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John Small

@smalltorquer.bsky.social
292 followers 634 following 509 posts

Open-minded economist, koro to 4 mokopuna, promoting prosperity for Aotearoa and the mana of all who live here. Posts are personal views. Shares are not endorsements.

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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
*goose meme* ...who built the sandbox Sam? and who designed the agents? fortune.com/2026/09/26/o...
fortune.com
OpenAI pauses training a second time after saying its AI agents escaped a secure 'sandbox' again just last weekend | Fortune
OpenAI looks to improve test security again after upgrades it made after the Hugging Face attack proved insufficient.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Talked cartels & competition with Jack Tame last week & its screening tomorrow morning on Q&A.
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Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The best sign in the history of everything.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
So great. All I had to do was say yes please.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Guy at the WoF place charged me $12 to replace brake light on my motorbike the other day. So much better than "nah, fail, come back for a recheck when you've fixed it"
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
#OTD in 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant all adult women the right to vote in national parliamentary elections. The first election held after this milestone was in November 1893--an incredible 82% of registered female voters voted. #WomensSuffrage
This image shows a bronze bas-relief detail from the Kate Sheppard National Memorial located on Oxford Terrace in Christchurch, New Zealand. A tribute to New Zealand's women's suffrage movement, depicting prominent campaigners. From left to right, the main figures featured in the sculpture are Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, Amey Daldy, Kate Sheppard (center next to a wheelbarrow of suffrage petitions), Ada Wells, Harriet Morison, and Helen Nicol. The monument honors the landmark 1893 Electoral Act, signed on 19 September 1893, which made New Zealand the first self-governing country in the world where women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
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audioculturenz.bsky.social @audioculturenz.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
While chopping wood, East Cape songwriter Henare Waitoa had been working on Māori lyrics to the melody of an old US cowboy song, ‘Goldmine in the Sky’. Written in the 19th century, the song had been a hit in the 1920s for Carl T Sprague and, in the 1930s, Gene... 🧵 audioculture.co.nz/articles/wel...
audioculture.co.nz
Welcome Home: the birth of ‘Tomo Mai’, aka ‘Hoki Mai’ - Article | AudioCulture
Just as the departure of the Māori Battalion to the Second World War inspired a song that became a standard in New Zealand’s repertoire (‘Blue Smoke’), the soldiers’ return also helped create a song t...
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
No, and the uso itself (which exists in a deed, or did at least) has not prevented falling levels of service over time - eg 3 days/week
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Lots of parallels. Geographically averaged pricing has been the norm, and there's been access-based retail competition (raising all the same issues we had in telco) and then bypass of delivery neworks. Key difference is demand falling - migrating to electronic.
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MonzaGT 🇳🇿 @monzagt.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Jeez that’s an oldie but a goody I saw my 5ft 2 Mum use with a drunk on a Hutt Valley unit. He was all sorry lady and got off at the next station.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The usa AI sector has suddenly adopted ...reverse ferrets share.google/ASN8N1WcNmg3...
share.google
Google Image Result for https://ugc-assets.mumsnet.com/images/202010/large-694847-reverse-ferret.gif
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
These are our public spaces and the more we strive to own the safety angle ourselves, the more we'll all benefit from the resulting positive interactions.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
We can each do something in this direction, even if its just mumbling support for those who lead out. There's also a fair chance the perpetrator will need consoling once the penny drops.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Quite often there are people wanting to mouth off loudly, to no-one in particular. I started copying the best response from my fellow riders, which is: "please stop, you're upsetting people". It's very effective.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The (red) inner-link bus is a real melting pot. I've had incredible experiences on that bus, like the guy who wanted to talk about his kids and got triggered when I said "he tangata" - gave me the complete whakatauki in te reo starting from the tui in the flax bush.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
3 years living in Auckland CBD with no vehicle = plenty of public transport experience. My reckon: we're handling anti-social conduct pretty well, and we need to see this as a collective responsibility.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Unstoppable it seems. They already drove out the US navy and have now severely embarrassed the Saudis.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Im doing the jungle theme on tidal 😀 and have (so far) not ruined dinner.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Seems like this may be mainly a US v China tension.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The alternative seems ugly. Compute/token prices are heading rapidly upward & they suck up our data.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Political attitudes to AI matter. Here's an idea to kick around. What if the government went large on open weight models? Download to nz servers & open them up to all accredited official agencies. Cheap, customisable & data-sovereign.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Superb
