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  Has anyone tried allergy desensitization treatment for pollen allergies? Did it make much a difference? How long did it take? Did the improvement persist after stopping treatment? How bad were your reactions to the treatment itself? If you're in the Edmonton area specifically: Where did you get treated? How did you get referred? Was there a long wait? I'm now at nearly three months a year (spring and then again in late summer / early fall) with an extra layer of disability from allerg...

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  I've spent a lot of time this year at the River City Revival House, in the basement of the Starlite Room, a building that has housed music venues for decades, the original Citadel Theater before that, and a Salvation Army temple originally. I have no idea how old this piano is or which famous musicians might have played it. It is currently parked in the washroom, neglected, out of tune, with some keys that don't sound at all and other keys that won't stop ringing when you release t...

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  Love to wake up to no running water on a day when I was planning to have a much-needed shower before going out in public... 😖

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  @UrbanEdm@mstdn.ca 🤔 Was the argument that more units per neighbourhood = smaller units = fewer families with kids ? You know, as compared to the mythical scenario where families with young kids will be the ones who can afford to buy big old houses at today's prices when their current retiree residents all suddenly decide to move out. 🤨

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  @puzzled@coales.co I'd somehow never clued in that range roads were only the north-south roads. I thought the name was used for the full grid.

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  Edmonton! It is almost August! Here's a few things happening over the long weekend & first week to keep you busy until I can compile the rest of the calendar: #YEG #YEGmusic #YEGarts #YEGtheatre Festivals: Aug 1-3 (Sat-Mon): Edmonton Heritage Festival returns to Hawrelak Park, with all the tasty food & colourful performances that local international cultural heritage groups can offer. Free admission, reasonably priced food, various vendors. Aug 1 (Sat): Swahili Fest celebration of...

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  RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/117010425511942166 In related news, the EU now requires publishers & social media platforms to label all "AI" algorithm-generated text & image content. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/07/28/eu-tells-firms-to-label-ai-generated-content-from-sunday_6755910_4.html (But still, I love that LinkedIn is actually using the term "AI slop" in their UI to describe generated filler text. The tides, they are turning.)

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  For all you #YEGwx watchers, last night's brief but intense storm was just enough to make July 2026 the second rainiest month ever recorded in downtown Edmonton, surpassing last month's total. Yes, we have had the 2nd & 3rd rainiest months in the past 145+ years, back to back. With the forecast currently dry until Saturday night (August), that is hopefully where the monthly record will stand. But we're almost guaranteed to end 2026 as the highest-precipitation year ever measure...

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  Coveted riverfront property in Edmonton! Motor boats sending wakes onto our little tropical islands! The lunchtime thunder & hail storm didn't seem too bad, but apparently there was enough debris in our storm drains already that this completely took out our street. I haven't walked over to check the big dry pond stormwater management system in the centre of Parkallen (opened a few years ago, sunken park/sports field that is supposed to fill up to hold water if the stormwater drains...

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  I don't mind the rain in Edmonton this month, really. (Especially with the reminder of summer wildfire season coming from Kelowna today!) But I really wish this weather system wasn't completely messing with the forecasts. As of yesterday, the forecast was for rain all day today & dry tomorrow. Instead, we had a nice sunny afternoon while I was doing indoor chores. And just when I was ready to go out to the garden, oh look big black clouds, let's do something else. But no rain &...

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  RE: https://mstdn.ca/@yegwxnerdery/116987024728921134 2026 now has downtown Edmonton's 5th highest precipitation total since weather records started in the 1880s. Not 5th highest to date. 5th highest full-year total precipitation. With 5 months to go. (And that doesn't count all the snow from December 2025 that didn't melt until spring!) If it wasn't for all the observations of people with flooded streets (and basements) I'd think there was something wrong with the Blatch...

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  Weather is happening. (My phone is much more effective at capturing the rain noises than the thunder rumbles, but there is plenty of both in Edmonton right now.) #YEGwx

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  Oh, hooray. Smoke from the north has now been replaced by smoke from the south. 😑 I did get the apartment thoroughly aired out during this morning's patch of clear air, at least. (Although the last half hour was maybe not great quality air.) I didn't get out to the grocery store as planned. But I did pick a small bowl of raspberries from the garden. The air didn't feel awful yet, just humid, but I'm not going to risk a long walk in worsening air. Maybe we'll get another few...

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  With the air quality improving to merely mediocre — and with the wind that cleared the smoke easing up before the headache it caused was irreversible — I was able to head out this evening for Taste of Edmonton in Churchill square. https://tasteofedm.ca/ I caught 2 music acts. Night Howl I've seen before & was keen to see again. Hot club Euro-folk fusion rhythms back dramatic vocals & cello. Tyler Shaw was a featured out-of-town act. Mostly generic-but-pleasant soft rock, but a few...

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  RE: https://mstdn.games/@britt/116964333763708575 A reminder that buying Canadian right now is about more than just boycotting the US to send a message. Especially for mail-order businesses that usually deliver direct to customers in the US, the tariffs & the uncertainty are having an impact on sales. (PS: Britt sells cute little 3D-printed clicky, slippy, & foldy fidget toys for people whose fingers always need to be moving. If you're in Canada or the US & that's your thi...

