On Sunday evening, I rode out to the Port Lands area (of Toronto) to check out the new park that just (partially) opened up. Named Biidaasige Park (pronounced "bee-daw-si-geh"), it is the largest park to open in the city in many decades.

The first phase is just over 50 acres, and an additional 10 acres is planned to open next year. It houses 5,000+ trees, 77,000+ shrubs, and over two-million herbaceous plants. In terms of spaces, there are picnic areas, a playground with ziplines, off-leash dog parks, trails, and a pebble landing where you can launch "non-motorized personal watercraft." (Is it safe to swim?)

I was impressed when I rode through it. It's a huge quality of life upgrade for the city. But of course, what's most impressive is that the island it sits on (Ookwemin Minising) is the result of a $1.4 billion investment in flood protection. One that now unlocks the Port Lands area for development. That's up next.

After my ride, I did the customary things. I made a protein shake (sidebar: I recently added creatine to the mix), shared my ride to Strava, and then tweeted out this video. The tweet got reshared a few times and so I received a bunch of replies. And whenever this happens, which isn't often, I'm always a bit taken back by the type of comments. A lot of them are negative.

In this case, people commented on the lack of trees (see number of trees planted above), said it would be filled with tents in a week, and even remarked that it would soon be overrun with Indian people. I won't get into the specifics on this latter point, but there was more to it.

Now, I know that this is what happens on the internet. And I don't take any of it personally. I've also done my fair share of community meetings over the decades where I've had tomatoes thrown at me. But it always makes me think: Is this what is going on in people's heads as they go about their day?

To each their own, of course. But I am of the opinion that perspective matters. The world gives you what you give it. If you go about your day thinking negative thoughts, then eventually it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If, on the other hand, you show up with positivity, good things will happen to you.

Here's a silly example.

On my ride over on Sunday, I ended up beside a guy who was similarly suited up on a road bike. He was giving off the "I'm a serious and intimidating cyclist" vibe. So naturally, I decided to strike up a conversation with him. We then ended up shooting the shit all the way over to the park. I got back exactly what I put in.

All of this is not my area of expertise but I have been thinking recently about anonymity on the internet. I recognize that there are instances where this might be important; but broadly speaking, I don't think it's a good thing for our social fabric.

When you say bad things in real life, there are repercussions. You are accountable for your words and actions. And as a result, people tend to behave a certain way. That is not the case when you troll behind an anonymous account on the internet.

Toronto has a way of irreverently disregarding spring. Oftentimes we go from winter right into summer. And this past weekend was one of those magical times when summer just appeared and Torontonians far and wide decided to showcase their pasty bodies after a long and dark winter.

But now that the warm weather is upon us, it's important to keep in mind a few very important things. Don't ride an electric scooter. They're too dangerous. You might hit a car.

Make sure you use the washroom before leaving home. Most public washrooms aren't open yet because peeing season obviously hasn't started yet. I think it starts sometime in late May. Or maybe it's early June.

Purchase all of your alcohol beverages from the liquor control board. That's the safest way to do it. And whatever you do, don't consume said alcohol beverages in any of the city's public spaces. That is strictly forbidden.

If you have a backyard, that is an acceptable place to drink responsibly, or irresponsibly. But if you don't have a backyard, you're out of luck. I would encourage you to simply crack a window and linger next to it. But of course, be mindful not to get too close to it.

I don't know why we're so uptight about shit.

Back before the 2008 financial crisis, I did a short stint working for a real estate developer in Dublin, Ireland. 

Most of our projects were in Ireland, but our consultant teams were sometimes from all over.

One day we were having a meeting with our architect from Germany and we started talking about a particular project’s green space.

But this wasn’t the sort of green space that was supposed to be actively used. It was a green space that, I guess, you were just supposed to look at and admire for its greenness. 

So one of my Irish colleagues asked, while referencing the proposed design: “How are we going to keep people off the grass?”

Our German friends didn’t immediately appreciate the concern and responded with: “What do you mean?”

Irish: “How will we stop people from walking and hanging out on the grass?”

German with serious face: “Oh. We will put up a sign.”

At that point, every Irish person in the room just started laughing and more or less said: “Yeah, that’ll never work.”

Cultural differences can be subtle.

