Ben Torkington
@bentorkington.bsky.social
I want to make software that makes people's lives better, not worse.
Tones to -18dB. All vehicles parked at owners' risk.
Tones to -18dB. All vehicles parked at owners' risk.
Call on God,
But file by the 7th
But file by the 7th
The tax department is having a company linked to the operations of Destiny Church liquidated and has applied to have another of the church's trusts shut down.
IRD moves to liquidate two Destiny Church entities
newsroom.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Call on God,
But file by the 7th
But file by the 7th
November 26, 2025 at 7:48 AM
That means it's two years since I stopped.
I was chill with making myself broker and deader, but helping some asshole who's already loaded buy a new ute was a bridge too far, and to this minute I've saved $30,002.32
I was chill with making myself broker and deader, but helping some asshole who's already loaded buy a new ute was a bridge too far, and to this minute I've saved $30,002.32
Two years since the incoming government announced it hoped to fund the tax cuts for landlords partly by having more people smoking
November 26, 2025 at 7:10 AM
That means it's two years since I stopped.
I was chill with making myself broker and deader, but helping some asshole who's already loaded buy a new ute was a bridge too far, and to this minute I've saved $30,002.32
I was chill with making myself broker and deader, but helping some asshole who's already loaded buy a new ute was a bridge too far, and to this minute I've saved $30,002.32
Reposted by Ben Torkington
On top of everything, this plays *terribly* to National's base. Their politics is rooted in might-is-right, we-have-power-because-we're-better-than-you ideology and they've spent two years insisting that they are incredibly weak
Not just weak, getting-bossed-around-by-utter-git-David-Seymour weak
Not just weak, getting-bossed-around-by-utter-git-David-Seymour weak
Nicola Willis suggests National may join the Greens, Labour, TPM and NZ First campaigning to repeal Regulatory Standards Act
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
'It's not impossible': Willis says National may join other parties to repeal Regulatory Standards Act
The National deputy leader said her party may also campaign to get rid of the law.
www.nzherald.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 6:12 AM
On top of everything, this plays *terribly* to National's base. Their politics is rooted in might-is-right, we-have-power-because-we're-better-than-you ideology and they've spent two years insisting that they are incredibly weak
Not just weak, getting-bossed-around-by-utter-git-David-Seymour weak
Not just weak, getting-bossed-around-by-utter-git-David-Seymour weak
He used his tried-and-true formula: the National leader always seems to when whenever it's not him
November 26, 2025 at 6:41 AM
He used his tried-and-true formula: the National leader always seems to when whenever it's not him
the state of it, they even took their photographer out to stage a mock photo of them rocking up to a council building like they're heavies collecting rent arrears or some shit
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 AM
the state of it, they even took their photographer out to stage a mock photo of them rocking up to a council building like they're heavies collecting rent arrears or some shit
8th anniversary. M'lady works in data and analytics, so I made her a nice little chart of the weight out our dog over time.
November 26, 2025 at 3:30 AM
8th anniversary. M'lady works in data and analytics, so I made her a nice little chart of the weight out our dog over time.
Reposted by Ben Torkington
I can't think of any better way for a regime to completely destroy its own credibility than to announce that it will campaign against its own legislative program, and repeal a law it has just spent two years passing.
November 26, 2025 at 1:28 AM
I can't think of any better way for a regime to completely destroy its own credibility than to announce that it will campaign against its own legislative program, and repeal a law it has just spent two years passing.
I do not know off the top of head what is in the oath an incoming government makes to the Governor General, but it seems like passing legislation you actually think is bad should be some kind of breach of it
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
'It's not impossible': Willis says National may join other parties to repeal Regulatory Standards Act
The National deputy leader said her party may also campaign to get rid of the law.
www.nzherald.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I do not know off the top of head what is in the oath an incoming government makes to the Governor General, but it seems like passing legislation you actually think is bad should be some kind of breach of it
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
Reposted by Ben Torkington
The government's right hand doesn't know what its far-right hand is doing www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
'It's not impossible': Willis says National may join other parties to repeal Regulatory Standards Act
The National deputy leader said her party may also campaign to get rid of the law.
www.nzherald.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 12:46 AM
The government's right hand doesn't know what its far-right hand is doing www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
Reposted by Ben Torkington
The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The ace of spades
The ace of spades
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The ace of spades
The ace of spades
November 23, 2025 at 2:24 AM
The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The ace of spades
The ace of spades
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The ace of spades
The ace of spades
Willis went to school in the late 1980s at Marsden Collegiate, a decile 10 years 1-13 school in Karori. Now, the website is disappointingly scant on details of electrical outfits over the years, but I'm getting Didn't Happen vibes from the main distribution board being accessible to students.
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Willis went to school in the late 1980s at Marsden Collegiate, a decile 10 years 1-13 school in Karori. Now, the website is disappointingly scant on details of electrical outfits over the years, but I'm getting Didn't Happen vibes from the main distribution board being accessible to students.
Google is now at the point where searching [username] [repo name] often doesn't turn up a Github repo with the exact spelling. Probably good to break the habit of searching just to avoid typing github dot com slash anyway, but… ugh.