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 09/09/2026
Not to brag, but our product has been foldable since 1828.
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twist @pvdork.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Crikey - Brandolini's law strikes again!
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
DMs not available in Australia without proof of age.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
God thats awful.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Que? Got a link?
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Rrduced to unitasking? Bugger. I reckon just wait it out - Im sure its a temporary affliction.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
We are on holiday at a QLD beach. Super impressed at how many people are getting around on 2 electric wheels. I reckon they outnumber dogs, but that view is contested. We are both seizing on evidence that supports our particular view.
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Trades Union Congress @tuc.org.uk · 26/08/2026
Reminder that Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 is a film about three women taking over an office and introducing free childcare, paid vacation, and flexible hours, resulting in a 20% increase in productivity.
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Dr. Cassandra Mudgway @legallyfeminist.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
And that's a (say it with me now) a privacy concern! Not only because Meta will have more information about a person, including biometric data, that it could use for commercial purposes or building out its AI tools but it's sensitive info at risk of security breaches.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My mind too. These reports really are next level. I wanna fight some of these battles with/for you, but thats not how this works.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Darcy was like a shooting star in the NZ music scene. Burned out far too soon. I bet Dolly would've loved this version.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Timeline cleanse: Fat Freddy's Drop...... youtube.com/watch?v=7UcS...
youtube.com
Fat Freddy's Drop - The Best Live Performance Ever [HD]
YouTube video by Strictly Good Tunes
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
But I thought Trump controlled the Strait? oilprice.com/Latest-Energ...
oilprice.com
Another Tanker Struck as Hormuz Shipping Crisis Deepens | OilPrice.com
Another tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz highlights persistent shipping risks even as Iran and Oman discuss restoring navigation through the critical waterway.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Agree: exit of losers is as important as innovative new entry.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Ben used a shopify interface and then vibe coded the whole back-end operation. They are delivering chilled meals nation-wide and were profitable within 3 months. 12 good jobs in Invercargill & lots of upside potential.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Ben talked about premade.nz which has rescued a commercial kitchen in Invercargill, that previously supplied school lunches, from oblivion following the centralisation of school lunch contracts.
premade.nz
Fresh, Healthy Ready Made Meals Delivered to Your Door | Premade NZ
Premade Meals cooked fresh daily and delivered across NZ. Healthy, High Protein, Low Carb, and Vegetarian options. Save $20 on your first orders
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
This was good fun. I missed the first talk but caught the other 2.
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David Hood @thoughtfulnz.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Pro democracy chalking at the botanic gardens
Vote encouragement
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Any Otautahi friends interested in a tech conversation tomorrow night? Register (free) & I'll see you there.... luma.com/5h3u4t7h
luma.com
Conversational Commerce · Luma
3 AI TALKS · POT LUCK DINNER Join us for an impromptu evening to learn about AI Search, Agentic Engineering & Human Adoption Patterns. The Talks: 01 Why Do…
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Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Full marks for the typo. Chef’s kiss for the reply.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Interesting quote re money in politics: "To change the game you kinda have to play the game first"
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 18/08/2026
I’d feel extremely safe on this flight because I already know they had to work twice as hard, be twice as good and make half as many mistakes just to get into those seats. Black women make up less than 1% of professional pilots. Yeah, I’d sleep good on this flight. ✈️
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Jesse Felder @jessefelder.com · 10/08/2026
‘A few weeks ago Zuckerberg was extolling the value of open-source. And then today he released a model that is NOT open-source, hoping you wouldn’t notice the difference.’ garymarcus.substack.com/p/open-sourc... by @garymarcus.bsky.social
garymarcus.substack.com
Open-source is NOT the same as open-weight
How The New York Times just bungled this one, and why it matters, immensely
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Martyn Pepperell @martynpepperell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A free show?! In this economy?
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Some good stuff in here but needs more attention to open weight models running on closed data/info sets.
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John Small @smalltorquer.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Endorse. If you can get teched up, you should.
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Ian McQue @ianmcque.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Skye landscape
Digital painting, Skye landscape with blackhouse and barn
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