Miraz Jordan

This very interesting article goes on to explain some training methods — Listening to the bush: How AI can help NZ rid its wildnerness of ‘hold-out’ pest possums

AI is becoming increasingly useful for analysing wildlife recordings, allowing vast amounts of audio to be processed automatically rather than requiring volunteers or researchers to listen to every recording.

This is particularly valuable during the final “mop-up” stage of eradication, when only a handful of animals remain and locating them can be challenging.

Many AI models can also run directly on small, battery-powered recording devices in remote forests, avoiding the need to upload huge amounts of audio for processing.

This is a nice, readable, summary of how we all physically decline with ageing and what we can do about it — What happens to strength, balance, stamina and reflexes as you age – and what you can do about it | RNZ

Some age-related decline is locked in. Strength, balance and fall risk are not - and the evidence shows what works.

We made Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry Traybake and it was delicious. Also very easy to prepare and cook. Frozen veggies came in handy.

A market at the Ruakākā Rec Centre today; proceeds going to the St John's ambulance. More stalls than I expected with food, crafts and knick knacks, even pony rides. Pacific Islands dancing too.

We bought home made jams and I did a free blood sugar fingerpick test from St John's. 4.7, phew!

There were a couple of horses, with riders, on the beach today. Although I've occasionally seen hoof prints, that was the first time I've seen horses themselves.

The sea was really calm, the sun warm on our backs and the sky blue. It's a lovely day.

An excellent local counterpoint (whatever the topic) to our government's ongoing erosion of democracy as they increasingly use Urgency and the Fast Track Legislation to steamroll things through — Aucklanders getting paid to share views on various topics with council:

about forty Aucklanders attended a Deliberative Democracy forum on pest plants.

The group debated what steps the Auckland Council should take to stop invasive weeds like Moth plant and Woolly nightshade from spreading and to what extent landowners should be made to control them on their properties.

"Blame avoidance framework" — Why is NZ spending far more on responding to climate disasters than on reducing future risk? | RNZ

Researchers have developed a blame avoidance framework to explain how politicians weigh up visibility (how much attention an issue attracts) against avoidability (who will be blamed for failure) before deciding on a course of action.

In a country like Aotearoa the government should do what's needed to ensure no one is homeless. But given some are homeless, this is an excellent thing for Rotary to do — Watch: Shelter bags for homeless 'the starting block' to cope with frigid nights:

Rotary Clubs across the country have responded to increasing homelessness with a special fundraiser - they've imported a container of 1000 shelter bags for city missions and other charities to give out. …

The canvas bags have a mattress layer, are bigger than a sleeping bag, and roll up easily.

Some days I walk along the grass right beside the river. Other days I use the footpath beside the road. How lucky to have this so nearby.

Good to read a bit of clear science around biological sex — Biological sex is neither binary nor a spectrum – a biologist explains how it’s multidimensional:

Many people are more typically female in some biological traits, more typically male in others, and intermediate in still others. In such cases, people can’t be placed accurately at one location along a single biological sex spectrum because there are multiple traits that can vary, and an individual’s biological measurements can land in different locations along these different axes.

In other words, biological sex is multidimensional.

The fact that people are multidimensional in their sex-related biological traits means that the binary view of sex is fundamentally misleading. Biological sex has variations and nuances, just as gender does.

I'm interested to follow along on progress with this AI datacentre — Datagrid pledges less water, generator use at Southland AI factory | RNZ:

Datagrid has unveiled a smaller footprint for its $5 billion AI factory in Southland, as machines start work preparing the Makarewa site.

At a meeting in Invercargill on Tuesday, the company told business leaders it had slashed its planned water use by 70 percent and more than halved its backup generator requirements.

I have a goal to go to the beach at least a couple of times each week, but laziness and inertia almost defeated me this morning.

It was lovely though, as usual in spite of the chilly Southerly, and until the last few minutes I was completely alone.

For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

Another thing I liked about The Scot Free Cozy Mysteries is that unlike almost every other book I've read recently that doesn't even mention Covid, this set had at least two that were right there in it, during and after lockdown. There were masks, sanitiser, social distancing, the works …

This 27 minute video is well worth your time — Holy Trouble: the New York Nuns taking on President Trump | Compass - YouTube:

From civil rights marches in 1965 Harlem, to arrests during the Vietnam War protests and being criticised for supporting men with AIDS, the sisters have a long a history of what they call ‘holy trouble.’

Such admirable women.