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• Post #4306088

  Headlines like this ("Rising shop violence demands stronger penalties") pop-up often and are seldom challenged. Retail crime has not changed over the past 6 years anywhere near what has been reported, and with shifting reporting practices it is very difficult to compare contemporary rates with historical ones. Even so, these headlines are enough to drive draconian policing, facial recognition cameras, and racial profiling. It sits squarely in the "Let's use police to protec...

• Post #4258468

  Yesterday was hard. Woke up with atrial fibrillation and spent the day stressed and wondering if i should go to the hospital. Got called by the charity i'd done two interviews for to say that even though they loved me and i was amazing they were hiring the other person. Then cooked an amazing dinner for the family which i couldnt eat because I've got an endoscopy coming up. Of course all of this inspired many hours of bleak introspection and second guessing of all my life choices. I&#3...

• Post #4181159

  Been sketching buildings alongside the track in East Richmond and 'No Fun' is one of my favourites. I'm a bit out of practice - I did a degree in architecture 30 years ago when all i did was draw buildings - but still, I'm having fun. #Melbourne #Richmond #drawing

• Post #4177242

  I've been involved with non-profits as a volunteer, in governance, and in leadership since about 2011. I've noticed something fairly consistent during that time: Funding for sector support, general operations, sector capability, system-change, and advocacy is consistently denied. Funding for one-off projects, direct support to a community, and even individuals needing crisis funding attracts a lot of money (comparatively). This aligns with the idea of removing 'back-end' admin...

• Post #4004315

  An "AI going rogue" is just a poorly made product failing in public. #AI

• Post #3403670

  I have gone to war with Pharmac and I have worked alongside Pharmac as part of a reform process. I think it is an important agency, in fact it is critical for healthcare in NZ that it performs well. Their health economics failed me of course, by indicating that the cost of my care was worth more than my life. The reason, and I shit you not, was that if I survived the proven and successful treatment options (and I would), I might live so long that I would end up costing the health system more as...

• Post #2260362

  I tried to problem solve an issue i was having with Optus by logging into my account on the Web. I used their online chat, which was predictably useless. I was then prompted to connect to a human. I said yes. Dear readers, i was not connected to a human. I kept a transcript of the nonsense that followed which included false information about my account, repeatedly asking me the same question (already answered), then providing me an imaginary issue ticket. Over 2 days i emailed, phoned, eve...

• Post #2153799

  "ThE kIdS aRe oUt oF CoNtrOl!" I'm doing research for a presentation and today found a table showing that in the 1990s, when i was last considered a youth, the youth crime rate in NZ was *five times* higher than it is today. Unfortunately, i don't think this awkward fact (and easily checked statistic) will stop the entirely constructed narrative of a youth crime wave being used to get votes in the election this year. The real question this raises for me is w...

• Post #1852836

  OMG organisations in NZ that still ask for a bank deposit slip as proof of account what freakin' century are you living in?

• Post #1780473

  Australia's social media ban finally caught up with my 15yr old who was locked out of Instagram today. As much as the both of us detest meta, it's her primary conduit for keeping in touch with and feeling connected to school friends in NZ. As she eloquently put it - the ban is an action taken in her name, but not with her consent. It robs her (and her peers) of agency instead of asking social media companies to do the bare minimum to not to be such toxic, extractive pricks. Anyway, s...

• Post #1415531

  Anybody in #Melbourne want a fridge? It has seen some use over the years but it is clean, working, and free. Send me a message and we can work out the details. #free #fridge

• Post #1275979

  My daughter made some cinnamon brioche today because a school friend was coming over and she wanted to impress them. Anyway, I'm eating brioche for supper.