Matisyahu's Blog

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

recent posts

  • Grocery shopping all done, back at home.

    I’ve come back home after having dinner with mum and on the way home I picked up some groceries – I was hoping to get the roasted seaweed that I normally get but the store was out of that so instead I went with the other brand they have there which will be good enough. There were a few things on special so picked up those when I was there but apart from that I’m all good for the next couple of weeks. I’m back to work tomorrow however I was going to work from home but the weather is going to improve by tomorrow so I’ll head into the office. Oh, and on a side note, I’m happy I got that walk in because by the time I got home the rain was crazy.

    Ubiquiti have pushed out some early releases for various pieces of hardware but the feeling I get is that they’re taking their time. There appears to be an issue regarding VPNs and maintaining a reliable connection which tells me that something more complex needs to be addressed so we may not see an update for a while when it coms to the UniFI Gateway (non-cloud based gateways).

    Regarding what the Democratic Party are doing today, the best description of the current leadership is as follows: “If Chuck Schumer found a genie in a magic lamp that granted 3 wishes, he would find a way to negotiate it down to 1 and then ask Republicans what they would wish for.” It truly is amazing how the Democratic Party have an audience waiting for them to put forward an alternative vision for the United States and so far they appear to be shuffling around in the lounge room trying to avoid stubbing their toe while trying to look for the light switch.

    A word of warning to the Democratic Party, people aren’t just going to vote for you if you offer nothing because the alternative for voting for Republican isn’t Democratic but rather to stay on the sofa. Trump won because he appealed to low propensity voters and as Michael Moore along with many other people have pointed out, you need to grow the voter base beyond just those who turn out regardless of what is on offer. Yes, that means you’re going to have to have some party discipline and focus, to come up with a party platform with a list of your top 10 policies you wish to pass and make it abundantly clear that if you run for the Democratic Party that you fall in line and vote for those 10 policies – if you cannot agree to that then run for a different political party.

    This is the reason why I’m always sceptical when I start seeing polling regarding how the National led government are unpopular and then commentators concluding that it points to it benefiting the left wing alternative. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly no fan of the current government but at the same time I think it is important that we don’t engage in copium because it gives us momentary euphoria. It is very rare for a government to only get one term and for that to happen they would have had to screw up monumentally for that to happen and for all the faults of the National led government they haven’t hit that low point yet – keeping in mind there is plenty of time between now and the 7 November 2026 (early voting starts 2 weeks before election day so I’ll get my vote in early so I don’t end up forgetting).

    I’m also sceptical because there are a lot of things happening, the US dollar is declining which translates to the New Zealand dollar increasing in value which may help with inflation given that must of what we import is in US dollars (see oil as an example). There is also the fact that the European Union has signed a free trade agreement with India, there is the one that New Zealand is looking at singing (it’ll require Labour to get it across the line) etc. so the era of paralysis has disappeared and countries are now actively working around the United States.

    Regarding the recent hype around the US dollar going down in value, it is still a lot stronger than it was around 30 years ago where one New Zealand dollar would buy 74 US cents but these days one New Zealand dollar can buy 60 US cents so the value I still well above the lows it has been in the past. It appears that many of the business channels want to get their audience excited while the historical context is completely ignored. The US has some serious economic issues so it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the world maneuverer to insulate themselves from any possible economic fallout that may happen in the next few years.

  • Getting ready to head out for dinner.

    Had another great night sleep, woke up, had an Up and Go then headed out for a walk – just a small 5.8km one, came back home, had a shower and I’m now relaxing as I wait for the washing to finish so then I can hang it out. I’ll be heading out for dinner after I get that all hung up and then afterwards I’ll pick up some groceries, come back home, go for a walk, a shower then a good night sleep the coming week ahead. I hope that this week things won’t be too chaotic.