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  RE: https://kind.social/@TheLongestJohns/116936147726442157 As if you needed more reasons to like the band that made sea shanties a modern trend, they're on Fedi & they post detailed alt text! Still tix for the Edmonton show tonight, $50 on Ticketweb, 7pm doors. https://www.edmontondowntown.com/events/the-longest-johns-with-sean-dagher/ #YEGmusic

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  Popped outside to water the porch planters, refill the bird water dish, and take a photo of this red peony that just opened up today. A woman walking her dog stopped to compliment me on the garden & ask a few questions, including "Which is your favourite plant?" Tricky question — I like the constant change & variety! But eventually I pointed to the delphinium, talking about their amazing colour combinations (even if hungry grubs in spring mean that I don't always get compl...

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  If I was the sort of person to use this word, I would have used it to react to the fact that this word was considered a valid response in the word list! (Still guessed it, but only on the basis of having completely eliminated any sensible words.) Wordle 1,852 4/6 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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  After the big storm last week, I was looking out at the yard & noticed that the street trees in front of my house had a lot of dead branches. Since the city is very concerned about monitoring for Dutch elm disease, I sent in a 311 report suggesting they check it out. Got a call today from the friendly helpful city tree biologist. He had been by earlier and had examined the elm trees on the street. They've got some insect infestation (European elm scale), but nothing to worry about. The...

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  RE: https://mstdn.ca/@yegwxnerdery/116924075398291492 🎵Man, it's a wet one. With seven inches' rain every month. I hear mosquitoes and try to slap every one, Because it's so damp... #YEGwx

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  @ECityMom@mstdn.ca My (non-expert) summary, for those curious but busy: The case concerns Edmonton's Glenora neighbourhood. At the time it was originally developed in 1911, a caveat/restrictive covenant was put on all property sales requiring them only to be used for residential homes, 1 per lot, no business, with required setbacks from street & between houses (but duplexes OK & divided lots if setbacks preserved). Some parts of the neighbourhood are now considered heritage value....

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  @keithzg@fediverse.keithzg.ca Always a bad feeling when you accidentally kill an animal, but all the more so for an intelligent, human-like animal, and one us city folk rarely get to witness. But I guess you can consider yourself the not-so-invisible hand of evolution, weeding out the ones who think they need to prove their mettle by charging at those speedy, noisy metal beasts. Glad those of you inside the car escaped intact. And I hope the insurance isn't a pain about covering the damage...

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  Hey #YEGmusic fans! Another new website for you to bookmark: https://yeginsider.com/ Like the Double Lunch listings I shared recently, YEGInsider attempts to collate all Edmonton area music listings in one place. But it goes beyond a list of links, with tags & filters and extra information about venues. It also includes weekly jams & open mics, and it looks like they're hoping to create a directory of services for bands & promoters. The glossy website has a few layout bugs &amp...

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  I still kind of boggles my mind that we just accept earthquakes that can be felt for 100s of km as an outcome of oil & gas extraction. And then I remember that we just accept climate change affecting the whole damn planet as an outcome of oil & gas extraction & combustion. “Yes, it’s not ideal. Yes, it's likely to continue.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/earthquake-grande-prairie-9.7266606

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  Edmonton! July is just getting started(-ish) and there's lots to do! Festival & patio season are in full swing, and the weather is almost behaving. Just remember to come armed for the vampires (🦟) that will come out once the sun goes down. There are lots of weekly outdoor concert series in July & August, at patios & in parks. I've added an extra section specifically for those, arranged by day of the week. (I'll still highlight some of my top picks in the music calendar.)...

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  Not quite #YEGwx, but there's a "baseball sized hail" warning as part of a Red Severe Thunderstorm warning, for the area just north of Red Deer, including Lacombe & Panoka #Alberta, Right Now! https://weather.gc.ca/?layers=alert,radar,&center=52.11914828,-112.99050056&zoom=9

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  @keithzg@fediverse.keithzg.ca Are you familiar with https://findedmonton.com ? (unfortunately their website seems a little vibed-up & the donate page link is a dud, but you could call / visit to see if they take household things that are smaller than furniture) (they're not far, just on the other side of the uAlberta farm)

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  Why do bad days always have to have such bad timing?

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  @keithzg@fediverse.keithzg.ca The more productive outage would be internet, I guess. No distractions, focus on your task at hand, but still have lights in the basement & other things you'd need, without having to unpack boxes to find all your flashlights & emergency gear! I hope she got things done nonetheless. And somehow found a refreshing beverage when she needed it.

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  OK, Edmonton. I'm probably not going to get a full July events thread posted until next week, so here's (a lot of) what's on This Weekend (July 3-5): Grindstone Comedy FestivalInternational Street Performers Festival in Churchill SquareEdmonton Open Mic Festival Saturday 11-4pm at Sherbrooke Community League park & hall2Spirit Pow Wow (Sat)and 2Spirit Métis Day (Sun) at Exhibition Lands RacetrackChopin in the Park at the McIntyre Park Gazebo, Saturday 1-6pmRugby Nation's Cup...