Why can’t we have nice things, too?

For context, these were due to be published in March 2025. The NZ govt prevented their publication because they intended to ban puberty blockers and the guidelines show they are safe, effective, and standard care internationally. Today they were released in an OIA putting them in the public domain.

We need to campaign amongst all the 17 year olds we know to get them signed up.

Always. Same for linked in.

A company has shipped me a package from Auckland using Aramex. I have given up getting it by Xmas.

A PM named Luxon, they say, Might find himself ousted one day. But Willis declared, "Our leader's not scared— He's keeping his promises, okay?" www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heath...

A knew a catholic priest years ago, a lovely guy, very down to earth. He also played the organ and someone told me that on Ascension Day once he played Up Up and Away. I heard this anecdote 30 years ago, and I still smile when I think of it.

Very tempting to reply to all the posts in my timeline with: “yes, but what sort of pie do they like”, or “that could be improved with more pies”. Seems to work…

My favourite Pie is the little Nannas blackberry and Apple ones from the supermarket. Low brow as far as pies go, but I don’t care. That and a really good mince with nice flakey pastry. #pies

National has spent more on me to send this leaflet telling me I should be grateful, than they have in the last year on things that actually benefit my family, because I am not a landlord. Instead they give my taxes to industries actively trying to kill me, like tobacco and fossil fuels. #nzpol

Let’s see if one single pundit who said there was some great realignment of American sentiment with this last election, based on what they saw on the Nazi-owned platform overrun by foreign actors, offers any retractions or corrections for their gullibility.

“Insurers increasingly view AI models’ outputs as too unpredictable and opaque to insure, said Dennis Bertram, head of cyber insurance for Europe at Mosaic. “It’s too much of a black box.” www.ft.com/content/abfe...

To the company's disappointment, "people who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison", internal documents said. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

Spot On (youth magazine show) had a segment on music recording. Joined RNZ to learn, stayed for 35 years.

Ok Bluesky, let’s give this a go: I found this postcard in the back of a photo frame I bought at a London thrift shop. It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!). I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?

This is (a) a clever idea, and (b) quite freaky

Earlier this week, a new page titled “Vaccines and Autism” appeared on the CDC website. The agency's employees are not happy about it. “The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”

Extra sketchy #nzpol cartoon concepts.

The Verge: Screw it, I’m installing Linux https://www.theverge.com/tech/823337/switching-linux-gaming-desktop-cachyos #win11 #linux

Swedish Deputy PM: Sweden needs to pick its friends wisely, and we are choosing Canada… So when we come to America, we come to Canada now.

A little brainteaser I wrote: Writing 'not unlike' is not unlike writing 'like', unlike writing 'unlike', which, unlike writing 'not unlike', is not like writing 'like'. #WritingCommunity #BookSky #WriteSky #WordPlay

Looking for a stocking filler? In need of a truly original, vulvalicious holiday card? Our Merry Clitmas Collection is here. To ensure your order arrives before the big day, order by November 19th (International, incl. USA) or December 10th (UK). vaginamuseumshop.co.uk/collections/...

Hey peeps! It's been 2 weeks since I launched my crowdfunding campaign, and your support and generosity have blown me away. You folks rock! But with 3 research grant rejections this month & 2 weeks left to go I’ve decided to set a new stretch goal & pivot… 1/8

NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen. Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.

Car Size xkcd.com/3167/

Declaring on a news media website that someone currently before a court facing criminal charges that could be the subject of a jury trial are not innocent is generally not advised. www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heath...

Every ad now

You pay fuel duty. Why don’t billionaires? This week, we launched WeWingAnyCar.com to help you qualify for the same tax breaks that private jets get. Because tax loopholes shouldn’t just be for billionaires. They’re for everyone.

Damn, that's a lot of books. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/t...

What happened when I dug into some of the key studies and ideas quoted in The Tipping Point and its sequel… kucharski.substack.com/p/the-real-r...

In today’s HeraldOnSunday

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death. Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written." Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating. 🧪🧬🧫

To mark the death of James Watson, please read this 2023 piece about Rosalind Franklin's role in the discovery of the double helix www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Uber literally wrote the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, Brooke GPT was happy to oblige. Join a Union✊🏼 #nzpol

Metric Tip xkcd.com/3164/

10% of Meta's 2024 ad revenue came from outright frauds and scams; the platform shows consumers 15 billion ads for fraud and scams every single day. This doesn't even include agitprop and AI slop. the existential collapse of this monumental pile of shit company simply can't come quickly enough

Out for lunch yesterday and overheard someone who is ‘becoming a free woman on the land‘. Also sleeps on copper and magnets as it helps with a range of health issues.

Using AI for research is a trip. Ex: Gemini gives me 5 sources, the first 3 don't exist. I Google the titles (to double check they don't exist) & the Google AI summary gives me a complete explanation of the articles that don't exist including "their" key arguments & findings. Crazy-making.

What AI hype, its hour come at last, slouches towards LinkedIn to produce statistically average thought leadership pieces.

PSA: Before this "dislike" thing gets out of hand, because I've seen some very big accounts misinforming people, here's what it actually is. It's a private option that lets you see less of topics you're not interested in on certain feeds. That's it. It's not a downvote, thumbs down, etc.

National so far this term: Getting to your meeting 30 seconds quicker is a higher priority than protecting kids from cars on their way to school Keeping school attendance up is a higher priority than protecting kids from measles Saving a few bucks is a higher priority than a decent lunch

They literally ruin everything they touch

#NZ There’s a national immunisation week starting on Monday aims to raise vaccination rates For measles we need a 95% coverage. Currently it’s - 76.4% of all 2-year-olds - 70.4% of Pacific 2-year-olds - 63.3% of Māori toddlers - 1 in 3 kids who catch it are hospitalised. Some will have brain damage

🧵 A round of applause (donations also welcomed) for @nzlii.bsky.social for digitising the first Board of Health report on drugs, which began the road to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, more swiftly than I could have imagined. With searchable and selectable text! Glory be.

This is not great. Check your vaccination status and if in doubt, get a booster. The whole of year 11 at Wellington College has been advised to stay home.

Please please folks check your vaxx status & that of your kids. Measles is not “just a childhood illness”; before vaccinations it killed and disabled millions of people every year. Remember, your vaccine doesn’t just protect you, but those too young or too immunocompromised to be vaccinated.

This is currently my top advice for using the NZ medical system. Ask your practitioner if they're using AI to transcribe your patient notes, whether to transcribe their dictation (bad) or to generate a transcription from listening to the consult (appalling). If they say yes, ask them not to.

wapo.st/3LsC6NT (Gift article)