The year is 2026 and I'm listening to live troubleshooting of a toilet in space. Unfortunately, being a broken toilet in space is preferable to being on earth for a whole bunch of people so it's very much a mixed feeling.

Boosting this a bit (hard to do with my very curated list of interactions here!) along with an invitation to come to my book launch if you can - there's still space. It's free & there will be wine 😜. I'd appreciate it if you would share with your networks of anyone who might be interested!

Is it just me or is the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website borked? Doesn't respond to clicks or scrolling and none of the UI elements included in the tour show up... 🥲

Smart people are saying smart things about the PMSITAC report and I don't have much mature to add, so I'll just fume that Te Ara Paerangi didnt even get name-checked. So many ECRs engaged on that process. So much wasted time. Gah

Windows 11 is really trying its hardest to give me the "it's late 90's and you're trying to be productive on a PC" experience 🫠

Getting a translational grant doesn’t necessarily mean smooth sailing. #chemsky #chemchat #academicchatter #academia (As shared on LinkedIn)

Turns out the Electoral Commission orange shade does not have a formal name, so I have proposed one on the Color Names website. Please provide thumbs (no log-in needed) to my suggestion: "Orange Guy Orange" colornames.org/color/ff9800

KitKats aren't even remotely egg shaped 🤔

Heavily ironic that Universities spent years saying "don't trust Wikipedia" and when the slopocalypse hit Wikipedia is taking the lead.

I'm delighted to get overseas enquiries about these positions. A big reason people move to New Zealand is the lifestyle. So, I thought I’d do a personal thread of the highs and lows of living here. Disclaimer: to me NZ is paradise, so this is biased. Take it with a quarry-load of salt etc... (1/n)

In addition to the 2* lecturer positions, we also have a Teaching Fellow position open in Psychological Criminology. An exciting time to be joining us! elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

I happened to be looking at the Education and Training Act 2020 yesterday, specifically section 268 where it says regarding the characteristics of a university: "they are primarily concerned with more advanced learning, the principal aim being to develop intellectual independence"

LMAO... unzipping a file I accidentally left a space at the beginning of the folder name, and apparently Explorer/OneDrive can't handle this. The folder exists, can't be backed up or renamed (remove the space it gives an error because it thinks that " NMR" is the same as "NMR") Enter Powershell 🙃

For the life of me I cannot understand why a university that migrated its vehicle fleet to EVs still uses 2-stroke leaf blowers outside my office on a Monday morning. Thinking is over-rated right? 😬

I worked through about 11 lessons of this last night. I sent it to my eldest daughter, I sent it to my dear mother and I'm contemplating who else I can send it to. Well balanced, clear, concise and approachable. TBH I will probably send it to my institution's "AI taskforce"

Remember the times when the right raged about "unelected officials" influencing how the country was run? I'm yet to vote on who gets media jobs, but yet here we are and as far as I can tell 🦗🦗🦗 Of course this isn't unexpected, indeed it's typical!

I have a titration joke, but you'll probably miss the endpoint as you continue to read until you realize that your efforts are fruitless, the funny part is in the past and there once was a very smart but sadly blind duck. When it was still a small duckling it was renowned for its good vision.

I am guest editing a Special Issue: Social Equalities and Wellbeing in Community Health for IJERPH Call for Papers out now 😊🎉 We invite contributions that explore innovative, inclusive, and justice-oriented responses through the lens of community psychology. More info www.mdpi.com/journal/ijer...

Every now and then I think about how it's stupid that Unions aren't the single most powerful force today given the way governments have 💩💩 all over workers 🤔

If this is loony lock me up!

A reminder to all, if you have a commentary on the NZ research system that is based in verifiable fact (i.e. not back room conversations/rumours) the New Zealand Science Review is a great place for it to be recorded for posterity. It needn't be long, but we need to record the 'now' for the future.

One week left to apply for this (applications due Sunday 15 March NZST)!!

My Friday AM thought is that a surprisingly(?) non-trivial amount of what we regard as "gold-standard" is just a well branded hangover from something that once was actually useful and now thanks to advancement in tech (or similar) no-longer is needed, but still manages to gatekeep. *Yawn / Stretch*

Please come and enjoy the product of a year's wrangling and anxiety!

Honestly if someone had prophesied the current state of generative AI in academia 15 years ago I would probably have made different life choices...

Come work with us! Please RT :)

As an adult you simply can ride a tandem bicycle to Duck Island and eat an entire pint of ice cream for absolutely no reason at all! It's wild 😘

I propose a new concept called "storm years". Essentially there are 100 storm years in a solar year, and all the 1 in 100 year probability weather events are all now operating in storm years. Better living everyone 🫠

Roses are red, Violets are Blue. Make this a One Term Govt. Happy Valentines Day

In a world of NZ universities trying to compete each other into oblivion this is actually refreshing and super cool to see! Now do PhDs and ECRs!

I finally got so sick of this that I uninstalled it and my PC ran well for the first time in ages. This morning it appears to have somehow reinstalled itself and my woes are back. 🤔🤔🤔

Why is it always big oil lobbying, where is big solar and big battery? Surely there's money to be made 🥴

All while stripping basic science research to the bone and removing scientific oversight of the Marsden Fund. Shambolic

My stomach never makes as much noise as during exam invigilation... can be heard clean across the room!

The IMB at the University of Queensland is looking for a new Mass Spectrometry Facility Manager. See details below. Closing date 13th of February. uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/uqcare...

The reform is failing... (1/5) NZAS: "We have 500% overheads in some cases." Kathryn Ryan: "What??? Where is that happening?" NZAS: "In some of our PROs." NB: Overheads are a necessary part of institutions, but it means something needs fixing when they approach 10 times international norms.

Co-President Dr Lucy Stewart spoke to Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon this morning about the continued failure of the government's science sector reforms to make necessary change (or provide desperately needed funding increases)

The statement highlights one piece, but if you have a thirst for more check out our ongoing efforts to produce an issue dedicated to the woes of our research system: ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzsr/issue/v...

As the Aotearoa/NZ research system shifts around us, it's important to hear from the voices within, especially those who are the future of the system! It has been an absolute privilege for the New Zealand Science Review to work with early career researchers (ECRs) to get their experiences on record

A new soil lecturer position available at the University of Waikato (equivalent to Assistant Professor in US terms). elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

As the Aotearoa/NZ research system shifts around us, it's important to hear from the voices within, especially those who are the future of the system! It has been an absolute privilege for the New Zealand Science Review to work with early career researchers (ECRs) to get their experiences on record

Looks like @methanesat.bsky.social is back in the news along with the calls for the Auditor General to take a look at it. (Plus "vocal critic", Richard Easther. C'est moi, I guess.) www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

University of Waikato in Hamilton, NZ, are hiring in English and Writing Studies - pass it on! www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

I'm not entirely sure what has happened, but since the beginning of this year Adobe Acrobat (full, pro-version) has become unusably slow. Click and wait 30 seconds for response slow. Is it just me?

I was just idly thinking the other day how any business making huge profit can hire a few extra people, decreasing unemployment and giving a whole bunch a four day work week. Don't hear about that much eh?

On behalf of the Science NZ Early Career Member Group (ECMG), I’m delighted to share our new publication in the New Zealand Science Review: ‘Pressures and Pathways: Early Career Experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Research Organisations’: doi.org/10.26686/nzs... 🧵1/5

Today's #Chemistry #ChemEd #ChemSky summary is SN1/SN2 substitution. I waited until 46th summary to cover this as I don't think it's as important as the chemistry of the carbonyl group (but is invariably introduced 1st in textbooks 🤷‍♂️go figure). More info www.makingmolecules.com/blog/substit... enjoy

In case anyone needs it for their syllabi, my statement in gen-Ai from the minicomic I made as a syllabus for class last semester. All online and printable here spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...

My last read of 2025? @hendysh.bsky.social's Silencing Science. I think the topics it explores should be taught in high school science and/or social studies. It's a great, approachable primer and it's slightly shameful that I've taken this long to get around to it ☺️

Shaun Hendy's The Covid Response is a great read - my review here -https://ojs.wgtn.ac.nz/nzsr/article/view/10256/9049