Technically it wasn’t the best car we ever bought, but a year before we moved to New Zealand, we purchased a spanking new late model Citroën 2CV for the cost of about three month’s pay. It was so simple that even I could fix anything that could conceivably happen with a basic toolkit. We loved it.

Interesting to think that if you are my age and read classic science fiction* in the 1960s or 70s... maybe even the early 1980s, that we are now living in those times. * I'm not a SF fan and haven't touched it for 40 years, but I read enough when I was a kid to know this is largely right.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has the same haircut as our prime minister and is just as popular.

yyyyyep.

Paris Marx@parismarx.com · 2d ago

getting tired of people on the left still launching substack newsletters after all the reporting on that company in recent years

You say that like it is a bad thing. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...

Nicola Willis suggests firing Winston Peters would bring down Government

National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis says “no-one would thank us for breaking up the coalition” when asked why Winston Peters still in a job.

thepost.co.nz

If anyone from The Post is listening, there’s a strong case for taking down the paywall for this editorial www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...

Editorial: Luxon’s impotence makes him prime minister in name only

Winston Peters can remove Christopher Luxon whenever he wants, but it seems it’s not the other way round.

thepost.co.nz

“You are not compelled to form any opinion about this matter before you, nor to disturb your peace of mind at all. Things in themselves have no power to extort a verdict from you.” ― Marcus Aurelius

“I think that's a negative view, to be honest. Like we’re entrepreneurs and business people, and I get it. You know, if you're not retooling and radically disrupting your business, you ain't doing the job.”

Term 3, Week 3 of #Seymour’sSlop. It’s dire, people. #nzpol

Huzzah. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...

Breaking: FIFA scraps World Cup sell-off plans

FIFA has scrapped plans to sell a stake in the World Cup after the move caused a major backlash.

abc.net.au

Today's newsletter includes a deep analysis of Spark's journey into, and potentially retreat from, the digital services market. In effect the company has come full circle. billbennett.co.nz/spark-splits...

Spark splits into Connectivity and Digital Services

Spark restructuring into two divisions and reviewing options for its Digital Services arm, including possible sale. Leadership changes announced

billbennett.co.nz

I've had RSV for the past three weeks... it keeps getting to the point where it feels like it is over, then it comes back for an encore.

I've just been sent a jaunty press release about a "Deep Learning Analytics appliance for large-scale surveillance". "Orwellian" doesn't begin to cover it.

Oh dear god - #Seymour’sSlop to end the week

Spark restructure separates digital services from connectivity: https://billbennett.co.nz/spark-splits-connectivity-digital-services-review/ Spark restructuring into two divisions and reviewing options for its Digital Services arm, including possible sale. Leadership changes announced

Only yesterday I posted here saying that the infighting between the government coalition partners might lead to instability after the election, but right now it looks like they are bringing that melt-down forward.

Hang on. Didn't Winston pretend to be Italian when he was younger? Should he go back to that country?

The World Cup would be rubbish without UEFA and Concacaf.

The coalition parties are going at each other so hard right now that it might be hard to repair relations should they win the election. Certainly there will be far more tension than we've seen over the last 2.5 years. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...

Willis says she doesn’t recall Peters pushing for RBNZ jobs mandate

Despite him calling it a “dead rat” Winston Peters says he didn’t have the numbers to keep employment in Reserve Bank’s mission.

thepost.co.nz

Surely we all saw that coming? "SpaceX shares have declined more than 50 percent from their post-IPO peak to around $113.50, as the company approaches its first earnings report on August 4, 2026."

Here's the thing about Shane Jones that many people have forgotten. He is a wanker. We know that for sure because we got the invoices.

I posted this over the weekend. Normally I avoid this kind of headline, but in this case I feel posing the question is completely valid. billbennett.micro.blog/2026/07/26/s...

You probably won't want to buy this software after reading this post. billbennett.micro.blog/2026/07/26/s...

I can’t fully explain why, but on current showing I don’t think the Greens are going to have a good election result. It won’t be bad, but nor will it be anything special. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

Greens launch new manifesto and election slogan

The Green Party has launched their election slogan.

nzherald.co.nz

I wrote this thing about Norton 360. Apart from a few special edge cases, it's hard to see why anyone would consider buying the product. Let me know what you think. billbennett.micro.blog/2026/07/26/s...

I see Auckland's masochists (sorry, Tottenham Hotspur supporters) are out in force.

Well that explains at lot of why I’ve been mysteriously sick the past two weeks: www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/...

Explainer: What is RSV and why is it making so many people sick this winter?

Explainer: RSV may not quite have the name recognition that influenza and Covid do, but it's actually causing more winter illness.

rnz.co.nz

Which also means he won't be part of the post-election leadership contest that's likely to happen if National lose that many seats. www.thepress.co.nz/politics/361...

Chris Bishop says it is ‘highly unlikely’ he would win Hutt South on current polling

Bishop could be booted from Parliament altogether.

thepress.co.nz

Shouldn't that read: Optimise your site for AI theft? ghost.org/changelog/geo/

Optimize your site for AI search

Give AI tools a clearer way to find and recommend your work

ghost.org