12 yo "does the Parliament speaker person have to be, like, elected? Or could someone fun do it like Greg Davies?"

Luxon’s latest jibes at small business owners that we need to be “adults” about our businesses & radically retool etc. How do you find 300 extra kids a term we lost when they have moved out of your area & can’t afford your product with all the job losses in our region? What money bro?

I remember studying Winston's racist comments in form 2 social studies during the 1999 election campaign. The teacher was trying to create Very Special Episode vibes and affirm that the the kids from migrant families belonged. My son is 12 and his class is doing a democracy module. Same content FFS.

I didn't expect my child to still enjoy being read to at age 12, but I'm so here for it. We're about a third of the way through Northern Lights. Being forced to take it slowly, and give the sentences cadence, is delightful. It brings a different appreciation, though I've read it many times before.

Another long read: The Government's modelling suggests it is on track for meeting New Zealand's methane targets, but experts, watchdogs and even the dairy lobby say the Govt’s hands-off approach won’t boost new technology and cut climate pollution from cows. newsroom.co.nz/2026/07/28/n...

NZ cows set to emit far more climate pollution than Govt projected

Special report: Experts, watchdogs and even the dairy lobby say the Govt's hands-off approach won't boost new technology and cut climate pollution from cows.

newsroom.co.nz

12 yo "so yeah, it's just objectively better" Me "eh, that's more of a subjective assessment" 12 yo "you're an adjective" Ya get the kid ya deserve don't ya?

12 yo "I checked and WhatsApp isn't included in the social media ban in Australia - probably because that's how grandparents stay in touch with their grandkids, i.e. me - which means even if they do ban it here, my high quality content can continue"

The cat has caught a decent sized rat and has dropped it at the back door and is meowing to be let in. If I ignore this problem will it go away?

It brings me joy when the feed stacks posts so perfectly.

Always love seeing people enjoy our gorgeous manu! Also on first glance "public hen" leapt out at me and it flashed through my mind maybe this was a term for pūkeko I hadn't heard before 😂

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · last mo.

And then some ridiculously rare species. I saw numerous species with fewer than 1000 living members, many of which were existed in captivity or remote reserves not accessible to the public hen I first visited in 1981. I have an piece forthcoming about this experience; more on that soon. Thank you.

We've reached the end of season 5... 12 yo "What?! Season 6 isn't available to stream?! But so many things are unresolved! Well, I guess this is gonna be my media piracy origin story"

Eliza Jane@elizajaneagain.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I'm watching Call the Midwife with the 12 year old, and it's wild because he doesn't know much about a) history and b) tv narrative tropes, so everything, large and small, is a huge surprise ("they left the Christmas pudding on the stove and it exploded!!!")

12 yo: "It's a bird! It's a plane! [*Switches key to a pitch-perfect Marlon Williams croon*] kāhore he manu e...."

12 yo "mum did you know that England has a red warning for extreme heat rather than extreme wind like normal weather warnings?" Truely a child of Wellington.

I'm watching Call the Midwife with the 12 year old, and it's wild because he doesn't know much about a) history and b) tv narrative tropes, so everything, large and small, is a huge surprise ("they left the Christmas pudding on the stove and it exploded!!!")

Outside the online rabbit holes, the standard here is just being a decent person. Live and let live! Humility about the limits of one's own experience! Universal human rights! Seeing people as innately worthy of respect and dignity! That's why it should be easy. These are the basic general rules.

🫜🫚🌶️ Caitlin Spice 🌶️🫚🫜@catespice.bsky.social · 2mo ago

You ‘Gender Critical’ people who claim to be on the left need to make a choice, and make it soon: Would you rather stand on the left and tolerate trans women, or would you rather stand with the rest of the GCs on the right, with racists, sexists, homophobes, white nationalists and neo-Nazis?

Did she mean to say that by ensuring available public housing is far, far below the level needed, it creates a somewhat arbitrary system of allocation rather than reliable provision to everyone who needs it? Smdh.

henry cooke@henrycooke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Nicola Willis has now apologised for this statement and said she "reached for the wrong metaphor".

