iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 9h

First discovery made with my cheap arse power meter ($5 in the discount bin at Bunnings): my monitor in the office draws 30W on standby (yeah seems like a lot, I don't know why either). So it costs $83.70 a year to keep turned on. In a further irony the little NUC I use for an office computer […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 9h

In New Zealand, if you get a Pfizer COVID booster, is it regularly updated for new variants?

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 11h

If I find them again I'll tie some fluoro ribbon around them!

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 11h

I think I have lost my reading glasses in the garden. They were stashed in my shirt pocket, and I've been doing lots of weeding and inspecting, and I think they've fallen out. It is very difficult to spot mottled fake tortoiseshell frames against a background of mulch, soil, weeds and litter 😭

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Phil Stevens :tinoflag: @phil-stevens.mastodon.nz.ap.brid.gy · 16h

Excellent insight from David Farrier. Billionaires have their thumbs on the scale of electoral democracy. #NZPol www.webworm.co/elections

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

A couple of months back, late winter, I made a small hugelkultur bed. More as a lark than anything else, and to get rid of some small logs from feral trees I had cut. Of course almost the day after I made it, I came across various online resources noting their lack of evidence base, the weak […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

Next year, I will try to make enough "wash" upfront that I can do a double distillation - tripling my efforts oughta do it. Meanwhile, I have hopes that time and maybe a little wood will make this effort palatable (it's already better than some spirits I've had).

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

Those first two jars of "heads" will probably end up in a container for redistillation at a later point.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

First two jars had distinct notes of acentone, bleurgh. The last jar was danged fruity. So I have mixed all but the first two. They are sitting on the bench airing for a day or two to see if they improve. I appear to have about 3l of 32% abv apple spirit.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

Afternoon agenda: - roast coffee - blend apple eau-de-vie - barrow compost to a new garden bed and plant potatoes - plant seeds (beans, fennel, okra, various herbs...) - work out - tidy up the remaining mess in garage from distilling yesterday

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2026

Am trying to become more diligent with sunblock. Something that worries me is that my adorable cat enjoys licking my nose and ears. Is there anything in sunblock that's dangerous for cats? Feel free to boost. Here is a picture of the cat to thank you for your work.

A cat, lying down on a lap, looking directly at you

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

A little video from yesterday's distillation. Today I'm going to sample the different "cuts" I collected and figure out what I'm going to blend. photos.vital.org.nz/share/RSQHzHy9w…

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1 shared photos & videos

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

@Persona and yet 600k reais is such a small sum to swing an election

todon.nl

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

I mean: I think I'm going to end up with 8l of spirits or close to it, within the next few weeks. And that's a lot to get through! I blame @filip who shared his family rakiya with me, all the way from Serbia, and so delicious... the dream of spirits from the backyard took hold and could not be […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

And I've got a feel for what to do this summer. I like cider, and I will make plenty of it, but I think if I want a good apple brandy and a decent slivovitz, I am going to have to make about 40l of apple wine and plum wine to get a double-distilled result from each. Which is definitely doable […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Right, that took a bit over 5 hours start to finish. And some cleanup yet to come, but I need to let the still cool down. I did get nearly 4l in the end, and I think it's going to come out ok (worst case now is add syrup and flavouring and call it apple liqueur, or maybe blend it with some apple […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Starting. There will not be live posting because sealed metal vessels, alcohol vapour and heat demand attention. Might take pics though.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Filled my cooling water tank. And now to get a glass of water and go to the loo because I expect to be sitting here for quite a few hours, and it can't be left alone once started.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Step one passed. The "wash" isn't vinegar and has no detectable plastic taint either. It's tart, dry, pretty boring cider. As I expected. I didn't put anything in for tannins etc because I was always planning to distil it.

A big fermentation vessel with the spigot open, pouring liquid into the bottom part of a copper still

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Meanwhile, I have this apple/cider in a fermenter from feral apples I got in April, and I also have a huge carboy of plum must from the neighbour's plums. So the best case is apple brandy and something like slivovitz/palinca. Worst case is 8l of ethanol for projects. Between now and this summer […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Anyway, my plan for the breakdown of society is to be the person who has a still and knows how to use it. Bring me your fruit, I will make tasty intoxicants with it.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Expedition this morning. Got a 100l rubbish bin which I'm going to use to hold water that will recirculate through the condenser of my still. Bought some glass jars of sufficient size that I can divide the distillate into fractions as it comes out for later assessment. And a steak for dinner […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

This summer/autumn I'll hopefully be less scared of the whole thing and get on to it in time.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Finally got around to giving the still its inital clean today, and I expect to have made some hooch over the weekend. There's 20l of apple mash that's been waiting since autumn, probably far too long, but we'll see what happens.