    Safari Technology Preview 236 has been released (link) and there is quite a few changes particularly addressing issues being resolved. It will be interesting to see how many of these changes make it into 26.3 and 26.4 but I that’ll be something we’ll find out once 26.3 is release and the beta for 26.4 starts. On Safari extensions related issues uBlock Origin Lite 2026.202.1612 has been released to fix up a regression when using uBlock Origin Lite on Safari – it is currently available on the iOS App Store but the Mac App Store is waiting for it to be approved and made available publicly.

  • Chilling out, enjoying the weekend.

    I went for.a 5.8km walk in the afternoon, came back home, watched some YouTube videos and then went for an 11.6km walk thus making it a total of 17.4km that I’ve walked today. It actually worked out good to split the work out into two sessions rather than trying to do the 17.4km all at once. Tomorrow I’ll be doing the same and focus on ensuring I get consistently out and exercising every day but eventually I’d like to get to the point where I go for a 11.6km walk during the day then a 11.6km in the evening on my day off – really make use of the time I would have otherwise just doom scrolled.

    On Tuesday I’ll be going for a walk in the afternoon, have dinner with mum then stop off at the supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces – not a big shop since I’ve gotten myself stocked up pretty well but there are a few things I need to pickup. One thing that has really added some extra tastiness is eating the tuna/salmon rice bowls in conjunction with the roasted seaweed. It adds some extra flavour as well as variety in texture along with the added fibre and iodine that comes naturally with it. Tuesday night dinner will be panned seared salmon with a salad – one of thing things I love about summer is the availability of fresh produce so when the weather is good I like to take advantage of the opportunity because I know during the winter the price of fresh produce can be prohibitively expensive.

    This week I’m going to make a few tweaks to my diet – I think what I need is some more protein which will help me feel fuller for longer. I may have a look at some protein bars and/or protein shake mix along with other forms of protein I can prepare and cook easily. What I’m also going to do is dial a bit back on the carbs as well and up the amount of fibre because I have a feeling that the carbs I have ben eating lack the fibre which is why I end up getting an energy spike then followed by a crash because the lack of a decent amount of fibre means the energy isn’t released slowly which is what fibre does.

    When it comes to the world of tech, there are rumours of Apple maybe looking at reducing their risk of being dependent on TSMC and instead they’re looking at Samsung and maybe even Intel as well. It’ll be interesting to also see how Apple will navigate the current NAND and RAM storages, whether their M5 release will be delayed given the capacity that exists is being used up by AI orientated production. I guess we’ll wait and see what happens but then again anything could happen – Wall Street may finally come to its senses and realise that LLMs aren’t the be all and end all, that they won’t reach AGI using LLMs with all th money spent so far being more or less a write off thus freeing up capacity for more productive uses rather than speculative radium-water like idiocy.

  • Feeling so much better.

    Had a long night sleep, absolutely solid, no interruptions, didn’t have to get up during the night nor did I wake up. I woke up around midday feeling fully refreshed and a whole lot better than I did last week. I woke up, had an Up and Go for brunch then after watching a few shows I then went for a 6.8km walk. The goal I have is that I walk 11.6km per day and on my days off (Monday and Tuesday) I’ll do an extra 5.8km walk during the day then 11.6km at night so then I get some extra steps in.

    uBlock Origin Lite 2026.201.1924 has been released and it is available on the Microsoft Edge extensions store and the iOS App Store however it hasn’t arrived in the Chrome Store or the Mac App Store. Nothing major was announced other than the filters being updated along with a fix for a regression.

    There have been another leak regarding the Chrome OS successor and 9 to 5 Google have given a bit of a glimpse into it:

    What I find interesting has been the additional of extension support which makes me wonder whether it’ll be a feature found exclusively on said operating system or will Google make it available on Chrome for Android phones as well. It also makes me wonder whether a lot of the changes occurring under the hood in recent releases is about optimising MV3 so that it can operate in a constrained environment (in regards to system resources). I guess it’ll be a matter of waiting for Google I/O 2026 in May 2026 regarding Android 17.

  • Feeling a lot better.

