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{
"version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
"title": "Hello! I'm Josiah.",
"description": "",
"home_page_url": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com",
"feed_url": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/feed.json",
"user_comment": "",
"icon": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/website/JosiahToppin-logo1.png",
"author": {
"name": "Josiah Toppin"
},
"items": [
{
"id": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/review-godox-ia32-with-leica-q-typ-116/",
"url": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/review-godox-ia32-with-leica-q-typ-116/",
"title": "Review: Godox iA32 with Leica Q",
"summary": "<p>Today we are going to be reviewing the Godox iA32 on a Leica Q body. Last post, I gave a high level description of my initial thoughts of the flash and now I'm going to go into more detail about different modes and what works best with the Leica.</p>\n",
"content_html": "<p>Today we are going to be reviewing the Godox iA32 on a Leica Q body. Last post, I gave a high level description of my initial thoughts of the flash and now I'm going to go into more detail about different modes and what works best with the Leica.</p>\n\n<h4>Build Quality</h4>\n<p>The flash itself is of decent quality made of entirely plastic with rounded edges where appropriate and has a good aesthetic that fits with the Leica Q. You can tell they had the Q in mind when designing the flash in my opinion, plus it shows throughout their marketing materials. While the flash feels of good quality, I can't imagine you would want to rough it up too much as it would scratch pretty easily. In addition to this, the battery cover door is pretty difficult to open and doesn't really click into place. While it does close in place easily enough, it does seem like one part of the flash that could be prone to breaking in the future. It has a hinge design that swings outward when you are replacing the batteries. I wish it was a little bit easier to slide open - my unit in particular feels like a lot of pressure needs to be applied to slide the door open.</p>\n<h4>Features</h4>\n<p>The flash housing unit can be rotated using the black dial on the side to move it 90 degrees straight up with 15 degree clicks to 0 to -7 for close up photography. It has an auto mode, manual mode and S1/S2 optical modes. There is a small LCD screen that largely functions in the auto mode as your aperture and ISO selection, which shows you the approximate distance to shoot at. In addition, in manual mode, you can select your power output, which ranges from 1/128 to full power.</p>\n<p>It takes two AA batteries with the recommendation being that you use NiMH high capacity batteries to reach the rated 490 shots. In my quick experimentation with regular AAs vs Eneloop Pros, I can definitely vouch for the rated shots. You will be going through a lot of batteries if you try to use regular alkaline batteries. One thing to note is that the low battery indicator is simply the power button flashing red. Unfortunately, there is no way to track the battery capacity on the included LCD screen. You will definitely want to carry some back ups with you in case you need to swap mid shoot. Here is a quick product video from Godox.</p>\n<figure class=\"post__video\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"389\" style=\"width: 696px; height: 389px;\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/QgucRo7Xqe4\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"></iframe></figure>\n<h4>Modes</h4>\n<h5>Auto</h5>\n<p>This flash does not offer TTL, but it does have an auto mode, which functions like other flashes where you set the aperture and ISO that you will set on the camera and detects the amount of light in the scene to give the correct exposure, otherwise known as auto-thyristor mode. This mode should work across all types of cameras. You can then use exposure and shutter speed to control the light on your subject and background: how much your subject pops/separates from the background. I will show some examples of that later.</p>\n<h5>Manual</h5>\n<p>There are technically three options for manual, the base mode, S1 and S2 optical modes for use with other lights. I imagine most people will use the flash in the regular manual mode, which functions well enough. For people starting out with flash photography, I would recommend the auto mode until one understands how aperture, shutter speed, exposure and ISO work together. To really get the most out of the flash, you will want to be shooting in manual on your camera and using the auto mode on this flash works well enough to begin with. I for one am new to flash photography and found it easier to use off the bat since there were less variables to consider and think about. You could focus more on what you were shooting. I'm sure as I become more comfortable with things, this opinion will likely change. Regardless, the flash allows you to adjust in increments within the steps 1/128, 1/128 0.3, 1/128 0.7, and so on.</p>\n<h4>Examples</h4>\n<p>My pets are going to feature in this post a lot. They are both white, one being a cat and the other our dog Albus. Albus typically has really clean shiny fur, so I thought he would be good to capture to show the flash in fill scenarios and direct flash along with a TV stand.</p>\n<h5>Shutter variation in auto mode</h5>\n<p>To start off with, I'll show three photos of our cat Fleur that are straight out of the camera raw exports with no edits to give you an idea of the background separation with this flash and shutter speeds of 1/500, 1/1000 and 1/2000. Click on the photos to see them in more detail.