Tootfinder

Yup, cats, and their wandering predatory ways, are a huge problem in Aotearoa, and getting much bigger: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/579669/why-are-there-so-few-rules-for-the-millions-of-cats-that-damage-our-biodive…

Huh, how time flies. 6 or 7 years ago, at the OER Foundation, for whom I work as Open Source Technologist, we decided to replace our MailChimp with, eventually, a self-hosted instance of Mautic (https://mautic.org) to communicate with learners taking courses in our online open university courses (

Is there anyone in #brazil who would help me by purchasing some (small/lightweight) #retrocomputing items available domestically from mercadolivre and ship them to me in Germany? #followerpower

On RNZ right now, they're talking about how the software used by pharmacists is not even remotely fit for purpose. Imagine that. Why isn't that sort of thing being sorted by a publicly funded, openly licensed (available to all) system developed by a consortium of companies - that can be scrutinised by anyone - because it's too important to be entrusted to the proprietary gain of any one company. This stuff is a no-brainer. Some things are far too important to be dependent on a pr…

This is quite splendid. Why are we settling for either Chris when we could have someone like this steering the waka?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtSsFV9eC1Y

Wow, it's a stunner here in Ōtautahi, but that nor'west wind is formidable! Hope the greenhouse holds up to the onslaught!

Created two small linters improving an ergonomics of type switches in Go by adding exhaustive match check. With those tools adding a new case become a lint error.
https://github.com/gomoni/sumlint
1. oneoflint does an exhaustive check for code implementing protobuf's oneof

GitHub - gomoni/sumlint: Exhaustiveness checks for your interface "sum types" using a lightweight naming convention + `go vet`.
Exhaustiveness checks for your interface "sum types" using a lightweight naming convention + `go vet`. - gomoni/sumlint

Tiny-R1V: Lightweight Multimodal Unified Reasoning Model via Model Merging
Qixiang Yin, Huanjin Yao, Jianghao Chen, Jiaxing Huang, Zhicheng Zhao, Fei Su
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.08987

Tiny-R1V: Lightweight Multimodal Unified Reasoning Model via Model Merging
Although Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities across diverse tasks, they encounter numerous challenges in terms of reasoning efficiency, such as large model size, overthinking, and compromised accuracy in lightweight scenarios. However, research on the reasoning capabilities of lightweight MLLMs is quite lacking. To this end, we propose Tiny-R1V, a novel lightweight 3B model that achieves faster inference and higher accuracy via a two-stage optimiza…

Your Donations at Work: Funding Josh Matthews' Contributions to Servo - Servo aims to empower developers with a lightweight, high-performance alternative for embedding web technologies in applications.
https://servo.org/blog/2025/09/17/your-donations-at-work-funding…

I wonder how many digital service businesses who have been affected by the AWS outage... have all their comms to their customers also happening through that same service... Wonder how many of them recognised that issue and went 🤷‍♀️ we'll be fine.

Most days I'm reminded of this: 'expedience is the absence of principle'...

The HTML-First Approach: Why htmx and Lightweight Frameworks Are Revolutionizing Web Development
📊 #html

The HTML-First Approach: Why htmx and Lightweight Frameworks Are Revolutionizing Web Development
After years of Single Page Application dominance, more and more teams are rediscovering the power of the HTML-first approach. With htmx and other server-driven frameworks, we return to the simplicity of the original web without sacrificing modern interactivity. Let's explore why this paradigm is winning over developers and companies.

Is there any ''lightweight'' mastodon web client that's actually usable? By usable I mean that can replace my mobile app?
#askfedi

Many parts of the Internet I know and loath are mostly down. I hope this helps shake confidence in US BigTech. Probably won't, because if people were rational, they wouldn't have built the digital world we're currently forced to inhabit, but who knows, it might. Even the vague possibility of it has made my day better as I head to bed.

