Gareth
Self-reinvention is a way to stay young, as long as you can remember what you were.
I recall being an author, journalist, photographer, truffle grower, climate change writer, magazine editor and publisher, but who can be sure?
Born at 313ppm
- Reposted by GarethIrony is… A NZ government that gave landlords a massive tax break now campaigning saying trust us on tax & no frivolous spending As 2 of NZ’s largest cities Christchurch/Wellington face critical wastewater infrastructure crises (& National climate risk) if only NZ govt planned long term #nzpol
- The land of grey and pink
- G & P 2
- Reposted by GarethIrony is dead.
- Farage calls for EU to probe Mandelson’s time in Brussels ft.trib.al/eAGo2wa
- Foggy for some…
- Need some good news? There are glimpses in the gloom… open.substack.com/pub/sammatey...
- Deer me! The answer to a longer, fitter life may lie in antlers. "Chunyi Li noticed something odd that happened when deer regrew antlers each year. This coincided with healthier-looking animals that showed much faster healing of their wounds and less scarring." www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
- Reposted by Gareth🧵Spotted at the beach in Aotearoa New Zealand A sturdy man (60s?) is fast asleep on an All Blacks towel. Hairy tum moving up and down with tremendous snores. All is peaceful. All is well. But what is this?! Two giggling small humans (5 & 7?) approaching with a bucket of water? Oh no! SPLOOSH! (1)
- Here's the weather station in question - on a fencepost between truffiere and vineyard. Non-standard location, but pretty accurate when compared against others in the area. Probably under-records wind speeds. No sign of damage.
- So I climbed up on the bike and checked the rain gauge. Nothing obviously wrong - but spider webs aplenty. Gave the whole thing a clean, checked the contacts in the station, resealed it. Checked the wind last night. It was calm. The mystery remains.
- The rain measurement is by a "tipping bucket" flipping from side to side as it fills with drips from the collector. Each flip is 0.01 of an inch (it's US-made) of rain (IIRC). To get last night's intense "rain" something must have either made those buckets flip back and forth like crazy, or ...
- ... the counter must have malfunctioned. Maybe water somewhere where it shouldn't be? We'll have to wait and see. If I see any particularly muscular possums shaking fenceposts, I'll be sure to post a picture.
- Reposted by Gareththis was done intentionally - multiple ministers including Willis & Seymour bragged about how many jobs they’d cut in the first 12 months of their government. the reserve bank literally said it wanted unemployment up to control inflation. as with so many other policies this term, it’s social murder
- The news from China is... encouraging. open.substack.com/pub/sammatey...
- Renewables to the rescue. "Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages." theconversation.com/renewables-o...
- My favourite Australians are having their diets restricted by climate warming... theconversation.com/potoroos-dig...
- Reposted by GarethAnyway my new startup is IndirectNuclearFusion and we just install solar panels and batteries, it was easier to get NZ government funding that way. Our reactor? It’s 150M km away, for safety reasons
- Important read for anyone interested in our electrical future open.substack.com/pub/uncharte...
- Today's rain gauge mystery: shortly after 3am, and again shortly before 9am, the rain gauge reports two big spikes of incredibly intense rain - 380mm per hour and 250mm ph - totalling 210 mm of rain since midnight. A biblical cloudburst, that would have washed away much of the farm. Didn't happen.
- So what caused it? A possum's prodigious pissing? A magpie taking exception to the gauge? Investigations will ensue.
- Watching paint dry
- For random reasons, here's a shot from Yunnan in 2007. #personalfavourite
- Watching the rain pissing down outside, while our weather station rain gauge shows only a trickle. This means I have to put on all the wet weather gear, take the farm bike out to the weather station pole, climb up and remove whatever bit of crap is blocking the funnel. Such larks!
- Two interesting things I learn: the dead body of a grass grub beetle (Costelytra zealandica) is a very neat fit in the neck of a Davis Instruments rain gauge, and as the head of water clears with removal of said carcass, the peak rate of rainfall recorded is 640mm per hour. Wet wet wet.
- The goldfish thief
- Blue wave
- Reposted by GarethMy cartoon in today's www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609... There's been loud voices in the media saying it's too soon to talk about the impacts of climate change... 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗦 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲? #ClimateChange #PoliticalCartoon #EditorialCartoon #Caricature #Luxon
- Reposted by Gareththe oldest adage in journalism is “follow the money” new in the FT:
- Reposted by GarethAnd as for NZ political parties trying to avoid campaigning on climate so as not to scare the voters Watch this space… voters have the power to demand parties campaign on climate …. NZ children deserve a better future and governments who care
- Rosy fingered dusk
- The little pears
- The big apple
- Reposted by GarethWow, today was a real fucked one. Let's do some of that again, but not most of it. Definitely not most of of it. Here's something that happened you DIDN'T know about, for I was the only one capturing, thus everyone NOT on bluesky is missing out! I give you January 30th's Full Pelican 🪶
- Reposted by GarethLast night New Zealand had a pretty spectacular meteorite. Here is one view from Marlborough, facing South. (not mine, from Facebook)
- Purple ways
- Reposted by GarethSolar provided 59% of electricity in the Australian national (east coast) grid between 9am and 6pm over the past week. It was 30% of total generation. Life moves pretty fast etc. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- Reposted by GarethTell all your mates and any non political junkies about this, this is unacceptable, and should be an absolute red line.
- Foraging for supper in the orchard #shaggyparasol
- Step aside, Chamomile Lawn. Introducing the Parsley Lawn. Now made salad by my ride-on mower. Or perhaps pesto…
- Pink
- Here's a little something to brighten up your Friday, from the über-talented Fathom: youtu.be/JxRYxsVD3lw
- Why did you stop? #pickles
- Reposted by GarethNeed to get of unwanted guests? Have you tried eels? In 1538, Lady Motrell passed through London & asked to crash at the mayor's house. Not wanting to deal w/ her, he noped out & instead sent her some torches, wine, & 10 large, fresh eels. Parting is such sweet...er...eels. 🗃️🧪
- Five jobs I’ve had: Prefab concrete garage salesperson Builder’s labourer Hole digger for motorway tree planting Roof treatment estimator Tin shed fabricator.
- Reposted by GarethWe will have a new video out on Friday in which @cathwarr.bsky.social charges around Leeds spotting things while I canter after her with a camera. So while you wait, now is a good time to check out our most recent one, link below!
- Reposted by GarethLet us remember that the NZ police unlawfully raided the house of journalist Nicky Hager after Hager published a book exposing the malfeasance of Judith Collins. Police had to apologise while Collins is being appointed by Luxon to head the Law Commission. What a joke. www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3505...
- The Boss speaks
- Reposted by GarethSent a message to RNZ about the disgusting state of their comment sections. Blows my mind that in 2026 there are news orgs who are still the "this is fine" meme about this.
- Reposted by Gareth
The Law Commission is meant to be above politics. So what happens when Cabinet installs one of its own to run it? This appointment should worry anyone who cares about independent law reform: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-... - Reposted by GarethBudget is on 28 May. If things get a tiny bit better, then it's only because in 2 short years, they got so much worse. Cuts to essential public services. Record out-migration of Kiwis. Failing child poverty. New Zealand can't afford more of this failed plan. Let's make this a one-term government.
- First decent morning sun for what seems like weeks…
- Reposted by GarethLet me fix this headline: "Forestry companies not cleaning up their mess leave the NZ taxpayer with billions in damages from recent storms. "
- Is it Waipara in summer, or Ireland in any season? Pickles is watching my mowing workload explode. #sunnysummer26
