this is the problem with submarines. Over 20 years it is possible to develop a whole new way of finding them, even in deep oceans https://interestingengineering.com/military/chinas-sensor-detect-hidden-us-nuclear-submarines #AUKUS #auspol

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/research-finds-ai-users-scarily-willing-to-surrender-their-cognition-to-llms/ #ai

i am reading Yann Martel "Son of Nobody" and it is a joy. #books

I keep thinking about the NATO exercise where 20 Ukrainians with a set of drones wiped out two battalions (2000 soldiers)

my $30 bedside clock did the daylight saving change automatically (it’s an iToma)

I stayed at this caravan park. It’s not on the grey nomad migration routes so it relies on big weekend events like Easter. So sad to see it struggling, but a lot of the places I really like are the same. #travel […]

the management consultant and the modern University. What an ideal marriage. Stupid and Stupid.

great to see that article today (Age) on trying to learn something you are really bad at, to offset dementia. I am truly awful at Mandarin but since I paid for a yearly subscription I doggedly persist.

logically Australia should have Chinese bases to defend against the insane Americans. But I can’t see that happening #auspol

Margo Madison’s line in opening episode of latest For all Mankind: “ at least you have something to balance “ is an absolute killer. Brilliant stuff. #ForAllMankind

might have the caravan park to myself in May. I just go with the tent, and travel by VLine. I don't talk to the grey nomads and I won't miss them.

Colesworth to hike prices. One of the ways that Aldi keeps prices low is that they are not very active on stock control. So if you are not attached to a particular brand (for example in milk) then I expect you will still get milk. Of course there are also the things that appear in Aldi for a […]

Guest author on John Birmingham's column (Jason Lambright - ex US military, Iraq veteran. On Trump: "He bought an education. He bought fame. He purchased a series of wives. He bought his way out of numerous lawsuits, prison, and military service. This list could go on. He has rarely […]

people are critical of the Vic premier, but once again she is absolutely correct here. (Chip le Grand, Age today) "After Monday’s National Cabinet meeting, Allan expressed her view that Victoria’s most acute problem, right now, is public anxiety about fuel supplies and soaring prices rather than […]

Albo subverted the medium. Who ever encountered a politician that was brief and to the point? Great stuff. #auspol

[housing] this is a speculative bubble

in case you are living under a rock there is a point to the Trump randomness in this war. His group and supporters are literally inside trading on one of the world's biggest markets. Destroying its credibility and undermining the world economy. To paraphrase from my favourite movie, Zero Dark […]

on free vline travel. You cannot book seats anywhere. So you need to join the service where it starts if you can. Also be prepared for the possibility that your travel cannot proceed because the service is full. Honestly I think this is a really dumb idea - the fares were already quite cheap […]

I was only 4 but this is reminiscent of the Suez crisis “The 1956 Suez Crisis was a pivotal Cold War conflict sparked when Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the British-French-owned Suez Canal, prompting a secret tripartite invasion by Israel, Britain, and France. Intense diplomatic and […]

I did like the several interviews with locals near Dezi’s camp. “We had no idea he was there”. Followed by a shot of the street sign with painted on it “Dezi” with an arrow pointing to the spot. They will most likely get away with it, but I find their stories completely unbelievable. #Vic […]

did a gym class today and it was packed. They have full video lessons that are the same routines. But everyone wants the human instructor. I don't think they would go for the humanoid robot instructor either. #ai

we get the feeling that people are mean, selfish and uncaring. But on Sunday I did the run for the kids (i walked) in Melbourne. 50K people raising money for the children's hospital. I walked among people with t-shirts remembering their children that did not make it. Overwhelmingly, people are […]

days later I am thinking of the guy using the AI to play SimCities games constantly and getting “best adopter” awards from his bosses

Excellent article explains two things. We are not in ww3 because China is not that way inclined at the moment. Also the world is economically divided and you have to choose between the two groups. (When will China be inclined to ww3? When it can win) #auspol […]

if you are a Cursor investor, you bought a complete fiction. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/22/cursor-admits-its-new-coding-model-was-built-on-top-of-moonshot-ais-kimi/ #ai #business

A US company simply re-badging a China model (Cursor) tells us exactly where we are in this race. There is a momentum, and it’s going to change everything #ai

every military expert I consult describes a ground invasion of Iran as completely insane #iranwar

working a medical specialist website to set up an appointment. The site is geoblocked and when you download a form it is password protected and also times out after a few minutes. They have engaged some website dude who fantasised he was working for the CIA.

Gemini accurately diagnosed my programming error this morning. Nearly fell off the chair #ai

"Taylor shuts down Hastie’s call to keep open mind on Labor’s tax proposals" going ... #auspol

with the demise of one sovereign citizen, it is pertinent to recall that there are between 200K and 800k people that hold similar views (Deakin Uni reserarch, see below). They are a real threat to this country, and its time we started to address that. #auspol […]

who supports research?https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-boycotts-top-ai-conference-after-ban-papers-us-sanctioned-entities-2026-03-27/

my $30 bedside clock has DST visible on the clock face. In the settings there is an <Australia AU> setting. No manual daylight saving adjustment indicated. Enormous suspense to see if it automatically adjusts at the end of daylight saving. [its an ITOMA 213]

#ai https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/5730342-embodied-ai-developers-contest-takes-place-in-south-chinas-shenzhen

was in daughter's car and she was complaining bitterly about her CEO. Grandson in the back pipes in "he sounds just like X" (X is his class bully). The boy is wise beyond his years (he is 10)

Hastie actively campaigning for the leadership. Will get it in May, I expect, after people look at Angus' budget reply speech in horror. #auspol

lots of talk about “corporatisation of Universities”. There are well run corporations. The University management is incompetent and corrupt- that’s the problem. #FourCorners

I wonder about people who move to Melbourne seduced by the “worlds best city” stuff. Then they go out and drive a car. Indicate to change lanes and they move to block you. City of psychopaths. #melbourne

your periodic reminder that “is the AI bubble a scam that will burst” and “AI will completely and radically transform whole parts of how we live” can both be true. When I think of the demise of Atlassian I worry about the displacement of workers, but I have precisely zero sympathy for the […]

thinking of the vet who diagnosed my dog at 5am the other morning (she's doing fine). You meet people who have spent a lifetime building a skill and knowledge base, and can call on all of that to do the necessary under extreme stress. The idea that AI will replace that is laughable.

people are critical of vic govt but they go hard at it https://share.google/GbHjtidtOEY3KXt9q #auspol

Hinton’s prediction of the demise of radiographers was completely wrong: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7362930/ What if we are thinking about the loss of jobs for coders wrongly? Can AI expand the scope of applications and increase the demand for (a different type of) coder? #ai #business

Quarterly Essay "Blind Spot - South East Asia and Australia's future". MIchael Wesley. Excellent essay (paywall) on our appalling clinging to the Anglosphere instead of learning from the countries of the region " ..moving from viewing SE Asia thorugh a China lens - and not an American lens." […]

I don't think people fully appreciate how apocalyptic things are for US science. I haven't received any new funding since 2024, but I'm still ok since grants are typically for 3 years. This means next year I will be completely out of funding and will have to […] [Original post on mastodon.world]

I wonder how many people die each day from using chat-gpt for medical advice?

just reading up on the degree of difficulty of extracting Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. Just when you think the Americans have reached peak stupid, they ratchet it up to a whole higher level #auspol

Malcolm Turnbull just now: "The Australian Parliament is gaslighting the Australian people with AUKUS". 👏💯 #auspol

In these challenging times, it is best to be selective in your culinary fascinations. I am developing a taste for Aldi instant coffee