Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026If they want to avoid government intervention, they might want to work on their pitch a little. 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/the-long-s...virginiaheffernan.substack.comThe Long, Slow Demise of Steven PinkerThis piece first appeared in The Nerve. (Check out that British spelling.) Give it a like! And, if you like my work, please do subscribe. 032
Reposted by Patrick BowmanKetan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 27/09/2026Happy ten year anniversary of the 2016 blackout in South Australia. I was told that as clean power grew in Aus, we'd see a blackout apocalypse. The chart below shows blackouts for generation shortfall as columns, and renewable proportion as a percent of the eastern grid. Enjoy :) 816656
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 07/09/2026"textbook communism by stealth". Anyone seen these textbooks? 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026richardjmurphy.substack.com/p/what-is-re... H/t to @bernardchickey.bsky.socialrichardjmurphy.substack.comWhat is rent?It’s a much bigger economic issue than most people think 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Don't you think it's weird that fuel is charged at a flat rate rather than a percentage? 020
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Just in case you need another reason not to vote for ACT. ACT promises tax-free crypto gains after a year has been shared with you from RNZ www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...rnz.co.nzACT promises tax-free crypto gains after a yearThe ACT party wants to allow people to make tax-free profits from cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, as long as they hold onto it for more than a year. 000
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 25/08/2026"Local Government Minister Simon Watts says government will cap annual council rate increases at +4%. But this is probably just electioneering. After all, this is a government that raised its own spending in the latest budget by +4.5% after pushing spending up by +6.2% in the prior year." 000
Reposted by Patrick BowmanMusical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 22/08/2026We'll be hearing more nonsense about govt spending, tax, obegalx etc over the coming months, so here's a video of some actual data. It is very clear that, even on their own measures, the Govt's fiscal strategy has completely failed. Why? Because their economic strategy has failed (what strategy?) 12911
Reposted by Patrick BowmanRenew Economy @reneweconomy.com.au · 20/08/2026A near tripling of installed battery capacity and increasingly diverse ownership of solar and wind generators is pushing down electricity prices and boosting market competition, a new report has found ow.ly/Fqgk50ZBGyfow.ly"Significant shift:" Batteries are capping electricity prices and helping to bust the energy market cartelA near tripling of installed battery capacity and increasingly diverse ownership of solar and wind generators is pushing down electricity prices and boosting market competition, a new report has found. 1138
Reposted by Patrick BowmanMusical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 19/08/2026It's great that rents are falling, but don't let Bishop and his Bishboys take any credit for it. In NZ, flat rents are a sign of significant labour market / income stress. What's remarkable about this time is that we have engineered our very own recession while the rest of the world has carried on. 38638
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 18/08/2026"...the real test of any philosophy of life isn’t the treatise it produces, but the day it makes possible." figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/forget-the...figsinwintertime.substack.comForget the good life, try the good dayWhat the Stoics can teach us about the only unit of life we actually control 001
Reposted by Patrick BowmanCount Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 11/08/2026An American interviewer asked me about my political beliefs. #VoteBinface 13040221068
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 03/08/2026static.klipy.comOld Man Captain America: No, I Don't Think I WillALT: Old Man Captain America: No, I Don't Think I Will 000
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 27/07/2026If you're a New Zealander, I think this is the most important account on BlueSky. 000
Reposted by Patrick BowmanComic Book Couples Counseling @cbccpodcast.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Make Judge Dredd Fiction Again. At the @2000ad.bsky.social Booth. #SDCC #CBCCatSDCC 614737
Reposted by Patrick BowmanDavid Milner @davemilbo.bsky.social · 26/07/2026Here's my 30-min unedited interview with @davidshoebridge.bsky.social outside Pine Gap. We talk about escaping a rotting American empire, nukes, why the Arrernte want Pine Gap closed, and how it feels like the @albomp.bsky.social government are "in a death cult". www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5VZ...youtube.com"Murdoched" and Raiding Pine Gap - July 26 - Andrew Dodd, Matthew Ricketson, David ShoebridgeYouTube video by The Sunday Shot 1418382
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 17/07/2026"The trouble right now is not oil. In fact, there's something of a temporary glut with crude. Instead, alarming shortages of refined products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel are once again threatening the global economy." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...abc.net.auRefinery shortages create new fuel crisisThere is a rapidly escalating supply crunch that has yet to show up on oil markets. While the price of crude has risen in the past week as the fragile Iran war ceasefire has crumbled, the remarkably r... 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 16/07/2026"I had made a noble, grown-up decision to forgo dessert, being in need of some extra belt notches by now, only to discover there was a cheese cart gliding toward the table like a Trojan horse filled to the brim with delicious dairy fat." 182