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Matthew Haughey @mathowie.xoxo.zone.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

Imagine being so fucked up you’re building rockets to flee the planet instead of making the city that helped shape you just a bit nicer for everyone.

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Matthew Haughey @mathowie.xoxo.zone.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

A literal rounding error amount of his wealth could transform the entire city and become a model for others. Jeffrey Bezos, you want some of that Mamdani rizz? Do this and people would actually like you someday.

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Matthew Haughey @mathowie.xoxo.zone.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

At his level of wealth, spending say, a mere single billion building housing for anyone that needs it in Seattle is the bare minimum for what a decent person could do. He should be embarrassed for how little he gives back for all the sweetheart tax deals he got on his incredible journey.

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Matthew Haughey @mathowie.xoxo.zone.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

Jeff Bezos spent 30yrs in Seattle turning himself into a walking GDP of most countries but I walked past Amazon HQ on Monday and saw unhoused folks everywhere. WA state helped make him obscenely rich, and this is what it gets back? He should be dodging rotten tomatoes for the rest of his life.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

@futuresprog bought some lovely Iranian dates from the local Afghan grocer only a couple of weeks ago...

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

The little Gymnocalyicium opened its flower buds today 😍 #cacti #gardening

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

Gisele did not know the word "spout" so I got to teach her "I'm a little teapot", which is so much fun when someone didn't grow up in an English-speaking country.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

And in fact that change will extend to print media too, for no reason that is obvious to me.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

This seems pretty important: the bill the govt has introduced to abolish the BSA will also as a side-effect make all broadcasters subject to the Privacy Act, with consequent effects on their ability to do journalism […]

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Tim J @timtfj.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Bring back þe letter þ. How can you þrow out þe only rune in your alphabet? Also bring back ð. But ðis time, except in very common words like þe which look nice þe oðer way round, don't treat ðem as interchangeable. Use ð for þe voiced one and þ for þe unvoiced one, like ðey do in Icelandic […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

I have a big old pittosporum tree in the corner of the front garden. Sufficiently old that it's kind of gnarly. And beyond that, it's tall enough to encroach on the power lines, and the lines company have trimmed aggressively - fair enough, but now there is an unsightly "slot" beneath the lines […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

I've been asking myself about the idea that MPs need to be very well paid so as to attract the.right kind of people. Is there a kind of internalised classism here? Very many people who currently live on low incomes, and who would find a living wage a step up, are intelligent, able and educated […]

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Jennifer @jennifilm.nz · 08/10/2026

I wrote this because I think we have to be clear about what Peters means when he says he wants to relitigate the ban, and who the intended target of that harm is, and how this is the third time this term NZF have directly acted in line with UK anti-trans movements.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Anyway it's nice to Get Shit Done occasionally.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Bought 5 double hooks from Bunnings, cheap pressed steel but they do the job, cut a piece of timber to screw them to, screwed it in between two studs in the shed, now I have all the garden tools hanging on the wall instead of leaning in a precarious pyramid... ... also somehow I have three (3) […]

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Dave Moskovitz (((❤️))) @davemosk.mastodon.nz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Taxpayer-funded OIA research contains significant errors, Justice Ministry concedes - NZ Herald www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/taxpayer-fund… A statement from Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith […]

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

[re: nzpol] And no, Curia political* polls aren't especially biassed. * no comment on other polling they do.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

[nzpol] Seeing the polls are coming in thick and fast now, you might enjoy this great overview of our different polling companies and their accuracies and biases from The Overhang: theoverhangaonz.substack.com/p/the-…

theoverhangaonz.substack.com

The Overhang 2.8 - Poll Dancing

On polls, whether to trust them, and how we use them.

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Stephen @stephen.ephemera.vital.org.nz.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Every day I review some Portuguese vocab flashcards from a 10,000 word deck. It's been over two years and I'm still working through it. For the first time, today I was presented with "extrema-direita" - extreme right. A depressing coincidence.

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