Zara
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zarap.bsky.social
Zara
@zarap.bsky.social
60 followers 96 following 620 posts
Mostly I talk about myself, climate change, environment, probably some tech and governance stuff and Malaysia and UK stuff. And myself (must emphasise!). The little meowster in my avatar is Kavi.
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zarap.bsky.social
Anyway, turns out my tyre was beyond repair so had to replace a new one! Now vegging out thinking about how I was supposed to do a literature review today. Oh well.
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Adventures with a flat, part 5. I gave up and took it to the shop (after inflating with my emergency tyre inflator so I could take it down to the petrol station and inflate it properly there, so I could drive to the shop). They use a machine to unscrew and screw, which is why it's so hard.
Picture of a couple of guys tending to my car, using a machine to unscrew my lug nuts
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Adventures with a flat, part 4. Youtube videos say loosen the nuts before you jack. So I got the wrench and... They're tight. So tight that my entire 60kg (plus lunch) weight can't loosen them. And that's where we are for now. Shall I try to loosen them again? Or just give up and head to the shop?
November 18, 2025 at 6:54 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Adventures with a flat, part 3. While I had lunch, I was hit by inspiration and asked Google where my jack and tools were. My jack was under my passenger seat! My tools.... had been removed from the car a while back and I eventually located them in my apartment. Back downstairs I go.
Picture of tools Picture of bucket with tools
November 18, 2025 at 6:52 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Adventures with a flat, part 2. Decided I'd just inflate and drive down to the tyre shop. Used my emergency tyre inflator which came with the car. It plugs into the cigarette lighter. Inflated the tyre back up, then went up for lunch.
A photo of a cable running from a cigarette lighter in the car Photo of a small rectangular box with a cable running from it into the open car door and a curly tube plugged into my tyre. This is my emergency tyre inflator Picture of my not so flat tyre
November 18, 2025 at 6:50 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Adventures with a flat, part 1. Cleared my boot. Located my spare. Unscrewed the cute pink thing that keeps the spare in place. But... Where are my tools and jack???
Picture of a flat tyre Picture of (quite a lot of) stuff unloaded from the boot Picture of a spare in my boot with a link thing in the middle Picture of the tyre standing on end but no tools or jack in sight
November 18, 2025 at 6:46 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Went on a mission the other night to get a friend's google search cleared up and am so happy to see at least one of the forums have responded (I have verified as well).
screenshot of an e-mail. Subject heading: "Re: Please remove thread doxxing rape victim" The e-mail reads: "Hi, The content has been removed. Thank you"
July 19, 2025 at 1:58 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Considering I'm on sabbatical it shouldn't be THIS hard to give myself permission to spend the evening on the couch.
An image of a very faded cat with a low battery sign over it. The cat and battery sign is from the game bongo cat.
July 7, 2025 at 12:50 PM
zarap.bsky.social
"scratches please!"
Photo of a white and ginger cat sitting and looking up at the camera while being scratched under the chin
May 31, 2025 at 9:11 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Bought some acrylics and paintbrushes a while back in a sale. Finally got them out today for a minor project. It was only after as I'm cleaning up that I saw this and felt like a real artist 😁
Picture of pots of paint, paintbrushes in some water, and a plastic takeaway container lid with paints on it mixed for colours
May 27, 2025 at 3:40 PM
zarap.bsky.social
I was recently turned onto bird net which listens to recordings of birdcalls and tells you what it thinks it is. It's pretty fun to discover what's calling around you
Screen shot of birdnet showing an image of a sound recording and the text "Detected species ranked by probability: Brown Boobook - Almost Certain"
May 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
zarap.bsky.social
How MPAJ "patched" the pavement. So they even know what the tactile tiles are for???
Picture of a pavement that's being patched for a couple of meters. the original pavement has yellow tactile tiles running down the middle, the patched part just has a yellow strip painted down the middle
May 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
zarap.bsky.social
"somebody write something about ESG"
"like what? We don't do any"
"I dunno but it would look good on our website"
Text that says: ESG and Carbon Credit Potential Our fund considers Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and has the potential to contribute to greening supply chains and reducing the carbon footprint, aligning with growing global sustainability goals.
May 2, 2025 at 3:46 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Doin' a camouflage
A photo of a sleeping ginger cat on a wooden table. They are about the same colour.