    I’m feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the week thanks to a combination of rest, keeping hydrated and getting plenty of fresh air. Tonight I took the bus down to the supermarket but decided to walk back then after arriving back I took out the butter for the fresh bread then went for an 11.6km walk so the total amount of walking today was probably around 16-17km. For dinner I had mushroom soup and some fresh ciabatta bread.

    Things are progressing in terms of my new years reset where I’ve made one small change then consistently done that change for a couple of weeks then adding a new task then doing the same. The idea is that rather than trying to make a whole lot of changes then feeling overwhelmed what I decided to is break down the change into smaller steps so then eventually each change becomes embedded into every life to the point that it eventually becomes muscle memory.

    It has been a week worth of consistent walking every night and my goal is to get some exercise every night even if it is on one of the nights when I come back from work at around 11am and I’m limited in how long my walk is the main goal however is to get some exercise. Although I have stuck to doing free weights regularly I have to admit that I’ve gotten a little lazy when it comes to exercise and I think that although 3-5 days per week would be sufficient I do think that having some exercise every night is a whole lot better given that the job I do doesn’t involve any physical activity so the need to regularly exercise is a whole lot more important.

    In the coming week I’m going to be focus on making sure I consistently get some exercise every day – it may not sound much but for me, someone who isn’t naturally inclined to exercise, I need to keep the motivation up. On my days off (Monday and Tuesday) I’ll eventually move to maybe going for a walk during the day then having another walk at night. I’ve found that if I do want to do more exercise I’m better off splitting it into two sessions rather than going for one big walk all at once.

  • Honestly, I just don’t care.

    This could be a TED talk in its own right but it is amazing the number of influencers who convince themselves that they need to create a narrative around the idea of the audience demanding they say or do something. No one is asking you for anything, stop trying to make out that you have some large audience who is terminally online and hanging on every half baked opinion you vomit on the internet. I watched a video on YouShop shorts that was reposted from TikTok – not a single person was asking them for their opinion on a given matter, it was entirely manufactured! it’s like influencers who start off their video with “..I keep being asked…” – no one asked you anything, stop trying to make out that you have an audience who cares enough to engage in the content you put out there.

    Oh, and don’t get me started on American influencers (they tend to be the who do this the most) talking about how xyz store is ‘iconic’ or ‘legendary’ or ‘an institution’- mate, it is a store that sells sandwiches and bottles of soft drink, it isn’t some cultural monument that people go on pilgrimages to. Oh, and while I’m having a whinge, people who say that they’re “not going to gate keep this…” – once again, mate, it is a store that sells cheesecakes and barista coffee, it isn’t some sort of secret store and that only those who are worthy enough can indulge in its delights or that some how you’re letting in the audience or some secret that no one else knows about.

    I always find it hilarious that the same people who complain about Trump and how he speaks do the exact same thing in their own life without the slightest hint of irony. Influencers having self-awareness appears to be like oil in water – they don’t mix.

    On a side note regarding AI and LLMs, I saw this video – when it comes to AI it reminds me of the song with the lyrics “don’t believe the hype” but it appears that far to many on Wall Street are believing their own hype – getting high on their own supply.

  • Getting there…gradually.

    I’ve been off from work for a few days so I thought it would be best to talk to my local healthcare professional to see if it was more serious but I was advised that I need to rest and allow the body to do its thing. I forwarded the medical certificate to my boss to give them a heads up on what has happened just so they know what is going on. I’m taking it easy, keeping hydrated, eating health meals with lots of the good stuff so my body can heal but unfortunately there isn’t an easy way to speed up recovery so I’ll just be taking it easy.

    Regarding Safari, a technology preview hasn’t been arrested but the one thing I do find annoying is an issue with Google Chat and having a notification in the tab that a message has been sent. If I am running Chrome or Firefox, when a message is sent and I’m not focused on that tab then where the Google Chat logo is there is a red dot to indicate that there is an unread message. The benefit of that is if I am on another tab such as writing up a blog entry (like I’m doing now) and I have a chat session open, I am forced to routinely check to see if a message has been sent because that notification doesn’t come up on Safari (I don’t want a system notification, just the dot in the tab).