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026"Asking Labor and Coalition leaders to “rule out” governing with others is a hangover of a fading two-party system, with journalists essentially asking them to disregard the will of the third of voters who are increasingly parking their votes elsewhere." This goes for New Zealand too.crikey.com.auJournalists, please 'rule out' this silly gotcha question to politiciansAn incessant Sarah Ferguson demanded Angus Taylor 'rule out' governing with One Nation on ABC's 730 — an inane ask about a hypothetical situation. She’d be better off asking him about things he is act... 245
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 10/07/2026 "It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better. But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him." www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/6...rnz.co.nzFarage left fighting a trash can as election gamble backfiresA political gamble looks like it has spectacularly backfired. 110
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026What a depressing lineage. Larry deserves better. 010
Reposted by Patrick BowmanTwang 🍉 @twangmaker.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Just as Pauline Hanson began talking about how Australians don't have enough money, a banner mysteriously unfurled behind her. #auspol #npc #paulinehanson 66520
Reposted by Patrick BowmanLiam Hogan @liamhogan.id.au · 04/06/2026Do you like rock and roll played by dudes wearing makeup? Do you like trains? Get this in your earholes m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Eyh...m.youtube.comMulga Bore Hard Rock - Big Train (Live at Imparja Studios, Alice Springs)’YouTube video by Mulga Bore Hard Rock 1237
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026"A new report shows pausing, cancelling and delaying infrastructure projects has cost New Zealand an estimated $11.8 billion in the last 25 years." Seems surprisingly low to me. 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Pity it was an anomaly, because if it did that reliably it would be awesome. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...rnz.co.nzBlue Origin says it faced 'anomaly' during hot-fire testJeff Bezos' space firm Blue Origin says it experienced an anomaly during a hot-fire test. 021
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 29/05/2026My wife took me to see this and it was indeed remarkable. A worthy winner. www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens...rnz.co.nzArdern documentary 'Prime Minister' wins Emmy AwardThe film, which features home footage shot by husband Clarke Gayford, has won the top prize for best documentary at the 2026 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. 020
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Luxon has railed against government debt this whole term while preciding over a government running an increasing deficit. And, to my non-expert eyes, making that forecast must have involved an Olympic amount of hopium. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic... 010
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 24/05/2026open.substack.com/pub/anneappl...open.substack.comWhat, actually, is European Civilization?The foundational texts of classical liberalism were written in Europe too 000
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Do you suppose there's a point where anyone in the government realises that increasing unemployment doesn't lead to economic growth? www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/u...stats.govt.nz 020
Reposted by Patrick Bowmansamuel mehr @mehr.nz · 20/05/2026tough to overstate how quickly science funding in New Zealand has been blown to pieces - on Friday the NZ govt straight up disbanded the Marsden fund (our version of the NSF) it'll be replaced by a 'transition fund' with less money and zero information, as of yet, about what it will support #nzpol 13214135
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 20/05/2026So whoever booked TISM didn't check the title of their last album. TISM fined for $18,000 in damage to Sydney Opera House ahead of tour - ABC News share.google/S8guJwx1eYVr...share.googleARIA winner TISM causes $18,000 in damage to Sydney Opera HouseThe anarchic, ARIA-winning group has been hit with a hefty fine by the Sydney Opera House before its first national tour in more than 30 years. 000
Reposted by Patrick BowmanMusical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Some terrible tribal govt debt scare threads doing the rounds over the last few days. Here's some facts to inflame / calm (depending on who you are). 1. First, the number you use for max debt scare drama... oh no, won't someone think of the grandkids?!? [🧵1/n] 25929
Reposted by Patrick BowmanMatt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 10/05/2026Retractions never get proportional attention. This one should.arstechnica.comInfluential study touting ChatGPT in education retracted over red flagsThe retracted study on ChatGPT in education was already cited hundreds of times. 2325491388
Reposted by Patrick BowmanCartoon Movement @cartoonmovement.com · 13/04/2026Rolling back to the Kremlin. Today’s cartoon by @pietdessinateur.bsky.social. More cartoons: www.cartoonmovement.com #Orban #Hungary #Russia #defeat 343023719
Patrick Bowman @pobowman.bsky.social · 13/04/2026So the left managed about 2% in the Hungarian election. telex.hu 000
