The post Canada Day appeared first on Grand River Rocks Climbing Gym.

The post Canada Day appeared first on Grand River Rocks Climbing Gym.

Recently (yesterday?) I mentioned Woolwich's Double Whammy against citizens of Waterloo Region. While Waterloo and Cambridge are no slouches in the industrial pollution department I believe that little Woolwich Township is the double prize winner as in # 1  for worst polluted site i.e. Uniroyal/Lanxess in Elmira and they are also # 2  i.e. Safety-Kleen in Breslau. Now do keep in mind that while Safety-Kleen are and have been legally liable for the environmental state of their site, incoming PCBs and all, nevertheless it is my expectation that the bulk of the environmental discharges, emissions and general pigginess can be attributed to the owners of the site before them as mentioned in yesterday's post here.

Regarding Polysesouvient, the very active anti private firearms ownership lobby, I have to point out that there is a very solid rebuttal in today's K-W Record under Letters To The Editor by a Mr. Dennis Watson of Waterloo titled "Report not what it looks like".  He points out that the relevant RCMP 2024 report ignored 60% of the Canadian statistics as neither Ontario nor Quebec numbers were included. This is because unlike many of the other provinces these two provinces have their own municipal police forces in almost all communities/cities and  I believe that the O.P.P. covers the rest. Also for the provinces and locations where the RCMP are the only police force present, Mr. Watson states that "...a third of the guns recovered could not be traced,". Personally I must also add that here in Ontario both our biggest and most crime troubled city (Toronto)  has had their municipal police force go on the public record as saying that removing firearms from registered and licensed owners will not lessen crime. The Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) have also publicly said the same thing as well as suggesting that indeed the large majority of illegal firearms involved in crime in Ontario are smuggled here from the United States.

Getting back to dirty polluters let me advise readers of the following. In my younger days I travelled on foot extensively and sometimes took self guided tours of various regional contaminated sites.  Somehow I do not recall if I had written or verbal permission all the time although I do recall to Mr. Ron Stroh's credit he personally did give me permission on one occasion to tour his property on the immediate east side of Uniroyal/Lanxess .  It is truly amazing what an observant person can learn by walking a contaminated site. Also way back when Rich Clausi coined the phrase the "Full Aerial Response Team" (FART) when the Ministry of Environment demanded to know how we obtained photographs or possibly environmental samples of this and that.

I have seen first hand gross pollution on the Safety-Kleen site. I and everybody else has certainly smelled it over the decades. I have also obtained hydrogeological reports from decades ago describing the gross sub-surface pollution obviously caused by either spillage or dumping or both. I have a few months back sent data and pictures to relevant environmental researchers. I know how serious the ground and groundwater contamination has been and likely still is between the operating area and the Grand River. Much of this property was and maybe still is part of I believe the Forwell (gravel) Pit. I also have work connections decades ago to employees at Forwells. There was limited attempts at hydraulic containment of a very small part of the site decades ago in an attempt to keep the PCBs floating on top of the shallow aquifer (also known as LNAPLS) from migrating downgradient en masse to the Grand River.  

I expect yet another phony sham of an Environmental Assessment to "prove" exactly what the Region and Safety-Kleen want which is something giving the guilty parties the good housekeeping seal of approval. 

No I am not referring to any politicians in the first part of the title above.  That would be rude and disrespectful. Having said that how many people currently feel that there is anything wrong with being rude to Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and other dead @*+#heads? Not very many. Having said that how many people feel that there is anything wrong with being rude to the following living people namely Putin, Netanyahu, Trump etc.? Probably a lot more than you think.

Exactly how desperate are they for more water in Waterloo Region? The fools are so desperate that as was hinted at months ago they are considering reactivating contaminated wells that were shut down decades ago along the Grand River  at the south end of Kitchener and just north of Cambridge. To be specific we are talking about wells that are known as GUDI which stands for Groundwater Under Direct Influence of surface water. The surface water is conveniently located downgradient from the former Forsythe Oil and Breslube and is currently known as Safety-Kleen in Breslau.  Yes Breslau is right across the Grand River from Kitchener and is a fine example of how we do our remediation of contaminated soils and waters here in Woolwich Township. Yes this can be attributed to a very strong Conservative work ethic and ideology that diminishes and suborns  the importance of clean air, water and soils to the far more important padding of private parties bank accounts often at the cost of the public interest. 

Interestingly the article in today's K-W Record on page A3 by Bill Jackson refers to wells only on the west side of the Grand River. Now of course the wells' names and numbers are listed although at least a couple are missing. In fact who but me and long term Breslau locals plus consultants and well paid suits have any idea of how many wells are missing and which side of the Grand River they are on? Coincidentally (not) I am sure that the missing wells named K70 and K71 are on the east side of the Grand River.

Yes the east side putting them even closer to Safety-Kleen and ground and groundwater contamination from the former pigpens located there. That contamination includes the former "Black Lagoon" which does not refer to black gold (oil) as it is sometimes referred to in Texas.  Well actually maybe it does because also nearby was/is ? a former sub-surface pool of oil floating on the water table enriched with industry's finest Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). Now keep in mind the Grand River itself may somewhat block further westward flow of contaminated shallow aquifer water but it does not deter contaminant flow in deeper aquifers westward underneath the river. I expect that these other wells are screened into those deeper aquifers. 

Do not fuss citizens of Waterloo Region. Good Conservative ideology believes that not just a few but the many can have their thirst quenched by toxic groundwater diluted by both dozens and more other wells as well as by the river water and its' accompanying algae and odours. By the way instead of being honest about the gross contamination left by Forsythe and Breslube; the Region who shut all these wells down  35 to 45 years ago blamed the shutdown on algae and accompanying odour issues.

♦

The Ontario Soccer Board of Directors is comprised of twelve (12) Directors including a Chair and Vice-Chair, five (5) Regional Directors and five (5) Independent Directors, all elected by the Voting Members (District Associations) with support from the independent Nominations Committee of Ontario Soccer.

The Board of Directors do not duplicate the role of Ontario Soccer’s executive management; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is responsible for the day-to-day business of Ontario Soccer and the implementation of strategy and policies adopted by the Board of Directors.

Ontario Soccer is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse Board working environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity sports organization. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or disability.