</p>\n<div class=\"gallery-wrapper\"><div class=\"gallery\" data-is-empty=\"false\" data-translation=\"Add images\" data-columns=\"3\">\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010283-2.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010283-2-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"fleur-1-2000\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Fleur | 1/2000 f/3.5 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010284.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010284-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"fleur-1-1000\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Fleur | 1/1000 f/3.5 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010285.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010285-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"fleur-1-500\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Fleur | 1/500 f/3.5 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n</div></div>\n<p>As you can see, there is a lot more background separation on the highest shutter speed here, while Fleur's details remain similar between 1/1000 and 1/500 speeds with variation in the background darkness and separation. While Fleur appears to be dark in the fastest shot, there is still plenty of detail to be brought out in Lightroom. This is using the auto mode on the iA32 with f/3.5 and 100 ISO as you see in the photo captions.</p>\n<h5>Fill vs Direct Light</h5>\n<p>There appears to be plenty of power from this small flash when using it indoors. While I haven't tested it outside yet (it has been way too cold here in Edmonton), I look forward to seeing how it works with more direct shots once things warm up here to a reasonable temperature. While two of these are cropped shots (in lightroom, not shot) and one is not, they are shot at the same settings, but two directly and one with fill. You can see the fill is a lot softer on Albus and you can make out his hairs a little bit better. Given his coat at this stage of winter, I think it shows his actual hair colour a bit more too. He only comes out <em>that</em> white after going to the groomer in the spring!</p>\n<div class=\"gallery-wrapper\"><div class=\"gallery\" data-is-empty=\"false\" data-translation=\"Add images\" data-columns=\"3\">\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010256.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010256-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"direct-flash-albus1\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus Direct | 1/500 f/4.0 200 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010244.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010244-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"direct-flash-albus2\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus Direct | 1/500 f/4.0 200 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010245.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010245-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"fill-flash-albus3\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus Fill | 1/500 f/4.0 200 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n</div></div>\n<p>Okay, on to the TV stand. I believe I was using manual mode for these shots, so the ISO is a lot higher on these versus some of the other photos, but they should give you an idea of the impact of the angle of the flash. The first photo was fill, second fill with slightly more forward flash, the third being 30/45 degree, and then the last one being 0.</p>\n<div class=\"gallery-wrapper\"><div class=\"gallery\" data-is-empty=\"false\" data-translation=\"Add images\" data-columns=\"2\">\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010243.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010243-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"tv-stand1-fill\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>TV Stand Fill | 1/30 f/3.5 1600 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010239.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010239-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"tv-stand2-fill\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>TV Stand Fill 60/75 | 1/30 f/3.5 1600 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010235.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010235-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"tv-stand3-direct\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>TV Stand 30/45 | 1/500 f/1.7 1600 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010233.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1365\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010233-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"tv-stand4-direct\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\"></a>\n<figcaption>TV Stand 0 | 1/500 f/1.7 1600 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n</div></div>\n<p>Last but not least, some of my favourites of Albus where I had dialed in the settings on auto a bit more and was using mostly straight up 90 degree fill. There may have been a few with 75 degree tilt. The light on Albus was much softer in these shots with good separation from the background. I used -1 exposure on most of these shots too to darken the background further. These have crops and edits from Lightroom.</p>\n<div class=\"gallery-wrapper\"><div class=\"gallery\" data-is-empty=\"false\" data-translation=\"Add images\" data-columns=\"2\">\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010265.