Future Sprog

electronically-mediated musings at the intersection of finance; I’m in Aotearoa NZ and mostly take photos of native plants, insects, and birds. #iNaturalist #Nature #birds #radio #NZpol (alas) #pf2050

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Last Notes

2026-04-17 21:11:05 UTC

Meet Nathan Surendran, the energy expert who predicts this is about to get much, much worse than you think
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/feeling-fairly-okay-about-the-fuel-crisis/?utm_medium=mastodon

2026-04-14 09:58:44 UTC

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Plenty of other countries and companies can produce panels. LG, who are Korean, make a lot of PV.
Also, once purchased, they keep running without requiring approval and new shipments from an authoritarian country, so your fears are somewhat overblown.
@nprofile…dymg @nprofile…fsuf

2026-03-24 19:57:18 UTC

In this satirical city builder, your goal is to convert walkable cities into parking lots and use propaganda to convince everyone it's what they want
By Christopher Livingston
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/in-this-satirical-city-builder-your-goal-is-to-convert-walkable-cities-into-parking-lots-and-use-propaganda-to-convince-everyone-its-what-they-want/

2025-10-21 09:01:27 UTC

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Hedgehogs definitely the worst to eradicate. They’re cute and adorable and thanks to Beatrix Potter they belong. So sweet and innocent. Never mind that the hedgehogs here are lumbering behemoths that grow much larger than in the UK.
Please enjoy this video of a sweet dear cute hedgehog having a snack. Volume up.
@nprofile…3nu3 @nprofile…wjp8
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/media_attachments/files/115/411/334/987/580/938/original/92303c3e6d150647.mp4

2025-10-18 00:50:20 UTC

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And not for the microwave!!!
@nprofile…etrn

2025-10-08 00:03:51 UTC

There's another consultation for speed limits around Lake Taupō, particularly whether it should be slow past the campground that straddles the state highway.
Get yourself to the survey and let them know the lower speed is a good thing:
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/waikatospeed #NZpol

2025-10-07 07:29:42 UTC

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Ubuntu was a big leap forward and now Mint has gone so far that it’s really simple.
A couple of screens with sensible defaults. The hardest part is figuring out what your own name is!
(And of course there’s the free help desk right here on Mastodon! Ask us anything!)
Red Hat in the late ‘90s. Wow. That would have taken ages. And good luck on a touchscreen driver. Did you have to compile that yourself or was there something you could “insmod”?
@nprofile…sxdw @nprofile…cwk7

2025-10-07 07:14:46 UTC

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Yikes! Good correction
@nprofile…sxdw @nprofile…cwk7

2025-10-07 00:13:20 UTC

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I think the hot current ones are Framework.
In the past there was an option from Dell.
My Asus laptop was already tainted and they would not refund the Windows taint even though I never activated it and installed Linux immediately.
@nprofile…cwk7

2025-09-09 23:58:20 UTC

Alright @nprofile…2sd7 #LazyWeb
I have two sensors. One is incoming energy, one is outgoing energy.
I want to SUBTRACT one from the other.
Unfortunately, both numbers are POSITIVE and the only mathematical operator available is "Sum".
Is there a way to multiply a value by "-1" and have that output to another value? Because then I could "Sum" the NEGATIVE and POSITIVE values together to calculate the difference.
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/?iot_class=calculated
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/media_attachments/files/115/177/037/761/462/316/original/97a1e8958e797b49.png

2025-09-09 21:52:09 UTC

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It could be worse. It could be Slack.
@nprofile…6tf2

2025-09-04 06:37:44 UTC

I recently had the opportunity to ride the Great Western Railway and it was brilliant. Took a sleeper coach, a local branch train, and another day train. Brilliant. So comfortable and easy.
Then I took Te Huia to get home. It’s great, but not as great as the trains we had 30 years ago.
Sign Green's petition to tell the Minister for Rail, Winston Peters, that you want passenger rail services reinstated!
https://action.greens.org.nz/restore_rail
#trains #NZpol
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/media_attachments/files/115/144/642/878/319/414/original/30e899e6c7917b02.jpeg

2025-08-25 01:00:21 UTC

I have misplaced yet another microSD card reader. I don’t need another microscopic USB nub that can be accidentally inhaled by a sparrow. I need a SD card reader that’s about 30 centimetres wide, maybe 1.5 metres tall, and weighs 35 kilograms.
Then maybe it’ll still be in the same place next time I need it?

2025-08-13 01:49:39 UTC

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Interesting cemetery, the Grafton Cemetery with Symonds Street through the middle. The University of Auckland's first Professor of Mathematics, George Francis Walker, is buried there.
I know this because I took the anniversary recreation of the below photograph, with the current members of the Department in the same places as they had been many years earlier.
It's a bit of a hard photo to see because it's a screenshot of a slide by John Butcher of a scan of a book.
@nprofile…9d0y
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/media_attachments/files/115/018/929/637/749/832/original/da432a582dc7fc2e.png

2025-08-13 00:04:08 UTC

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Small difference between the SLZB-06 and SLZB-06M. CC2652P (Texas Instruments) vs EFR32MG21 chip. I quite like TI's CCxxx chips.
And does the PoE work for you? That would be quite ideal. Zigbee, PoE, could find somewhere to hide it near a suitable PoE switch and get better coverage for this end of the house.
Thanks!
@nprofile…s06p

2025-08-12 23:44:07 UTC

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In the paper I read they definitely called out Cantonese as being helpful in learning maths.
French, definitely the worst.
@nprofile…yqv9 @nprofile…g3cq
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/system/media_attachments/files/115/018/446/219/949/540/original/a8dc1913d1d94bad.webp

2025-08-12 23:40:31 UTC

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I've got the POW and POWR3 which are Wi-Fi. Could probably also do Bluetooth because they're pretty much just a ESP32 in a crispy shell with a button and an LED.
All my Zigbee stuff is in the Xiaomi ecosystem which is pretty pain free, although one is out of range.
Do you have a link to a Zigbee-to-Wi-Fi-or-Ethernet device that is HA compatible? I've even got a Pi nearby I could plug it into.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-08-12 23:24:04 UTC

Ongoing saga of bullshit with the Sonoff devices not properly showing up in Home Assistant. I bought Sonoff because it was natively supported but it turned out I had to jump through multiple hoops (via HACS), still requires their cloud, doesn't properly integrate with Home Assistant.
Using the third party one by AlexxIT is also not a great experience because then it fights with any other Sonoff software and still can't find my devices for whatever reason.

2025-08-12 23:00:31 UTC

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Ever since I learned to count in te reo Māori and read some research papers on the impact of language on achievement in mathematics I strongly support teaching mathematics in te reo Māori and not this bullshit English nonsense.
What the hell is "eleven"? Or a "fifteen"?
Use a language and counting system that makes sense.
Half my time spent teaching my kids to read and do maths is telling them they're wrong because "read" and "read" don't sound the same and 11+1="twelve".
@nprofile…g3cq

2025-08-10 07:59:08 UTC

Images not loading on mastodon.nz — incorrect cert on o.mastodon.nz
Sorry all those cool kids posting photos I wanted to see. @nprofile…6tf2 @nprofile…l7tf

2025-08-05 00:52:32 UTC

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We already have laws against corruption.
But NactFirst are flaunting them.
Who's rapping them over the knuckles and/or putting Shane Jones in gaol for having a delicious fish dinner and a $10,000 donation and then magically getting legislation passed or approvals fast tracked?
@nprofile…dn53

2025-08-04 08:22:22 UTC

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The problem to be fixed is the corruption of National, NZ First, and Act.
Rewriting laws or making them impossible to fix is not the way forwards.
@nprofile…dn53 #NZpol

2025-07-29 10:08:12 UTC

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Somehow that doesn’t make it into Stuff’s reporting. A real tragedy.
@nprofile…qqcc

2025-07-29 06:01:23 UTC

Student pilot asked to ‘provide explanation’ for penis shaped solo flight in Massey University School of Aviation plane
Bah, what does he need to explain.
(I probably contributed to this reporting.)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/360773276/pilot-massey-aviation-school-plane-appears-draw-penis-flight-path #avgeek