The Nominations Committee is seeking qualified volunteer Board candidates who are able to contribute to soccer in Ontario that reflects the values of inclusiveness, respect, excellence, integrity, high ethical standards, community building and a focus on what is best for the game. If you have experience in the sport and a passion for quality soccer, the Nominations Committee encourages you to check out and share widely this opportunity to get involved.

The following positions are up for election in 2026:

• Vice Chair – 1 Vacancy – 3 Year Term
• Regional Director – West – 1 Vacancy – 3 Year Term
• Independent Director – 1 Vacancy – 3 Year Term
• Independent Director – 1 Vacancy – 3 Year Term

Note: As per Ontario Soccer By-laws, listed on the Governing Documents section of our website, please note the following sections:

• 5.3 Eligibility (page 13)
• 5.4 Qualifications (page 14)
• 5.5 Director’s Consent to Act (page 14)
• 8.5 Nominations Committee (Process) (page 21)

Candidates must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for only one (1) position on the Board of Directors (forms can be found HERE). To be eligible, candidates must submit a COMPLETE EOI application package consisting of the following five (5) mandatory items:

• Required Documents:
  1. Appendix A – Expression of Interest Form
  2. Appendix B – Skills and Competency Form
  3. Appendix C – Nomination Form (Note: Voting Members can nominate more than one candidate)
  4. Brief résumé (maximum two pages) outlining your soccer/sporting and professional/business background
  5. Reference letters or endorsement letters from at least two (2) individuals (not related to you) who have known you for a minimum of five (5) years
• Additional Documents:
  1. Self-Identification Form (voluntary)
  2. Police Record Check – Facilitated by Ontario Soccer, if required

Candidates EOI application package must be submitted through the online portal. All application forms can be found HERE. Please note that late applications will not be considered.

Additional information about By-Laws and processes for the election can be found on OntarioSoccer.net/elections.

If you have any questions about the EOI application package or the nominations process, please contact Elections@ontariosoccer.net.

The post Ontario Soccer appeared first on Capacity Canada.

After a slower start to the year, the Waterloo Region real estate market showed signs of renewed activity in May. Sales increased from 561 in April to 625 in May, reflecting a noticeable improvement in buyer engagement as we moved further into the spring market.

From our perspective, we are seeing more buyers booking showings, asking questions, and re-engaging with their home search. Earlier this year, many buyers appeared content to wait on the sidelines while they watched interest rates, economic conditions, and broader uncertainty unfold. Today, those same buyers seem more willing to engage.

That does not mean we have returned to the frenzied market conditions of a few years ago. Buyers remain thoughtful, selective, and value-conscious. However, there is a noticeable difference between the sentiment we were seeing earlier this year and what we are seeing today.

The market feels healthier. More balanced. And more active.

While sales activity improved month-over-month, the Waterloo Region housing market remains more balanced than the conditions we experienced in recent years.

Compared to May 2025, home sales were down 8.0%, average sale prices were down 5.7%, new listings were down 13.3%, and inventory declined 4.8%. Homes sold in an average of 23 days, slightly faster than last year.

While those year-over-year numbers may appear softer, they do not fully capture what is happening in today’s market. The more important story is that activity has continued to improve as we moved through the spring market, and buyers are becoming increasingly comfortable making purchasing decisions.

• 625 homes sold, down 8.0% year-over-year
• Average sale price: $745,909, down 5.7% year-over-year
• 1,442 new listings, down 13.3% year-over-year
• 4.0 months of inventory, down 4.8% year-over-year
• Average days on market: 23 days, down 4.2% year-over-year

Cornerstone Association of REALTORS®

The biggest takeaway from May was not pricing. It was activity.

Buyer activity improved, showing demand is still present in the Waterloo Region real estate market, even if buyers are taking a more cautious and analytical approach than they did during the peak years.

Average sale prices continue to vary significantly by property type, with detached homes continuing to outperform the townhouse, semi-detached, and condominium segment.

This is one of the most important themes in the current Waterloo Region housing market. Detached homes are seeing stronger demand, shorter selling timelines, and lower inventory levels, while the attached and condo market remains more price-sensitive.

Cornerstone Association of REALTORS®

One of the biggest shifts we noticed in May was that buyers seemed more willing to engage.

We are seeing strong showing activity on homes that are priced appropriately, presented well, and positioned correctly within the market. Buyers are still doing their homework, comparing options, and taking their time, but when they see value, they are acting.

In many cases, the difference between a home that generates strong activity and one that struggles comes down to pricing.

Today’s buyers are incredibly informed. They are comparing every home against competing listings, recent sales, property condition, location, layout, and overall value. As a result, strategic pricing remains one of the most important factors influencing a home’s success.

For sellers, this means the market is active, but it is not forgiving. Overpricing can quickly reduce momentum, while a well-prepared and well-positioned home can still attract serious buyer interest.

The detached housing segment continues to outperform the rest of the market.

In May, single-family homes saw 415 sales, down 3.7% year-over-year. The average sale price was $851,962, while the median sale price was $780,000. Detached homes sold in an average of 20 days and had 3.2 months of inventory.

These numbers show that detached homes remain the strongest segment of the Waterloo Region real estate market. Demand continues to be supported by lower inventory levels, shorter selling timelines, and continued buyer interest in properties that offer more space, privacy, and flexibility.

For sellers with detached homes, this is encouraging. However, pricing still matters. The homes performing best are those that are prepared properly, marketed effectively, and priced in line with current buyer expectations.

The townhouse, semi-detached, and condominium segment continues to face more challenges.

In May, this segment saw 210 sales, down 15.3% year-over-year. The average sale price was $536,328, while the median sale price was $549,950. Homes in this category took an average of 30 days to sell, with 5.4 months of inventory.

Buyers in this segment have more choice and greater negotiating power. This has contributed to longer selling timelines and increased price sensitivity.

The gap between detached homes and the townhouse/condo market remains one of the defining themes of today’s market. While detached homes continue to see stronger activity, attached and condominium properties require an even more careful pricing and marketing strategy to stand out.

For sellers, May’s market shows that buyer demand is still there, but buyers are approaching the market with more discipline.

The homes that are selling successfully are typically the ones that show well, are priced strategically, and are marketed properly from the start. In this market, presentation and exposure matter, but pricing is still the anchor.

A strong listing strategy should consider:

• Professional preparation before listing
• Accurate pricing based on current market conditions
• High-quality photography and marketing
• Strong online presentation
• Clear positioning against competing listings
• Skilled negotiation once interest is generated

This is not a market where sellers can rely on momentum alone. But it is a market where the right strategy can make a meaningful difference.

