Graphs can only get you so far.

Amazing mahi David

Be interesting to see a graph of Awakino (in Taranaki) Gorge closures - I was staggered to hear on RNZ that Highway 3 has been closed for days. Such a fragile link from Auckland to New Plymouth.

Climate related states of emergency go up.

Here is my #rstats code that takes a locally saved copy of the NZ Civil Defence State of Emergency history webpage, & graphs the % of days the country's regions have been in official states of emergencies. So there is a lot more on the right. We live on the right. gist.github.com/thoughtfulbl...

But is she though

As Measles Takes Toll on Kids, Anti-Vaxxers Have Change of Heart Enough parents are quietly embracing the MMR that it’s helping to slow the outbreaks.

Well. It's about time!!! #giftarticle
"The health department in South Carolina saw a nearly 170% increase in MMR immunizations at free clinics in January from the year prior and is close to declaring its outbreak over ... MMR vaccines jumped 15% in Texas last year"
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Exclusive: Government quietly agrees to repeal number of Treaty references in laws Ministers made the decision but until now hadn't told the public.

"It’s closed out. It's finished. We voted it down yesterday, and it's over, and we're moving forward." - Luxon

“Cremated and buried”. - Potaka

They lied. Despite over 90% of submitters opposed and massive divisions caused.

National Govt continues to roll it out. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

Jaysus. I hadn't heard about this NZ manuka honey bastard.
"In February 2019 while six months pregnant, Nervo said she encountered a woman at Pringle’s Auckland office who told her: “He is meant to be in hospital, he’s having a baby this morning with my sister.”

If blasphemy is bad, blasphemy to keep a White House-level contract must be really bad

IN ... NZ National Party @NZNational Party Apr 17 National is careful and responsible with taxpayers' money. Labour treats it like an endless ATM. We've stopped wasteful government spending while continuing to invest in the frontline services you rely on. 2023 NZ BA TRA National N ZBACK RACK MAORI 3/ We'll stop wasteful spending. 2026 We made $44b of savings in our first two Budgets. A Parigned by Parlatmary Service

Graeme Edgeler @GraemeEdgeler ... Total appropriations in Labour's last budget (2023/24) were $174.7b with estimated spending in 2025/26 of $167.8b. Total appropriations in your most recent budget (2025/26) were $188.0b. That's not $44b of savings. You're spending much more than they did. 1:48 PM Apr 17, 2026 2,737 Views

I love a good Edgling! #NZPol

I'm amazed cast and crew could finish it without falling around laughing every five minutes

This is Achrioptera manga, a giant phasmid or stick insect native to Madagascar.

The specific epithet, "manga" means blue in Malagasy & it's not hard to see why. Only males are blue.

The tiny back wings ("alae") are an example of brachyptery: they're useless for flight, but have other functions.

This is how it's done folks

It’s a telling indicator of media desensitization that the US government’s ongoing program of murder on the high seas—which according to the perpetrators has killed fourteen (14) people this week— is no longer a subject for much serious or sustained news coverage.

Ursula Le Guin - the Earthsea trilogy and The Dispossessed
Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
He Puawai by Philip Garnock-Jones
The Health Gap by Michael Marmot
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

You have to wonder how much effort the Israeli state puts into bot farming this kind of thing. Or am I being a conspiracy theorist

Cartoon storyboard show Churchill giving a speech then unexpectedly Hitler is asked for his opinion. Churchill says you don’t argue with fascists.

This seems apposite

can’t say what i want to happen to these people for legal reasons

Tamaki is not so much doing 'Hinduphobia', he is obsessed with Sikhs and I have no idea what's up with that actually, someone else will have a better idea. Why, WHY, would you pick on Sikhs, for real.

The most ironic image in American history

I casually picked up this book to leaf through it - when I put it down, hours later, it was dark. I'd swigged the whole thing in one go. An incredible read. Should be on every spinal surgeon's bedside table for a start.

NZ farmer riding a bike

Dad was a farmer and he got around on this rugged manly vehicle

what I expect happened is that the admin, which is entirely up its own ass and believes its own hype, came in and tried to dictate terms to Iran, Iran was like “fuck off we’re the ones who are winning here, not you” and the crisis continues

Passengers disembarking at Matiatia passenger terminal on Waiheke Island. The ferries were canceled last night and early this morning. Wonder what the trip from Auckland was like.

Lovely old bus in one of its favourite regular spots at Onetangi.

Blurry umbrella person

More Waiheke rain shots

Surfer just visible in the sea at Onetangi Beach

Road worker or volunteer in fluro rain gear next to overflowing drain on Waiheke

Arty shot of people with umbrellas at Onetangi Beach. Not shown - a few doughty surfers. Waiheke generally has a pretty flat sea, so any excuse

Waiheke is proud of its electric bus fleet. Here’s one, shot from a following car, its destination smeared in the rain

Soggy beachfront shot, Onetangi

Hearty thanks to all you volunteers cleaning gutters

Blocked roadside gutter in Blackpool (photograph shows a lake of water in front of a fence)

Driving in Blackpool (water covering verge)

Yep that was deeper than we expected - driving through water on the Onetangi Strait - splash covers car window

Flooding at Matiatia

Waiheke is water-logged but not particularly windy. Good luck to everyone else. Especially the Bay of Plenty: Rotorua and Whakatāne #CycloneVaianu

Posting on Bsky while startling Jim Mora AT THE SAME TIME skilz

NZ Food Network used to just have administrative data from food banks. They could count meals given out, and visits, but they didn't have any real person-based data (despite what some news stories implied)

*This* is a real survey using established food insecurity measures and is a lot more credible

Oh dear