    When I noticed it the first time when using Chrome but it not occurring on Safari I thought that maybe it was a Chrome only feature but then I installed Firefox and it had no problems showing that red dot. I’m still waiting for that functionality to arrive but I guess it’ll be one of those things that I’ll need to wait for Apple given that I’ve reported an issue with YouShop through the Apple bug reporting form and here we are over a year later and the issue hasn’t been fixed yet (the problem doesn’t occur on Chrome or Firefox).

    There has been comparisons regarding the hype around AI with many labelling it a bubble then comparing the current situation to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s. I disagree with that analysis for two reasons. The first reason is the fact that there was actually useful technology that came out of it. The networking equipment, the build out of fibre optic backbone, the availability of broadband etc. may have arrived before there were services that could fully take advantage of it but what it meant is that when it did arrive the foundation had already been established (normally it is the other way around, a new product or service then having to wait for the technology to catch up).

    The second reason is the fact that many of the dot-coms were selling things people actually wanted rather than promises of abstract concepts of a plan that no one can nail down as to how it’ll help the average person their every day life. The whole point of many dot-com retailers was to have a massive warehouse with a lot more choice than what you would get at a store – want to find a CD from an alternative band? it’ll be there, want to find some interesting art prints? you can find it. There was a reason why people gravitated towards online retailers – there was the price (I would argue price is a smaller factor given that physical stores have the benefit of instant gratification rather than having to wait for an order to be delivered) but choice was, I’d argue, was a bigger factor at play. This is the reason why buy a lot of what I want online because physical retail stores have a limited selection where as online retailers almost have an unlimited selection to choose from.

  • It doesn’t have to be that way.

    I was watching a video on YouTube about ‘choice feminism’ and it reminds me of discussions regarding cultural norms that for many are treated as if they were something that are permanent – they always have and they always will exist.

    The more you study about history and anthropology the more you realise that, to quote a comedian whose name escapes me, “we just make shit up”, and then that is passed down from generation to generation with each generation convincing themselves that it has always been that way – some sort of universal fact that cannot be challenged because it has always been that way.

    Why does that happen? I think part of is due to a lack of intellectual curiosity and in part due to benefitting from the status quo so there is no incentive to investigate further. It is easier to just simply accept the way things are rather than to ask why things the way they are particularly if you’re of a group who benefits from the status quo. If you’re part of a group who benefits then why rock the boat when you’re getting so much from it? If you’re lacking in intellectual curiosity or maybe worried you may get an answer that you may not like then you’ll avoid the self reflection and go with the status quo – enjoying blissful ignorance over reality.

    I do think it is important to continuously ask yourself “why do I believe what I believe”, “why do I have the preferences I do? were they shaped solely by me, what influence does culture has, how did that emerge and embedded into the culture?” along with many, many other questions. That then expands out to larger questions regarding capitalism and the commodification of identity into something that can be acquired, the idea of masculinity or femininity can be acquired and reenforced through the purchasing decisions we make.

    Now, that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy something but it does allow you to have an awareness regarding the origins of a given practice, aesthetic etc. but that being said it is also important to understand how we’re subtly influenced subconsciously even if we don’t consciously construct a justification in our head regarding why we like something or dislike something, why we find a particular thing attractive or unattractive. The whole point of challenging the status quo is to question whether the choices me make are choices we’ve made freely or whether we’ve had our consent manufactured.

  • Going to take Friday off.

    Feeling a bit better but not fully recovered. Tonight I went for a walk because I needed some fresh air and some exercise to get my body moving rather than just sitting around at home resulting in the inactivity making it worse. I have been making sure that I’ve had vegetables with every meal to make sure I’m not missing out on the important good stuff. Hopefully I’ll be all good to get back to work on Saturday because another couple of good night sleeps will help a lot with the recovery.