2025-07-28 07:49:19 UTC

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There is a converter Sony will send you for free to allow you to plug in a PS4 camera into a PS5. I got one of those sent to me when I registered my PSVR.
… I think. I’ve definitely got the converter.
@nprofile…w4zq

2025-07-27 21:32:29 UTC

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Are you getting paid hourly? Because that’s a nice cuppa on the company dime.
@nprofile…5plc

2025-07-23 20:32:31 UTC

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Very much so.
A true leader would happily use (or eat) what they’re forcing on those they’re leading.
@nprofile…6t6n

2025-07-16 21:16:32 UTC

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Councillors responsible for public transport may not use private cars.
Politicians in charge of school lunches may only get taxpayer provided meals from school lunches.
@nprofile…pd4q @nprofile…jc9n

2025-07-16 20:11:21 UTC

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What disappointed me most was she got medical attention immediately and thanked the Ministry for doing a great job.
For some reason she didn’t get parked In the back of an ambulance for most of the night because the ward was understaffed.
Damn two tier system!
@nprofile…jc9n

2025-07-16 01:24:21 UTC

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That’s amazing! They get around.
If my feeder is empty for several days and I refill it there will be a tauhou having a snack within an hour or two.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-06-26 21:40:10 UTC

New Zealand Garden Bird Survey
28 June – 6 July 2025
For this you're asked for the grueling, devastating, terrible hardship of sitting in a nice spot for an hour and keeping track of how many birds you see.
https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/?utm_medium=mastodon
#bird #birds #NativeBirds

2025-06-26 20:33:30 UTC

Dear #LazyWeb , how do I search through toots I have liked to find a specific word from a few months ago?
I’m trying to find a particular thread so I can continue a conversation.
So far I have, “compost has:media” but also I need, “also_i_liked_it” or some other operator.

2025-06-12 23:39:03 UTC

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You running a pool there?
I thought they’d already started adding advertising.
@nprofile…s06p @nprofile…dn53

2025-06-11 09:15:18 UTC

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I, for one, am enjoying seeing the Waymo cars being set on fire.
@nprofile…g3cq

2025-05-08 04:42:19 UTC

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“Looks fine from where I am.”
Well it would if she has a strong union!
@nprofile…z5wd

2025-05-07 08:55:58 UTC

Renewed calls for cat bylaws as feral numbers surge
> Lincoln University Masters student Natalie Blackstock said there are an estimated 2.4 million feral cats in New Zealand compared to 1.2 million pet cats, and about 200,000 stray cats.
> Blackstock described their impact on native wildlife as especially "significant".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/560244/renewed-calls-for-cat-bylaws-as-feral-numbers-surge

2025-05-03 05:10:05 UTC

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I’m often reminded about the cartoon where someone asks, “what if we made the air cleaner and our cities liveable for nothing?”
There are lots of places where you can find something in common:
You don’t like traffic, I don’t like traffic. You know what fixes that? Buses!
You don’t like potholes, I don’t like potholes. You know what fixes that? Trains!
High power prices: solar & batteries.
Huge jumps in petrol prices: EVs
It helps to have them all ready.
@nprofile…s06p @nprofile…junu

2025-04-21 20:12:14 UTC

The old thumb has announced Aotearoa New Zealand will half mast the flags for the recent Pope death.
Normally reserved for heads of Commonwealth states, plus anything else at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
Odd to recognise the Pope when we spent so much effort to spin up a separate Church so King Henry could get a divorce.
We last half-masted for a Pope’s death in 2005, completely skipping Ratzinger the Enabler.
Here is a list of the rules and recent occasions:
https://www.mch.govt.nz/our-work/flags-anthems-and-emblems/new-zealand-flag/display-rules-new-zealand-flag

2025-04-08 05:14:30 UTC

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@nprofile…s06p I'd heard some earlier. The neighbours encourage them. I also found a fat cat sitting on my lawn.

2025-04-08 03:10:07 UTC

Blackbird just bounced off a window and died. That’s a new one. Normally they don’t get close to the house instead preferring to stay in the hedges.

2025-03-31 19:31:20 UTC

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At some point you just need a plumber to cut out the old cylinder and install the latest model rather than getting the run around. Not sure if you’ve already passed that point but it must be close.
I was a bit suspicious when on the last call out they just adjusted the thermostat.
@nprofile…z5wd

2025-03-20 17:49:06 UTC

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I used pandoc with reveal.js to make a presentation that runs in the browser.
You type it up in Markdown and then … computer magic. I last did it in 2018 and it looked amazing:
https://pandoc.org/chunkedhtml-demo/10-slide-shows.html
@nprofile…0nz2

2025-03-15 02:40:10 UTC

Nearly got sent to prison by Google #AI summary:
Son wanted to play a video game on the PlayStation. I asked him to find the OFLC rating.
Google proudly announced it was “M” which it had found in a comment in a “parent’s guide” for foreign parents.
I had him look through the IMDb page a bit further where it confirmed that the game is rated R16 in our jurisdiction.
That would be a crime to let him play it.

2025-03-13 20:28:13 UTC

Seeing some comments about this Facebook expose book. Great marketing move to say that someone wants it banned.
The subtitle on the cover is, “Tales of … Lost Idealism”
We’re talking about Facebook here. What is the idealism? That Mark Zuckerberg can rate the attractiveness of the girls at his college? Is that what we lost?
“But the hotness or the notness! We can rate them!”

2025-03-12 22:30:16 UTC

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I noticed the car was showing the trip Odo instead of the actual Odo. I casually flicked over to the actual Odo and nearly lost my mind. That’s a lot of RUCs!!!
@nprofile…z5wd

2025-03-12 00:18:00 UTC

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I just realised he sounds like Piff the Magic Dragon so that must be why I didn’t mind.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-03-12 00:15:26 UTC

Money chat:
https://youtu.be/0quhLtBXijM

2025-03-05 23:38:14 UTC

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Your local New World may stock A&W Root Beer.
https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5027530_ea_000nw
Otherwise … good luck?
@nprofile…z4fl @nprofile…wcj5

2025-03-01 23:01:38 UTC

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Everything I know about Microsoft Teams is from people complaining about Microsoft Teams.
RIP Skype. Used to video call my parents on it a lot. We also used Jitsi for a while.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-27 20:06:48 UTC

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Now I need to recalculate how many electricity company shares I need to purchase so that the dividends match the increase in my power bill!
@nprofile…sxdw

2025-02-27 20:06:08 UTC

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I understand there is a shift towards higher daily lines charges just for people like you and me who have solar. They’re going to get their pound of flesh one way or another.
@nprofile…kzg2 @nprofile…sxdw

2025-02-26 22:43:36 UTC

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One thing I learned was to test your interface in paper form with three or four people.
I plucked some smart people from the office and sat them down in front of my prototype. Gave them a simple task.
Bzzzt! User friendly prototype is impossible to use.
And don’t get me started on those bloody apps that hide buttons as text and then do a redesign every other week to move your favourite functionality to another place.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-26 21:15:11 UTC

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Physically “among” but not mentally.
They’re the victims of misinformation and it’ll get worse.
@nprofile…jc9n @nprofile…n580

2025-02-26 17:22:02 UTC

Another case of a “sovereign citizen” being sentenced in court.
They quote @nprofile…n580 and list a few cases.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/543111/sovcits-are-fighting-the-law-but-the-law-s-winning

2025-02-23 23:27:19 UTC

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This does sound like the James Hardie product that was really popular in the 1990s, was approved by the relevant authorities, and then caused the leaky home crisis.
Get a proper building inspection done. Make sure they check the flashing and eaves at the top. (I spotted this from a photo on a real estate website once - can be done!)
Never heard of the red praying. Repaint, yes, every 10 years at least.
@nprofile…3p3k @nprofile…junu

