RE: https://moo.nz/@Tatjna/115657762894893625 Bingo. This is entirely self-defeating. It's preserving the fictional profits of unsustainable producers. Their profits are funded by future generations who'll have to spend far more than these folks are profiting now to clean up their colossal mess […]

RE: https://mastodon.nz/@ClareBear/115657622084474157 They were never serious about climate and they prove their intentions at every turn. The costs to farmers, communities, and businesses will be enormous. Meanwhile, some of the most effective things we could do as a nation to turn our […]

RE: https://mastodon.nz/@RupertBBare/115657549960548902 I am so angry/despondent/irked by this. WTAF? You're a bunch of criminals ruining our future. How did we get here? I hate it I hate it I hate it. #ClimateCrisis

[NZPol climate traitors] So, when it comes to taking responsibility for our climate sins, our Gov't are dishonourable (even traitors) to NZers and our entire region […]

Running my own full-service, multi-tenanted & multi-domain email service gives me a remarkable feeling of power. It's is seriously cool (been running 4 of them for a bunch of years). In other news, Mailcow is superb - . https://mailcow.email/ (I run their Dockerized install)

Can't help but wonder why democratic governments, worldwide, are doing whatever US BigTech tells them to do with regard to 'AI' policy & adoption. How do these governments not realise that BigTech is inherently authoritarian, psychotic, & working against democracy? They are antithetical to our […]

[NZPol 'Boundless faith in science' but defunding it.] Ugh - Nicola Willis is so full of shit. She has boundless (but blind) faith in 'technology' to fix our carbon problem. Simultaneously, she's defunding all science in Aotearoa, so many of the the clever people are leaving. She, and the […]

@lightweight Great article. They’re fascinating animals that we know too little about. I wonder how many relatives used to be on mainland NZ before the kiore and mice. Stewart Island is notable in having no southern beech, and in beech mast years on the mainland the numbers of small rodents […]

Microsoft is increasingly shrill in its desperation to get people to love it's 'AI' service, 'Copilot'... https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/11/28/you-heard-wrong-users-brutually-reject-microsofts-copilot-for-work-in-edge-and-windows-11/ As Microsoft famously does, making up 'grassroots clamour' […]

For all you nature lovers (especially herpetological sorts, i.e. lizards, and more specifically, geckos here in Aotearoa) get a load of this: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-strange-beautiful-lizard-at-the-bottom-of-the-world/ Stunning. I tried to find some when I was in Rakiura, but was […]

This is freakin' cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSch_NgZpQs how trees actually work. I learned a lot!

Posted this discussion starter a few days ago on our Discourse forum; A Free Code grant-making body for Aotearoa would aim to provide a fulltime living for developers (or part-time where that works better for them), for a period of months. Allowing them to complete a pre-planned piece of work […]

[NZPol Regional Councils going rogue] Huh, sounds like the truth is coming out: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/580027/minister-shane-jones-says-green-banshees-in-regional-council-are-stifling-growth As I suspected, this right wing gov't, who were happy with farmer-dominated regional […]

Huh, think I might've figured out why one (but only one) of my NextCloud instances loses contact with the OnlyOffice instance on the same host... Figured out it *might* be because of frequent polling that's resulted in the Mailcow instance (also on the host, as I'm trying to economise) is seeing […]

Jeepers, Piwigo has come out with an impressive new version! https://piwigo.org/release-16.0.0 (I've been running one for a decade or so). Impressive.

[NZ Uni Grade Inflation: Atlas Network] Interesting that an Atlas Network affiliated 'thinktank' is calling out 'grade inflation' at the varsity level. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579886/grade-inflation-think-tank-warns-a-s-will-soon-be-most-common-university-grade Interested to […]

[NZPol - removing democratically elected regional councils...] This came out of the blue a bit: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579884/serious-shake-up-of-local-government-imminent 🤔 wondering why this Coalition Government thinks they have a mandate to do this. Because they don't. I suspect […]

[NZ ACC 'AI' use] Ugh. Listening to Kathryn Ryan interviewing someone from ACC on RNZ's NineToNoon. They talk about 'AI' like it's magic and there seems to be no actual understanding. No questioning whether it's a good idea or bad, what the implications might be, the dependencies it creates […]

[USPol Trump... *loves* Mamdani 😲] What the actual...?! This is so bizarre, and ... good?! Maybe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgqYdPPhN0 So turns out Trump succumbs to Mamdani's charm.

Yup, cats, and their wandering predatory ways, are a huge problem, and getting much bigger: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/579669/why-are-there-so-few-rules-for-the-millions-of-cats-that-damage-our-biodiversity they need to be desexed, restricted to the owners property, and kept inside at […]

On RNZ right now, they're talking about how the software used by pharmacists is not even remotely fit for purpose. Imagine that. Why isn't that sort of thing being sorted by an openly licensed (available to all) system developed by a consortium of companies - that can be scrutinised by anyone - […]

[NZPol social justice vs. the environment...] This is why 'blue-green' capitalists are a non-starter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xx6lNFx8tI George Monbiot is one of the few credible principled & uncaptured commentators out there. Zack Polanski is superb as the new UK Greens leader […]

This is what I'm rocking out to while applying system updates to 30ish VPSs on a stunning warm late spring morning in Ōtautahi... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8YLxY2BziE #dlo3 #jimmyjames #stankyguitar #inthepocket

This interview https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019013452/emergency-departments-to-use-ai-consultations-with-patients suggests a fait accompli of 'AI' saturating our healthcare system, with totally cavalier (i.e. ignorant) boosters who have no idea where the data's […]

[NZ Electricity and the LNG dilemma.] Looking at https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019013313/report-warns-gas-mismanagement-could-cost-7-point-3-billion one wonders what brief 'BostonConsultinGroup got. One also wonders where the grid-scale battery projects are. And […]

“Open source has proven itself to be a winning strategy — not recently, but for decades.” — Adriana Groh, Sovereign Tech Agency CEO. #eusummit #digitalsovereignty,

Just took a wee walk around the garden and saw at least 7 (native grass) skinks out and about, doing their thing. Warms my heart each time.