For buyers, today’s Waterloo Region housing market continues to offer more choice, more time, and more negotiating opportunity than we saw during the peak years of the market.

That said, desirable homes that are priced well can still move quickly. Detached homes, in particular, continue to see stronger demand and shorter timelines.

Buyers should be prepared, but not panicked. The current market gives buyers the opportunity to compare options, understand value, and make more informed decisions. However, when a strong property is priced appropriately, waiting too long can still mean missing out.

The biggest story in May was not pricing.

It was activity.

Buyers are engaging more than they were earlier this year. Showings are increasing. Sales are improving. And buyers and sellers appear to be becoming more aligned in their expectations.

This does not mean every home will sell quickly, nor does it mean we have returned to a seller’s market. Buyers remain selective and continue to focus heavily on value.

However, the Waterloo Region real estate market is moving in a more positive direction.

For sellers, success still comes down to preparation, presentation, pricing, exposure, and negotiation.

For buyers, today’s market continues to offer more choice, more time to make decisions, and greater negotiating opportunities than we have seen in several years.

If you are thinking about buying or selling in Waterloo Region, the right strategy depends on your property type, location, price point, and timing. A broad market update is helpful, but your next move should be based on what is happening in your specific segment of the market.

The post Waterloo Region Real Estate Market Update | June 2026 appeared first on Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent - The Deutschmann Team.

The Ontario government has passed legislation that will see the province appoint heads of councils in 8 municipalities after the upcoming municipal election this fall. These appointees will have strong Chair powers to deliver on the provincial mandate letters they receive from the government.

The government has indicated they are open to hearing from individuals that think they have the skills and seek to be appointed. However, there is no set of criteria to guide these decisions.

So the Chamber has engaged with our members through a number of our committees and our Board of Directors as well as in community conversations to develop a set of skills and experiences that prospective applicants should be measured against and that meet broad community expectations.

Attached is a letter that outlines the results of these broad consultations that was sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and copied to our local MPP’s.

Dear Minister Flack,
On behalf of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, I am writing regarding the Government of Ontario’s proposed changes to regional governance and the appointment of Regional Chairs.
We appreciate the government’s commitment to modernizing municipal governance structures to ensure municipalities can deliver services efficiently, respond to growth pressures, and meet the needs of residents and businesses. Strong local governments are essential to Ontario’s economic competitiveness, housing objectives, infrastructure delivery, and quality of life.
To inform our perspective, the Chamber engaged with a broad cross-section of our membership who represent employers, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and stakeholders from across Waterloo Region. While views on the specifics of regional reform vary, there is strong consensus on the qualities that should guide future appointments.

We note with appreciation the service of current Regional Chair Karen Redman, and offer the following not as commentary on any individual, but as a forward-looking reflection of what our members believe the role will demand in the years ahead.
The business community would encourage the government to prioritize candidates who demonstrate the following:

Strong Local Experience and Understanding Regional Chairs should have a deep familiarity with the communities they serve — local economic drivers, growth pressures, infrastructure priorities, and the relationships between lower-tier municipalities and regional government. This grounding is essential to effective leadership.

Independence from Current Elected Office Many members expressed the view that appointed Regional Chairs should not simultaneously hold elected municipal office. Serving in both capacities can create real or perceived conflicts between local and regional interests. An independent Chair is better positioned to act on behalf of the region as a whole.

Senior Executive Leadership Experience Modern regional governments are large and complex organizations. Members consistently identified the importance of CEO-level experience — including strategic planning, financial oversight, organizational management, and the ability to lead through complexity and change.

A Proven Track Record of Driving Results Ontario’s regions face significant challenges in housing, infrastructure, transportation, and service delivery. Effective leadership will require individuals comfortable with change, skilled at building consensus, and experienced in implementing solutions in complex environments.

Sound Judgment on Large and Consequential Issues Regional governments manage some of the most significant public policy files in the province. The ideal Chair should have demonstrated experience balancing competing interests, making evidence-based decisions, and advancing long-term community outcomes over short-term considerations.

Pragmatic, Outcomes-Focused Leadership The business community values practical problem-solvers over ideologues — leaders who focus on results, apply sound judgment, and find workable solutions that serve the public interest.

Understanding of Municipal Governance and Public Administration Executive experience must be paired with literacy in how municipal governments operate — including relevant legislation, governance processes, and the realities of working within a multi-government environment. The understanding could come from being previously elected or knowledge developed from other experiences.

Minister, Waterloo Region is one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most economically dynamic communities. The leadership chosen to guide the regional government through its next chapter will shape our competitiveness, housing supply, infrastructure readiness, and quality of life for years to come.

We appreciate the government’s willingness to pursue meaningful governance reform and welcome the opportunity to discuss these perspectives further. Our intent is to support the appointment of leaders who can help regions function effectively, foster intergovernmental collaboration, and advance the long-term interests of residents and businesses across Ontario.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Ian McLean
President and CEO
Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce

Cc.
The Hon. Mike Harris, MPP for Kitchener Conestogo
Aislinn Clancy, MPP for Kitchener Centre
Jess Dixon, MPP for Kitchener South Hespeler
Catherine Fife, MPP for Waterloo
MPP Brian Riddell, MPP for Cambridge

We look forward to working with all of our partners to ensure that the important work is underway at all three levels of government so that Waterloo Region will be a successful community as we grow to a community of one million. 

The post Letter to Minister of Municipal Affairs – Regional Chair skills appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

♦

It has become a classic tale from a few years ago when you talk to restaurateurs: a new restaurant opens – and then almost immediately Covid-19 hits.

“We developed the Aiana concept, and we set our opening date. Literally the next week was when the pandemic hit. So for our first two years, it was open, close, open, close, like switching multiple teams, everything. And crazy,” says Aiana chef-owner Raghav Chaudhary.

Since then, Aiana has refined and honed its concept and the way it cooks, but Chaudhary and team, he says, stayed true to their values when it comes to the classic tasting menu.

“It forced to me to learn and helped with the way we work with the products and just get a better understanding of the entire process — though we have always focussed on our tasting menu.”

Aiana goes through a few menu changes throughout the seasons where they highlight the produce of the moment and sourcing from premium producers and ones as local as they can find.

I had a chance to return to the O’Connor Street restaurant to venture into the spring menu — “Wildflowers and Wine,” an eight-course tasting experience. It was delicious and intriguing and obviously celebrates spring and the first growth.

