When I moved to NZ in 2007 I didn't really think about who I'd meet here but I suppose I expected it to be mostly Kiwis. It has been a nice surprise to find myself surrounded by Kiwi friends but also all kinds of internationals!

AI is *so* unreliable. I don't know why I keep trying. I asked Anthropic Claude to help me come up with some ideas for my upcoming NZ road trip and it confidently suggested a stay at the Kura Tawhiti DOC campsite and told me all about it. The only problem? The campsite is an AI hallucination.

this thing hides posts it judges as ‘rude’, by some US standard. Thereby silencing most of the conversations in Ireland and Scotland, at least.

A Dublin woman who has crocheted thousands of 'Michael Tea Higgins' tea cosies is preparing for a new presidency

Around Stuart Street Dunedin (and all up Taieri Road/Three Mile Hill)

Conservation dogs in NZ get their own little passports now so they can fly around the country going about their business unimpeded 😍 www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/con...

I should’ve learned this by now but DO NOT use FedEx. The diseased monkeys I ordered haven’t arrived and I can’t get a straight answer on what happened to them

People Watching: Royal New Zealand Ballet, St James Theatre, Wellington, as they prepare for their new production of The Nutcracker

Elon Musk’s Grokipedia contains copied Wikipedia pages

Oh this is good news! What a relief to watch from afar as things go the way I wanted them to go back home in Ireland! www.independent.ie/irish-news/p...

I would if I could! ☘️

Irish version of the Democracy Sausage.

With high winds on the way, Christchurch City Council is urging people to spend some time today getting prepared. www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/g.... Canterbury is currently sitting under a red wind warning for Thursday 23 October. ^DR #Christchurch #Ōtautahi

Every "Christchurch is cool now" article is illustrated with a photo of a pedestrianised street with a tram, meanwhile every local election the discourse is like "rip out the cycle lanes, then turn the botantic gardens into a car park? It's worth a least considering" www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

Love to see it.

The monarch caterpillar population in my garden has reached a level that is clearly unsustainable by my poor swan plants, which will probably be nowt but bare stems by tomorrow, but aren't they gorgeous?

I'm fighting a losing battle to get Anthropic Claude AI to stop fabricating "evidence" to back up what it's telling me. I gave it explicit instructions which it repeatedly fails to follow. I asked it why, and it said it can't stop itself. 🧵

What time is it? Monarch caterpillar time, that's what! I sense that my swan plants are not long for this world 😆

Sign of the times here in Ōtautahi. "THANKS CHRIS YOU SUCK" indeed.

Lots of action in the lavender plants today.

This has just struck me as incredibly funny. There's going to be an AI history of Ireland in 50 years recording that President Michael D Higgins rode to events on a Bernese Mountain Dog, and that President Catherine Connolly never refilled the office jar of teabags. #SmearTheBejaysis #Speirghorm

People Watching: Lunchtime in Paeroa on a Friday

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Elite alt text.

I'm at the stage of Saturday night wine where I'm extremely glad that I don't have a way of messaging the person who is occupying my mind because it would definitely be regrettable 😂

Today was politically less than ideal (shitty mayor reelected, wonderful progressive highly qualified woman not elected, hundreds of local residents voting for a neo Nazi or a sex criminal) but I self soothed in a hammock in balmy 27c weather so I suppose it could have been worse.

Strong language but 100% depressing accuracy. Aotearoa New Zealand is being completely screwed by the current government and it'll be screwed for years after they're long gone. youtu.be/h-yjkAXxnMA?...

Maybe you should stop chopping bits off their willies as routine practice then, just to be safe.

Happy early birthday to me for next week. As a woman of a certain age I am finally allowing myself to splurge on fancy skincare because it makes me feel good. I'm a recent convert to Antipodes and am only kicking myself that it took so long! Cruelty-free, vegan, genuinely effective, AND made in NZ.

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

The pure incompetent negligence here is just... 🤯

Gosh I love dandelions when they're like this. They're so soft looking.

I will never not repost this (Sound on for maximum effect)

People Watching: Metlifecare Bayswater Retirement Village, Mt Maunganui, at lunchtime on a sunny Thursday

Ōtautahi folks: on Saturday 10:00–1:00 we have a Wikipedia edit-a-thon in the Lyttelton Library, looking at the architecture and history of the port. If you're heading over for the market, why not pop in and join us, and learn how to edit Wikipedia? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Well that's a confusing approach to displaying stock, Woolworths. I was tempted to trying buying it anyway just to see what happened but I couldn't be bothered with drama at the self checkout so I bought something else.

I know Aramex have a well deserved reputation as NZ's worst courier service, but my local driver is prompt, polite, friendly, and takes good care to get my parcels into the secure section of my mailbox rather than just biffing them into the yard. #NotAllDrivers

That policy versus this reality: www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

My mailbox received a stern pamphlet entitled "The Truth About DRUGS" but I've gotta say the truth about alcohol is that I have never in my life used the word "brewskis" for it 😂 And they don't have P listed for methamphetamine. I don't think they know their NZ audience too well!

Wow. #nzpol *with alt text

Hell of a thing to put next to a statue of Joan of Arc. (h/t David Pilling)

I have been thinking a lot about how to frame neurotypical and neurodivergent communication and behaviour in a way that makes sense to my geek ND brain. So here it is: a computer analogy. 🧵

Well that was a disappointing start to Monday. I did not know until after buying this that Chobani use stevia to sweeten their products 🤮 Now I have to go and clean my teeth for the second time in an hour, plus find a different breakfast. Sigh.

Love this. I would definitely wear this sort of blended fabric. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

Defo applies to New Zealand right now.

maybe there's still some good left in this world after all

I wasn't allowed to listen to pop music or watch MT-USA (videos) but I was fascinated by Madonna's "Like a Virgin" at my cousin's house. I didn't know what a virgin was but thought it was something like a mermaid or a siren on a rock.

Ah, the joy of freelance life. A couple of 2026 funding pools have just dried up, so if anyoneʻs interested in a project with a Wikipedian, now’s the time to get in touch. www.rove.wiki

I feel seen. theoatmeal.com/comics/brain...