I think about the impact of LLM use on learning a lot, so this feels…vindicating

Wellington Mask Bloc - please donate to a great cause if you can

i wrote about the loss of randomness from music-listening and TV-watching www.patreon.com/posts/139812...

In high school I worked at walmart and a coworker went on maternity leave and after the kid was born somebody tacked a photo of the mother and newborn on the break room bulletin board for everyone to see. In response, the insane greeter lady put up an 8" x 10" photo of herself next to it

You, 6ft tall, full head of hair: i cant get into these crevices im too big and they snag my hair. Me, 5'6 and bald, emerging from a crevice: yeah I wouldn't know, man

"SSRIs were associated with a lower risk of developing #longCOVID, particularly its neurologic and musculoskeletal sequelae, in patients with depression, compared with non‑SSRI antidepressants" link.springer.com/article/10.1... Screenshot from latest Science for ME weekly update #PASC

This could have very well been Marama Davidson and Māori Television crew members, they were on the flotilla in 2015 and 2016 and both were intercepted and Marama was kidnapped by the IDF at the time. You have more in common with a Palestinian than you do with an alt right American. Speak up. #nzpol

Ōtepoti contingent, hmu

A big month for progress on mucosal Covid vaccines! - A 35th mucosal vax in clinical trial - Encouraging preclinical results for intranasal self-amplifying mRNA vax from Spain Nextgen Covid vax update @plos.org absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/09/30/t... ....1/2 #Covid #Covid19 #Vaccines

Measles cases in NZ. Symptoms → fever, cough, sore eyes, rash. 📍 Locations: Northland, Queenstown, Cromwell → spr.ly/63329A977F 📞 Feeling unwell? Stay home & call Healthline 0800 611 116.

California's first solar-covered canal, and the second solar-covered canal in the US, just started working. Building solar panels over canals cools panels, reduces water loss from evaporation, and avoids developing additional land. #climatechange #goodnews

Close to 65k watching the livefeed from the Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Gaza. Israel seems to be intercepting right now. All eyes needed. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEN2...

Listen to me. Might does not make right. The wrong side does not have a good point because they will put a gun to anybody's head. That's just more of what makes them wrong. Any person who has escaped domestic violence can tell you that you can't compromise with someone who likes hurting you. Stop.

It's that time: ShortBox Comics Fair is here! Over 140+ all-new, original comics created by artists from around the world, gathered exclusively in one place -for October only! And it's all online, with all digital comics: no shipping, no waiting, no travelling. www.shortboxcomicsfair.com

it’s dysautonomia awareness month and boy oh boy, am i ever aware of my dysautonomia

this business model should be flatly illegal taking on a bunch of debt to buy a company and then burning the company to the ground to service that debt while paying yourselves huge fees is a purely destructive practice that has never once had a positive outcome ban it completely

what New York City did wrt renaming “Columbus Day” is so far the absolute worst of all possible worlds and therefore funniest option they could’ve taken

if i were a would-be dictator whose only civilian check on power had been consumed by total-complete partisan loyalty, something i would definitely do is call an unprecedented in-person meeting of the only people who could stop me and then proceed to illustrate why they should stop me

as reported in webworm today, the nz media council has ruled against RNZ, saying it lacked balance and fairness in its reporting over the death of trans teen alex. hopefully this encourages RNZ to look at all their reporting on trans issues - they need to (www.webworm.co/trainhopping/)

don't reproach me dude. i'm beyond that shit

Buried in the detail about reducing earthquake strengthening is the removal of requirements for disabled access and fire safety. You know who does that? Sociopaths.

Liberals: don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good Me: yeah fair ok, show me the good Liberals: this isn't the time for fucking purity tests you little shit

Bird of the year, kārearea, says FREE PALESTINE and SANCTION ISRAEL! image: photo of the kārearea sculpture above Clyde (Otago) with a Palestinian flag flying in the foreground.

I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Isra. Isra is a journalist in Gaza who has worked for 14 years with a lot of international experience (she is fluent in Spanish). She was also working on a PhD. She lost her father, home, work and university. She’s trying to help her family ❤️

“These findings align w/previous histological evidence of small nerve fiber loss, reinforcing the hypothesis that peripheral nerve dysfunction contributes to the multisystem symptoms of long COVID.”