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1638\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010265-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"albus1-1-2000\" width=\"768\" height=\"614\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus 1/2000 f/4.0 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010270.jpg\" data-size=\"2048x1638\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010270-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"albus2-1-2000\" width=\"768\" height=\"614\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus | 1/2000 f/4.0 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010269.jpg\" data-size=\"1638x2048\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010269-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"albus3-1-500\" width=\"768\" height=\"960\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus | 1/500 f/4.0 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery__item\"><a href=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010248.jpg\" data-size=\"1638x2048\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/gallery/L1010248-thumbnail.webp\" alt=\"albus4-1-2000\" width=\"768\" height=\"960\"></a>\n<figcaption>Albus | 1/2000 f/4.0 100 ISO</figcaption>\n</figure>\n</div></div>\n<p>All in all, so far I'm really happy with the flash. It will help for taking indoor shots in the future with both animals, and, people. More to come on that later in the year. One of the great things about this flash is the price. Here in Canada it can be had for $89, which is excellent compared to some of the other options out there. While the Leica flashes offer TTL, I'm not sure the price is worth it there. Perhaps one day I will get my hands on a SF40, but until i do, this small flash will suffice. One thing I notice, and others have noticed with non-Leica branded flashes, is that the EVF brightens when using the flash. I'm not quite sure why it does that, but given the age of the Q, I don't think a firmware fix will be coming for that. Something to be aware of though since it will probably have a hit on the camera battery.</p>\n<p> </p>",
"image": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/12/IMG_7485.jpeg",
"author": {
"name": "Josiah Toppin"
},
"tags": [
"Photography",
"Pets",
"Leica",
"Flash"
],
"date_published": "2025-02-18T19:15:45-07:00",
"date_modified": "2025-02-18T20:50:02-07:00"
},
{
"id": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/a-post-on-photography/",
"url": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/a-post-on-photography/",
"title": "Happy valentines day eve - a photography post",
"summary": "<p><span style=\"color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);\">The last post I made was pretty political, so this one will be a little more relaxed and on a completely different topic - photography! So I bought a new flash for my camera the other day.</span></p>\n",
"content_html": "<p><span style=\"color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);\">The last post I made was pretty political, so this one will be a little more relaxed and on a completely different topic - photography! So I bought a new flash for my camera the other day.</span></p>\n\n<p><span style=\"color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);\">Godox came out with a few small flashes recently and I thought the </span><a href=\"https://www.godox.com/product-a/iA32.html\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iA32</a><span style=\"color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);\"> would work with my Leica. While it doesn't have TTL, it still does a good job and you can rotate the flash up and down easily. Getting used to shooting settings with it will take some time, but I look forward to being able to shoot outdoors without harsh shadows being cast on people's face. In theory, it should also help separate people from backgrounds. The iA32 can supposedly shoot 490 shots on a charge if you're using good rechargeable batteries. We will see how that works out in the real world. The low battery indicator is just the on/off switch flashing red, so it will definitely be important to carry some spares to switch things out. I only have one extra battery for my body anyways, so an extra set for the flash will be sufficient. I'll weave in some photos I've taken in the past on this post throughout too.</span></p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//DSC0717817-08-30-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2343\" height=\"1562\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC0717817-08-30-2-xs.webp 300w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC0717817-08-30-2-sm.webp 480w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC0717817-08-30-2-md.webp 768w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC0717817-08-30-2-lg.webp 1024w\"><figcaption>\n<p>Hawaii 2017</p>\n</figcaption></figure>\n<p>I sold my M1 Macbook Pro a few weeks ago as I didn't really utilize its full power. It was the Max processor, so definitely overpowered for my use case. I bought a base model M4 Mac Mini, which is working much better, plus, I can host various things at home in this setup. The only problem is it doesn't have a native SD card reader, which is problematic for transferring photos quickly. Regardless, I put in an order for one of those today, which should help with transferring photos to the computer.