday at 2 PM and I still feel a bit exhausted. I guess my perfectionism got better of me. I really researched for long hours - both scientific up to date papers and Youtube videos from licensed doctors with big experience along with searching forums for people on the spectrum to see what are their problems in 2025.

My mom taught at Latvian Musical Academy for many years so it's in my genes how to give lectures. It's just that I wanted the first one to be a bit more special than all the others which might come after I finish MA eventually.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Gave my first lecture at national university (University of Latvia) on pedagogy regarding kids on the autistic spectrum disorder. I'm still a BA student, just that the Prof trusted me that I knew about autism more than her.

I prepared for this lecture for 3 weeks. Presentation was 29 slides long. After 70 minutes of talking I gave the audience ( 40 young teachers) a chance to ask questions and Q&A followed for 15 minutes.

I got an applause. It was yesterday at 2 PM and I still feel a bit exhausted. I guess my perfectionism got better of me. I really researched for long hours - both scientific up to date papers and Youtube videos from licensed doctors with big experience along with searching forums for people on the spectrum to see what are their problems in 2025.

My mom taught at Latvian Musical Academy for many years so it's in my genes how to give lectures. It's just that I wanted the first one to be a bit more special than all the others which might come after I finish MA eventually.

Congratulations!

 

[warpus]

You might consider a pre WW1 atlas. Keep it on a book stand even. They are full of old misinformation as well as outdated stuff.

I love stuff like this, thanks for the suggestion. I do have a Polish commie era historical atlas already. That book is what sparked my love of maps.. and history, probably.. and potentially inquisitive nature when it comes to the migration of peoples and linguistics.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The Gaskell's is my oldest, but I do have several others.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Flirting​

Dear Diary:

After boarding an uptown No. 1 on a Tuesday evening, I noticed a man in his 40s talking to two women of about the same age.

“Sorry, but I was eavesdropping,” he said. “Are you dancers?”
One of the women, it turned out, had performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The man said he had asked because his son loved to dance and had forced his reticent father to participate in more than a few TikTok videos.

“Do you have any shows coming up?” the man asked the dancer as his stop approached.
“Next Thursday,” she said, giving him the address of a studio in the West Village.

As the man hustled off the train, the dancer turned to her friend.
“He’s cute,” she said. “I hope he comes!”
“He was obviously flirting with you,” the friend said. “You should have asked him out.”
Two older women seated nearby leaned across the aisle.
“He was flirting,” one said. “Go ask that boy on a date!”

The dancer looked toward the doors, which were still open.
“Should I?” she said.
“Yes!” a whole group of us said.

A teenager reached an arm toward the closing doors to hold them open, and the dancer ran off the train.
We all craned our necks, watching as she caught up to the man midway down the platform.
The doors finally closed, and the train started to move. The man and the dancer were still talking. As we pulled away, she looked toward our car, flashed a wide grin and gave a thumbs-up.

— Zoe Menon