Wilderness 4WDing is a 'hobby' no one should be allowed to have. It's simply wasteful and destructive. It's like having the hobby of demolishing other people's buildings. It's just stupid. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/nati…

This is what I'm rocking out to while applying system updates to 30ish VPSs on a stunning warm late spring morning in Ōtautahi... #DLO3

This interview https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019013452/emergency-departments-to-use-ai-consultations-with-patients suggests a fait accompli of 'AI' saturating ou…

Thinking about all the citizen data that our government is shipping offshore to AU & elsewhere... there're apparently indications that Russian vessels have been hovering around undersea data cables in the north Atlantic... some suspect they've installed charges on all cables supplying data to Europe. In a future conflict, they could use these to continually disrupt European communications & intelligence. Who's to say that the US/China/others? haven't done the same to …

Listening to pundits talking to Kathryn Ryan on RNZ NineToNoon about their 'AI' reckons - most of them don't understand much. Their optimism is misguided. Wow. They don't get the implications on how people learn and behave. Or the fact that new LLMs are trained on content that might be mostly LLM-generated content (who can say?), with constantly declining veracity.

Just took a wee walk around the garden and saw at least 7 (native grass) skinks out and about, doing their thing. Warms my heart each time.

Turns out writing a WP-CLI plugin (for my sins, in php) is not a road well travelled or sign-posted. Sigh.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@glynmoody/115733951845579974
Yup. The EU is orchestrating its own obsolescence, just like the US has.

Who's the real enemy now? Extremely wealthy people (oligarchs) and large corporations (especially in health, fossil fuels, media, & tech). Everything else is probably manageable. We need to hobble the extremely wealthy and the mega corporations. We need to end the 'corporations-as-person' model. as well. It is untenable. That also means rejecting, explicitly & systemically, groups like the Atlas Network/Project 2025.
For the record, these have long been the enemy, b…

Katherine Rich gives Uber far too much credit. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019013122/what-uber-ruling-could-mean-for-gig-economy They didn't do any of it to 'make the world be…

This is very good: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2025/10/the-pivot-1.html Many thanks @…! Between you and

As Microsoft EOLs Windows 10, I'm reminded of why Windows is fundamentally broken, by design. https://davelane.nz/windows-broken-design When you're a global platform monopoly, your existing users are your biggest competition. Your interests and those of your customers are diametricall…

Wow, loving our greenhouse - already have the first tomatoes turning red! Only a couple weeks into summer (not even proper summer, 22 Dec in Aotearoa, yet) Crazy! This is months before we've ever had ripening fruit pre-greenhouse.

Reminder - if your software is 'a little bit proprietary', it's entirely proprietary. It's like claiming to be a little bit pregnant.

Ugh, listening to RNZ right now - Kathryn Ryan talking to a US correspondent, who's just stated, with what sounds like a straight face, that US Republicans are saying that the reduced tax on wealthy people will 'trickle down' to poor people. And Kathryn didn't even question the legitimacy of that concept. Come on Kathryn, you need to call this stuff out. Stop the gormless credulity please.

This seems most auspicious: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/12/yes-new-york-will-soon-be-under-new-management-but-zohran-mamdani-is-just-the-start anti-trust specialist Khan on M…

Wow, Blender 5 looks frickin' incredible: #libre

RE: https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@futuresprog/115550268885525233
Superb. It works, recursively!

Wow - #SodiumIonBatteries half the price, 5x the lifespan, performs better from -20C to 70C, and has a higher energy density than LithiumIon & LithiumFP chemistries, with entirely common materials. Also, the manufacturing can use existing battery production lines with minimal retooling.

Ok, so I just found out that today's 'Ministry of Ed-mandated' teacher-only day at our boys' high school is so that teachers could have 'professional development' in "'AI' skills" (whatever that means), provided by someone from the Google corporation. This is totally corrupt bullshit. Nothing to do with education.

