Dr. Curiosity

i don't particularly disagree with a lot of the critiques of anarchist activism by liberals but I bristle when they act as if their best practices are any wiser. we're here because none of us figured out how to avoid being here.

everyone should have some goddamn humility.

Also: www.highergov.com/contract-for...

Interesting to note the current incumbent contractor here: Deloitte Consulting. (Yes, that Deloitte.)

It's past 10pm. We're nearly at tomorrow's high temperature. It's all downhill from here.

I mean stealing others efforts is pretty much on form for British museum

Anyone who says, "an intern must have done this" has no idea about how social media management operates at this level. Posting AI slop is a very deliberate choice. Especially for an institution this big.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living in Ebbw Vale (1991)

For what is a terrarium, if not a super form of bowl..?

Mine aren't on strike _yet_, but I am going to the coffee machine while they mutter about organising a stop-work meeting.

I hope tomorrow is a better one for you.

Wheat is not really a good film grain, sad to say.

I'm sure I'd appreciate your rye humour, though - it's best when it's not spelt out too heavily.

A poster announcing details of Carl’s talk at UC on Feb 13th. Title “ information foraging in a social media world”

Pleased to say that Carl Bergstrom (@carlbergstrom.com) will be speaking at the University of Canterbury on 13th Feb!
He is hosted by @tepunahamatatini.bsky.social come see him at noon in Jack Erskine 441!

Yeah, that’s getting a bit warm…

(50˚C is 122˚F for those who still aren’t using metrics.)

(Downplaying his own connection, and describing Pinker's underwhelmed assessment of Epstein's intellect, but nevertheless confirming the connection between the two.)

I asked, “When you look back on your meetings with him, was there a patina of evil about him?” He said, “It wasn’t evident to me. I was impressed by Steven Pinker, whom I know, who saw through Epstein’s intellectual charlatanism almost immediately when he first spoke to him. Epstein was trying to get Pinker to join his web of famous associates. But Pinker’s got a very, very sharp, critical mind, and just realised that he was actually pretending to be rather more intelligent than he actually was.” I asked, “Did you see through him?” “No, I’m afraid I didn’t,” he said. “I wish I had, but I wasn’t perceptive enough.”

Pinker also turns up in this article, friends with the Nabokov biographer that Epstein talked with about writing a book about Lolita.
newsroom.co.nz/2026/02/01/a...

A kākāpō on a nest with two eggs during the day. Credit: Andrew Digby

Checked on #kakapo Hine Taumai's nest yesterday, and surprised to find her sunbathing on her nest! Some nests are very open to the elements, so we often add waterproofing to ensure the chicks don't get too wet.
#kakapo2026 #conservation #birds

"Welcome to geopolitics, where the countries are made up and the points don't matter..."

And if you haven't found that setting yet and want to:

Settings > Moderation > Muted words & tags

Sparing a thought today for people who've been through their own traumatic experiences, and don't need folks slopping around the "juicy" parts of the recently-released Epstein documents without any mutable words they can filter out on them.

If you must, give people the chance to opt out.

The same is true of information systems and software. What govt agencies were able to do in house and in collaboration with local universities and companies in decades past seems unimaginable today with the colossal scale of managerial outsourcing and digital obfuscation.

At first I thought this post was just of parody of SWOTS. Not realising that @strangescaffold.bsky.social had done it AGAIN.

I hate this. I hate that scholars and teachers are supposed to be digital fraud experts. I hate that this part of their job description is becoming larger and larger. I hate the widening distrust. I hate a culture that aggressively devalues the curiosity and humility required for ongoing learning.

*takes his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose*

"If WW3 breaks out, would you be happy to fight for America?"

"On which side?"

It feels silly but I just bought enough stamps to send out my business’ mail for ~4 years since they hold their value. 10 years ago it was 80c to send a standard letter in NZ, now it’s $2.90.

I'll happily play something unpolished if it's got good bones, but... yeah. No. Miss me with this.

This is the games equivalent of stuffing sausage meat into a rubber glove. It doesn't matter how much it looks like one from a distance, I won't want to shake hands with it.

I generally like best the games where the people making it have something interesting to say. I'm not interested in playing something where the writing or design work is phoned in.

I'm _fully_ not interested in something made by someone turning a mincing handle and saying "Look! Game is happening!"

From the Text tab on the preceding link. The English language translations on the tablet's obverse side read: 1. The dog "take it!" 2. knew, 3. putting down it did not know.

CDLI Literary 000799, ex. 015 (P346305) Wisdom or proverb tablet excavated in Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

Turns out "No take, only throw" has provenance:
cdli.earth/artifacts/34...

Damning report on residential specialist schools as minister seeks advice A new report adds to the literature against segregated education for those with high learning and behavioural needs. But the Ministry of Education is questioning its efficacy.

History certainly does not appear to be on their side.

Support and accommodation within existing schools looks to be widely recognised as best practice - if supported and funded to an appropriate level.
newsroom.co.nz/2024/11/18/d...