For Chaudhary, that’s “the baby growth.”

“I get a lot of inspiration from the land and terroir of Canada. Just drive in the countryside and the greenbelt and all the wildflowers are there. It’s just such a colourful time. We’ve tried to incorporate that.”

Bison tartare is Middle Eastern inspired and prepared in-house and seasoned with zhoug, a chimichurri-like Yemeni green sauce created from charred jalapenos, limes and cilantro oil that is folded into pine nuts and pistachio.

The emerald caviar is the excellent product from Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar of St. John, NB, along with smoked belly for a pâté featuring sour cream, chives and lemon. It’s mighty satisfying.

The menu I enjoyed also featured Italian summer truffles and a more humble local dish — but quite tasty — focussed on corn in the form of a half-dozen or so variations.

The influences and inspiration from around the world blend with the local, what Chaudhary describes as multicultural touches throughout the menu representing the cultures of Canada.

Muscovy duck, dried for three days, is inspired by his visit to Eight Tables San Francisco, its crispy skin accented with orange, thyme garlic and garlic accompanied by a taro croquette with a Dijonnaise for some gentle heat. The plate includes cauliflower puree and nasturtium for pepperiness.

The maple and pine season now at end, crème brûlée includes toasted marshmallow redolent of a “springtime campfire,” he says, with pine buds and a tuile of burnt maple sugar. It captured the season.

“We have our compressed strawberries in maple syrup,” Chaudhary adds. “We’re saving all that compressed strawberry maple liquid for our next menu, and we have ordered green strawberries for a green-strawberry summer salad as a dessert.”

Sounds interesting too. Just like the birch ice cream made in-house and which is served with a dessert cocktail made with cedar tea locally foraged.

Wines at Aiana are interesting, unique pairings that I found quite satisfying and offering different flavour profiles — that is the purview of sommelier Robert Lemieux.

“Wine at the table is like an extra ingredient. It will add to the dining experience created by the chef by complementing or contrasting the flavours and aromas coming from the plate,” according to Lemieux.

Five or so years in, look to Aiana for a fine dining experience that evolves as the seasons do, Chaudhary says.

“We’re planning on doing a slight menu switch for the first week of summer. That will be about July 23,” says Chaudhary. “Not a 100% flip, but three or four dishes. We’ll change to create a new feeling as we move with the seasons.”

Check out my latest post Aiana Ottawa and seasonal tasting menus from AndrewCoppolino.com.

Indexes are the cheat codes of databases. Pick the wrong one and your queries crawl. Pick the right one, and billions of rows feel instant. Let’s break down the three you actually need.

The Workhorse 🐎

If databases were kitchens, B-Trees would be the chef’s knife, used for almost everything.

Imagine a library with a billion books. A regular binary search tree gives each node exactly two children. Efficient, but shallow trees don’t exist; you’d need to walk through ~30 levels to find anything. Now imagine a tree where each node holds dozens of keys and can have dozens of children. That’s a B-Tree: wide, short, and built to minimize the expensive round-trips to disk.

B-Trees enforce a rule: every node must hold at least a minimum number of keys. When a node fills up, it splits and promotes a key to the parent. This keeps the tree balanced automatically, no matter how chaotically you insert or delete data.

Who Uses B-Tree Indexes?

Pretty much every major database on the planet. Here’s what’s running on B-Trees right now.

⚡ B-Tree vs B+ Tree — Quick Note

Most databases actually use a B+ Tree: a variant where all data lives in leaf nodes, and leaf nodes are linked together. This makes range scans blazing fast — once you find the start of a range, you just walk the linked list. No going back up the tree.

B-Tree indexes shine on equality lookups (WHERE id = 42), range queries (WHERE age BETWEEN 20 AND 30), and sorting (ORDER BY created_at). If you're building anything with a relational database and aren't sure what index to use, start here.

How does Google find your query in 0.3 seconds across the entire internet?

A B-Tree can tell you “find the row where id = 500" extremely fast. But what about "find every document that contains the word quantum"? Running that query by scanning billions of documents one-by-one would take hours. The Inverted Index flips the problem entirely.

🧠 The Mental Model

Think of the index at the back of a textbook. You don’t re-read the whole book to find where “photosynthesis” appears, you look it up in the index and it tells you exactly which pages. An inverted index is that, but for every word in every document.

Instead of storing “document → words it contains,” an inverted index stores “word → documents that contain it.” For each term it also tracks how often the word appears and exactly where (position), which powers relevance ranking.

To search for “database index”, the engine just looks up both terms and finds the intersection of their document lists. No scanning. No looping. Pure lookup.

Who Uses Inverted Indexes?

Find Me the Nearest Coffee ☕

The math that powers “restaurants near you,” ride-sharing, and delivery apps.

Latitude and longitude are just numbers, so why can’t a regular B-Tree handle location queries? Because proximity in 2D space isn’t a simple “greater than / less than” comparison. A location that’s numerically close in one coordinate might be geographically far away.

Geospatial indexes solve this by using spatial data structures, such as R-Trees and QuadTrees, that represent 2D space. They let databases answer “find all points within 5km of this coordinate” in milliseconds, even across millions of locations.

Want the Deep Dive?

Geospatial indexing is a meaty topic — R-Trees, QuadTrees, PostGIS, bounding boxes, the Haversine formula… I’ve covered it in a dedicated post with visuals and real-world examples.

Read the Full Geospatial Index Post →

Choosing the right index depends entirely on your data access patterns:

1. Use B-Trees for standard relational queries, exact matches, and sorted ranges.
2. Use Inverted Indexes when you need powerful full-text search engine capabilities across massive text documents.
3. Use Geospatial Indexes when your application relies heavily on location-based, two-dimensional coordinate tracking.

Top 3 database Indexes every engineer should know was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

♦

KITCHENER - The Kitchener Panthers are proud to announce the signing of utility man Noah Boughton.

The dual citizen of Canada and the United States spent 2025 with Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where he hit .283 in 40 games, including five home runs and 23 RBI.

Previously, he played collegiately at Dallas Baptist University in 2023 and Lipscomb in 2024.

In the summer of 2023, he played 40 games with Edmonton (West Coast League) where he hit .295 and had a .379 on-base-percentage.

"I'm really excited to add Noah to our roster," said general manager Shanif Hirani.