Just disposing of a couple Indian pickles in my substantial collection. These two had a pretty good run. Need to make room in the cupboard for more recent acquisitions.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/anchor-me-don-mcglashan-story-2025

Tomorrow (Tues, 11 Nov 2025) from 20:00 NZDT we're having a #Libre / #FOSS catch up at https://meeting.iridescent.nz…

Mary Pop Poppins is superb on a warm spring Friday arvo. https://yewtu.be/watch?v=u0DXpeV6IKc or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0DXpeV6IKc

It begins: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581225/man-dumps-home-insurance-over-tower-insurance-s-sea-surge-assessment - people being unable to afford insurance for their homes due to climate-related risks they don'…

And Juice Media is bang-on as usual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxRB5qWphJE The 'under 16' social media ban is precisely the wrong approach. The right approach would involve regulating US BigTech by leading the formation of a global consortium of countries. Sadly, few politicians have …

Everyone with a digital existence needs to watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wE8G-d7SnY Cory Doctorow is on fire. His fluency is astounding - a 'gattling gun of jaw-dropping moments'.

Oh my word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUh9aV0xRfE AOC is superb, and yes, this is terrifying. The US' economy is a house of cards. And it will fail spectacularly. And I fear for all of those who will be affected because they're oblivious to the extreme (unconscionable) recklessness of…

Huh. Just got given a generous gift of a $50 petrol voucher by my boys' school for my help as an Ultimate (frisbee) coach this year. Our main vehicle is a full EV. I guess it's fortunate we still have one (33yo) ICE vehicle, albeit hardly used.

It's that time again! Tomorrow evening (Tue 9/12), 20:00 NZST is our monthly FOSS/Libre Tech catch up. Find us at https://meeting.iridescent.nz - all welcome! We'll be discussing relevant current events, sharing case studies, looking at new technologies, and how to make a living doing this stuff! Our mee…

Golfer, 74, hits three aces in a month - odds 1.95 trillion to one https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/578273/golfer-74-hits-three-aces-in-a-month-odds-1-point-95-trillion-to-one Let that sink in.
🤪

Almost literally rubbed shoulders with Marlon Williams at the supermarket earlier over the tomatoes in the produce section. He's a tall dude. Everyone was respectfully pretending he wasn't there, as NZers tend to do with famous people.

Ok, doing Drupal updates while a wee bit snookered, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

Right... I've just set up a new (old school, but up-with-the-times) mailing list manager (Mailman 3 - https://docs.mailman3.org/en/latest/) for Aotearoa NZ communities. Upon reflection, it seems to me that the last generation or 2 of digital community tools has missed the mark, not providing a suitabl…

Wow, this TourismNZ CEO on RNZ right now, talking about attracting Chinese tourists to Aotearoa... sounds just like Luxon. 🤢 "Well look" starts every response. I don't like the guy just based on the way he talks and the fact that he's blithely trying to get people to travel frivolously & superficially without considering the broader (profound) implications.

We need more folks who understand POSSE and why it's crucial to a) personal digital sovereignty, b) functional open (democratic) societies, and c) a free and open Internet: Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere.
canonical: https://indieweb.org/POSSE
popular media:

Wow, hearing about Robert Murray-Smith's death is sobering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhramXiUrY4 Robert's videos were quirky and his laughter infectious, and he made me wish I had a 3D printer... Robert was an amazing scientist in the most fundamental sense: reading about what's…

This is quite a thoughtful takedown of 'AI', especially in art. It helps characters/express something most of us feel but can't quite explain: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

The sun's out again in Ōtautahi! The local skink community is taking full advantage!
#biodiversity #nativeSkinks #lizardarium

Well darn it all. It appears that one of my 8TB spinning disks (in a home server, used for backups) has failed. 9 months after its warranty ended. Sigh. The other drive, of the same model (purchased 5 months ago) is still going...

