Dr Claire Benson
@pyroclaire.bsky.social
Londoner in Auckland. Working in fire & chemical safety engineering. Exec. Director for Institution of Fire Engineering NZ. Indulging in gardening, lego, travel & the arts. There will be many photos of my dog. All my own thoughts.
It's been a great world cup. Well done to all involved. Wishing today's runners up Canada, more government support to continue to become a powerhouse. Much love to today's champions @redrosesrugby.bsky.social. You did us proud xx
Hats, high fives and mauls: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – a picture essay
Hats, high fives and mauls: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – a picture essay
Our award-winning photographer has travelled to Sunderland, Exeter and beyond covering the tournament. As the it draws to a close, we look at some of his best images
www.theguardian.com
September 27, 2025 at 7:52 PM
It's been a great world cup. Well done to all involved. Wishing today's runners up Canada, more government support to continue to become a powerhouse. Much love to today's champions @redrosesrugby.bsky.social. You did us proud xx
Stunning
September 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Stunning
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Been waiting this morning for nz cartoonists to show up
September 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Been waiting this morning for nz cartoonists to show up
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Peter Mandelson resigning in scandal, Oasis are the biggest band in the country, and there's an enormous tech bubble that may or may not burst.
Is it 2025 or 1998?
Is it 2025 or 1998?
September 11, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Peter Mandelson resigning in scandal, Oasis are the biggest band in the country, and there's an enormous tech bubble that may or may not burst.
Is it 2025 or 1998?
Is it 2025 or 1998?
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Pasadena approves $32M contract for 17 hydrogen fuel cell buses, replacing natural gas models. The new fleet will enter service by spring 2027—marking a major zero-emission milestone
#HydrogenNow #ZeroEmissions #CleanTransit #Decarbonise
fcw.sh/LGeNXD
#HydrogenNow #ZeroEmissions #CleanTransit #Decarbonise
fcw.sh/LGeNXD
August 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Pasadena approves $32M contract for 17 hydrogen fuel cell buses, replacing natural gas models. The new fleet will enter service by spring 2027—marking a major zero-emission milestone
#HydrogenNow #ZeroEmissions #CleanTransit #Decarbonise
fcw.sh/LGeNXD
#HydrogenNow #ZeroEmissions #CleanTransit #Decarbonise
fcw.sh/LGeNXD
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Just fantastic that this stupid, barely rates as a joke, AI slop bullshit continues to get more traction on this absurd website than the work of any nz artist I know and keeps getting reposted into my timeline just to rub it in
August 19, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Just fantastic that this stupid, barely rates as a joke, AI slop bullshit continues to get more traction on this absurd website than the work of any nz artist I know and keeps getting reposted into my timeline just to rub it in
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
NZ reggae artist General Fiyah detained in US and deported
NZ reggae artist General Fiyah detained in US and deported
General Fiyah had been scheduled to perform at Polyfest in Washington.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 17, 2025 at 6:50 PM
NZ reggae artist General Fiyah detained in US and deported
Really interesting to read in FT about concerns in USA over the stats chief dismissal. Politicians often fail to understand that the data they have is the only thing they (and investors) have to make choices on investment. Attacking your own data undermines your own investment appeal
August 5, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Really interesting to read in FT about concerns in USA over the stats chief dismissal. Politicians often fail to understand that the data they have is the only thing they (and investors) have to make choices on investment. Attacking your own data undermines your own investment appeal
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Well fuck. It works.
MA put in a 4% millionaires tax 2 years ago, & the GOP said we'd miss revenue targets & millionaires would flee. MA collected TWICE the projected revenues, & the number of millionaires went UP 40%.
www.wbur.org/news/2025/04...
www.wbur.org/news/2025/04...
Not fleeing: New report shows more wealthy residents in Mass., 2 years into 'millionaire's tax'
Despite previous concerns, Massachusetts' "millionaire's tax" hasn't seemed to deter high-earners from continuing to live here, according to a new study from the Institute for Policy Studies.
www.wbur.org
August 5, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Well fuck. It works.
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
'Waterloo Road, London' (2024) by Michael John Ashcroft
michaeljohnashcroft.com
michaeljohnashcroft.com
July 24, 2025 at 7:05 AM
'Waterloo Road, London' (2024) by Michael John Ashcroft
michaeljohnashcroft.com
michaeljohnashcroft.com
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Last chance to apply for great research tech #job in my friendly lab @uclmedsci.bsky.social in London! Cutting-edge organoid and microbiology work seeking to understand how probiotic bacteria might be deployed to fight urinary infection #UTI. Closes 23 July #UTISky www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNQ902/r...
Research Technician at UCL
Apply now for the Research Technician role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
www.jobs.ac.uk
July 21, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Last chance to apply for great research tech #job in my friendly lab @uclmedsci.bsky.social in London! Cutting-edge organoid and microbiology work seeking to understand how probiotic bacteria might be deployed to fight urinary infection #UTI. Closes 23 July #UTISky www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNQ902/r...
I wonder how many workplaces pay for their employees to have password manager software?