"He provides a lot of versatility defensively and has the hitter profile of someone I was looking for. He's had multiple years of having more walks than strikeouts against high level pitching."

============

NOAH BOUGHTON

• Bats/Pitches: L/R
• Hometown: Colleyville, TX
• Birthdate: October 15, 2001
• Pronunciation: NO-uh // b-OWW-ton

A tool that parses emails by enhancing the Python standard library, extracting all details into a comprehensive object.

Python 444 Updated Jun 11

structured outputs for llms

Python 13.2k 2 issues need help Updated Jun 15

Python port of Google's libphonenumber

Python 3.8k Updated Jun 5

“I can’t ask people for money.”
“I don’t want to ask my friends…
what if they say no?”
“Isn’t that the fundraiser’s job?”

If you’ve ever heard (or thought) these things as a board member, you’re not alone. In fact, discomfort with fundraising is one of the most common barriers to building a strong, sustainable organization.

But here’s the reality: in today’s climate of funding uncertainty, fundraising is no longer something a board can “delegate and forget.” It’s a shared responsibility—and a powerful opportunity.

There was a time when hiring a fundraising professional meant a board could check the box and move on. Not anymore.

Today, financial sustainability depends on a whole-of-organization approach, and the board plays a critical role. Board members bring networks, credibility, and influence—assets no staff team can replicate on their own.

The challenge? Most board members weren’t recruited with fundraising in mind.

That’s why reframing the role is essential.

When people think of fundraising, they often imagine the moment of asking for money. But that’s just one small part of a much larger process: the donor cycle.

There are many ways for board members to contribute—often in ways that feel natural and comfortable:

• Identifying potential supporters: Who in your network might care about the organization’s mission?
• Making introductions: Inviting a colleague to a tour, a talk, or a meeting.
• Building relationships: Helping create trust and awareness over time.
• Participating in asks: Joining staff when the moment is right.
• Stewardship: Thanking donors and strengthening ongoing relationships.

Not every board member needs to do everything. The key is finding the role that fits.

Many board members underestimate the reach of their own networks.

You don’t have to ask your closest friends for money. Often, your greatest impact comes from simply opening doors—introducing people, creating opportunities for connection, or sharing the organization’s story.

A speaking opportunity at your Rotary Club.
An introduction at a staff meeting.
A casual conversation that sparks interest.

These moments build the foundation for future support.

Fundraising is fundamentally about relationships.

Rarely does someone make a significant gift after a single conversation. It takes time—multiple touchpoints, growing trust, and a deepening understanding of the organization’s impact.

Board members play a crucial role here. Your credibility and connections help build that trust in ways staff alone cannot.

And when the time comes for an “ask,” you’re not starting from scratch—you’re building on a relationship.

One common fear is: What if I don’t know all the details?

The good news: you don’t need to.

In fundraising meetings, staff bring subject-matter expertise. Your role is different—you’re there as a passionate advocate, someone who believes in the work and can speak authentically about why it matters.

That’s often what resonates most.

If there’s one place where almost every board member feels comfortable, it’s stewardship.

A thank-you call.
A handwritten note.
A simple expression of appreciation.

These small acts make a big difference—and they strengthen the relationships that sustain organizations over time.

Let’s name it: fundraising can feel uncomfortable.

But that discomfort is natural—and manageable. Here are a few simple ways to build confidence:

• Remember your purpose: You’re not asking for yourself—you’re inviting others to support something meaningful.
• Focus on relationships, not transactions: Most interactions are about connection, not asking.
• Be authentic: Share why you believe in the organization.
• Practice: Confidence grows with experience—especially when working alongside others.
• Prepare well: Good briefing materials and clear goals make a huge difference.
• Be yourself: You don’t need a script—just sincerity.

Fundraising isn’t about pressure or persuasion. It’s about connection, belief, and shared purpose.

For board members, it’s not an extra burden—it’s an opportunity to amplify impact.

And when boards fully engage in fundraising, organizations don’t just survive—they thrive.

♦Rob Donelson, Executive in Residence, Capacity Canada

Email: rob@capacitycanada.ca

The post Fundraising? “I Didn’t Sign Up for That.” appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Selling in a slow market? Yes, that’s still happening, even though our May figures were 27% below the 11 year average for sales volume, in part due to waning investor sentiment. A slow month or not, the usual factors are still very much in play in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge: marriages and divorces, downsizing, moving nearer to family, and of course, climbing the property ladder.

With a balanced 4.0 months of inventory currently available across Waterloo Region, homes are still trading hands every single day and executing a successful sale follows a relatively straightforward path. If you are thinking of selling right now, here is the playbook you need to follow..

Control What You Can (Presentation is Everything)

Sellers, you need to get your property looking as good as you possibly can. In a slow market you’re competing against months of inventory on our local MLS.

Start by getting your home clean and spotless. Fix all those little things that have been on the to-do list for years. In some cases, painting and even relatively low-cost measures like new flooring or fresh landscaping might be necessary. An ideal presentation can require professional staging.

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Once these tasks are checked off you’ll want a very competent AV person to shoot stills and video. I like the camera so I’ll usually include a narrated video with yours truly introducing the property. These days a 3d rendering such as Matterport or iGUIDE is a given for larger or prestigious properties. Drones are great as well, but aren’t quite as important as the other media types.

Price It Right (Data Doesn’t Lie)

Now that your home is shipshape where do you price it? Do you have a price in mind? Is it accurate or way off the mark? Having this conversation with my sellers I really do try be as objective as possible. Data doesn’t really lie, does it? Using it to support a case for a particular price point removes much of the subjective feelings sellers often have about their homes.

One thing I’ve observed over a decade in the business is the fact that over-pricing kills activity quicker than you can blink. Buyers these days are cautious and well informed and have a far bit of selection to choose from. If your agent is good and thinks you should be priced lower that what you’d like he should provide lots of comparables for you to look at to help inform the process.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, your home is a commodity (even though you love it) that will be actively compared with others on the local market. It isn’t personal, it’s just business.

It isn’t rocket science, either. If your home looks average, it will get an average price. And if you over-price you’re dead. But pricing it right, the better you can make your home look relative to its peers, the more money buyers will ultimately be willing to pay you!

Want to know what your home is worth in today’s Waterloo Region market?

Markets change, but strategy wins. Let’s sit down, look at the local data together, and build a plan to get your home sold. Contact me today for a complimentary market evaluation.