Imagine... the year is 2050, and disability rights are real. Send us a letter to tell us what this future looks like. We'll publish our five favourite entries and pay £100 for each one. The deadline is 1st November 2025. www.disabilitydebrief.org/letters-from...

Google translation of an article on an interesting #MECFS drug trial that is about to start in Norway www-nettavisen-no.translate.goog/nyheter/vild... Sadly they still haven't reached the amount required to fully do this study. People can donate here: www.me-foreningen.no/om-oss/stott... #PwME

incredible how transphobia is such a reliable bellwether for all the other terrible opinions someone holds

Applications are now open for the Toi Pōneke d/Deaf and Disabled Artist Development Residency 2026. This eight-week residency (16 Feb – 12 April 2026) offers a studio space, stipend, and mentor support. Applications close 5pm, Monday 17 November 2025. Find out more and apply here:

Californians: do it

Still a long way from the goal. I understand the cost of living crisis is affecting us all, but of you're in a position where you wouldn't miss $5 consider pledging to make this happen

As an artist, Spotify is the worst possible way to listen to my music - plus the company sucks massively. Other streaming platforms (like Apple or Tidal) are better, and the most accessible option for most people. But if you're feeling up for it, try starting your own library. /1

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Another thing I’ve been flagging for years: NZ has as many or more far-right posters than the USA and UK (same demographics of risk here too) 👇 (read + link in next post; extremists here post twice as much as in the other countries). Yet govt ignoring this too...

What also baffles me is that Democratic Party is ~30 points underwater in favorability & Zohran Mamdani is ~16 points above water in favorability. The Dem Party establishment, who is responsible for the abysmal rating, is too arrogant to support the guy ~50 points ahead of them. Incredible.

Have heard that govt likely to cut eligibility for Total Mobility - an essential lifeline for many disabled people who cannot drive or access public transportation. Please sign this petition to parliament calling for Increased funding for Total Mobility Scheme

Ōtepoti: Palestine solidarity Tomorrow there's an event that'll be good for the soul - Rozana for Palestine Community fundraiser Music, kai, poetry, cultural exhibits. Family friendly! 28th September 12pm-8pm 45 Māori Rd $10 entry, under 18s free All proceeds to Rozana (image, same info)

My take today is that the government does not care what we think or say, but money talks. That's all they care about. I would support a general strike or economic strike (we dont purchase anything for 24hrs) - this may be what they do listen to. @psna-otautahi.bsky.social @nzctu.bsky.social

A legal challenge to force the UK government to fund specialist health services for ME/CFS has 20 hours to go. This seems like a good thing to support, for those who can afford to. www.crowdjustice.com/case/justice...

Exactly. Did you know that Winston Peters enabled the Springbok Tour to go ahead as he worked against a NZ judge that tried to stop the springbok tour from going ahead, using parliamentary privilege to attack him #nzpol

"Who would have predicted this?" - Black women did. - Trans people did. - The *entire* disability community did. - The anarchists did. - Post-Evangelicals did. "Well why didn't I hear them." You did. But you disregarded us as "extremists" and "alarmists". And you are still calling us that.

I felt very moved by this too. Not because we yet have a cure, but because of the reminder of the passionate and humane commitment that goes into such research, contrasted with the vicious idiocy with which medical research is being treated right now by the US administration.

new scam going around where they hire you for a job but pay you less than the value your labor produced

Borrowed this from someone else's post and I'm posting with Alt text because it's too good not to share. Did a search, and I *think* the artist is Jean-Michel Tixier. Want to give credit where it's due, if possible.

New essay: REJECT TRANS DOOM-POSTING. It's about grief, loss, institutional failures, and the horror of the current moment. It's also a love letter to trans community, and the things we do with and for one another.

Canada Post “lost” 1 billion dollars last year? How about, “it cost Canadians 1 billion dollars to have a national postal service” which works out to costing about $25 a year per person (population of Canada in 2024 = 40 million). Seems like a pretty reasonable cost to me.

I have a big request. My baby cousin, 15, is in hospital, non-responsive. I'd like to see her one last time & am trying to fly across the ocean *tomorrow* to make this happen. It would cost about £2500 or £3300 dollars. If you're able to contribute, this is my paypal: paypal.me/riversandfam