A bout of nostalgia

I've been seeing random clips of AI-generated videos of old scenes. You know those POV clips of a typical local mall in the 90s or Sunday mornings in the province? I love those. I'm writing this as I let my smart speaker play songs by Air Supply to set the mood (a typical weekend-morning staple on radio stations back then). Another thing I always feel nostalgic about is food. I missed Filipino style deep-fried breaded pork chops and so I decided to make it this evening for the first time and it was immensely successful! We had the fortunate experience of having a household cook when I was younger and her pork chops were savoury, crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Thanks to the interwebs, I learned that the key to success is the marinade. I only had white pepper, sea salt, minced garlic, and apple cider vinegar. I poked the raw slices of bone-in pork chops with a fork then bathed and soaked it in the marinade. Before deep frying in canola oil, I dredged each slice in a mixture of flour, Old Bay seasoning, and white pepper. Dinner was like being transported back home in the late 80s to 90s at our dining table with everyone present and alive. As a nostalgia booster to Earth, Wind & Fire on this 21st night of September, here's Air Supply:

For leisure

'Idleness in this sense does not mean inactivity, but instead nonproductive activity. “Leisureliness,” says Daniel Dustin of the University of Utah, “refers to a pace of life that is not governed by the clock.' (Headlee, Celeste (2022). Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. Harmony Books, p.xix)

How I've been trying to ameliorate the feeling of being overwhelmed is by borrowing books and magazines that are meant for leisure from libraries. We're talking about a variety of magazines like Cosmopolitan, Hello, Scientific American, Wired, or Consumer Reports; books like an atlas, The Magical World of the LOTR, or the book I just quoted above. An equally important part of the borrowing aspect is the act of walking from one library to another. That's not a surprise to you, because I've written about it before. 

My eldest currently has an affinity for libraries in terms of his program of study and part-time occupation. I'm immensely proud of that. He also just recently returned from an esteemed university in England for a summer course on Shakespeare. They weren't allowed to use devices in many of their sessions. And he was able to visit The Bod Old library! I'm super proud! I'm equally proud of my other children who also have their own different interests in the humanities. Libraries are all around you! You can borrow anything for free! Support your local library...including your nearby university library that likely offers public patron options. 

My eldest gave me this tote after he came back from his trip!

Tight-knit

The last time I mentioned the show Criminal Minds was in 2009 and one of my posts that year was entitled enumeration and I literally enumerated quotes from several episodes that stuck with me. We just rewatched seasons 1-5 and we're currently on season 6. It's impressive that the show is now in its 19th season. Thus far, I've added these two quotes to my list of impactful quotes, especially since these currently ring true for me:

"Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn."-- Spoken by JJ (Jennifer Jareau) at the end of Season 5, Episode 13 ("Risky Business")

"Poet Haniel Long said, ‘So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty.’"-- Spoken by Hotch (Aaron Hotchner) at the end of Season 5, Episode 9 ("100")

I'm writing this just a few hours after watching The Odyssey, which I liked very much. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it in the "oh it was so entertaining" sense. I liked the storytelling and the mini emotional odyssey I went through. I think the two quotes above can be connected to the message that I took home from watching the film. It's as if the TV show we are watching and the film we just watched is the current real life anthem. 

Another interesting connection that I just thought of right now is how both Criminal Minds and The Odyssey have female characters with traits that I'd like to emulate, and they have the same name: Penelope. In 2008, I wrote about how I thought Penelope Garcia (this is the blog post) was so cool and smart that I wanted to learn how to code. Almost twenty years later, I code daily for work--a different programming language, but that's a big part of my current occupation. The other Penelope--the wife of Odysseus--is a woman of strength, courage, intelligence, and incomparable loyalty. She was full of love for her husband and son, and this was intertwined with her love and sense of duty to Ithaca. What amazing fictional women. 
Life is tough. Sometimes, there are those who deliberately make it tough for others primarily for self-interest...sometimes their own survival. 

"All through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall, always. (Gandhi)"-- Spoken by Aaron Hotchner at the end of Season 2 episode 9 

"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him." -- Luke 17:3–4 

The Fade Warm filter is on

Source: Wikimedia Commons – Toronto Air Quality during 2026 wildfires

I'd much rather the sky looked like it had an Instagram Fade Warm filter. Instead, it's wildfire smoke. Thinking of everyone affected by this.

The air isn't as orange today, but the smoke smells even stronger. Many of us were wearing masks while walking outside on the way to our destinations.

As I take a brief coffee break at the cafe in this academic library, I'm reminded of how this pale blue dot we call home is a remarkably fragile spaceship. And we all breathe the same air.

Autoreplies are on

I'm on vacation in the next few days, but I woke up too early this morning. It's still way too early to do anything at this lakeside location, so I've decided that I will take a morning siesta about 2 hours post-dawn breakfast since everyone's still asleep anyway. I could take a walk by the lake, but why spend this energy now when I can go all out later? So here I am, writing on my old, home button-equipped mobile phone, with my eyes progressively becoming heavy. The point of this post is to encourage you to listen to your body. If you ever feel guilty for resting, turn that imaginary volume control knob to the lowest setting and maybe turn it all the way until you hear that click signifying it's off. Close your eyes and drift to dreamland...or as I prefer it, no-dreamland-REM-deep-sleep-cycling nirvana. Here's REM's Daysleeper for inspiration: https://youtu.be/uUcKeKt8C1k?si=pssmq_yWav8EwvAn

Antilibrary

I just checked out two books from Robarts Library for leisure. I hope I end up liking and finishing at least one of them. Currently, as I write these words, I have a Margaret Atwood book open in my Kindle app, and a browser tab containing Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, "On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." I have Monday off, so this qualifies as a form of hoarding...of reading intentions. Honestly, I have a lot of chores and other things to do so realistically, I won't be able to finish any of them this weekend. I enjoy having these physical and virtual books around me, and I'll enjoy the feeling of the possibility of reading.