November 21, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Google is now at the point where searching [username] [repo name] often doesn't turn up a Github repo with the exact spelling. Probably good to break the habit of searching just to avoid typing github dot com slash anyway, but… ugh.
Reposted by Ben Torkington
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
Reposted by Ben Torkington
This was an IQ test.
November 20, 2025 at 11:30 PM
This was an IQ test.
Jury Duty is just sentencing for people who have not been charged with a crime
Reminder that juror fees have not been increased since 2004 (yes 21 years ago). The maximum payable is $127 for more than 3 hours and beyond 9 pm.
The usual daily rate is $62 for more than 3 hours but not beyond 6 pm.
Jury duty is obviously nowhere near as important as being on a board.
The usual daily rate is $62 for more than 3 hours but not beyond 6 pm.
Jury duty is obviously nowhere near as important as being on a board.
😡 #NZ Neoliberal RW Govt approves HUGE pay hikes for #CrownBoard, #authority members after fee framework changes, in many cases doubling the amount they receive, despite huge cuts in pay for teachers, nurses, carers & others #pay #inequality #AtlasNetwork #nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
November 21, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Jury Duty is just sentencing for people who have not been charged with a crime
Reposted by Ben Torkington
Extremely upset that a throw-away XKCD joke somehow became the organizing principle for the Internet.
November 20, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Extremely upset that a throw-away XKCD joke somehow became the organizing principle for the Internet.
In software we can release MVPs and then continue to build the plane while it's flying, because nothing is real. It's not a goal, just a milestone where the thing is no longer useless.
It's not a concept that migrates well to things built from concrete and steel.
It's not a concept that migrates well to things built from concrete and steel.
Did I just hear "minimum viable product" coming out of the mouth of the Centerport head regarding what Winnie has asked him to deliver for the ferry terminals?
Minimum
Viable
Product
Minimum
Viable
Product
#nzpol
Minimum
Viable
Product
Minimum
Viable
Product
#nzpol
November 19, 2025 at 7:03 AM
In software we can release MVPs and then continue to build the plane while it's flying, because nothing is real. It's not a goal, just a milestone where the thing is no longer useless.
It's not a concept that migrates well to things built from concrete and steel.
It's not a concept that migrates well to things built from concrete and steel.
Reposted by Ben Torkington
Startup English in the public sector is a reliable sign that something is going to be half-arsed just long enough for someone to tick off a KPI and then left to die.
Did I just hear "minimum viable product" coming out of the mouth of the Centerport head regarding what Winnie has asked him to deliver for the ferry terminals?
Minimum
Viable
Product
Minimum
Viable
Product
#nzpol
Minimum
Viable
Product
Minimum
Viable
Product
#nzpol
November 19, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Startup English in the public sector is a reliable sign that something is going to be half-arsed just long enough for someone to tick off a KPI and then left to die.
Reposted by Ben Torkington
I think user pays is a silly philosophy for infrastructure in general but if New Zealand has nowhere near the traffic volumes to fund these roads then…why do we need these roads?
Hard choices lie ahead, Bishop says, as he explains funding the $56 billion in motorways promised by the Government would require a nearly 50c per litre lift in petrol taxes.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop says funding $56b in roads a 'challenge'
Hard choices lie ahead, Bishop says, as he explains funding the $56 billion in motorways promised by the Government would require a nearly 50c per litre lift in petrol taxes.
dlvr.it
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I think user pays is a silly philosophy for infrastructure in general but if New Zealand has nowhere near the traffic volumes to fund these roads then…why do we need these roads?
If we can't stop the word "Wellngton" making it into a headline despite that being a Very Easy Thing to Do for longer than most people have been alive, it might be time to revisit our approach for how we apply technology to serious stuff like living vs. dying.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
IT system at Wellngton Hospital a 'constant risk' to patient safety, says union
Health NZ chief information technology officer Darren Douglass said performance problems arose in March.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 5:36 AM
If we can't stop the word "Wellngton" making it into a headline despite that being a Very Easy Thing to Do for longer than most people have been alive, it might be time to revisit our approach for how we apply technology to serious stuff like living vs. dying.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
what if bullshit overtaking Nitrogen as the most abundant element in the atmosphere actually fixes recruitment?
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
November 17, 2025 at 5:24 AM
what if bullshit overtaking Nitrogen as the most abundant element in the atmosphere actually fixes recruitment?
slop can sneak into your workflow anywhere: it's not enough to just say "we don't use AI", or make a policy. You've got to be on the lookout for it, and there's more to it than just looking for em-dashes.
A new ruling on AI means the Ockhams are in the strange position of judging a book by its cover
Ockhams dump AI books from awards
newsroom.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 4:55 AM
slop can sneak into your workflow anywhere: it's not enough to just say "we don't use AI", or make a policy. You've got to be on the lookout for it, and there's more to it than just looking for em-dashes.
guess this this didn't go so great
November 17, 2025 at 4:39 AM
guess this this didn't go so great