@siouxsiew.bsky.social
The other “Susie” Wiles AKA NZ’s “COVID lady/Pink Terror”. Microbiologist & science communicator, lover of bioluminescence & Lego. Becoming slightly obsessed with reusable period products despite being perimenopausal. She/her.
This comparison between what's in VFF's "People's Position" report, submitted to the Inquiry, & distributed amongst its vast membership vs what's in the Phase 2 official report may help others, incl. NZ journalists, understand the network's central role in creating splintered realities. #nzpol
Hey peeps! I need to redo my lab & personal website and am looking for inspiration. Got any examples you really like? Cheers!
It’s so depressing 😢
Last chance to vote for your #BugOfTheYear! Voting closes at midnight tonight. www.bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz
AI agent goes nuts on open source maintainer after having its pull request denied. This is a pretty insane story. Open source development as we've been used to for the last few decades is likely over. 1/
theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-...
So if you haven't cast your vote yet, head on over to bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20.... Voting ends on Monday! 9/9
Getting the painting back to Auckland was fun. I wish we'd got some footage of us bubble-wrapping it. That turned into a three-person job! 8/n
This is the pūrākau and Mātauranga that Pete Amato has brought to life. And in keeping with the theme of things that glow, Pete even hid some little details using paint that fluoresces under UV light. Here he is giving me my first glimpse. 7/n
Māori would thread the worms onto harakeke muka (fibre) which was tied to a rod and hung into the water. Tuna were presumably attracted to the earthworm's glowing secretions and took a bite, getting their teeth caught on the muka. 6/n
From Te Reinga storyteller Richard Niania (Ngāi Kōhatu: Ngāti Ruapani, Ngāti Hinehika: Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa), we also learned that Māori knew bioluminescent earthworms as noke waiū and used them as bait to catch tuna (eels). How cool is that?! 5/n
In some accounts, Hīnātore brings the first glimmer of light into the world, before her siblings Te Rā (the sun), Te Marama (the moon) and Ngā Whetū (the stars) are placed in the sky. That's why the word for bioluminescence in te reo Māori is hīnātore. 4/n
Within a te ao Māori worldview, the world began as potential (Te Kore) before moving into darkness (Te Pō) and then into light (Te Ao Mārama). 3/n
You can read about how we ended up commissioning Pete (thanks to the lovely folks at @tepunahamatatini.bsky.social for supporting us!) and listen to Pete talk about his painting at the link attached, and the TLDR in this thread 2/n
www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/posts/champi...
Not voted in the #BugoftheYear2026 competition? We commissioned Wairoa artist Pete Amato (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa) to show why we think the North Auckland Worm deserves your vote. Check out his amazing painting - Hīnātore! It's only a little smaller than the worm itself :) 1/n
Not voted for #BugOfTheYear yet? Thanks to @thespinoff.bsky.social for letting me make the case for the North Auckland Worm. Vote now! thespinoff.co.nz/science/09-0...
Morning all! I recently did an interview with NBR about why I took legal action against my employer despite knowing I was going to lose money. They’ve just made the interview free to view so here’s the link if you are interested www.nbr.co.nz/toil-and-tro...
Doh! It’s bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz
Oops! Too busy thinking about women’s health 😂
If you really don't like the idea of an enormous worm, it lives metres underground - like more than 3 metres down! - which is why you'll probably never encounter one. #BugOfTheYear bugoftheyear.endo.org.nz
Today's reason you should vote for the North Auckland worm for #BugOfTheYear is that, as well as being enormous, it's very hairy. Those hairs, called chaetae, help it move through the soil. bugoftheyear.endo.org.nz
"Firms deliberately operate from small cities & towns, where rents & labor costs are lower & a growing pool of 1st-gen grads are seeking jobs. Improvements in internet connectivity made it possible to plug these locations directly into global AI supply chains, w/o relocating workers to cities."
These do live metres underground and are very rarely seen so unlikely to cause you any bother :)
Sorry!
So what are you waiting for? Go 'cast' your vote! bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...
Over the years, several people have told me Aotearoa has giant earthworms. But I didn't realise we have at least two species. The NZ earthworm, Octochaetus multiporus, grows up to 30 cm, which is big pretty big. But the North Auckland worm (Anisochaeta gigantea) grows up to 1.4 METRES!!
For the next couple of weeks, I'm championing noke waiū, the North Auckland Worm, for the Bug of the Year competition. Thanks to Toby Morris for this great little cartoon, which shows one reason I think you should give it your vote: it can grow up to 1.4 metres long!
QUITGPT.org
The amazing Alex Casey at the @thespinoff.bsky.social writes with such eloquence and I really couldn't say it better myself. If you have friends with deep pockets, or if you have any spare dollars to help us limp on, while we poke at people behind the scenes. thespinoff.co.nz/society/28-0...
Our own Green Party is a partner in the Global Greens with the Green Party of England. And this brilliant ad is just as applicable here as there