The post Selling in a Slow Market? Here’s How to Win in Waterloo Region appeared first on Andrew Shackleton.

A month back, I realized my AI usage was getting out of hand, and that was draining more than just my tokens. After juggling 5 tasks at a time, end of the workday, I would still feel *I* didn’t do anything. Because technically it wasn’t me who was doing the tasks. By outsourcing work, I had lost the ability to track my own progress. I was stuck with one question:

Am I still learning?

AI promised to make me twice as productive. It did. It also made me twice as exhausted. My workplace feels like a simulation. Everyone seems to know about some new AI capability, and it is becoming impossible to catch up. We are constantly chasing the next new AI capability, in the race to become faster and better. Irony is, by using AI, we know everything and nothing at the same time.

I cannot trust any message, email, or document for its authenticity because there’s no way to know whether it’s the expertise of the author or AI — and that scares me and leads me to fact-check everything meticulously because AI gets things “almost right”. It might increase speed, efficiency, and quality, but the mental fatigue has also increased.

The side effects of being “tech savvy” today are not limited to mental exhaustion. Studies indicate that excessive use of AI might result in cognitive atrophy. A study by MIT found that the control group using LLM for a given task had reduced neural connectivity, indicating a decline in learning skills.

Instead of moving towards a utopian tech-savvy world, we’ve entered a dystopian reality where we are racking up cognitive debt — a price we’ll pay tomorrow for the mental shortcuts we take today. I got so used to offloading tasks to AI and having someone just do stuff for me that I am convinced my patience has gone to shit. I am also convinced people using AI will not have the patience to wait in line for 20 mins after the next 20 months.

AI is going to transform our lives and jobs; there’s no running away from it. But we have the control to define its role in our lives. Here’s what I used to prevent cognitive debt from using AI:

If you want to finish a task and just hand it over, you can let AI do the heavy lifting. But if you want to be learning (and growing), you need to draw a line between thinking and implementation. AI can save you time by doing repeated grunt work, and you can use the saved time doing brainstorming, designing, and learning. AI should be a collaborator, not the sole contributor.

When you hand over an entire project to AI, you lose the narrative of your own project. Before you think of a prompt, sketch out your own design, map the milestones, and build a foundational framework. Use AI to execute your vision, not to invent it for you.

Don’t ask AI to build a masterpiece in one giant prompt. It will hallucinate. You will be frustrated. Instead, treat the process as a relay race. Let AI generate a base layer, save the progress, and manually build on top of it. It keeps you actively engaged in the design of the project.

With AI, there’s no natural stopping point. You can always refine one more time, ask one more follow-up, generate one more variation. This open-endedness is another unique brand of mental exhaustion. Tame your inner perfectionist. If an AI output is 80% there, stop prompting. Step in, grab the keyboard, and manually edit the rest to your liking.

My parents figured out college assignments without Google. Future generations won’t be able to imagine life without AI. The transformation is already here, and it’s not waiting for us to catch up. It is up to us how much of ourselves we offload to it.

In the race for efficiency, let’s make sure we don’t automate away our intelligence.

Originally published by author at avgupt.substack.com.

Adulting Era | Avishi | Substack

Productivity Paradox of using AI was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

♦

North York Arts (NYA) is a non-profit, charitable organization created to uplift and expand the arts across all seven wards of North York by investing in artists, inspiring community members, and collaborating with partners and businesses.

For 15 years, NYA has built a strong audience of more than 230,000 attendees and participants to arts events and programs in the region. We serve the broader public with a focus on youth, families, seniors, newcomer communities and Neighbourhood Improvement Areas as well as serving the arts community through local artists and arts organizations.

NYA is one of six Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs) whose purpose is to deliver on the City of Toronto’s social, economic and cultural goals outside of the downtown core. As such, we collaborate with City Councillors, the Economic Development and Culture division, and various community stakeholders.

New Board members will be supported by current Board members to help ease the transition into this leadership role. Participation on the Board is voluntary and there is no remuneration for service. See below for detailed information on the roles and responsibilities for Board members.

The volunteer Board of Directors provides strategic leadership and governance, establishes policy, oversees the operations and financial performance of NYA and assesses the Board’s own effectiveness.

Our Board members serve on several committees, including Finance & Audit, Fundraising, Nominations & Governance, and Marketing.

The Nominations & Governance Committee is interested in adding three (3) new members for the following commitment:

• Ideally, a minimum of three 1-year terms, with the first term beginning in September 2026.
• Expected to attend 7 Board meetings each year, including the June Annual General Meeting.
• Able to commit the time and resources to serve on the Board and on one Board committee, and to represent NYA as requested.
• Expected time commitment is approx. 3-5 hours per month.

The Nominations & Governance Committee is particularly interested in candidates with the following knowledge and expertise who either live or work in the City of Toronto, ideally in North York:

• Human Resources
• Public relations, media, and communications.
• Arts & Culture sector: management/industry experience / strategic partnerships
• Fundraising and corporate sponsorship.

• Commitment to NYA’s Vision and Values and an appreciation for the arts.
• Personal commitment to devote the time necessary to perform the responsibilities of a Board and Committee member.
• Strong communication and collaborative skills.
• Previous non-profit board experience is an asset.

• Please submit a cover letter and your resume/CV by Sunday, June 21, 2026 to board@northyorkarts.org
• All applicants must submit a cover letter and resume/CV to be considered for the position.

• All cover letters and resume/CV’s will be reviewed by the Nominations & Governance Committee to be selected for an interview.
• The Committee will then make recommendations for each open position to the Board.
• The Board will review the recommendations and then motion for selection.

NYA aligns with the City of Toronto’s commitment to being an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve.

We thank all applicants in advance, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviews may be conducted throughout the posting period. However, no offers will be made until after the application deadline.

The post NORTH YORK ARTS appeared first on Capacity Canada.

I mean their names are different but that could be either shame at each other's last name or could they be brothers from a different father? It's very difficult to understand when one is dealing with similar types of ignorant behaviours much less different ones. For example without reference to any evidence whether documentation, examination or cross-examination Justice Reilly in his 86 page decision found all seven of my witnesses to be unreliable and inaccurate on the stand. Justice Craig Parry on the other hand dismissed over fourty witnesses for the prosecution (all women) in the Jeffery Sloka case advising that their testimony was unreliable and sometimes worse. 

