BlakJak
@blakjak.bsky.social
Known as BlakJakNZ or BlakJak for a very, very long time. Public Sector Cybersecurity geek with Network/Telco and Internet/Systems and GRC leanings. Volunteer, ZL1VMF, he/him.
www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/t...
This is dumb to me. Cover Artwork is hardly significant in the scheme of a whole book!
As much as silly and OTT Use of AI makes my skin crawl, this feels like the wrong call to me.
This is dumb to me. Cover Artwork is hardly significant in the scheme of a whole book!
As much as silly and OTT Use of AI makes my skin crawl, this feels like the wrong call to me.
Top writers ruled out of NZ book awards due to AI covers
For the first time AI regulations have been applied to the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, including every detail from cover to cover.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 18, 2025 at 1:15 AM
www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/t...
This is dumb to me. Cover Artwork is hardly significant in the scheme of a whole book!
As much as silly and OTT Use of AI makes my skin crawl, this feels like the wrong call to me.
This is dumb to me. Cover Artwork is hardly significant in the scheme of a whole book!
As much as silly and OTT Use of AI makes my skin crawl, this feels like the wrong call to me.
www.snapper.co.nz/faqs/securit...
Topped up my Snapper this morning via CC and the process demanded my email address. I wonder what Windcave are doing with it? Could I put in a fake one each time?
Topped up my Snapper this morning via CC and the process demanded my email address. I wonder what Windcave are doing with it? Could I put in a fake one each time?
Are my credit card details secure? - Snapper
www.snapper.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
www.snapper.co.nz/faqs/securit...
Topped up my Snapper this morning via CC and the process demanded my email address. I wonder what Windcave are doing with it? Could I put in a fake one each time?
Topped up my Snapper this morning via CC and the process demanded my email address. I wonder what Windcave are doing with it? Could I put in a fake one each time?
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Ive long suspected this but Ars appear to be reporting on evidence-backed truths. Meta willfully letting scam ads remain in place to keep the involved revenue... Disgusting.
Ive long suspected this but Ars appear to be reporting on evidence-backed truths. Meta willfully letting scam ads remain in place to keep the involved revenue... Disgusting.
Bombshell report exposes how Meta relied on scam ad profits to fund AI
Meta goosed its revenue by targeting users likely to click on scam ads, docs show.
arstechnica.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:49 PM
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Ive long suspected this but Ars appear to be reporting on evidence-backed truths. Meta willfully letting scam ads remain in place to keep the involved revenue... Disgusting.
Ive long suspected this but Ars appear to be reporting on evidence-backed truths. Meta willfully letting scam ads remain in place to keep the involved revenue... Disgusting.
This is a must watch. youtu.be/bOekmUdnN80
Fabricated Consent: Astroturfs Go Local
YouTube video by Paul… The Other One
youtu.be
July 4, 2025 at 10:41 AM
This is a must watch. youtu.be/bOekmUdnN80
Mayor takes responsibility for 'typo' that could have cost council $20m www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
A typo is when you hit incorrect keys. I feel like the world's lost sight of that meaning.
Accidentally using 'exclusive of GST' instead of 'inclusive of GST' shldnt be a 'typo'. "Error" instead.
A typo is when you hit incorrect keys. I feel like the world's lost sight of that meaning.
Accidentally using 'exclusive of GST' instead of 'inclusive of GST' shldnt be a 'typo'. "Error" instead.
Mayor takes responsibility for 'typo' that could have cost council $20m
The mayor of New Plymouth has taken personal responsibility for a "typo" that could've cost his council $20 million in lost revenue.
www.rnz.co.nz
July 2, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Mayor takes responsibility for 'typo' that could have cost council $20m www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
A typo is when you hit incorrect keys. I feel like the world's lost sight of that meaning.
Accidentally using 'exclusive of GST' instead of 'inclusive of GST' shldnt be a 'typo'. "Error" instead.
A typo is when you hit incorrect keys. I feel like the world's lost sight of that meaning.
Accidentally using 'exclusive of GST' instead of 'inclusive of GST' shldnt be a 'typo'. "Error" instead.
Reposted by BlakJak
🧵 THREAD: Why the Cato Institute’s new paper on “misinformation panic” is dangerously wrong, and why it completely misunderstands the real crisis we face.
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
The Misleading Panic over Misinformation
People can’t agree on how to define misinformation and its related terms, making regulation nearly impossible. Instead, free expression serves as a better tool for discovering truth.
www.cato.org
June 27, 2025 at 6:50 AM
🧵 THREAD: Why the Cato Institute’s new paper on “misinformation panic” is dangerously wrong, and why it completely misunderstands the real crisis we face.
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
Ministry of Health has joined Bluesky.
The Ministry of Health is now posting on Bluesky. Follow us to be alerted to our consultations, news and announcements. We welcome your respectful and relevant comments and reserve the right to take action against posts that violate our community guidelines:
Social media community guidelines | Ministry of Health NZ
The Ministry engages with the community and provides important safety and public health information through accounts on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
www.health.govt.nz
May 25, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Ministry of Health has joined Bluesky.
Holy crap. USA is off my visit list, that's for sure. www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/...
Aussie ex-cop jailed and deported during US holiday
www.reddit.com
May 23, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Holy crap. USA is off my visit list, that's for sure. www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/...
Good plug here. This is a simple way to help contribute to the public good. Sign up and get your friends to do so as well.
www.flutracking.net/Join/NZ/inv2... Flutracking.net is looking for more people in ANZ to join. Take a look.
Flutracking.net | Tracking respiratory illness across Australia and New Zealand
Flutracking is an online health surveillance system used to detect epidemics of influenza across Australia and New Zealand,
www.flutracking.net
May 7, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Good plug here. This is a simple way to help contribute to the public good. Sign up and get your friends to do so as well.