I've just been reminded we're due for our October #libre catch up - tomorrow (Tues 7/10), 20:00 NZDT - at https://meeting.iridescent.nz - all welcome! We'll be looking at a few fully Free & Open Sour…

So, something that's become clear to me is that we still have a real need for self-managing community email lists like we used to have. Many people still use Google Groups, which are horrible. The old Ezmlm and Mailman lists I used to run are now creaky and hard to maintain... I've done a bit of a look around - I implemented Listmonk, but it's not what I'm after - it's broadcast/marketing, not any subscriber to all subscribers. So I've come back to Mailman, now on v3.…

Wow, https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019011532/chch-physicist-s-examination-turns-nz-x-ray-history-on-its-head when I saw the picture, I thought, 'I recognise that guy…

So, apparently, Mamdani is the new mayor of NYC. This could be a huge deal for modern democraciea and the societies that want to retain them. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/577912/us-politics-zohran-mamdani-wins-election-for-new-york-mayora…

Wow, sending post to the US right now is absurdly expensive and very unreliable... spending a lot of energy on NZPost - not sure it's all their fault - the US is utterly munted, but things seem helluva loose.

Given the reticence of its local affiliates to mention it's name, one could get the impression that ACT, the NZ Initiative, Curia, the NZ Taxpayers' 'Union', and the 'Free Speech' 'Union' are keen to avoid drawing attention to their Atlas Network (also responsible for the US' Project 2025) affiliation. Could it be they're keen to avoid more scrutiny of where their funding comes from? 🤔 Assuming their search is trustworthy, on the RNZ website, there'…

RE: https://moo.nz/@Tatjna/115657762894893625
Bingo. This is entirely self-defeating. It's preserving the fictional profits of unsustainable producers. Their profits are funded by future generations who'll have to spend far more than these folks are profitin…

Ugh, listening to Kathryn Ryan on RNZ NineToNoon interviewing Sonny Taite(?) about an 'AI' scribe to take hospital staff clinical notes. Why - oh why - doesn't she ask the important question: where does the data go?! Which jurisdiction? Who's storing it? Who has access? Who cares for it and maintains its security & integrity? Her producers miss it every bloody time. Very disappointing.

Running my own full-service, multi-tenanted & multi-domain email service gives me a remarkable feeling of power. It's is seriously cool (been running 4 of them for a bunch of years). In other news, Mailcow is superb - . https://mailcow.email/ (I run their Dockerized install)

Can't help but wonder why democratic governments, worldwide, are doing whatever US #BigTech tells them to do with regard to 'AI' policy & adoption. How do these governments not realise that BigTech is inherently authoritarian, psychotic, & working against democracy? They are antithetical to our societal values & yet they're welcomed with open arms? Do our government…

Anybody out there who uses DigitalOcean cloud services, beware a phishing email telling you you've got an invoice for 'Support Services' that is DigitalOcean branded - check the URL of the payment button (which reveals a sham domain name when you hover over it).

This is frickin' brilliant: #TimMinchin, you lil' beauty.

Bingo: "awareness is growing that digital autonomy is no longer a luxury but a prerequisite for a well-functioning democracy." https://ginaplat.com/posts/20251031-digital-sovereignty-and-gov/ Thanks for this, @…

Damn - https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577448/watch-the-moment-a-dramatic-blaze-ignites-in-whangarei-hospital-s-carpark imagine if the person in that ICE ute had a blanket and had thrown it over over the fire at th…

Microsoft is increasingly shrill in its desperation to get people to love it's 'AI' service, 'Copilot'... https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/11/28/you-heard-wrong-users-brutually-reject-microsof…

Welp, that was a short and very damp (hail?!) dog walk here in Ōtautahi.

For all you nature lovers (especially herpetological sorts, i.e. lizards, and more specifically, geckos here in Aotearoa) get a load of this: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-strange-beautiful-lizard-at-the-bottom-of-the-world/ Stunning. I tried t…

This is freakin' cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSch_NgZpQs how trees actually work. I learned a lot!

Very good to see this! https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-european-military-just-ditched-microsoft-for-open-source-libreoffice-heres-why/ h/t to @…