Barring the Smith v Fonterra case, overruling the Supreme Court on recognition of family carers of disabled people, and now the trans erasure bill - all in the space of a week.

We bought some curtains online and they sent out the wrong size. Either the returns emails are AI powered and delivering slightly uncanny missives that treat this minor inconvenience as a major emotional blow, or I'm being unnecessarily brusque in responses to an extraordinarily sensitive person.

12 yo "hey mum did you ever used to watch those old fashioned TV shows that are just like lots of YouTube comedy sketches all put together into a TV show?"

a cartoon character says " the very instant i became old " in front of a red phone

ALT: a cartoon character says " the very instant i became old " in front of a red phone

media.tenor.com

I was flabbergasted when I realised the thing Americans call "grilled cheese" is just a toastie. I thought it was a fancy snack! Maybe a nice piece of sourdough, some red onion, a sharp cheddar, some jalapeno, put under a grill to get all melty. But then that's the UK use of "grill" too (cf "broil).

Brendel@brendelbored.bsky.social · 3mo ago

One British thing you have to appreciate is calling a grilled cheese sandwich a “cheese toasty” because it is a sandwich for children and if you eat it it’s fine to embrace that

The trees at Ration Creek Orchard in Pāuatahanui are laden with braeburn and granny smith apples and open for pick your own fruit - lovely activity for a long weekend! The kids also enjoyed feeding bird-pecked windfalls to some very friendly and eager sheep.

Me "do you want a haircut soon or are you growing it?" 12 yo "hmmm, I'm a gonna ask my friends in the group chat" ... 12 yo "the results are in and I'm dying it pink!

Oh this is quite lovely :)

Alan Baxter@alanbaxter.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I am absolutely shite at recognising when someone is flirting with me. Like, comically bad at it. My mates would mock me about it. But something happened today that made me so happy. 1/?

We have obtained new data showing 146 marine mammals, including numerous Hector’s dolphins, Dusky dolphins, & seals, have been killed inside Aotearoa NZ’s marine mammal sanctuaries in the past two fishing years. We're calling for action. www.eli.org.nz/updates/mari... #oceans #marinemammals #nzpol

Minister urged to intervene over 146 marine mammal sanctuary deaths in just two years — Environmental Law Initiative

New data obtained by the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) shows 146 marine mammals, including numerous Hector’s dolphins, Dusky dolphins, and seals, have been killed inside Aotearoa New Zealand’s ma...

eli.org.nz

With no shade on Jeremy Wells and Paul Williams, the 12 year old just suggested an episode of NZ Taskmaster with Jermaine Clement and Brett Mackenzie, without telling the contestants, just swap them out like Randall Park as Jim in the office. Genius. Can we make this happen NZ BlueSkyites?

One of the cats is happy to chill inside most of the time. The other cat likes his outdoor tree climbing adventures and didn't get any today because the weather warnings said to keep pets indoors, and he keeps starting play fights with the chill cat. The kids are like *the cats are the same as us*.

One of my kids used to be very anxious about extreme weather, and reading Charlie Tangaroa was a real turning point for him being able to manage that - so huge shoutout to @taniaroxborogh.bsky.social as we face a day of red weather warnings and school closures.

France responds to Trump's fossil fuel chaos by passing electrification policy: Both carrots (e.g. incentives for heat pumps and EVs) and sticks (e.g. no gas heat allowed in new construction)! This is the path to reduce fossil fuel dependence and exposure to price volatility and supply manipulation.

Jaap Burger@jaapburger.eu · 4mo ago

The French government has announced the measures of its plan to accelerate electrification: - a ban on gas boilers in new houses from the end of 2026 - increased support for replacing old heating with heat pumps - 100 regions will pilot comprehensive heat transition plans to phase out gas by 2030

Hall of fame FT correction

Despite seeing the many quote tweets saying it's somehow worse than you'd think, it was somehow worse than I thought.

Christopher Luxon NatGPT@rugbyintel.bsky.social · 4mo ago

What I'd just say to you Tama, I mean Tova, how many Maori National Party MPs do we have in the cabinet you ask. It's a number. #LyinLuxon #WorstPMever #NZpol