On Sunday evening, I rode out to the Port Lands area (of Toronto) to check out the new park that just (partially) opened up. Named Biidaasige Park (pronounced "bee-daw-si-geh"), it is the largest park to open in the city in many decades.

The first phase is just over 50 acres, and an additional 10 acres is planned to open next year. It houses 5,000+ trees, 77,000+ shrubs, and over two-million herbaceous plants. In terms of spaces, there are picnic areas, a playground with ziplines, off-leash dog parks, trails, and a pebble landing where you can launch "non-motorized personal watercraft." (Is it safe to swim?)

I was impressed when I rode through it. It's a huge quality of life upgrade for the city. But of course, what's most impressive is that the island it sits on (Ookwemin Minising) is the result of a $1.4 billion investment in flood protection. One that now unlocks the Port Lands area for development. That's up next.

After my ride, I did the customary things. I made a protein shake (sidebar: I recently added creatine to the mix), shared my ride to Strava, and then tweeted out this video. The tweet got reshared a few times and so I received a bunch of replies. And whenever this happens, which isn't often, I'm always a bit taken back by the type of comments. A lot of them are negative.

In this case, people commented on the lack of trees (see number of trees planted above), said it would be filled with tents in a week, and even remarked that it would soon be overrun with Indian people. I won't get into the specifics on this latter point, but there was more to it.

Now, I know that this is what happens on the internet. And I don't take any of it personally. I've also done my fair share of community meetings over the decades where I've had tomatoes thrown at me. But it always makes me think: Is this what is going on in people's heads as they go about their day?

To each their own, of course. But I am of the opinion that perspective matters. The world gives you what you give it. If you go about your day thinking negative thoughts, then eventually it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If, on the other hand, you show up with positivity, good things will happen to you.

Here's a silly example.

On my ride over on Sunday, I ended up beside a guy who was similarly suited up on a road bike. He was giving off the "I'm a serious and intimidating cyclist" vibe. So naturally, I decided to strike up a conversation with him. We then ended up shooting the shit all the way over to the park. I got back exactly what I put in.

All of this is not my area of expertise but I have been thinking recently about anonymity on the internet. I recognize that there are instances where this might be important; but broadly speaking, I don't think it's a good thing for our social fabric.

When you say bad things in real life, there are repercussions. You are accountable for your words and actions. And as a result, people tend to behave a certain way. That is not the case when you troll behind an anonymous account on the internet.

Toronto has a way of irreverently disregarding spring. Oftentimes we go from winter right into summer. And this past weekend was one of those magical times when summer just appeared and Torontonians far and wide decided to showcase their pasty bodies after a long and dark winter.

But now that the warm weather is upon us, it's important to keep in mind a few very important things. Don't ride an electric scooter. They're too dangerous. You might hit a car.

Make sure you use the washroom before leaving home. Most public washrooms aren't open yet because peeing season obviously hasn't started yet. I think it starts sometime in late May. Or maybe it's early June.

Purchase all of your alcohol beverages from the liquor control board. That's the safest way to do it. And whatever you do, don't consume said alcohol beverages in any of the city's public spaces. That is strictly forbidden.

If you have a backyard, that is an acceptable place to drink responsibly, or irresponsibly. But if you don't have a backyard, you're out of luck. I would encourage you to simply crack a window and linger next to it. But of course, be mindful not to get too close to it.

I don't know why we're so uptight about shit.

Back before the 2008 financial crisis, I did a short stint working for a real estate developer in Dublin, Ireland. 

Most of our projects were in Ireland, but our consultant teams were sometimes from all over.

One day we were having a meeting with our architect from Germany and we started talking about a particular project’s green space.

But this wasn’t the sort of green space that was supposed to be actively used. It was a green space that, I guess, you were just supposed to look at and admire for its greenness. 

So one of my Irish colleagues asked, while referencing the proposed design: “How are we going to keep people off the grass?”

Our German friends didn’t immediately appreciate the concern and responded with: “What do you mean?”

Irish: “How will we stop people from walking and hanging out on the grass?”

German with serious face: “Oh. We will put up a sign.”

At that point, every Irish person in the room just started laughing and more or less said: “Yeah, that’ll never work.”

Cultural differences can be subtle.