</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//DSC00922_Original.jpeg\" alt=\"nyc-boat\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1616\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC00922_Original-xs.webp 300w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC00922_Original-sm.webp 480w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC00922_Original-md.webp 768w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11//responsive/DSC00922_Original-lg.webp 1024w\">\n<figcaption >New York City 2018</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<p>Since I'm not hosting a business site or even trying to make it with photography, hosting sites at home seems to be the way to go. I have setup <a href=\"https://www.scrypted.app\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scrypted</a> NVR up at home which monitors several POE cameras around my house along with my Google Doorbell Camera allowing for 24/7 recording. There are a few web apps there too including <a href=\"https://www.home-assistant.io\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Home Assistant</a>. If you have not looked into a setup like this, you should! Securing things has come a long way with VPNs like <a href=\"https://www.wireguard.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wireguard</a> or if you are looking for a simpler approach, you can look at <a href=\"https://tailscale.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tailscale</a>, which is essentially Wireguard, but wrapped up in a service that is easier to setup and use.</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/DSC0243717-07-01_Original.jpeg\" alt=\"pete-camping\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC0243717-07-01_Original-xs.webp 300w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC0243717-07-01_Original-sm.webp 480w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC0243717-07-01_Original-md.webp 768w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC0243717-07-01_Original-lg.webp 1024w\">\n<figcaption >Pete 2017</figcaption>\n</figure>\n<p>Included in this post are a couple shots of pets from the family. One is of Justine's aunt and uncle's old dog. He passed last year and then another of our old cat Neville that passed a few years ago. Both had a lot of personality and were always around. They are both super missed. If you have been to our house lately though, there are a lot of new faces around. Two white cats named Harry and Fleur, and also a loud fluffy white dog named Albus. His breed is a Japanese Spitz. I won't include any photos of Albus in this post - more to come on him later. He probably deserves a series of posts based on how much personality he has. Regardless, here is a photo of Harry and Fleur.</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/DSC02295_Original.jpeg\" alt=\"harry-fleur\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC02295_Original-xs.webp 300w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC02295_Original-sm.webp 480w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC02295_Original-md.webp 768w ,https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/responsive/DSC02295_Original-lg.webp 1024w\"><figcaption>Harry and Fleur</figcaption></figure>\n<p>Do you have plans for valentines day? We don't typically get up to too much. It is always too busy to go out and do anything, so we usually stay in and make a good dinner and then go out for dinner another day close to the day. Leave a comment below, what are you shooting with? What type of flash do you use, if any?</p>\n<p> </p>",
"image": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/11/DSC01760_Original.jpeg",
"author": {
"name": "Josiah Toppin"
},
"tags": [
"Photography",
"Leica",
"Flash"
],
"date_published": "2025-02-13T20:27:07-07:00",
"date_modified": "2025-02-13T20:36:11-07:00"
},
{
"id": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/oh-hello/",
"url": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/blog/oh-hello/",
"title": "Oh hello, this is my first post.",
"summary": "\n <h2 id=\"welcome\">\n Welcome!\n </h2>\n\n <p>\n So this blog is probably going to be about everything without a ton of focus. Perhaps photography and diabetes related things will be themes, but so will gaming and politics. A bit of a mash up since my interests are pretty varied. I may also talk about our pets, both present and past. Yes, the past ones too, even if it makes me a bit sad to think about them. It is healthy to remember the things we had, the good and the bad - the history. The rest of this post will explain why that is important.\n </p>\n",
"content_html": "\n <h2 id=\"welcome\">\n Welcome!\n </h2>\n\n <p>\n So this blog is probably going to be about everything without a ton of focus. Perhaps photography and diabetes related things will be themes, but so will gaming and politics. A bit of a mash up since my interests are pretty varied. I may also talk about our pets, both present and past. Yes, the past ones too, even if it makes me a bit sad to think about them. It is healthy to remember the things we had, the good and the bad - the history. The rest of this post will explain why that is important.\n </p>\n\n<hr class=\"separator separator--dots\" />\n\n <p>\n Lately, it is hard not to think about what is happening south of us in the states. A new leader has taken over and moved quicker in more directions than I think anyone was prepared for. He has brought nepotism to be common place and appointed friends to high ranking positions while also giving sweeping forgiveness to people that probably didn't deserve forgiveness.