Stop glorifying ‘build to rent’. It’s just another asset class rebranded by corporate landlords.

Any streaming platforms banned AI-music yet? I'd like to give them my money.

People like Smith and Starmer simply don’t belong in a Labour Party worthy of the name. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

Moved from NZ to Australia in March. Things that are worse: - Internet speeds - Chocolate milk Things that are better? Everything else.

I'm good with AI being used for 'simple' social copy, email copy, SEO blogs etc. I say this as someone who has made a living off that stuff. I've experienced absolutely broken economics that marketing/comms agencies depend on. Let AI reform that world, and leave the creative to humans.

WAKE UP

Received an email from our building manager to all the tenants in our building. A building built next to a major train line. It advised people that management, in response to residents' concerns about train noise, had raised "formal complaints with Metro Trains and the Public Transport Ombudsman."

A major cause of rising house prices has been increased demand from investors. Our research shows restricting negative gearing to newly built housing and scrapping the capital gains tax discount would reduce speculation and allow more first home buyers to get into their own home.

Absolutely my favourite April Fool's content this year ☕🌅

#Housing credit lotteries in #Brazil show that early access to homeownership significantly boosts #fertility rates. Subsidies and zoning changes could support young families and address demographic challenges. B van Doornik, D Fazio, T Ramadorai, J Skrastiņš cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky

Living rent free in their Spotify

@profanity.accountant ok

2025 albums that I've been enjoying

Hilarious being in a music discord server and being told that posting ‘political songs’ is a problem

this will alienate me from many people but i’m dead serious about massively increasing defence spending. not for flash kit per se, but for credible surveillance kit and deterrence suited to our capability and conditions (drones, a guerrilla force, etc etc etc)

Those damn DEI asteroids

We live in a world where wannabe marketing influencers are espousing the value of 'error-led content' as a way for people to express their authenticity. Be stupid so people know you're real.

One way flight booked. As they say, Everyone Must Go.

Doesn't do much on Bsky for a while. Comes back. Tells someone their take is bad. Gets blocked. Never change, Bluesky.

The media using neutral pronouns for the person Bayly ‘laid hands on’ is not a conspiracy or cover up. These are small teams. The gender of the victim isn’t being disclosed because doing so could identify them. Be smarter.

Some of this week's music

Took the kids this summer to see some of our most fiercely protected conservation areas. Was magical.

Adjusted for inflation, $40.9bn in Q4 of 2019 (pre-pandemic) would be $50.42bn. $37.7bn is 74.8% of that number. Still want to describe it as "creeping back up"?

"tourism was New Zealand’s largest export industry and delivered $40.9bn. The most recent figures show those numbers are creeping back up, with tourism bringing in $37.7bn in 2023." Journalists continue to be economically illiterate. Adjusted for inflation that's far below pre-pandemic income.

There's seemingly never been a better time to reject cloud services and store things locally. The future was promised, existed for a minute, and then became our enemy.

hey. so this is fucked www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

You simply can't Facebook your way out of designing an intersection that will kill pedestrians

Traffic Engineers do go to school, right? You have to study something to do that job?

Epidemic of people in NZ failing miserably at talking normal. There is nothing candid about the abomination 'journey mapping'. Get to fuck and stay there until you learn to talk normal like your mother taught you

We hear about inequality and wealth taxes etc. It’s not that no politicians in Aotearoa want to fight this. It’s that they aren’t communicating in a way that invigorates voters to the extent needed.

I just imported an album to iTunes (Apple Music) for the first time in 20 years AMA

Anyway I like music

The right-wing fucks are out there yelling about how it's immigrants and trans people, but no one on the left seems willing to call it like it is: wealthy assholes have hoarded the cash we need to build and maintain a decent society. We can communicate this in an optimistic way and it's THE TRUTH

The greedy rich have stolen the money we need to pay our doctors and nurses, our teachers, our bus drivers. The money we need to build our schools and hospitals. This point cannot be overstated yet we never hear it from our politicians. Someone slap me

Saying it again. Nuclear is the most expensive form of energy we could have. Those pushing the conversation on it, are using it to distract from the rollout of the cheapest, cleanest energy form: renewables. #auspol

I wanna vote for the party whose 2026 slogan is: The rich are trying to steal your future - we're taking it back.

CNN's Jim Acosta signing off: "I will not give in to the lies. I will not give into the fear. Post it on your social media so people can hear from you too." I will not give in to the lies. I will not give into the fear. Post it on your social media so people can hear from you too. Pass it on.

Punk music is hitting different in 2025, hey?

The Post printed an article today asserting that Wellington’s car parking is “overstretched”. I asked what their basis was for asserting this, given that WCC parking occupancy at peak times is only 52% and there are around 30,000 car parks overall in the central city. They removed the assertion.

Is the word ‘facts’?

Once more for those not paying attention: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49B...

Fun fact about Roman emperors: relatively few died of natural causes.

New addition and wow, she's beautiful. Yumi Zouma - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

I may have gone way too far down this rabbit hole. Like, I’m talking to people who worked for Linkin Park’s label. And have contacted people about Tadpole.

Do Kiwi bands still go and do lunchtime gigs at high schools?

I've listened to more music this week than any week since one in 2006. Two things: first, that's crazy. Second, it's epic that I can know that.

I can still watch US content for the moment. Wasn't clear if that was going to be the case when this happened.

*lots* of music this week #lastfm

YIMBY folks, what are some good accessible resources on the most important policy reforms to enable abundant mid-rise developments?