Mike Leipe
@mleipe.bsky.social
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one." - Voltaire
Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa, Canada
Pinned
Mike Leipe
@mleipe.bsky.social
· Apr 14
"But if you don't doubt yourself, how can you ever learn?" - @susiedentwords.bsky.social, "Guilty by Definition"
"But if you don't doubt yourself, how can you ever learn?" - @susiedentwords.bsky.social, "Guilty by Definition"
April 14, 2026 at 12:56 PM
"But if you don't doubt yourself, how can you ever learn?" - @susiedentwords.bsky.social, "Guilty by Definition"
"When you are cured, the world cheers; when you are dying, it mourns. But when you are simply maintaining, the world is at a loss."
A thoughtful and helpful reflection on living with stage four #cancer.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
A thoughtful and helpful reflection on living with stage four #cancer.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
I have stage four cancer – there will be no cure, but death isn’t necessarily imminent: this is how it feels to live in the long middle
When you are cured, the world cheers; when you are dying, it mourns. But when you are simply maintaining, the world is at a loss
www.theguardian.com
March 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM
"When you are cured, the world cheers; when you are dying, it mourns. But when you are simply maintaining, the world is at a loss."
A thoughtful and helpful reflection on living with stage four #cancer.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
A thoughtful and helpful reflection on living with stage four #cancer.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
This piece on the very real angst of living with cancer well beyond your sell-by date hits home for me.
"They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away."
ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
"They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away."
ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
What happens when you don't die on time?
Hélène Campbell was supposed to be long dead by now. She emptied her bucket list, bank account — and at 34, is left to wonder: “What next?”
ottawacitizen.com
March 14, 2026 at 12:39 PM
This piece on the very real angst of living with cancer well beyond your sell-by date hits home for me.
"They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away."
ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
"They’re not struggling because they feared death, but because they’d already made peace with it, only to have the map each created to arrive there taken away."
ottawacitizen.com/news/when-yo...
Seven years ago today, on February 23, 2019, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which despite radiation, surgery, and chemo later metastasized to my lungs twice.
Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends.
#hope
Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends.
#hope
February 23, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Seven years ago today, on February 23, 2019, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which despite radiation, surgery, and chemo later metastasized to my lungs twice.
Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends.
#hope
Today I celebrated my #cancerversary by doing this for 3.5 hours with a group of good friends.
#hope
"[C]hange doesn't stop just 'cause you're standing still" - @karinslaughter.com, "We Are All Guilty Here"
An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
February 10, 2026 at 11:02 PM
"[C]hange doesn't stop just 'cause you're standing still" - @karinslaughter.com, "We Are All Guilty Here"
An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
An uncomfortable book, but your best always are for me. Thanks.
Good to see that someone's keeping Oscar warm over the winter! 🇨🇦🥶🎹
February 1, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Good to see that someone's keeping Oscar warm over the winter! 🇨🇦🥶🎹
"Ever notice how dumb luck seems to follow smart people around?" - @johnsandford.bsky.social, "Shock Wave"
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
"Ever notice how dumb luck seems to follow smart people around?" - @johnsandford.bsky.social, "Shock Wave"
Okay, so maybe the Rideau Canal Skateway can live without my presence today. 🥶
January 24, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Okay, so maybe the Rideau Canal Skateway can live without my presence today. 🥶
"The real world does not conform to the mathematical tidiness of simple scenarios" - @adamjkucharski.bsky.social, "Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty"
Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
December 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"The real world does not conform to the mathematical tidiness of simple scenarios" - @adamjkucharski.bsky.social, "Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty"
Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
Great book so far, thanks for writing it.
Despite this, it was a ton of fun starting the ski season with a bunch of friends up at Camp Fortune this morning.
More snow, please!
More snow, please!
December 5, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Despite this, it was a ton of fun starting the ski season with a bunch of friends up at Camp Fortune this morning.
More snow, please!
More snow, please!
Our cottage neighbours, on whose property this stands, think it's funny as hell. I think it belongs on the cover of a @stephenking.bsky.social novel.
#creepy
#creepy
September 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Our cottage neighbours, on whose property this stands, think it's funny as hell. I think it belongs on the cover of a @stephenking.bsky.social novel.
#creepy
#creepy
Got some book-loving friends here from Denmark and giving them my standard rant about my love of @johnvaillant.bsky.social's work - are any of them available in Danish, do you know?
September 18, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Got some book-loving friends here from Denmark and giving them my standard rant about my love of @johnvaillant.bsky.social's work - are any of them available in Danish, do you know?
5+ years into Stage IV colorectal cancer, I still get, "but you don't look like you have cancer!".
I continue to assert that cancer is not so much a battle as a grind, not something you fight but something you endure.
Thank you, @briannaabbott.bsky.social / @wsj.com.
www.wsj.com/health/termi...
I continue to assert that cancer is not so much a battle as a grind, not something you fight but something you endure.
Thank you, @briannaabbott.bsky.social / @wsj.com.
www.wsj.com/health/termi...
A New Reality for Terminal Cancer: Longer Lives, With Chronic Uncertainty
Stage-four cancer patients are living longer, challenging the idea of what it means to have and survive cancer. “The science just needs to stay a step ahead of me.”
www.wsj.com
August 19, 2025 at 11:46 AM
5+ years into Stage IV colorectal cancer, I still get, "but you don't look like you have cancer!".