2025-02-20 19:08:39 UTC

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Wow that is an old name.
What were they banging on about this time? Corporal punishment for kindergarten?
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-20 02:46:32 UTC

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I can echo that about it not being good to invest in fossil fuels.
Looking in my little Sharesies portfolio the renewable generation companies are doing really really well.
@nprofile…dn53

2025-02-19 04:20:43 UTC

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For photography the incredible @nprofile…4aqu is doing just as well if not better than comparable Adobe products and that’s what all the cool kids use.
@nprofile…9d0y @nprofile…s06p @nprofile…azpw

2025-02-19 00:18:33 UTC

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The hard part is making sure I'm not accidentally doubling up my reasons!
I'm disappointed that we've fallen in international corruption rankings.
I'm disappointed he didn't show up at Waitangi.
I'm disappointed we've had the highest net outflows for ... ever?
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-18 23:47:35 UTC

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Not before I send Luxon yet another “as a business owner I’m terribly disappointed in you” email!!! I’ve got another two in the pipeline.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-18 21:20:01 UTC

Alphabet AI Workers Were Illegally Silenced About Pay, Complaint Alleges
Union says staffer was fired for discussing compensation in an online forum.
By Josh Eidelson
19 February 2025
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-18/alphabet-ai-workers-were-illegally-silenced-about-pay-complaint-alleges #AI #Google #Hitachi

2025-02-18 00:27:39 UTC

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Pro tip for sure.
I prefer a wooden tooth pick so I’m not raking something over the delicate and conductive teeth.
@nprofile…dn53

2025-02-16 20:46:47 UTC

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Totally.
And they’re a useful shield, that “weird nerd” that can dive in front of any criticism.
If tech companies had truly listened and done something after the Christchurch Call, other than just nodding their heads, then Dame Ardern wouldn’t be Yet Another woman who was harassed on social media.
Go and email Andrew Bayly.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-16 19:44:15 UTC

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That’s really pathetic of NZ Tech and the companies they represent.
Probably shouldn’t be surprised that NZ Tech, Twitter, and Facebook allowed online abuse against the number one best placed person who was asking them to be accountable for what they allowed on their websites.
> but NZ Tech was only the administrator of the code and could not intervene.
So incredibly disingenuous. “Waa waa we only make the rules, we can’t ask our members to adhere to them.” Pathetic.
@nprofile…s06p

2025-02-14 08:34:25 UTC

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You can update the US Government website without authentication, if that’s your thing?
https://www.404media.co/anyone-can-push-updates-to-the-doge-gov-website-2/
@nprofile…s06p #USpol

2025-02-08 01:31:00 UTC

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Don’t forget that all the water reforms of the last decade were brought about because 5,500 became sick and 3 people died from the water supply in Havelock North in 2016.
What was the deadly contaminant?
A. Nitrates from cow poo
B. Fluoride
C. Campylobacter
D. Communism
E. Lead
Correct! It was C: Campylobacter.
@nprofile…s06p @nprofile…dn53

2025-02-08 00:39:34 UTC

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Removing fluoridation tends to only benefit the wealthier parts of the population who are already brushing regularly with fluoridated toothpaste and harms everyone else in the community. That is, the impact of refusing fluoridation hurts the poor and needy at the expense of the wealthy.
Fluoridation is one of the 20th century’s greatest public health advances and the councillors who are holding this back are hurting their community.
@nprofile…dn53

2025-02-07 23:52:39 UTC

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$1,000 for a school uniform? Only???
Way to rub in how cheap your private school is!
@nprofile…dn53

2025-01-22 19:30:04 UTC

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There’s a game called “YouTuber’s Life” which is a bit like The Sims except that it entirely revolves around making yourself into a successful YouTuber.
Maybe the 9 year old would like to try that, or as in the case of my son, get bored with it and do something else!
(And as is the way, there’s a YouTube video of people playing the game so you don’t even need to buy it.)
https://www.youtuberslife.com/
@nprofile…z5wd

2024-03-26 10:51:31 UTC

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That is sad about the native birds.
Did you let any local organisations know where to find it?
@npub17nc…9dam