Jonathan Brewer
@kiwibrew.bsky.social
I design and build infrastructure for broadband, public safety, utilities, and the Internet of Things. jon.brewer.nz
It'd be helpful if the RNZ explainer mentioned foreign influence in the "why are people freaking out" section. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/b...
China, Russia and Others Seek to Inflame Debate Over A.I. Data Centers (Gift Article)
State actors in China, Russia and Iran have sought to exploit the U.S. public debate over the effects of the technology.
nytimes.com
RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · 3d agoExplainer: What is a data centre and why is everyone freaking out now?
I reckon the Ministry for Regulation "Red Tape" department is answering emails with ChatGPT.
I've open-sourced another new container-based API tool this week for calculating a viewshed anywhere on earth using Corpernicus WorldDEM-30. github.com/InternetSoci...
GitHub - InternetSociety/glo30: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 Terrain Analysis API Server
Copernicus DEM GLO-30 Terrain Analysis API Server. Contribute to InternetSociety/glo30 development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Continued on with a long-planned upgrade to our downstairs flat's living room: acoustic panels. It's a massive room 20+ sqm and has 3m+ ceilings, so it's always been pretty loud. Finished photos here.
National should be happy, New Zealand is catching up to Singapore in a couple ways - like power & natural gas prices.
Jonathan Brewer@kiwibrew.bsky.social · 6d agoMy natural gas bill for a month with 1,300 kWh was $177.50 three years ago. Just got a notice from Mercury, next month it'll be $299.15 Fixed charge has gone from 1.44 to 2.15 and energy from .1033 to .1805 in three years. Meanwhile RBNZ says 3 year "inflation" has only been 10.4%.
My natural gas bill for a month with 1,300 kWh was $177.50 three years ago. Just got a notice from Mercury, next month it'll be $299.15 Fixed charge has gone from 1.44 to 2.15 and energy from .1033 to .1805 in three years. Meanwhile RBNZ says 3 year "inflation" has only been 10.4%.
Hope China bans Peters once he's been chucked out of power.
RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · 7d agoChina's ambassador weighs in as Winston Peters tells Green MP to 'go back to your own country'
I've open-sourced a web service container that will give you a WorldPop population count anywhere on earth given a point (100x100m), a point + radius, or a geojson polygon. It's using R2025A at the moment, but can change as needed. github.com/InternetSoci...
GitHub - InternetSociety/wpopapi: API for accessing WorldPop data
API for accessing WorldPop data. Contribute to InternetSociety/wpopapi development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Seems like LinkedIn is now as full of sock puppets as Facebook ever was.
Third Rosella wine event in the last year. Love being able to walk down the street to this.
Countdown to #InternetNZ board elections! My updated #INZReckons - preferred rankings as of 23/07/2026: 1 Bianca Grizhar 2 Daniel Spector 3 Nabil Sabio Azadi 4 Annette Culpan 5 Keoni Mahelona 6 David Chisholm 7 Jan Rivers No Douglas Brown No Jillaine Heather
Jason Danner@jpdanner.com · 2w agoWe're in the countdown to the #InternetNZ board elections. Deliberation is ongoing, but here are my ranked preferences as of 20/07/2026: 1 Bianca Grizhar 2 Keoni Mahelona 3 Daniel Spector 4 Annette Culpan 5 Nabil Sabio Azadi ? David Chisholm No Douglas Brown No Jan Rivers No Jillaine Heather
It's not that I don't like Auckland, I just haven't been outside the airport grounds since... 2018? I've flown around the world four times since then.
Super disappointed to read this ABC article in RNZ this evening. It's actual propaganda to say Mamdani wants to arrest Netanyahu because of his own interpretation of events in Gaza. The first and only thing to say here is that Netanyahu has an arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the ICC.
Got some terrible results out of solar irradiance function I'm integrating and spent a while debugging trying to figure it out. Asked an LLM and it came back straight away: "you've got your lat & long backwards so you asked for data from Antarctica". Sigh.
Time to shake over to the website for wave 1 tickets, hacker friends: kawaiicon.org/news/
BMO Performs a Kickflip
ALT: BMO Performs a Kickflip
static.klipy.com
If you use RStudio to get statistical and/or geospatial analysis but don't speak R natively, you need to be using the Posit Assistant. It takes almost all the effort & frustration out of the experience.
NZ First can't wait to give it away to its friends! I'm sure they wouldn't go for Norway's approach to socialising the profits.
The Press@thepress.co.nz · 3w agoWinston Peters claims New Zealand is sitting on “Norway-scale energy prospects”.
A proposed undersea cable from Chile to Hong Kong promised to connect South America directly to Asia. Instead, it became a test of how far the U.S. will go to curb Chinese telecom ambitions https://restofworld.org/2026/chile-china-america-google-cable/?utm_campaign=row-social
Telstra broke its network with undocumented time fix www.itnews.com.au/news/telstra...
Telstra broke its network with undocumented time fix
Led to cascading faults.
itnews.com.au
Lyttleton port is already so expensive it's often cheaper to unload goods in Auckland or Tauranga and truck them down the country. I can't imagine selling out to a global for-profot would help their competitiveness.
RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · 3w agoCommunity, unions meet over Lyttelton Port takeover bid, as decision looms
I wonder how much of the opposition to Datagrid's plans in Southland is a result of foreign interference. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/b... @evacorlett.bsky.social article in the Guardian Friday mentions opposition but not that outside parties might be trying to sink the project.
China, Russia and Others Seek to Inflame Debate Over A.I. Data Centers (Gift Article)
State actors in China, Russia and Iran have sought to exploit the U.S. public debate over the effects of the technology.
nytimes.com
@julianbarnes.bsky.social regarding the Larios case you wrote about today & USG's inexplicable behaviour towards him www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/u... suggest you read @vincentbevins.bsky.social "The Jakarta Method" for an explanation.
An Aging Assassin Was Caught by ICE. Will the U.S. Deport Him?
He helped plot a car bombing in Washington that killed two people in 1976. Fifty years later, old government secrets could decide his fate.
nytimes.com
There's two ways to get a parcel from Australia to New Zealand via FedEx. On an Aussie account as an export, or on an NZ account as an import. The latter is 40% cheaper. 🤷🏼♂️