Ransomware is *mostly* criminal gangs using tools they've bought from other criminal gangs. Your cyber security is only as good as your least secure employee's least secure password, or the weakest password of someone in your supply chain.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Weak password allowed hackers to sink a 158-year-old company
Transport company KNP forced to shut down after international hacker gangs target thousands of UK businesses.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 21, 2025 at 8:18 AM
I wonder how many workplaces pay for their employees to have password manager software?
Today was a sunny day which pleased all in our house
July 21, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Today was a sunny day which pleased all in our house
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Isometric exercises like wall squats are gentle on your body, but can enhance your fitness in a surprisingly efficient way, discovers Grace Wade.
The unexpected benefits of wall squats and other isometric exercises
Isometric exercises like wall squats are gentle on your body, but can enhance your fitness in a surprisingly efficient way, discovers Grace Wade
www.newscientist.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Isometric exercises like wall squats are gentle on your body, but can enhance your fitness in a surprisingly efficient way, discovers Grace Wade.
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
#nzpol Data released by Statistics New Zealand today shows that the Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7%. This marks the 3rd straight quarter in which annual inflation increased, up from 2.2% in December 2024. The data underneath this figure suggests some troubles ahead. A🧵
July 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
#nzpol Data released by Statistics New Zealand today shows that the Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7%. This marks the 3rd straight quarter in which annual inflation increased, up from 2.2% in December 2024. The data underneath this figure suggests some troubles ahead. A🧵
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
So here’s the Ryanair arithmetic. Gate employee catches out 62 passengers for €1.30 bonus for each to earn max $80 a month. Ryanair makes 62x(€75-€1.30) = €4569 profit (before other staff costs) every month per gate employee. 45% of its revenue comes from fining customers.
Ryanair admits it pays bonuses to gate staff who enforce its designed-to-be-difficult bag size rules bit.ly/4eX0P81 earn €1.30 to cost a passenger €75. It must take a special type of customer service dedication to do that!
Ryanair pays bonus for catching oversized hand luggage
Budget airline confirms commission for staff after employee says they were paid up to €80 extra per month
bit.ly
July 20, 2025 at 7:28 AM
So here’s the Ryanair arithmetic. Gate employee catches out 62 passengers for €1.30 bonus for each to earn max $80 a month. Ryanair makes 62x(€75-€1.30) = €4569 profit (before other staff costs) every month per gate employee. 45% of its revenue comes from fining customers.
Definitely recognise this. I listened to writers who said "just write". Doesn't matter if its good. Just write something. Its much easier to correct nonsense than to create perfection the first time.
July 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Definitely recognise this. I listened to writers who said "just write". Doesn't matter if its good. Just write something. Its much easier to correct nonsense than to create perfection the first time.
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
People simply don’t know enough about the AI hype train and think it’s a panacea — it’s starting to remind me of the radium craze
This is fascinating: www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/s/I...
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
From the OpenAI community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the OpenAI community
www.reddit.com
July 16, 2025 at 9:41 PM
People simply don’t know enough about the AI hype train and think it’s a panacea — it’s starting to remind me of the radium craze
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
Australia has stronger trade unions that Aotearoa, and fewer work place deaths and injuries (as well as being paid more), while still chained to neoliberalism.
Does ACT think Australia is succeeding in spite of, or because of, its greater regulation of workplaces?
Does ACT think Australia is succeeding in spite of, or because of, its greater regulation of workplaces?
Number of New Zealanders leaving for Australia reaches highest level in more than a decade
Number of New Zealanders leaving for Australia reaches highest level in more than a decade
The figure is the highest level of New Zealanders leaving for our neighbour in more than a decade.
www.rnz.co.nz
July 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Australia has stronger trade unions that Aotearoa, and fewer work place deaths and injuries (as well as being paid more), while still chained to neoliberalism.
Does ACT think Australia is succeeding in spite of, or because of, its greater regulation of workplaces?
Does ACT think Australia is succeeding in spite of, or because of, its greater regulation of workplaces?
Twitter users asked many times for fewer Nazis on the platform. Might have been a good move to listen, eh. #GarbageInGarbageOut
Ask yourself how a LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL can possibly end up saying something like this. Either 1) having been fed obscene amounts of Nazi propaganda, or 2) being hard programmed to give strong weight to Nazi propaganda.
But the Nazi salute wasn't really a Nazi salute.
But the Nazi salute wasn't really a Nazi salute.
July 9, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Twitter users asked many times for fewer Nazis on the platform. Might have been a good move to listen, eh. #GarbageInGarbageOut
Reposted by Dr Claire Benson
This had a lot of good data, some of which did not match some of my assumptions about what has been happening in the past few years, so I revise my assumptions.
Quick question, which country reduced road transport emissions the fastest from 2018 to 2023, Norway or New Zealand?
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/07/09/f...
blog.planetaryecology.org/2025/07/09/f...
July 8, 2025 at 11:36 PM
This had a lot of good data, some of which did not match some of my assumptions about what has been happening in the past few years, so I revise my assumptions.