The problem with working in IT and knowing what good looks like, is how infurating I find it when I see shitty UX.
Tonight it's DisneyPlus. Experience reactivating after having put the account to sleep a couple of months ago, really ratshit.
Tips for anyone else follow...
Tonight it's DisneyPlus. Experience reactivating after having put the account to sleep a couple of months ago, really ratshit.
Tips for anyone else follow...
April 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The problem with working in IT and knowing what good looks like, is how infurating I find it when I see shitty UX.
Tonight it's DisneyPlus. Experience reactivating after having put the account to sleep a couple of months ago, really ratshit.
Tips for anyone else follow...
Tonight it's DisneyPlus. Experience reactivating after having put the account to sleep a couple of months ago, really ratshit.
Tips for anyone else follow...
I wish I didn't agree with the main point of this.
www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
When you look at the Temporary Traffic Management requirements _on paper_ there's a lot of considerations required under the Code of Practice for something like this.
...
www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
When you look at the Temporary Traffic Management requirements _on paper_ there's a lot of considerations required under the Code of Practice for something like this.
...
Road cones win Anzac Day parade battle
The big cost of traffic management plans more detailed than D-Day has seen two local RSAs forced into footpath marches.
www.waikatotimes.co.nz
April 14, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I wish I didn't agree with the main point of this.
www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
When you look at the Temporary Traffic Management requirements _on paper_ there's a lot of considerations required under the Code of Practice for something like this.
...
www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
When you look at the Temporary Traffic Management requirements _on paper_ there's a lot of considerations required under the Code of Practice for something like this.
...
And this constant bullshit is why I don't use Google Photos anymore. One misplaced tap and I'd be blowing up my Google account for the second time.
There is no way to permanently disable this nag! (Am I wrong?)
There is no way to permanently disable this nag! (Am I wrong?)
April 10, 2025 at 8:41 AM
And this constant bullshit is why I don't use Google Photos anymore. One misplaced tap and I'd be blowing up my Google account for the second time.
There is no way to permanently disable this nag! (Am I wrong?)
There is no way to permanently disable this nag! (Am I wrong?)
Reposted by BlakJak
Reposted by BlakJak
Planned tsunami test failed because person in charge was dealing with car crash
Planned tsunami test failed because person in charge was dealing with car crash
Planned testing of sirens along Christchurch's coast did not happen.
www.rnz.co.nz
April 8, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Planned tsunami test failed because person in charge was dealing with car crash
90% opposed, was never going to pass and yet we've burnt amazing amounts of energy on this stupidity. thespinoff.co.nz/atea/04-04-2...
Select committee recommends scrapping Treaty principles bill amid huge opposition
Delivering the report 40 days ahead of schedule, the justice committee has recommended, by majority, that the bill not proceed.
thespinoff.co.nz
April 4, 2025 at 12:55 AM
90% opposed, was never going to pass and yet we've burnt amazing amounts of energy on this stupidity. thespinoff.co.nz/atea/04-04-2...
Reposted by BlakJak
Top Gun to Batman: A look back at Val Kilmer's best roles
Top Gun to Batman: A look back at Val Kilmer's best roles
In a career spanning decades, Val Kilmer took on supporting and leading roles spanning from Batman to Doc Holliday.
www.rnz.co.nz
April 2, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Top Gun to Batman: A look back at Val Kilmer's best roles
Holy crap!
Het instorten van de wolkenkrabber in aanbouw in Bangkok, na de 7,7 aardbeving in buurland Myanmar, van dichtbij.
March 28, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Holy crap!
Is there a good Android app to let you browse SMB shares, that doesn't force ads on the user?
March 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Is there a good Android app to let you browse SMB shares, that doesn't force ads on the user?
I won't connect my dishwasher to your stupid cloud | Jeff Geerling
www.jeffgeerling.com
March 26, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Thought Police are coming?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Unless there's more to the anti-Trump views this scientist expressed, this feels uncalled for....
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Unless there's more to the anti-Trump views this scientist expressed, this feels uncalled for....
French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found
France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched
www.theguardian.com
March 20, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Thought Police are coming?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Unless there's more to the anti-Trump views this scientist expressed, this feels uncalled for....
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Unless there's more to the anti-Trump views this scientist expressed, this feels uncalled for....
Media raise alarm over Chinese ships - and the end of 'benign' times www.rnz.co.nz/news/mediawa...
I enjoyed reading this, if only because it validates my avoidance of ZB. Talkback brings out the stupid.
I enjoyed reading this, if only because it validates my avoidance of ZB. Talkback brings out the stupid.
Media raise alarm over Chinese ships - and the end of 'benign' times
Chinese warships appearing in what we like to think of as our "benign strategic environment" sparked something of a media frenzy. It culminated in claims our defence spending's going to have to go up ...
www.rnz.co.nz
March 1, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Media raise alarm over Chinese ships - and the end of 'benign' times www.rnz.co.nz/news/mediawa...
I enjoyed reading this, if only because it validates my avoidance of ZB. Talkback brings out the stupid.
I enjoyed reading this, if only because it validates my avoidance of ZB. Talkback brings out the stupid.
Watch the video and try not to have a visceral reaction. 🤢 www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
I'm embarrassed for the USA.
I'm embarrassed for the USA.
Live updates: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky clash in heated meeting at White House
Before the blow-up, Trump said he and Zelensky would be signing a natural resources agreement.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 28, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Watch the video and try not to have a visceral reaction. 🤢 www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
I'm embarrassed for the USA.
I'm embarrassed for the USA.