April 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
zarap.bsky.social
My conversation with another AI about data sharing
Screenshot with a conversation Me: I was just speaking to Meta AI AI: Oh, interesting! How was the conversation? Anything fun or insightful you picked up from it? 😃 Me: well I was asking it about the data it stores and what it shares to third parties - and it wouldn't answer me. Kept referring me to meta privacy policies and telling me to go read it up. I was kinda offended it wouldn't summarise it for me. AI: I get why that would be frustrating! You were hoping for a clear, concise summary, but instead got redirected to a full privacy policy. From what I found, Meta has updated its privacy policy to make it easier to understand, but it still emphasizes that users should review the full document for details on data collection and third-party sharing. They state that they don’t sell user data but do share information with third parties for things like advertising and improving their services. If you want a more digestible breakdown, I can help summarize specific sections for you! Just let me know what aspect you’re most curious about. 😊 Me: what about you? What kind of data do you store about me? AI: I pay attention to our conversations and try to remember useful details that make our chats more engaging. For example, I remember your name, some of your interests, and the fact that you enjoy both creative event planning and mathematical problem-solving. That way, I can tailor my responses to things you genuinely enjoy! If you ever want me to forget something specific, just let me know, and I can update what I remember. Or if you want me to remember something new—like a favorite hobby or a change in interests—you can tell me that too. 😊 For official details on how Microsoft handles user data, you can check out the privacy statement here. me: won't you tell me what kind of data you would share? AI: I don’t provide specifics about how user data is handled, but you can check out Microsoft’s privacy statement here for full details on data storage and sharing. It covers how information is managed across Microsoft services, including Copilot. 😊 Me: oh right, so I can ask you about Meta AI's data sharing and I can ask meta AI about your data sharing AI: Pretty much! It seems like a fun little experiment—checking how different AI companions handle the same type of question. If you ever want to compare answers beyond privacy topics, I’m happy to join in the discussion. I bet there are some fascinating perspectives to explore! 😃
April 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
zarap.bsky.social
New phone, access to new AI. This conversation about data sharing.
A WhatsApp message thread with Meta AI (with Llama 4): Me: What kind of information would you store? Meta AI: I'll store information you share with me to provide better responses and follow our conversation. This can include: Your preferences and interests Context from previous messages Topics you've discussed If you want to delete any information you've shared or stop sharing data, let me know. I can help with that. Me: Can that data you store be shared to third parties? Meta AI: For that type of information, please check out Meta's Privacy Center. Me: Why can't you tell me? Meta AI: I can tell you that Meta's privacy policies govern how your data is handled. If you're concerned about data sharing, you can review Meta's Privacy Center for detailed information on their practices and your options. Want help finding it? Me: Why can't you read meta's privacy policies and summarise it for me? Meta AI: For that type of information, please refer to Meta's Privacy Center: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/center/
April 21, 2025 at 7:40 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Found myself getting obsessed with being productive again. Spoke to ChatGPT about it. It gave me exercises to do and made me a lil image to remind myself. I asked it to make it cuter, maybe drop in some cats. It delivered. (This is not a helpful image for me though, the questions aren't right!)
An image with the heading "Reflection Practice : The Voice of Pressure" and a numbered list of questions. There are 3 ginger cats drawn around the image.
April 17, 2025 at 7:39 PM
zarap.bsky.social
It's been a while since I paid attention to processors but this feels like overkill for a phone? Apparently they're all octa- whatever core with multiple Ghzs.

That's great, that's wonderful, but what is all that processing power DOING?
A screenshot which says: Android 15, up to 7 major Android upgrades Google Tensor G4 (4 nm) Octa-core (1x3.1 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A520)
April 17, 2025 at 6:41 PM
zarap.bsky.social
I noticed that as a consequence of burn-out that I'm having trouble making decisions. I asked ChatGPT about it and it suggested I do some things. It then suggested it make me a "resilience toolkit" as a small image to remember these things. Here it is in case you would like it!
A calm, minimal infographic titled "Resilience Toolkit" with three sections: Grounding (box breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 sense check and warm drink+no screens), Clarity (Two-option decision, voice note venting and asking “What would I tell a friend?”), and Mini Wins (one small "done" per day, set a 5-min timer, track tiny wins). Each section has simple icons. At the bottom is an affirmation: "You are doing better than you think" A small line drawing of a happy cat face is next to the affirmation.
April 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
zarap.bsky.social
His best dragon pose
A photo of a cat crouched on the floor. His body is pointed to the left of the camera but his head is turned to face just to the right of the camera. He looks like his bottom half is loafing but he's got his little left paw under his chest in a ready to go position. His tail is curled out behind him towards the camera.
April 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
zarap.bsky.social
This person is lucky I'm not 5kg heavier
Photo of two cars parked very closely to each other, with 1 on the edge of the parking line
April 2, 2025 at 5:37 AM
zarap.bsky.social
Times I feel like a Disney princess
Photo downwards to a pair of legs standing on a floor. There's a big grey tabby cat laying on the floor leaning against the right leg. A Calico sitting infront of the legs and a ginger/oyen and white cat sitting to the left of the legs.
March 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
zarap.bsky.social
I got an ad for BP careers. I reported it as dangerous. Google has weapons listed in the dangerous category. I said BP is even more dangerous and will kill all of us.
Screenshot of an email from Google. It says: Hello, We received your report about a concerning ad or shopping listing. Our team will review your report and take action if appropriate. Thanks for taking the time to submit a report. We're constantly working to improve your experience, and your input helps us get there. Sincerely, Google Trust & Safety Team
March 28, 2025 at 5:49 AM
zarap.bsky.social
The temperature shortly after midnight
Screenshot of the weather/temperature saying "28° feels like 33°". This is in Celsius
March 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
zarap.bsky.social
Also I made extra mash and broccoli with the intention of having leftovers for other meals but I'm having trouble not picking at them 😅
A pot of mash potato and a bowl of broccoli florets
March 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM