Been a long time since I read a book in a day. Granted this book is tiny. It really broke me. I think across the board we as a society are terrible with disability: whether it’s genetic disorders from birth, accidents, onset of illness including chronic, the elderly we straight up suck at.

This is what it really comes down to. Masks are a reminder the pandemic isn’t over. 🔹COVID is airborne 🔹Each infection carries cumulative risk 🔹Long COVID has no cure 🔹The pandemic isn’t over 🔹Wearing a mask is still one of the best ways to protect yourself and others Stay informed. Stay safe.

Urgent call out to WA mob. Bone marrow donor needed for one year old Jamori. He’s Aboriginal and European and a similar background increases the chance of a match. Please register and perhaps save a young fella’s life nit.com.au/26-02-2026/2...

“It is remarkable that our country has commenced recognising Indigenous ancestors in some significant lands and waters. It’s time to be next-level courageous with general conservation and environmental law.” — Jacinta Ruru. #nzpol e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

As I'm attending a conference in Tübingen today, for #findsfriday an #IceAge masterpiece that is on display at the University museum: a tiny but most splendid figurine from the Swabian Jura - a #horse carved in mammoth ivory some 40,000 years ago - the oldest known sculpture of a horse. 📷me 🏺

In this episode, we explore the history of The Bluff, near Ypres. We look at the bitter fighting of February–March 1916, when British and German forces battled for control of the high ground overlooking Ypres, and walk the battlefield visiting the battlefield cemeteries.

Improperly installed electrostatic precipitator.

Influenza epidemic peak height is not the best measure of season size. How severe the season is is a separate issue again. virologydownunder.com/another-way-...

I've just published a reference for anyone using git while trans, explaining how to hide or remove your deadname in git repositories Please share ❤️ code.curly.kiwi/2026/02/27/u...

GOOD NEWS! A UNIVERSAL sarbecovirus vaccine candidate has OFFICIALLY started clinical trials. GBP511 is the FIRST vaccine to reach human testing that is intended to protect against MULTIPLE strains of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other related coronaviruses with the potential to spark dangerous outbreaks.

Important thread

Thanks, @bhanlon15.bsky.social Here’s a free link www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Increasing police numbers probably wouldn't reduce crime either. Just like increasing the number of firefighters wouldn't decrease the number of fires. Contrary to Mitchell's beliefs, we're only going to truly reduce crime by increasing social justice and addressing the root causes of crime.

Do we trust the Yanks with our biometric data? HELL NO!!! #nzpol

NZ is an international outlier in that more than half of those experiencing homelessness are women, often with dependent children. A "housing first" approach makes a huge difference to their lives (and men's), writes @universityofotago.bsky.social's Brodie Fraser theconversation.com/new-police-p...

The heart-quickening sight of an old friend. #SilburyHill - the largest prehistoric mound in Europe. A Neolithic monument I once spent a year inside. It is a mass of ancient matter, and quicksilver - substantial, heavy, brilliant, yet can’t be pinned down. #Neolithic

Prepping for the new term. Telling the students they can use AI for assignments because that's our rule for 2026. And that they should use it carefully -- you don't get a robot to lift your weights in the gym. Asked Meta-AI for a picture of a gym robot. And the first shot is a keeper.

so weird this turned out to be Gibson's most accurate and proximate futurism. I too think of it almost daily.

We were looking for this by the way, which is ridiculously small and only one of us knew what we were looking for. Eleocharis neozelandica, sand spike sedge. At Risk - Declining. Etymology eleocharis: Charm of the swamp www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/specie...

An important reminder🧵 of why on a bendy road your vehicle stopping distance gotta be the same or ideally less than how far ahead you can see.

AirSpot now stocks the Smart Air QT3, Sqair, SA600, Blast Mini and Blast Air Purifiers, along with replacement HEPA and VOC filters, for our Australian customers. airspothealth.com/collections/... airspothealth.com/collections/...

Critically endangered kākāpō Vori-A1, who has important genes from the Fiordland kākāpō Richard Henry, born live on camera in the nest of foster mother Rakiura. Almost no one has seen these birds hatch before! The egg had only been delivered 1.5 hours earlier.

Felt inspired by that headline... ☠️ #NZPol

Have a read, have a follow!

📢 The zoo's lead vet Shanna Rose said they've been "overwhelmed" with patients, and were running out of room, with birds being cared for in plastic tubs.

do we understand why using the term 'move on' in the headline, even in quotes, is bad journalism? do we understand how it directly creates cover for social murder? if so, why are nz media outlets *still* doing this?