A fun fact is that a collection of books that one possesses is termed an antilibrary, which was popularized by the writer (and fellow statistician) Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilibrary). Taleb further states that the those who are interested in antilibraries can be referred to as antischolars.

The Bar is now Sky High

I've allowed myself to be algorithmically persuaded. How can one not find Mary Bennet and Tom Hayward charming (from the series entitled The Other Bennet Sister)? The fourth episode is probably my favourite, with a particular scene involving Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge. A version of this poem was recited by Jonathan Pryce below.

A good reference article to read that nicely explains the relevance of the scene in the series can be found here https://theconversation.com/the-other-bennet-sister-this-fresh-take-on-pride-and-prejudice-transforms-the-overlooked-mary-278555

Strange algorithm

It's Sunday evening and last night, when I was passing the time on the internet, the algorithm invited me to two ghost-themed topics: the film Ghosted and the Appalachian Mountains. I saw the film Ghosted when it was released about 3 years ago and enjoyed it very much. The plot was absolutely outrageous and hilarious and I enjoyed all the little symbolic details and dialogue. I forgot which short reel I clicked on IG, which likely prompted the algorithm to show me similar videos. Interestingly, the algorithm also showed a couple of videos about eerie things or things that one should not do when one is on the Appalachian Mountains. I'm easily scared about things like that, but like a moth to a flame, I kept on watching related spooky videos until I got really sleepy. Luckily, I didn't have a bad dream. But I did have a dream. Like most dreams, I've forgotten the majority of it, but that it was a long dream and involved characters and conversation. I'll end with the Psychedelic Furs: "Inside you the time moves and she don't fade."

Head over heels for power outlets

 
Entrance to Emmanuel College Library, University of Toronto

     I took the photo above a few days ago when I went to that location. My workload during this part of the year is unusually full and I became slightly ill during the latter part of this week, and thanks to loads of warm drinks including commercial and my own versions of honey citrus mint tea, I recovered quickly. 
     Going back to Emmanuel College Library, I saw it featured by a girl named Bela in her video on libraries [YouTube video link]. I have to say I go to all of those libraries she featured in that video with the second one being my ultimate go-to. I only recently found out from an Instagram post by the handle historyhypegirl [link to that post I saw] that this library is where Tears for Fears filmed their Head over Heels music video. I thought that it was such a fun fact. My only gripe about this library is that there aren't a lot of power outlets where the desks are. I have to remind myself that when these libraries were built, people didn't use electronic devices so I understand that. But still, you know where I'm coming from right? Or maybe I've gotten used to having a dedicated power outlet for a library carrel or desk, including desks that have USB-A and USB-C options. I've become entitled in that regard. 
     On a semi-related topic, whenever I park myself at a library desk, I frequently get asked by girls adjacent to me if I could look after their laptop and things if they need to go to the washroom or get snacks. I feel flattered, like as if I'm this nurturing presence that can be trusted to protect one's things.
     I'll end this post with the original Tears for Fears music video of Head over heels and a fun parody that I found online. Cheers...Tears for Fears!

Between the Buttery and the Owlery

 

(File:An Arch leading to Sir Daniel Wilson Residence, University of Toronto.jpg. (2023, August 8). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:An_Arch_leading_to_Sir_Daniel_Wilson_Residence,_University_of_Toronto.jpg&oldid=791096022.)

Let me tell you about this mostly unremarkable situation involving my library access. My access expired last month and I applied for renewal through my workplace. I had extended privileges last year, which included being able to borrow physical books and enter card-only locations within campus. I couldn't have it again this time so I decided to purchase an alumni membership that allowed me to enjoy the physical access, without the benefit of any type of remote access. That is, my patron category can only allow access to resources in the online collection through computer stations on-site. I happily purchased it and it cost less than the latest edition of Gray's Anatomy, and that justification was enough for me.

Work has been full in a good way, and I think a lot of that comes from having access to the latest library resources. I've been using two LLMs to efficiently find the latest and most appropriate textbooks and articles, like high-tech, high-speed card catalogs. Ultimately, the efficiency of LLMs is dependent on prompt construction. Either one can be wrong, so I try to do some quality assurance and ask something that I know the answer to and then prompt both. Or I make them compete. Again, the goal is to use LLMs for efficiency or to reduce time spent on certain tasks, but still be the captain of our brains and trains of thought. 

So, what's up with the blogpost title? This past month, in the midst of this library access situation, I decided to explore eating spots after googling alternative places to get a coffee and a pastry. The Buttery and the Owlery sound quaint and archaic like they were located in the fictional villages of Hogsmeade or Bree, yet they offer standard cafeteria fare. To make the connection between the two, if I were to visit the Buttery then go to the Owlery on foot via main streets, I would pass by the archway pictured above. A couple of days ago, when it snowed real hard, I went through that archway in that exact perspective and on the other side was a breathtaking image of trees and benches veiled in snow. I remember inhaling sharply and shaking my head. It was unbelievably beautiful.

And there you have it, my small, ordinary story.