Lisa Kramer

From my personal archives, spotted 10 years ago in the lunchroom at the NBER 📉📈

Celebrating a friend’s retirement this weekend. Socks are the traditional gift, yes?

New achievement unlocked: My comment in a subreddit was deleted by the moderators. The comment? 🍿

Today I learned: there were an estimated 236,790 deaths due to urinary tract infections worldwide in 2019 (and over 400 million cases). Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35968451/

The PHP vulnerability that has led to many websites being taken offline as a precaution is extremely inconvenient for procrastinators like me who need to consult a now-offline website to satisfy a deadline. Also inconvenient: the Wayback Machine also seems to be caught up in all this.

Someone emailed me a document that requires my signature, and I was all ready to sign when I realized they had already signed on my behalf using a generic signature in Acrobat. Strange feeling!

Coach Beard on Ted Lasso just asked Siri a question during the Season 4 finale and Siri on my phone responded

A ladybug accidentally hitched a ride on the subway with Mark and me. She refuses to be relocated from my hand to Mark’s arm, despite many attempts

Fun sidewalk art in Toronto

I’m a sucker for the fanfare at Stratford Festival

Yes or no: If millions of organizations casually feed sensitive information about their clients into AI systems (home addresses, medical info, cell numbers, email addresses, correspondence, etc.) and that becomes the basis for AI training, do we all eventually lose our privacy?

Gen X, our time has come at last.

Lightning over the city of Toronto tonight

Everywhere I go there is not enough chocolate

PSA: The 2026/27 COVID-19 vaccine is now available for high-risk groups in Ontario.

I negotiated a settlement with a wasp that involved payment of part of my pancake in exchange for enjoying the rest of my meal in peace

I love these old-timey mail chutes in hotels like the majestic Fairmont properties in Canada (this one at Le Château Frontenac in Québec City)

An inspired pop-up installation in Toronto: What should we make room for?

The cutest amenity at the Halifax Stanfied Airport: a library book vending machine

Thursday rant. Last night I pre-arranged an Uber to take me to the airport this morning. Upon arrival at the airport, Uber emails me that the price they charged is 10% higher than what I agreed to last night because [shrug].

Good news about the Queen’s Park Crescent East sign: They remembered the apostrophe 
Bad news: They had no idea where to put it

Looks like you can take the girl outta the west coast but you can’t take the west coast outta the girl mydialect.us/quiz-standar...

Me: I need to send a fax IT: UofT does not have an approved fax solution Me: stares into the distance If anyone needs me, I'll be embarking on a quest through time to the year 1987 to find a fax machine, to make a call from a payphone, and to rewind a VHS movie.

Something promising on the horizon for those who suffer from repeat, severe urinary tract infections: phage therapy. An investigator "likened antibiotics to an atomic bomb being dropped onto a patient’s flora. “Phage therapy is more like a sniper system,” she said." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Hack for minimizing time on hold with airlines Step 1: Never change your plans Step 2: Never let the airline change your plans Follow me for more impossible travel tips

Not a good time to go for a walk right now in Toronto

Diindiisi - Blue Jay Jim Oskineegish ~ Anishinaabe n.d.

Lately a lot of clearly AI-generated material is finding its way in front of me. People send me content, as if it’s their own creation, when it’s clearly not. I’m finding myself increasingly exhausted by this.

The paywall at Wired seems to suggest I ought to get my affairs in order

Increasingly, even when talking to human customer service reps, it seems I'm actually talking to AI. Today in a chat with Bell Canada, the rep's reply began with "Here's a polished and professional version" suggesting the human agent was just an interface between me and an AI agent. Sigh.

I listen to news headlines most mornings over breakfast. Today, CBC News led with coverage of the lack of a US-Canada trade deal, which will have major repercussions for both countries. NPR News Now didn’t even mention the matter and led with a discussion of the Whitehouse ballroom. 🤷‍♀️

Playing hooky today in my favorite Toronto urban oasis, Tommy Thompson Park, aka The Spit. Please don’t tell anyone.

I exist in a quantum state where I both want a cat and absolutely do not want a cat. I will continue living this way until someone leaves a meowing cardboard box at my doorstep.

As my husband and I near the end of Season 2 of Resident Alien, I have discovered that we’ve been streaming the show through *my* profile on Netflix, tarnishing my (mostly) sci-fi-free viewing history and making me dread future algorithmic recommendations.

Just met the handsome praying mantis who lives in the tiny rooftop garden where I live.

I am so sad. I have spent so much time observing the livestream of Jackie and Shadow’s nest, watching them raise and love their eaglets, the latest of whom recently fledged. Jackie and her family of eagles will always hold a special place in my heart. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/u...

Hey fellow economists, does this strike you as a little sneaky? The Lyft app offers to “let” people reveal their willingness to pay if they pay a fee! Seems like a win-win for Lyft, not so much for the rider.