I continue to assert that cancer is not so much a battle as a grind, not something you fight but something you endure.
Thank you, @briannaabbott.bsky.social / @wsj.com.
www.wsj.com/health/termi...
I continue to assert that cancer is not so much a battle as a grind, not something you fight but something you endure.
Thank you, @briannaabbott.bsky.social / @wsj.com.
www.wsj.com/health/termi...
"A confident, precise prior that is contradicted by precise information from the world should result in a radically changed posterior probability" - @tomchivers.bsky.social, "Everything is Predictable"
One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.
One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.
July 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
"A confident, precise prior that is contradicted by precise information from the world should result in a radically changed posterior probability" - @tomchivers.bsky.social, "Everything is Predictable"
One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.
One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.
If you're in the Ottawa area tomorrow and looking for musical Canada Day festivities, I'm playing with Rothwell & Moffatt at Gemmill Park in Almonte.
We're on from 4:30 - 5:15, but plan to arrive earlier and stay later to hear the other amazing acts, too.
www.mississippimills.ca/explore-and-...
We're on from 4:30 - 5:15, but plan to arrive earlier and stay later to hear the other amazing acts, too.
www.mississippimills.ca/explore-and-...
Canada Day | Mississippi Mills
www.mississippimills.ca
June 30, 2025 at 8:12 PM
If you're in the Ottawa area tomorrow and looking for musical Canada Day festivities, I'm playing with Rothwell & Moffatt at Gemmill Park in Almonte.
We're on from 4:30 - 5:15, but plan to arrive earlier and stay later to hear the other amazing acts, too.
www.mississippimills.ca/explore-and-...
We're on from 4:30 - 5:15, but plan to arrive earlier and stay later to hear the other amazing acts, too.
www.mississippimills.ca/explore-and-...
The view from my workspace last evening. Some jobs are worth commuting to.
June 21, 2025 at 11:33 AM
The view from my workspace last evening. Some jobs are worth commuting to.
I met @damedenisemina.bsky.social once and as I recall she didn't look anything like Raymond Chandler. It turns out, however, that she can absolutely write like he did. Loving "The Second Murderer", thanks for writing it.
June 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
I met @damedenisemina.bsky.social once and as I recall she didn't look anything like Raymond Chandler. It turns out, however, that she can absolutely write like he did. Loving "The Second Murderer", thanks for writing it.
Brian Wilson RIP.
Few human minds have held as much talent, or put it to such joyous use.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt0...
Few human minds have held as much talent, or put it to such joyous use.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt0...
GOOD VIBRATIONS (HD) THE BEACH BOYS
YouTube video by PhilGoodFactor1
www.youtube.com
June 11, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Brian Wilson RIP.
Few human minds have held as much talent, or put it to such joyous use.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt0...
Few human minds have held as much talent, or put it to such joyous use.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdt0...
"We're all different. Every day. That's the point."
- @gregghurwitzbooks.bsky.social, "The Last Orphan"
- @gregghurwitzbooks.bsky.social, "The Last Orphan"
May 5, 2025 at 9:23 PM
"We're all different. Every day. That's the point."
- @gregghurwitzbooks.bsky.social, "The Last Orphan"
- @gregghurwitzbooks.bsky.social, "The Last Orphan"
April 16, 2025 at 11:41 AM
"[T]he problem with people who think they're above the basics is they're the ones who get the basics wrong" - @brookmyre.bsky.social, "The Cracked Mirror"
Stellar book so far, thanks for writing it.
Stellar book so far, thanks for writing it.
April 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
"[T]he problem with people who think they're above the basics is they're the ones who get the basics wrong" - @brookmyre.bsky.social, "The Cracked Mirror"
Stellar book so far, thanks for writing it.
Stellar book so far, thanks for writing it.
Delighted to have Vera, Chuck, and Dave dropping by today, especially given that four years ago the odds of that visit happening were microscopic.
April 2, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Delighted to have Vera, Chuck, and Dave dropping by today, especially given that four years ago the odds of that visit happening were microscopic.
Travelling around my riding of Nepean this week I've seen signs for the Conservative candidate everywhere, but so far only one for @mark-carney.bsky.social. What's up with that, @liberalca.bsky.social?
March 27, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Travelling around my riding of Nepean this week I've seen signs for the Conservative candidate everywhere, but so far only one for @mark-carney.bsky.social. What's up with that, @liberalca.bsky.social?
"Karla's Choice" was a delightful opportunity to spend a few evenings rediscovering George Smiley and my all-time favourite literary world, something I'd not expected to experience again. Thank you, @harkaway.bsky.social, for this exceptional book - it felt like returning home after a long absence.
March 26, 2025 at 11:42 PM
"Karla's Choice" was a delightful opportunity to spend a few evenings rediscovering George Smiley and my all-time favourite literary world, something I'd not expected to experience again. Thank you, @harkaway.bsky.social, for this exceptional book - it felt like returning home after a long absence.
How cool is finding a Rush reference in the funnies?
March 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM
How cool is finding a Rush reference in the funnies?