    I was checking the Webkit website today hoping that there would be a release of Safari Technology Preview 236 but alas nothing has arrived. It’ll be interesting to see what changes they have in store because it may give an insight into what is in store for 26.4 but we’ll only get confirmation once the 26.4 beta builds start being made available to developers. I’m still waiting for the DNR sub_frame issue to be resolved and I’ve asked for clarification from the developer taking care of it but I’ve received no response regarding it (link). I understand people can be busy but it is pretty lousy that 6 months after the issue was raised the issue still hasn’t been fixed in a timely manner.

    Labour New Zealand sent out a renewal so I got that out of the way pretty quickly. I’d love them to win but I am also aware that it a one term government is very rare so they don’t exactly have history on their side but that being said, if they can close the gap to force National to compromise then the second term maybe different. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that for National the issue of privatisation is on the topics for discussion but given that NZ First maybe in a future National led government I don’t see it becoming anything more than just talk unless of course they end up selling the asset to itself such as ACC and the Kiwi Super Fund end up buying the asset in much the same way that NZ Post sold part of Kiwibank to ACC and the Kiwi Super Fund so then NZ First can say that it is still in the hands of New Zealanders.

  • It makes me wonder.

    I’ve watched a video and it makes me wondering whether the Trump administration has any sort of clue regarding what they want to achieve or are the 4 years going to be nothing more than grifting. I say this because there was a video recently where president Trump was asked regarding the value of the American dollar declining and what he thought of it, the only answer he could give was some incoherent rambling about being the ‘hottest economy’ etc. etc. If he just came out and said, “the America dollar is over valued for many decades which has hurt our manufacturing and other export related sectors, it is a much needed correction” it would at least imply there is some sort of policy at play.

    If the long term goal of the Trump administration is to rebalance the economy away from a heavily consumption lead growth model to one that is balanced between investment, exports and consumption then at leas there would be an message to he market that there is some sort of plan. So far what we’ve seen is the wild oscillations which gives the impression that there is no plan, that the only plan is to have no plan other than seeing it as an opportunity to use the presidency to enrich himself and those around him. Now, I have to admit, I generally subscribe to the maxim of ‘never attribute to malice that can be explained as incompetence’ but given what is happening with those connected directly or indirectly to the Trump administration it is difficult to ignore the fact that this is a case where incompetence is the distraction to hide the malice.

    Regarding the new Panther Lake series that Intel announced, it’ll be interesting to see whether the damage Microsoft is doing with Windows 11 is going to have a backlash on Intel sales. I say that because I’ve even seen normies push back against this tsunami of AI slop appearing in the operating system to the point that there are discussions online asking “how do I get rid of this crap”. This is the risk that Intel have played by failing to invest into Linux and making it a drop in replacement for Windows – getting Linux to the point that can install it on an Intel computer without having to deal with downing extra files such as firmware for Wi-FI or if you’re unfortunate enough to have an nVidia card the fact that you have to jump through firey hoops just to get support working.

    As so long as Microsoft know there is no viable alternative to Windows on the x86-64 platform then don’t be surprised if the enshittification continues. What Intel ideally needs to do is assemble 100 engineers to work with OEMs such as Dell and HP so that a big distro, Fedora being one that coms to mind, can work out of the box on Intel based laptops and desktops, that they work with nVidia and Fedora developers so that when the kernel is updated that the nVidia driver stack is updated at the same time to ensure that the installation doesn’t break and the end user is left with a computer that isn’t working.

    Then there is the bigger focus which is the development of Wayland – again, get another 100 developers and then get them to write up a list of features that exist in macOS and Windows display server, compare it to what is in Wayland, triage the missing features then start implementing. If your whole business of selling hardware is dependent on a single software vendor not screwing up then it doesn’t exactly give you much control over the future. There is an opportunity to at least setup a viable alternative, let’s hope that Intel make such an investment to hedge their bets.