Bruce Buckman
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brucebuckman.bsky.social
Bruce Buckman
@brucebuckman.bsky.social
Probationary curmudgeon. 🇳🇿
The AI memory crisis is basically Starkiller Base sucking all the energy out of a sun just to break shit.
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”

@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 17, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
What jumped out to me from the long-term NZ temperature data was the acceleration in recent years.

The lowest annual average in the past decade was 11.34C in 2020. Yet, that threshold was only exceeded four times between 1901 and 2015.
February 17, 2026 at 10:04 PM
The problem with Shane Jones’ version of populism is he champions, almost exclusively. issues that are statistically, irrefutably unpopular.

www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...
Minister defends bottom trawling, despite poll showing majority of NZers want it banned
A new poll shows a majority of New Zealanders want the fishing method of bottom trawling banned, but Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is not of this view.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 17, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
Today the ERA Bill passed, marking a dark day for NZ workers.

This Govt has weakened YOUR job security.

For instance, the door is now open for employers to ‘re-hire’ anyone as a ‘specified contractor’, lacking protections like min wage, holiday pay, sick leave and the right to join a union. #nzpol
February 17, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
More extreme weather more often. What do our leaders think we should do? In a word, not much.
My Stuff #cartoon today #NZpol #Climate
February 17, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
pov: you're being frisked for dog biscuits (🔊)
February 17, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
In today’s NZ Herald
February 17, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
The Roman Pharos (lighthouse) at Dover, still standing after almost 2,000 years! 🤩

It is the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain, and one of only three surviving lighthouses from the former Roman Empire! Dated 1st-2nd century AD.

📷 me

#Archaeology
February 17, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
Probably the best frame I've shot in at least a year, and I knew it the second I touched the shutter release.

South Island oystercatcher. 🪶
February 17, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Ooh colour fun

dialed.gg
February 17, 2026 at 9:30 AM
If you’re unwilling to acknowledge the actual cause of your need to plan for climate related disasters then you have most definitely shoved your politics right in there.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Party leaders call for politics to be taken out of planning for weather events
Luxon wants it handled independently, while Hipkins says infrastructure should not be something the parties "compete" on.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 17, 2026 at 5:33 AM
February 17, 2026 at 4:37 AM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
#ITeachPhysics another relative velocity video for you
February 16, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Look it’s all grifting bullshit but it would nonetheless make a good kiwi Jurassic Park movie where it’s discovered the clone dudes put NZ Falcon DNA in the mix and have accidentally created fake moa terror birds that go on a bloodthirsty rampage.
I said "Paul, I bet you $1000 there will be no 'functionally-equivalent' moa running around in ten years." We shook on it, witnessed by the Friends of the Museum audience. The talk will be on YouTube but not the questions, so you'll have to take my word that this happened.
February 17, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
Straight up we have a coordinated, intentional pattern that explicitly intends to push overwhelmingly wahine Māori from public and political life - not just from members of the public, but hugely from our media outlets. Do you know how fast this racist disinformation turns into outright fascism?
As per usual, a loud and feral minority hijacking the conversation with misinformation.

Also seeing a disturbing & very familiar pattern of hostility toward Tamatha Paul. Our community must stand behind her. We can’t allow another Māori leader to be worn down and pushed out. #nzpol
“Rooted in racism” Hostility and disinformation overshadow Moa Point public meeting
More than 300 people packed into a public meeting on Monday night to demand answers over the ongoing Moa Point wastewater disaster.
www.teaonews.co.nz
February 17, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Oh cool another fucking streaming service you’ll have to cycle through using (cause who can afford all these bloody subs) just to see a few shows or movies you want. Truly a golden age for capitalism gaslighting consumers that they’re getting “more choice”.

www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens...
New Zealand is getting a new streaming service - HBO Max is coming
Shows like The Pitt, Succession and The White Lotus will live exclusively on the new platform from mid-2026.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 16, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
This climate change which governments and billionaires tell us isn’t really happening is now not really happening much more.
February 16, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Love poll stories where the max sampling error is 3.1% yet the story is very excited about the shifts that are mainly within the margin of error.
February 16, 2026 at 6:39 AM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
Bébé kereru in our wisteria. Most of those twigs are the plant. I think the parent just tossed a few twigs on to and thought that'll do.
February 16, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Real fiddle while Rome burns kinda government we got here.
February 16, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
National orcishness continues, with a bill to disestablish MfE bills.parliament.nz/v/6/27caed65...
House
bills.parliament.nz
February 16, 2026 at 4:52 AM
This is a tax.
Experts forecast Meridian, Contact, Mercury and Genesis will report a combined operating profit of about $1.86 billion for the six months to the end of December ‒ an increase of about 45% on the same period last year.
Big four power profits set to soar 45% as Contact Energy kicks off earning week
Experts forecast Meridian, Contact, Mercury and Genesis will report a combined operating profit of about $1.86 billion for the six months to the end of December ‒ an increase of about 45% on the same period last year.
dlvr.it
February 16, 2026 at 2:20 AM
I remember when Intel had that floating point division bug in Pentium chips that didn’t impact many people but it was a huge scandal that cost them nearly $500 million cause shipping faulty products was still considered bad in 1994.
I think we're now firmly in the era of emergent effects. It's not just about "does the AI do the job", but "what happens when many points of the ecosystem is done by AI". The way these bits interact with each other, with runaway effects that nobody expected/asked for, is upon is.
Holy fuck this is insane. An agentic AI is tasked with contributing code to matplot. The project maintainer says no. The AI then... starts an influence campaign against him?!?
February 16, 2026 at 2:12 AM
I dunno, when one of your MPs is publicly celebrating you for holding an umbrella I’m pretty sure that doesn’t reflect well on either of you.
February 16, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Reposted by Bruce Buckman
I didn't know if @marthawells.com knew about this Easter egg that Alexander Skarsgård snuck into the #murderbot TV series!
February 16, 2026 at 1:25 AM