Govt: we're giving every town cop the ability to issue a "move on order" to the homeless Me: MOVE THEM ON TO WHERE, NATIONAL, FUCKING SPACE?

Thinking of everyone of you who went thru the Canterbury earthquakes and was lucky enough to live to tell the tale. You're amazing and you're here. And, you made the best use of road cones EVER. 🫶👏🫂 Im also thinking of those who didn make it and their loved ones.💔 🫂

We already come across homeless camps set up in parks and reserves on a regular basis. Support services don't exist in smaller centres and police aren't interested in getting involved. There is a massive support gap here and it's only going to get worse.

Very worth reading: e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

Important beloved home country 🧵

The Wellington Water disaster is also a useful demonstration of how increased investment in and of itself is insufficient. The operational model (insourced vs outsourced, etc) and governance model (governed directly or via devolved boards, etc) are just as important, and appeared to be ignored

I am never going to get over the fact thar so many Americans died that corpses stacked up in nursing homes and hospital morgues, that refrigerator trucks had to be brought in for the overflow, and that the big takeaway from Important Pundits is there should have been *less* mitigation.

Cannot emphasize enough that we had evidence for Long COVID and all of the potential downstream health impacts of COVID in like…October 2020 at the latest.

“The Swedish team doctor said players were masked to prevent “infections coming in” Masking in hospitals, however, can result in a psych referral.“

1. Outstanding article from Tess Finch Lees: 'Meanwhile, when asked why she’s masking during chemo, Meg now says, “I’m training for the Olympics” '. Please click on the paywalled link first, archived link in next post. Also consider sharing. m.independent.ie/opinion/comm...

A stunning #Neolithic rock crystal arrowhead found in the pile-dwelling settlement of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, dating from around 3500 BC. The raw material was not available in the immediate area, but came from the Alps. Rock crystal has been mined in the Swiss Alps since the early Mesolithic.🧵1/3 🏺

Today is the 110th anniversary of the Battle of #Verdun in 1916. I took this photo one morning at Cote 304 in 2016: Ancient Sunlight peaking through the dark forest, lighting the crumbling trenches of the Great War landscape below. #Verdun110

In Scotland and Ireland beware strange horses. They may be the each-uisge. If you can saddle it and ride inland, you will have a fine horse, until it gets a whiff of sea-air. Then it gallops seaward, devouring you but leaving your liver to float upon the surface of the water... #FolkloreThursday

The co-founder of @itiscolossal.bsky.social George Church has been shown to have deep ties with Epstein, more than he let on, and should be ostracised from the palaeontological, ancient DNA, and conservation communities edition.cnn.com/2026/02/19/p... @tetzoo.bsky.social

Remembering Rangiaowhia, 21 February 1864. buttondown.com/unsettling/a...

Correction: SA deaths should be <5 reported, not 5.

AUSTRALIA Weekly COVID Update: 20 Feb 2026 🔹SA: ⬆️ (+36.5%) 5 deaths reported 🔹WA: ⬆️ (+34.3%) Avg 18/day in hospital 🔹VIC: ⬆️ (+29.0%) 🔹QLD: ⬆️ (+15.8%) 37 in hospital 🔹NSW: ⬆️ (+13.0%) 🔸TAS: Next update: 6 Mar 🔹Aged Care: The Australian government ended weekly COVID-19 reporting.

I bet you did not read the whole story and so you missed this amazing picture of some of the astonishing baskets created by Spencer Lunham Jr. of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, northwest of London. Ontario / #ldnont. Just look at these beauties...

I started a new dataviz project recently, integrating the Principal Diagnosis for Hospital Separations data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). My dataviz collects their yearly "datacubes" (Excel spreadsheets), currently covering the period from mid-2010 to mid-2024. 🧵

Important news! I am delighted to announce the launch of my new podcast: The Untitled History Podcast. It's me, and guests, falling down all the history rabbitholes you can imagine. Please, please spread the word, subscribe and listen. Because... SHIPS CATS!! cms.megaphone.fm/channel/the-...

This 🧵 ⬇️ is really umportant, Aotearoa New Zealand. So please bookmark it, read it, and share it widely. We need to stop the further rise of white supremism. #NotOnOurWatch #nzpol

A thistle made of woven wood splints by Mi'kmaw basket maker Bridget Anne Sack around 1950. A pretty incredible display of skill on such a tiny scale.