Orthanc
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orthanc.nz
Orthanc
@orthanc.nz
Semi-professional bad influence, secret santa imp, comfort food influencer, and all around good guy, He/Him, Orthanc of the Bluesky.

Tāmaki Makaurau
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Orthanc @orthanc.nz · Nov 22
This post is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!
Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be powerful posters.
This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.
Some days I regret deleting my twitter account and all the history I had there.

Today is not one of those days.
i opened the app yesterday and the top post on my feed was grok generated AI girl with blonde hair and blue eyes infront of a nazi flag performing a heil hitler. it had thousands of likes.

every post after was random “put me in a bikini” posts or posts from people asking for guys to stop doing it
January 2, 2026 at 4:29 AM
I mean, not what I was aiming for for, but I guess it fits
January 1, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Orthanc
Okay, I will preface this with the GIGANTIC disclaimer that I promise I know how this looks, and I *swear* this is not personally motivated: If you have an old #LiveJournal account, and it has things you still care about in it, download it or import it to Dreamwidth SOON. Details:
January 1, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Orthanc
I helped a 15 year old get a late term abortion for a hidden pregnancy not that long ago.

One of the hardest parts was dealing with her GPs practice and their online system, which her parents had access to.

The GP had to sit down with me and the office manager to figure it out. It was a mess.
Kazu, the group/individual behind the ManageMyHealth breach, has posted some samples of the data for verification and they all appear to be legitimate.

Among other things, there are test results (ie; Labtests), referral letters, patient health summaries, hospital ED summaries and other letters
December 31, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Well that's the first book of the year finished.

A cosy little romance with just a little kidnapping. Just a smidge.
January 1, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Pulling this out of a thread because I really like this comic and I spent way too long alt texting it to bury it in a thread.
Always makes me think of this comic (I don't really know the original source)
January 1, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Stocking up on Selleys No More Gaps just to seal something.
Playing a great artist just to steal something
Playing solitaire just to deal something.
December 31, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Heh, it's hardly the main plot, but this just amused me.

"Although there were still biscuits in his bowl, enough of the bottom was showing for him to be metaphorically starving to death."

@witchnwords.bsky.social writes a good cat as well as good people characters 😂😻
December 31, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Pulling this up to a top level thread about the kinds of ways hackers get value from things like the manage my health breach.

It's just volume. Try it enough and you get enough people at a vulnerable moment to hand over their bank details and lose everything.
Largely these groups get in where they can, steal what they can and then sell it on to people who can make money from it.

Cyber crime is surprisingly specialised.

They'll try extorting the place they stole from (the $60K demand) most won't pay, but enough do to be worth the attempt.
December 31, 2025 at 10:36 PM
The data is out there, but we're not powerless.

Don't look for it. Don't use it.

Refuse to engage with any media or gossip story based on it.

Make it career suicide for anyone to use it as the basis of a story.

Make it unacceptable in any group you're a part of to use the data in any way.
...each other's.
Long term, we need some political leadership and regulation around how much patient info is being stored and for how long in systems like this, and what oversight and enforcement is their of security and privacy.
December 31, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Happy New Year pocket friends. I hope 2026 is good to you all.
December 31, 2025 at 11:03 AM
I don't really do new years resolutions, but last year I decided I wanted to get some of my fitness back. But as I started the holidays I realised if I left it till new years, i would then leave it till after the holiday, then after the long weekends, then just fail like I have the last 15 years. 🧵
December 31, 2025 at 8:30 AM
I don't feel like I've been here as much as I used to be, but it would appear my bluesky wrapped disagrees.

141.6K Words over 5.3K posts seems like a lot really, like a lot.
orthanc.nz's Bluesky Wrapped 2025
Check out orthanc.nz's year on Bluesky!
www.madebyolof.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Orthanc
Just a reminder I publish annually

New Year resolutions don't work and actually embed a pattern of failure. Relax. Enjoy January. Start new things when your motivators are very clear and you have space in your heart, head, and life.
December 31, 2025 at 8:13 AM
I spent about 90 minutes today trying to get some games I brought in the early 2000s running on wine on Linux.

No luck so far, I think it's something to do with old copy protection stuff, but wine is supposed to handle that.

Sigh. More googling required
December 31, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Look what arrived today @witchnwords.bsky.social

Much excitement
December 31, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Reposted by Orthanc
Translators work hard to make sure that the translated words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, etc, not only convey the author's meaning, but also the author's *style.*

Translators are alchemists. They are artists, and poets, and researchers, and editors. They are magicians and wizards.
December 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I may have over ambitioused my lego and perhaps should have picked a more useful holiday project
December 28, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Orthanc
I want to do something positive to end what’s been a shit year. Change up the vibe etc.

*lucky dip artwork*

For $25 incl p&p I’ll send you a piece of art, many matted, no bigger than A4. Mixed media, mainly semi abstract landscape, signed. NZ only.

DM me to order.
Reposts appreciated.
December 28, 2025 at 8:28 AM
I finally got around to setting up story graph because I think I do need some way of discovering new books to read with trying to use the library more and Amazon less.

Adding these ones pushed me over 30 for the year, which doesn't seem so bad even though it's rookie numbers compared to some people
December 28, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Orthanc
Today's a great day to support some creators.

Writers and artists and creatives of all sorts: reply with a link to one of your works, if you'd like. And feel free to tell us about it.

Everyone: let's check through the replies and buy some creations and support some human beings.
December 28, 2025 at 5:11 AM
You're thinking avatar.

It's actually the catch phrase a magician uses when performing a trick.
You're thinking avocado.

It's actually a virtual representation of a person, mostly used in video games or social media.
You're thinking of an accordion.

It's actually a fruit with a big seed, often served on toast for breakfast.
December 28, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Orthanc
2025 didn't go exactly as planned but I'm finishing where I want to be... signing books Ive written, published, and sold.
I'm just getting started.
December 28, 2025 at 3:08 AM
You're thinking of abacus.

It's actually getting rid of slavery.
You're thinking of absolving

It's actually an old physical counting tool
You're thinking of abnegating.

It's actually setting a person free from guilt or sin.
December 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I'm not exactly an amateur when it comes to cyber security and safety stuff. But this is signed by a lot of people who I have immense respect for in the field www.hacklore.org/letter

These are the things to actually focus on being secure online.
December 27, 2025 at 7:12 AM