Last weeks thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

If we don't already, we need to start associating AI advertising with poor quality products from companies that don't really care.

Also that advert is just the most generic thing I've seen in a long time. Very forgettable.

Key: "Donald Trump is driving very much an America First and a more isolationist kind of view. Actually, it's quite different, it's a very different foreign policy than we've ever seen. So that probably doesn't help New Zealanders much. But on balance, I think he's probably better for the economy.“

Xi wants to experiment with using xi/drag person-independent pronouns on this account. So far xi likes using the pronouns, but xi's only written 4 comments and already someone accused drag of talking about Chinese politics when xi mentioned dragself. Xi knows xi's pronouns are confusing, so xi would like to put xi's pronouns in xi's displayname to clear things up.

But the character limit for display names on lemmy.nz is only 22 characters, and xi's handle already takes up 16 characters. Xi would need 24 characters to put xi's pronouns in xi's display name. Xi knows some instances also have a separate field for pronouns, and the pronouns get displayed next to the name without taking up displayname characters. Xi would like a place, or at least enough room, for xi's pronouns, please.

https://x.com/RocketLab/status/1840143678171689435

Things have been heating up at Stennis 🔥

The Archimedes engine development and qualification campaign continues to progress well with lots of hot fires taking the engine through various operating conditions and tweaks.

Aotearoa has reclaimed the Guinness World Record for the largest haka from France after thousands performed Ka Mate at Auckland's Eden Park on Sunday.

The previous official record was 4028, held by France since 2014.

People travelled from far and wide to support the kaupapa, with American TV host Conan O'Brien, director Taika Waititi and boxer David Tua spotted in the crowd.

Gates opened at 4.30pm before the haka attempt itself just after 8pm. Local entertainment included Six60, Alien Weaponry, Che Fu, Rob Ruha and the Topp Twins.

The haka had to be performed for one minute, so those present performed Ka Mate four times in a row.

Last weeks thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

I didn't "watch live" but I guess that's a warning the article may change. Here are some snippets as it currently stands:

Schools won't be able to hold teacher-only days during term time and parents of students absent for 15 days could be prosecuted, Associate Education Minister David Seymour has announced in a new truancy crackdown.

Schools must have a stepped attendance response (STAR) plan in place by the beginning of the 2026 school year.

Seymour set out an example:

• Five days absent: School contacts parents/guardians to determine a reason and set expectations
• 10 days absent: School leaders meet with parents/guardians and student to develop a plan to address barriers to attendance and "the obligation goes onto services such as attendance, Oranga Tamariki and the local police"
• 15 days absent: Ministry takes over the response, including possible prosecution of parents

Each school would also be asked to share attendance information with Oranga Tamariki, police, and MSD, he said.

Hopefully, the solution is new boats that are a more sensible size, and don't need the extensive infrastructure upgrades the new fleet would have required. One of the cancelled designs would have been a similar displacement to our current fleet of three.

I really hope the solution isn't another clapped out beater from Europe.

You may have missed Friday's newsletter where I ran a ruler over telecoms market competition in the two years following the 2degrees merger.

Interested for any feedback on this: Do you have any insight into market competition?

https://billbennett.co.nz/2degrees-vocus-merger-competition/

Would you want to know about this if you were planning to have this person live on your property? What an absolute nightmare.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Like anyone can fucking afford to buy coffee or lunch right now.

While I'm never excited about these general uses, it seems like they did a reasonably good job with this experiment. Hopefully other Dept's don't just loosely 'throw it in'...

Some tidbits:

The AI operated on a fixed dataset. It did not collect information, nor did it tap into the main client record systems, so privacy risks were low.

It did not learn from the queries staff made or the information they used with it, and did not add that information to its learning banks, the reports said.

The two tests - first with 25 staff, then with 300 - found that along with boosts to service came gains in employee wellbeing, such as helping people with ADHD or poor hearing focus more in meetings, or those with dyslexia to revise content.

Please participate. Don't let the country be handed over to the oligarchs.

The police powerpoint presentation, released to Stuff under the Official Information Act, said members of sovereign citizens group Mauri Nation used fake ID to reach the Prime Minister's floor at Parliament.

The presentation from the Police Security Intelligence and Threats Group in November last year, does not say whether the Prime Minister - then Jacinda Ardern - was present.

I wonder what option the greens will have from here.

Everything is going as planned with this government "starve the beast" strategy. They want to destroy the healthcare system so that people will accept privatisation as a possible cure.

The nation as usual is utterly ignorant of what's going on.

I disagree with introducing tipping here. It feels like the public is being asked to prop up the hospitality industry and cover for low wages. If workers aren't being paid enough, that's an issue employers and the government need to fix, not something customers should take on.

What do you think? Should tipping become the norm in New Zealand?

Last weeks thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

Write up from my old mate Max Rashbrooke on the success of the school lunch program, and the likely impacts of the cuts to the program from the National-Act-NZ First government.