Sean Richards | Toitū Te Tiriti | they/she
@ordinarystarman.com
Non-binary binary star modeller. Sāmoan & manuhiri to Aotearoa. Builder of cool shit. Absolute nerd. Opinions own. Research Fellow @ University of Auckland Current book list: https://ordinarystarman.com/books/ they/she.
With today's Nobel going to IceCube, delighted for Jenni Adams and her team. Jenni is one of very few women physics profs in NZ (here awarded in 2021 for IceCube work)
IceCube collaborator becomes first woman to win physics award
This article originally appeared on the University of Canterbury website. IceCube collaborator and UC Physics Professor Jenni Adams was presented with the 2021 Dan Walls Medal, the top award of the Ne...
icecube.wisc.edu
"We have equal pay" is an incredibly ballsy claim to make from the Prime Minister who scrapped the pay equity scheme
Sean Richards | Toitū Te Tiriti | they/she@ordinarystarman.com · 2d agoya know the first ten minutes of this debate, I see why Luxon doesn't do Q+A. He'd get fucking eviscerated by Jack Tame.
ya know the first ten minutes of this debate, I see why Luxon doesn't do Q+A. He'd get fucking eviscerated by Jack Tame.
back on my baldurs gate 3 love train: > be the dark urge > don't kill isobel > refuse to kill shadowheart > make a saving throw to avoid killing shadowheart > advantage, because "shadowheart has faith in you" > awww.jpeg > go to fight myrkul....
Green Party announces plan for passenger rail between major NZ cities
Green Party announces plan for passenger rail between major NZ cities
The Green Party says it will connect the country with intercity passenger rail services, if elected.
rnz.co.nz
me, turning 29 nearly two months ago: "I will clear out my TBR before I turn 30" me, now, with the benefit of hindsight: "yeah, keep dreamin' babe"
Pleased to announce the availability of a tiny little python utility of mine: Khriss! Khriss lets you make aesthetic matplotlib images for journals at the right resolution the first time, every time. It's three lines you drop into your python code. Find it here! pypi.org/project/khri...
khriss
Khriss: print-quality figures in Python
pypi.org
Very proud of the amazing Dr @ordinarystarman.com who has now graduated and can get "Dr" on all her bank cards. Also not everyday you hear someone you work with on the radio because they're the first Samoan PhD in astrophysics from UoA: www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific...
First Samoan astrophysicist encourages Pasifika students to reach for the stars
The first Samoan person to graduate with a PhD in physics at the University of Auckland has encouraged Pasifika students to remember that they belong and can succeed in academia.
rnz.co.nz
can't believe I get to say this, but I'm now officially Dr Sean Richards! I got profiled by the University website on my journey -- "from gamer to stargazer", and being the first Sāmoan physicist from the University of Auckland. www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026...
From gamer to stargazer: first Sāmoan astrophysicist graduates with PhD – University of Auckland
Dr Sean Richards' research helps astronomers more accurately model the formation of neutron stars and other extreme cosmic phenomena.
auckland.ac.nz
as I left work today, I ran into my COMPSCI 101 lecturer. Haven't sat in a class of his since 2016. Whenever we see each other, we chat. I told him I'm graduating at the end of the month, and he just turned to me and said "Congratulations, Doctor." 🥹
You know, just a bit of positivity amongst all the crap we all see ... There's been a rather large trend lately I've been seeing on Instagram from amateur geeky artists of drawing comics of 'Petra Parker' ... ie Peter Parker (Spider-Man) if she were trans and transitioned. They're all so lovely.
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. [1/3]
ACT promises to axe millions in roadside art spending
ACT is promising to stop motorists' money being spent on roadside sculptures, cultural monuments and decorative artwork, saying fuel taxes and road-user charges should pay for roads instead.
rnz.co.nz
The most important election of the year is upon us. We need something new, not more of the same old, same old. That’s why I am formally endorsing the kerurū for this year’s #BirdOfTheYear.
'Manufestos and wings': The new twist in this month's Bird of the Year competition
The country's politicians aren't the only ones gearing up for an election as Forest & Bird's 2026 Bird of the Year opens for voting.
rnz.co.nz
”hey Sean how did you know your friend group was autistic” well you see they spent 5 minutes interrogating the DM about what kind of stone was on the walls that their pet dragon was being kept hostage in, and what this meant (geologically) for where the dragon was being kept
many thoughts about the privacy implications of this policy. but one of the things that confuses me most is that platforms like discord and roblox are *excluded*? surely if the motive is protecting children you *want* to encapsulate the pedo game and the most popular messaging platform?
Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️🌈@sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · 2mo ago*sigh* regardless of this being good politics, this is just bad policy. Like for crying out loud, we only have weeks of sitting left. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
Motherfucker is introducing Treaty Principles Bill 2.0. Fuck 'em, fuck the lot of 'em.
ACT Party takes aim at 'activist judges', Treaty of Waitangi clauses
The ACT Party has released a policy designed to protect core democratic values and property rights, reign in "activist judges" and stop Parliament creating "divisive" Treaty of Waitangi clauses.
rnz.co.nz
nz politics is crazy because what do you mean that the parties are: a) "guys trust me im definitely the prime minister" b) "guys trust me im not going to introduce taxes" c) "guys trust me, im the penis inspector" d) "can we get nicer school lunches" and somehow, (d) is the "loony greens" option!
3D printer sends me a notification that its finished printing. :D I come home and the print is a pile of spaghetti on the print bed. D: It's used up all my filament DDD:
It is moments before the heat death of the universe. Another feasibility study has been commissioned to look at replacing the Auckland Harbour Bridge with a new crossing
I love reading about other people's experiences with their inner monologues. I've never had an inner monologue, and have lacked mental imagery for most of my life (the last concrete mental image I remember was at age 7). The range in human perception & experience is super fascinating to me.
The Spinoff@thespinoff.bsky.social · 2mo agoAll by myself: When your inner voice does a runner
“Hey Sean how’d you realise you were addicted to energy drinks?” When I got off the plane, went through the border, paid a 50% premium to buy one at the airport, and then sculled 500mL in about ten seconds
having to drink Red Bull instead of the greatest liquid god ever created (blue v)
To those at the #NAM2026 plenary hearing things like “and that’s when I knew we were going to win [over other survey teams]”, know that you can do brilliant science in a collaborative and mutually encouraging way, rather than treating everyone else as a competitor. We decide/set our culture. 🔭
one of these things is not like the other
guys we just encountered Strahd for the first time in our Curse of Strahd campaign. My barbarian, who has Historical Beef with Strahd, attacked him on sight and got a NATURAL FUCKIN TWENTY
really minor realisation here. My HRT costs in New Zealand are actually... dirt fucking cheap? If you take *only* the costs for the first "hey doc I want to start HRT" to now (4 months), I've paid NZ$20 ~ US$11. The biggest expense by far is my petrol to drive to my doc (on the other side of AKL).