Well you have to give the award for brass and nerve and stupidity to Justice Craig Parry I guess. Also in my case Justice Robert Reilly dismissed both men and women whereas Justice Parry was more consistent in his gender dismissals. Oh but maybe that's because he doesn't like examining male genitals as much as he does female ones hence there weren't any male complainants or witnesses to his behaviour. Regardless I accuse Justice Reilly of being a piker and only second best in the stupidity and corruption games played in our courts here in Waterloo Region. Both of them are a#@*holes and who nominates and appoints these @#*holes to judgeships in the first place? It's politicians if you can believe it. No surprise there.

Today's K-W Record article by Luisa D'Amato (Pg. A3) refers to the rally organizer as stating that our justice system is one of the "...broken systems that deny our humanity." Truer words were never spoken. I have long stated that our justice system is tainted, biased and grossly user unfriendly for normal citizens. It is however a playground for the wealthy and entitled to reinforce their positions of wealth and power. It is generally beloved by school boards (WRDSB) and municipalities including Woolwich Township. Those bodies have no qualms about spending money on legal fees to your and my (taxpayers) last nickel.

Let us not also forget how our local courts embraced two of our local politicians after they both were caught in a series of errors, mistakes, on purposes? and behaviour contrary to the provincial legislation known as the Municipal Elections Act (MEA) back in 2015-2017.  In Mark Bauman's case the Motion restoring him to his council seat was given by a local judge "ex parte". Do you know what that means? The MEA ordered his removal from office for failing to file any Financial Reports after the 2014 municipal election much less about three elections prior to that. "Ex parte" means without any other party which means yours truly the complainant was not even advised by the courts or anyone that Mark was attending court to get his council seat back. As Rich Clausi later suggested, in sports, that would be akin to throwing the game by having the opposing team not allowed to attend the proceedings. Mayor Shantz also got off after among other tricks misstating to the Judge the timing of giving her "updated" Financial Report to me and some others.  I too was the complainant on that case. Her lawyer even threatened me prior to court that if I attended he would bring up the earlier Justice Robert Reilly decision against me. I attended on my own time and had to ask for permission to speak against Ms. Shantz's position which was grudgingly at best permitted albeit to no avail. Apparently, surprise surprise, sitting politicians (similar to police officers) are given huge leeway and the benefit of the doubt as a matter of course. Oh and her lawyer besides had actually tried to bluff and intimidate me to not attend court and give testimony. While I find that grossly unethical behaviour I don't know if it's illegal.    

Musy, S. L., Purtschert, R., Sturchio, N. C., Heraty, L. J., Mueller, P., Lantis, J., Bishof, M. N., Vockenhuber, C., Date, A., Mayer, B., & Yokochi, R. (2026). Diffusion-Controlled Solute and Isotope Transport in the Milk River Aquifer System, Alberta, Canada: Implications for Dating Old Groundwater. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 10(5), 1291–1309. doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00397

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

“Numerical simulations implemented in HydroGeoSphere explicitly represent advection, dispersion, diffusion, and radioactive decay, and explore parameter uncertainty through Monte Carlo analyses. Comparison of observed and simulated tracer–tracer and tracer–distance relationships allows us to quantify diffusion-induced dilution of ³⁶Cl, evaluate the potential bias in ⁸¹Kr-derived residence times, and delineate the conditions under which each tracer yields robust age information. This combined observational–modeling framework enables us to (i) quantify diffusion-controlled solute exchange, (ii) reassess long-standing interpretations of ³⁶Cl systematics in the Milk River Aquifer, and (iii) evaluate the robustness of ⁸¹Kr as a chronometer for very old groundwater in regional aquifers affected by long-term diffusive exchange.”

Abstract Image.

We’re pleased to highlight this recent publication by Stephanie L. Musy and colleagues, which investigates how diffusion-controlled solute transport influences groundwater age interpretations in the Milk River Aquifer (MRA), a transboundary aquifer system spanning southern Alberta and northern Montana. The study combines multiple environmental tracers, including krypton-81 (⁸¹Kr), chlorine-36 (³⁶Cl), stable chlorine isotopes (³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl), and radiocarbon (¹⁴C), with HydroGeoSphere (HGS) simulations to better understand groundwater residence times and the processes controlling tracer distributions in old groundwater systems.

Determining the age of fossil groundwater is critical for managing non-renewable groundwater resources, particularly in semi-arid regions where recharge rates are low and groundwater withdrawals often exceed replenishment. Historically, groundwater age estimates in the Milk River Aquifer have relied heavily on chlorine-36 (³⁶Cl), but previous studies suggested that diffusion of chloride from surrounding shale aquitards may significantly influence tracer concentrations and bias age interpretations. While isotope measurements alone provided evidence of this process, a quantitative assessment of diffusion-controlled transport and its impact on groundwater dating remained unresolved.

To address these challenges, the researchers developed a two-dimensional HydroGeoSphere (HGS) model capable of simulating groundwater flow, advection, dispersion, diffusion, radioactive decay, and isotope transport within the aquifer–aquitard system. The model incorporated newly collected isotope data and was used to evaluate how diffusive exchange between the aquifer and surrounding shale formations affects tracer behavior over timescales approaching one million years. Monte Carlo simulations were also performed to assess uncertainty and identify the most influential transport processes controlling groundwater age estimates.

Results demonstrated that chloride-rich water diffusing from adjacent shale aquitards is the dominant control on observed ³⁶Cl/³⁵Cl ratios throughout the aquifer. The simulations successfully reproduced the measured decline in ³⁶Cl/³⁵Cl ratios and the corresponding increase in stable chlorine isotope values (δ³⁷Cl) along regional groundwater flow paths. Importantly, the study found that most of the apparent age signal recorded by chlorine-36 reflects chloride addition through diffusion rather than radioactive decay. As a result, groundwater ages derived solely from ³⁶Cl may significantly overestimate actual residence times in systems affected by long-term aquitard exchange.

Fig. 6. Comparison of modeled and observed ³⁶Cl/Cl and ⁸¹Kr behavior in (a) activity–activity space and (b) apparent piston-flow age–age space. Observations include propagated analytical uncertainties. The blue dashed line represents the piston-flow reference corresponding to the diffusion-free simulation. The black dot-dashed line shows the extended model trend derived from the HGS ensemble simulations. In panel a, the ensemble mean relationship was extrapolated to lower activities using a log–log linear regression fitted to the simulated tracer activities. In panel b, a generalized additive model fitted in log–log space was used to represent the nonlinear relationship between apparent ages, and the resulting trend was converted to apparent ages using isotope-specific decay equations.