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n Meanwhile, Elon Musk has taken hold of the government by means of DOGE. Yeah, unless you have been living under a rock, he and a band of young men first took hold of the Office of Personnel Management or OPM. What is OPM you ask? Basically, a database of all federal government employees and all their information. The HR database if you would. Next, they have gained access to other government agencies like US Agency for International Development or USAID as it is called in the media, the Treasury Department, the Department of Energy and probably others by the time you read this. All this action probably supports the larger outcome of laying off specific parts of the federal government workforce.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n A letter was sent to all government employees offering them packages to walk away from their employment the first week of Trump's term followed swiftly by a follow up reinforcing that. Now, the deadline is about to pass or has passed for people to accept those offers.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n Numerous articles have highlighted that many agencies have been told to stop certain aspects of their work or all of their work. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) was told to stop any work with foreign nationals. I won't go into too much detail about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), but the effort to stop all related programs is widespread across the entire federal government.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n One can't help think that the data that Musk's team is gathering will enable them to see who is compliant and who is not compliant - something that will guide them in who to target for layoffs. People used to only have to worry about their co-workers or micro-managing boss peering over their shoulders. Now they have to worry about DOGE tracking their information and potentially tracking what they are working on as they gain access to more and more data and IT systems. \n </p>\n\n <p>\n As is the case with any bureaucratic system, the speed at which the checks and balances respond to DOGE's actions has been slow. The justice system <i>is responding</i>, but all the machinery involved to get to the response takes time for all the individuals in that system to do their jobs and have the files work their way through courts to a judge that make a decision. A judge handed down <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd9p8g405no\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" extlink extlink-icon-1\" >a decision</a> to pause the layoff of many USAID employees while <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjw4g2q62xqo\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" extlink extlink-icon-1\" >another issued</a> an order to block DOGE from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system. In another <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-declines-block-elon-musks-doge-labor-department-systems-2025-02-08/\" class=\"extlink extlink-icon-1\" >ruling</a>, a judge did not block DOGE from accessing Department of Labour systems, which likely includes OPM systems. As you can see, action is being taken and the results go both ways depending on which outcomes you want to see. Regardless of the former rulings though, one thing is clear - DOGE had access to systems for an extended period of time and had the ability to harvest <i>data</i>. Whatever system or database DOGE is using, they likely now have that data and can use it for their own purposes.\n </p>\n<hr class=\"separator separator--dots\" />\n\n <p>\n Everything that is happening is going so fast. While the aforementioned things are occurring, we also have our own things to worry about here in Canada. Trump proposed tariffs and flip flopped on the timing multiple times before landing on slapping a large tariff on Canada that would have taken effect last week. In response, Canada agreed to a number of items that the Trump administration was looking for, although many of these things were already in motion for months on end. Trump saw it as a victory, but it is questionable as to how much of it was really new.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n Trump has also mused about Canada becoming a 51st state for various reasons. Many people think it is because of Canada's vast resources that rival other parts of the world like China and Australia. What would that mean in practice? Who knows. It is pretty crazy to hear a sitting US President make that comment publicly and <i>continue</i> to reinforce that notion any chance he gets. This week, Trudeau got caught on a hot mic saying Trump is not joking about it.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n I think you can assume that was an intentional hot mic given the swing in public opinion back here in Canada on the Liberals relative to the Conservatives. Yes, the swing in public opinion has happened rapidly. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre continues to call for a snap election, likely paying close attention to public polling that erodes every day that parliament remains prorogued (not in session). I imagine the Liberals are also tracking that data closely to see when it would benefit them to call an election. Wait too long and public sentiment could shift again. Just last year, we were heading towards a massive Conservative majority. Suddenly, that outcome is in jeopardy each day an election does not occur. Wild times indeed.\n </p>\n\n <p>\n What are your thoughts on everything happening?\n </p>",
"image": "https://www.josiahtoppin.com/media/posts/1/AdobeStock_391258065-resize.jpeg",
"author": {
"name": "Josiah Toppin"
},
"tags": [
"US",
"Politics",
"Canada"
],
"date_published": "2025-02-06T12:46:45-07:00",
"date_modified": "2025-02-08T12:51:04-07:00"
}
]
}