John Small
smalltorquer.bsky.social
John Small
@smalltorquer.bsky.social
Chair at NZ Commerce Commission

Biological dairy farmer at Rai Valley

Posts are personal views. Shares are not endorsements.
Who remembers ham steaks?
December 30, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Reposted by John Small
This one’s my favourite: youtu.be/ysUjYAi0WcQ?...
Hurra Torpedo - Total Eclipse Of The Heart (live)
YouTube video by frozentoast
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Arrested Development....

tidal.com/browse/album...
December 29, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by John Small
You know that AI “coat fence” story that went viral yesterday? Well this story is real
📢 A woman and her teenage children found the 80-year-old and kept him warm with a 'human circle'.
'Close call': Elderly man saved after collapsing, getting lost during hike in Coromandel
www.rnz.co.nz
December 28, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Reposted by John Small
i also like that they promote repair culture. imo, even when people buy quality things, they are too quick to ditch and replace when things look shabby

another video from IG thishouse5000

(pls bluesky let us attach multiple videos to a post)
December 28, 2025 at 4:42 AM
+1
Thoughts and prayers to all the customer facing retail workers today. I'd rather be milking cows at 430am on Boxing Day than deal with bargain hunters
December 26, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by John Small
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Cardiff couple invited man in for Christmas, he stayed for 45 years
An arrangement Rob and Dianne Parsons thought would last a few days ended up changing their lives.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 25, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Reposted by John Small
HUGE NEWS from the new Epstein files:

Records show that Maria Farmer, who worked for Epstein, filed a "child pornography" report to the FBI in 1996.

The FBI has never before acknowledged that complaint. The case went nowhere, and mass abuse followed.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
Epstein Files Include 1996 Child Porn Complaint That F.B.I. Ignored
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Economics does force people to confront their values. But this pathology is uniquely USian.
NEW: Brown econ prof Rachel Friedberg says the shooting happened in a finals review session:

"The room has stadium seating with doors that enter at the top. [The TA] said that the shooter came in the doors, yelled something ... and started shooting." www.oceanstatemedia.org/news-and-cul...
December 14, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Reposted by John Small
Students! Have you written a poem about math or a mathematical concept? There is a contest, and it is free to enter. Deadline January 20th: www.ams.org/learning-car...
AMS :: Math Poetry
www.ams.org
December 13, 2025 at 11:24 AM
News to me: this is a 1-way screw. Install only, can't be unscrewed.
December 6, 2025 at 5:56 AM
I agree with the problem definition and obviously the solution needs to be cloud-based but what we really need is for the smart contracts people to block chain shame so the prediction markets can gamify it
A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Reposted by John Small
I was disappointed with several elements of The @economist.com recent articles on minimum wages. To their credit, they've published my response.

Here are some links to the research I reference and to some other research which had to be cut from the published letter

1/N
December 4, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Can anyone help me complete this ancient Nordic oath about the term on which governance is accepted....

"We, who are just as good as you, allow you,who are no better than us to...provided that you don't...in which case all best are off"
December 1, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Sounds like the K road street party is getting going...

I'll wander up soon.
November 29, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by John Small
To give you an idea of how "AI" has fucked up the holiday season, their insane demand for RAM chips that's barely even being used has caused a production drought for every other application.

Meaning right now you can buy a cheap PC, yank the RAM, and sell it on eBay for twice what the PC costs.
November 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I love these pairs of nikau that are being scattered around.
November 25, 2025 at 4:54 AM
I love central Auckland bus rides because they often go to unexpected places.
November 19, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by John Small
Larry Summers steps back from public commitments, ‘deeply ashamed’ by Epstein revelations
Larry Summers steps back from public commitments, ‘deeply ashamed’ by Epstein revelations
Emails revealed that Summers sought advice from Epstein on romantically pursuing a woman he referred to as his mentee.
dlvr.it
November 18, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by John Small
wake up babe, new units of measurement just dropped www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
November 17, 2025 at 4:26 PM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
November 17, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Reposted by John Small
ICE vs the clergy
November 15, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Is there actually a bagpipe version of Firestarter? I really hope so (surely there must be) but my search skills are not up to the task.
Put them on hold with a holding tape of yourself practicing playing “Firestarter” on the bagpipes.
November 15, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Hopefully fun.

My Irish friend went back after 20yrs in NZ, knocked on his old pals door, who greeted him with:

"Tony X! I haven't seen you in years and you said you'd be around on Thursday"
I am calling upon the people of Ireland to immediately begin construction of a thread on this site about how you or someone you know was roasted for a fashion choice. We need it.

All roasts must have come from Irish people *only*. Please respect this important rule, it makes a difference.

Tanks
November 12, 2025 at 6:43 AM