In contrast, krypton-81 (⁸¹1Kr) proved far less sensitive to diffusion-controlled transport processes. HydroGeoSphere simulations showed that while diffusion contributed substantially to changes in chlorine isotope systematics, its effect on⁸¹Kr concentrations was comparatively minor. This finding confirms that ⁸¹Kr provides a more robust and reliable tracer for dating fossil groundwater in the Milk River Aquifer and similar sedimentary basin systems where aquifer–aquitard exchange occurs over geological timescales.

HydroGeoSphere was essential to this research because it enabled the explicit simulation of coupled groundwater flow and isotope transport processes, including advection, diffusion, dispersion, and radioactive decay within a fully integrated framework. By linking field observations with process-based numerical modeling, the researchers were able to quantify the role of matrix diffusion, reconcile long-standing discrepancies between tracer-based and hydraulic age estimates, and improve understanding of groundwater evolution in one of North America’s most important fossil groundwater resources.

This work highlights the importance of integrated hydrologic and transport modeling when interpreting environmental tracer data and demonstrates how HydroGeoSphere can help improve groundwater age assessments in complex aquifer systems. The findings provide valuable guidance for managing long-lived groundwater resources and support the development of more reliable approaches for evaluating groundwater sustainability in sedimentary basins worldwide.

Abstract:

Krypton-81 (⁸¹Kr) and chlorine-36 (³⁶Cl) are among the few isotopic tracers capable of constraining groundwater residence times on 10⁵–10⁶ year timescales. In sedimentary aquifer systems bounded by low-permeability units, however, diffusive solute exchange can strongly modify tracer distributions and bias apparent ages derived from concentration ratios. In the transboundary Milk River Aquifer (MRA), progressive chloride enrichment caused by diffusion across shale aquitards complicates the interpretation of ³⁶Cl/Cl as a chronometer. Here, we combine new measurements of ⁸¹Kr, ³⁶Cl, stable chlorine isotopes (³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl)), and ¹⁴C with advection–diffusion transport modeling to quantify the importance of matrix diffusion on tracer systematics and inferred groundwater ages. The simulations reproduce the observed decrease in ³⁶Cl/Cl and concomitant increase in δ³⁷Cl along regional flow paths, demonstrating that diffusive influx of Cl-rich aquitard water dominates the evolution of the chlorine isotope system. In contrast, modeled and observed ⁸¹Kr activities show substantially lower sensitivity to diffusive exchange over the timescales considered. A comparison of simulated and measured tracer relationships indicates that, in the MRA, apparent ages derived from ³⁶Cl primarily reflect chloride addition rather than radioactive decay, whereas ⁸¹Kr provides a more robust and conservative chronometer for fossil groundwater. These results highlight the value of integrating stable and radioactive chlorine isotopes with noble gas dating and explicit transport modeling to disentangle decay from transport effects. The approach developed here provides a quantitative framework for interpreting multitracer data sets in regional aquifers affected by long-term diffusive exchange and has broader implications for assessing fossil groundwater resources in similar hydrogeological settings.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

On the third week of my internship, I noticed something strange.

Every morning, one intern from our batch was already online before everyone else.

By late evening, he was still active.

Whenever a manager asked for help, he immediately volunteered.

Whenever a teammate mentioned a problem, he jumped into the discussion.

His Slack status almost never turned idle.

At first, everyone admired him.

“He’s very dedicated.”

“Very proactive.”

“Very hardworking.”

And honestly, many of us felt pressured because of him.

Slowly, an invisible competition started among interns.

People began replying faster than necessary.

Some stayed online late just to appear committed.

Others started taking extra tasks even when their original work was unfinished.

Nobody said it openly, but everyone was trying to look valuable.

Including me.

One night, around 11:30 PM, I was still debugging a small issue that probably could have waited until morning.

I remember staring at the screen, exhausted but unwilling to stop.

Not because the work was urgent.

Not because anyone forced me.

But because I thought:

“If people see me working late, they will think I care more.”

That mindset quietly spreads among many early engineers.

Especially during internships.

Because internships feel like extended interviews.

Every meeting feels important.

Every message feels observable.

Every interaction feels like it might influence your future.

So interns start optimizing for visibility instead of sustainability.

They confuse:

• being constantly available with being dependable,
• looking stressed with being committed,
• and overworking with ownership.

But after a few weeks, reality started becoming visible.

The intern who worked the longest hours began missing details in tasks.

Another intern became unusually quiet during discussions because of exhaustion.

One person stopped asking questions entirely because they were mentally drained.

And interestingly, the interns most appreciated by managers were not the ones trying to look the busiest.

They were the ones who:

• communicated clearly,
• delivered consistently,
• stayed calm under pressure,
• and worked sustainably without creating chaos around themselves.

That was the first time many of us understood something important about corporate life:

Professional value is not measured by how exhausted you look.

It is measured by how reliable you remain over time.

If you are an intern or early-career engineer, remember this:

Every senior you admire today was once in your situation. He grew because he could manage his energy and time efficiently. Burnout is not proof of dedication. Sustainable reliability matters far more in the workplace.

If this article felt relatable, share it with someone entering corporate life for the first time.

And follow the ENGINEERING BEYOND CODE series for more lessons that engineering colleges rarely prepare you for.

The Silent Pressure of Looking “Smart” In Meetings

what-shocked-me-most-during-my-first-internship

why-some-interns-get-trusted-faster-than-others

5 reasons Why Interns Should Not Overwork Themselves To Impress Everyone was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Moon-Sighting Committee of the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars of North America has announced that Tuesday, June 16, 2026, marks the first day of Muharram 1448 A.H. for all of North America. This follows verified naked-eye sightings of the crescent moon at sunset on Monday, June 15.

Key dates for this month include:

• June 17 (2 Muharram): Arrival of Imam Hussain (p) in Karbala.
• June 22 (7 Muharram): Water is cut off from Imam Hussain (p) and his companions.
• June 25 (10 Muharram): Day of Ashura.
• June 28 (13 Muharram): Burial of the martyrs of Karbala.
• July 10 (25 Muharram): Martyrdom of Imam Ali ibn Hussain (al-Sajjad) (p).

A terminal workspace with batteries included

Rust 33.8k 40 issues need help Updated Jun 16