Notices by Joseph Szymborski :qcca: (jszym@cosocial.ca)

@evan I don't think voting should be compulsory, but I, at least in Canada, it should be made more accessible (even though I think it is pretty accessible today).

Election Day should be a mandatory holiday, voting polls should be more accessible, especially for our northern communities, and I like the Aussie's democracy sausage idea...

Getting to a poll shouldn't be a hassle, and wrestling the couple of hours from your employer to work shouldn't be your responsibility.

Mayor of #montreal Valérie Plante is not excluding the possibility of an #NDP leadership run.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/2025-04-30/chefferie-du-npd/valerie-plante-laisse-la-porte-ouverte.php

#cdnpoli #canada

@evan Same. If you've never read The City & The City by China Miéville, I highly recommend it. There are clear influences of it in Disco Elysium, AND I also recommend it to Montrealers because I feel like it hits an even deeper level for people who navigate our two solitudes.

I made a horribly hackey and quick election forecast model last night for #elxn45 and this is what I came up with.

It doesn't take into account demographic or candidate adjustments, and it's almost certainly underestimating NDP and GPC seats, but it backtests well 😅

I'll post some insights I've found over the course of the night, as well as updated projections as ridings get called.

Mute the thread or the #jszym_elxn45 hashtag to shut me up.

#canada #cdnpoli

@evan I don't think they _should_, but insofar as LLMs are used/incorporated, they should be local where and when possible.

@evan don't give them ideas! :P

@Ashedryden @evan I had the same infernal thoughts!

Habitez-vous à #Montréal ? Pensez-vous que la réforme du mode de scrutin et la représentation proportionnelle sont importantes? Voici une possibilité d'aider!

Je suis l'une des personnes qui aident à organiser une campagne d'affiches pour l'org "Représentation équitable au Canada" et nous avons besoin de votre aide!

Envoyez-moi un DM pour nous aider. Le #Québec n'obtient généralement pas autant de bénévoles. Changeons cela et apportons le RP au #Canada et au #Québec !

https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/action/election-2025-deliver-door-hangers-for-proportional-representation

@evan @paige I'll be there with bells on!

@evan I usually do both honestly. "Input must be a positive integer, received 0".

@evan hunetr2

@evan I believe in the first law of thermodynamics, which kinda means I believe in reincarnation if you squint. Sounds silly, but it brings me a lot of peace.

@evan I use my calendar as a to-do list for the most part. I put it in "Agenda" mode.

@evan imho the last few years have been a thorough rebuke of the "third way" more so than "liberal democracy". Politicians seem to be reacting like the two are inextricable, though.

@evan not unless an online prediction market starts taking bets on it, that is 😉

@evan Voting is a minimal, not ultimate, form of citizen engagement.

My traditional #elxn day jam.

https://youtu.be/GQhvipPqw9I

#USpol #elxn24 #politics #music

@evan I sometimes get the feeling there is an uncomfortable thought that I'm avoiding, it usually manifests as a general feeling of anxiety.

That's when I know I need to steel myself and look it in the face so I can understand _what_ is bothering me, _why_ it's bothering me, _whether_ it should bother me, and what action I can take to deal with it.

I'll have a sense of dread all day and the realize it's sometimes as silly as "I read a headline that didn't sit well with me".

@BeAware Just in case anyone else comes across this, I found the regex at the linked page didn't really match super well with the text of the page.

This is one that seems to make a lot more sense to me:

https://regex101.com/r/AxfeGg/1

@BeAware Thank you!!