This is probably more true today than it was six years ago when I wrote it: billbennett.co.nz/why-you-shou...

For years people have talked about "the greatest invention since sliced bread"... which is fine, but sliced cheese is even better.

NZ Post Courier left a note instead of a parcel because we were out. Fair enough. This was before 12. There's a code on the card, but apparently the parcel is not on the database. This is going to get very frustrating... isn't it?

Could still be accurate if you mean a washed-up rock star that spends mornings queuing outside the methadone clinic while figuring out how to avoid paying child support.

I reviewed the Oppo Pad SE tablet. It's good value sitting squarely between premium tablets like the iPad and the often disappointing cheap models. billbennett.co.nz/oppo-pad-se-...

Review: Oppo Pad SE Matte Display Edition: https://billbennett.co.nz/oppo-pad-se-matte-display-edition-review/

I asked ChatGPT to invent a word for Nicola Willis' economic leadership that echoes the term ruthenasia for Ruth Richardson’s tenure. It did not disappoint: Nicolapse and Nicolateral damage take your pick.

New Zealand government linkrot: https://billbennett.micro.blog/2025/09/19/new-zealand-government-linkrot.html

In case you missed it at 7:00 today's newsletter is live: billbennett.co.nz/cellular-net...

Spark, One NZ give responders network visibility: https://billbennett.co.nz/cellular-network-visibility-spark-leadership-one-n-sustainability/

Robbers www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/au...

I suspect the Irish Moss cough lollies I got from the local pharmacy have never seen a bog nor have they been near a pint of Guinness - although I hope to fix the latter issue some time tomorrow.

Looking at the council and local board candidates booklet and I swear some of those innocuous looking manifestos hide nut jobs... I checked one out and found she is anti vax presumably there are more. Is there a local election spot the nut job directory anywhere?

These days that old science fiction idea that a time traveller from the future could return to kill baby Hitler or someone similar no longer looks quite so ridiculous.

Just came across this ancient post on my web site. Anyone else remember Clive Sinclair? billbennett.co.nz/farewell-cli...

Are there people out there who think Shane could replace Winston? www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

I feel that we don't talk enough about the $2 lolly bags you can buy from dairies. It's an unspoken New Zealand institution.

For years I thought Duck Duck Go (which is based on Bing) had shallow coverage of specialist NZ web pages, but recently I've been trawling through the unloved parts of my site and DDG has way, way better coverage of those pages - many are not on Google but are on DDG (and presumably Bing).

It would make more sense to invest $70 million in tourism developments like this than trying to bribe overseas acts to perform here. www.stuff.co.nz/home-propert...

Three years a Sky Sport subscription included the English Premier League AND UEFA Champions League games. The cost of Sky is now 60% higher than in 2022 and 2023 when it was $300, but no longer includes UEFA. To watch the same amount of football as 2023, I now have to pay $620. Over 100% more.

It'll all be over by Christmas

Are the Destiny Church protestors actually agitating in favour of genocide? Or have I missed something?

Today's newsletter: Spark sharpens SPK-30 strategy; 5G boosted by Tū Ātea; new API services with Aduna; Apple unveils slimmer iPhone Air; Oppo partners with All Whites and Ferns; Tuanz board update. billbennett.co.nz/download-wee...

Every week when I bring the wheelie bin in after rubbish collection there is a crushed cola and bourbon can in the bottom. It's obviously one person doing this as they walk past our house although I've never seen it happen. No harm done, but strange behaviour.

This blog post from 17 years ago looks at how, at the time, blogging appeared to be reshaping journalism. It’s still valid, but things didn’t entirely work out as anticipated: billbennett.co.nz/journalis…

waiting for trump to evolve his excuse for the epstein letter into "i was a democrat at the time"

Saw that BBC news story where Russian state TV is claiming the drone attack on Poland was a Ukrainian false flag operation and wondered if there is a Polish equivalent of Tui's "Yeah Right"

One of my favourite pieces of advice I received when starting out as a young journalist (That was 45 years ago) was “Don’t use old clichés, invent new ones”.

It’s not a profound observation, but in the dozens of press releases I get each day, companies no longer do deals… everything is now called a partnership, even if a company just buys something from another company.

Oh oh oh football tonight at a civilised hour.

Plenty of gnashing about Nash around these parts.

I'm not convinced the Irish Moss cough lollies I got from the local pharmacy are medically therapeutic, but the sugar seems to keep me functioning

That's quite a headline: www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

Generative AI isn’t helpful in my main work… I can far better news and feature than a chatbot, but it is making a huge difference when it comes to fixing errors on my website, currently working through fixing broken links at five or six times the speed of doing it manually.

Wondering if I can get a synthesiser to reproduce my web traffic graph as a sound wave for a groovy beat.

“The longer a company’s code of ethics, the more likely it is run by sleazeballs.” The No Asshole Rule author Bob Sutton hits the nail on the head again. The quote comes from his post: The Enron Code of Ethics: Something Every Boss Should Read.

Just realised that all the press releases from Norton for the past year, maybe longer, have been going through to my junk mail folder. Perhaps there is something in this AI stuff after all.

Stay alert, this would be a good day for government spin doctors to push out any bad news press releases.

"bring me solo and the wookiee"

Earlier this year the chip in my business debit card stopped working and I got a replacement card. That’s not the story. There real story is that I need to resubmit card details for all my digital subscriptions. And that gives me time to reconsider and cull. I’m saving a fortune.

I found this old post from 15 years ago explaining (back then) what went wrong with newspapers from a business perspective. billbennett.co.nz/what-could-n...

Newspapers missed chances to slow their decline: https://billbennett.co.nz/what-could-newspapers-have-done-to-slow-their-decline/

So there I was, congratulating myself on getting the newsletter out, writing a feature for the paper and navigating a hospital appointment while dealing with cold or 'flu symptoms. And then realised there was a typo in the newsletter headline. Fixed now, but damn. billbennett.co.nz/tcf-report-i...

I've never understood what "pumpkin spice" is supposed to be. I'm guessing it's one of those weird American things that doesn't translate to the civilised world.

I vote that we call the next Cook Strait ferry the ‘Nicola Willis’ so that generations to come will be reminded of her outstanding infrastructure planning expertise.

Today’s newsletter went out ridiculously early. Here’s the link if you weren't online at 5:30am and missed it: billbennett.co.nz/tcf-report-i...

TFC report highlights industry value, cybercrime challenge: https://billbennett.co.nz/tcf-report-industry-value-cybercrime/

I've been busy with other work, so I've only just dug out the story I wrote about AWS' NZ investment in 2021. It really does not make yesterday's announcement look any better. billbennett.co.nz/unpicking-aw...