[NZPol Nicola Willis] Wow, she's a horrible leader. Listening to her total rubbish on RNZ right now. She and her party are total crap. Mining, trickle down from foreign investors & corporations, pollution is A Ok, fossil fuels, 'growth' ueber alles. Total shitshow. These folks need to be gone.

Who's the real enemy now? Extremely wealthy people (oligarchs) and large corporations (especially in health, fossil fuels, media, & tech). Everything else is probably manageable. We need to hobble the extremely wealthy and the mega corporations. We need to end the 'corporations-as-person' model […]

Katherine Rich gives Uber far too much credit. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019013122/what-uber-ruling-could-mean-for-gig-economy They didn't do any of it to 'make the world better'. They did it to make their shareholders profit. That's not a noble pursuit. Not […]

[NZPol ACT & the Atlas Network] ACT and their Atlas Network operative leader, David Seymour, are the tail wagging the National + ACT + NZF coalition. Luxon conceded pretty much everything ACT required from National. Perhaps he is more right wing than National is, but also wanted the reins of […]

This seems most auspicious: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/12/yes-new-york-will-soon-be-under-new-management-but-zohran-mamdani-is-just-the-start anti-trust specialist Khan on Mamdani's transition team. We want BigTech and bilionaires defanged and removed from public life […]

RE: https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@futuresprog/115550268885525233 Superb. It works, recursively!

Ok, so I just found out that today's 'Ministry of Ed-mandated' teacher-only day at our boys' high school is so that teachers could have 'professional development' in 'AI' skills, provided by someone from the Google corporation. This is totally corrupt bullshit.

Some newsrooms speak truth to power. Some speak truth from power. Some people want to stand up for the vulnerable and work towards a more informed, equitable society. Others want to stand up for the established order and the status quo. It's pretty obvious which are which.

Tomorrow (Tues, 11 Nov 2025) from 20:00 NZDT we're having a #libre / #foss catch up at https://meeting.iridescent.nz We'll talk about lots of stuff, like maybe Iocaine Powder (to block 'AI' bots driving up your hosting bills) & Umami (web analytics). Whoever comes along determines what we talk […]

Golfer, 74, hits three aces in a month - odds 1.95 trillion to one https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/578273/golfer-74-hits-three-aces-in-a-month-odds-1-point-95-trillion-to-one Let that sink in. 🤪

Almost literally rubbed shoulders with Marlon Williams at the supermarket earlier over the tomatoes in the produce section. He's a tall dude.

Ok, doing Drupal updates while a wee bit snookered, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

[NZ Education & the Atlas Network] So, again, without disclosure or real scrutiny, RNZ parrots what Atlas Network affiliate has to say about NZ's public education curriculum changes […]

Wow, https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019011532/chch-physicist-s-examination-turns-nz-x-ray-history-on-its-head when I saw the picture, I thought, 'I recognise that guy'... Turns out it's Steven Muir, whom I've previously (20ish years ago) encountered in his other […]

It's now Baby Bird Time in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, New Zealand. Here are four of my observations from today of the next generation of the city's birds. I wish them all luck. Baby mallards/greylards: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/325003722 Baby […] [Original post on mastodon.nz]

So, apparently, Mamdani is the new mayor of NYC. This could be a huge deal for modern democracy.

Given the reticence of its local affiliates to mention it's name, one could get the impression that ACT, the NZ Initiative, Curia, the NZ Taxpayers' 'Union', and the 'Free Speech' 'Union' are keen to avoid drawing attention to their Atlas Network (also responsible for the US' Project 2025) […]

I find many folks today are fearful of confrontation. They see it as a proxy for violence. Confrontation is precisely not violence. In fact, in many cases, it's the only viable gambit for initiating communication with a goal of achieving understanding, defusing frustration. It may also be the […]

Ugh, listening to Kathryn Ryan on RNZ NineToNoon interviewing Sonny Taite(?) about an 'AI' scribe to take hospital staff clinical notes. Why - oh why - doesn't she ask the important question: where does the data go?! Which jurisdiction? Who's storing it? Who has access? Who cares for it and […]

This seems connected to the push to privatise management of health data as an opportunity for corporate profit; "Everyone can spread the word that companies and government agencies carelessly allowing cybercriminals and hostile states to get access to private personal data is outrageous and […]

This is frickin' brilliant: https://youtu.be/ODSKfN6pSMs Well done #timminchin, you lil' beauty.

Bingo: "awareness is growing that digital autonomy is no longer a luxury but a prerequisite for a well-functioning democracy." https://ginaplat.com/posts/20251031-digital-sovereignty-and-gov/ Thanks for this, @Gina - the world really needs to be moving away from BigTech and in a much different […]

Damn - https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577448/watch-the-moment-a-dramatic-blaze-ignites-in-whangarei-hospital-s-carpark imagine if the person in that ICE ute had a blanket and had thrown it over over the fire at the start... Wonder if they did raise the alarm or just high-tailed it out of […]