TIL about the OctoBass as a result of my random YouTube-live-music feed stumbling into a performance of Gounod’s “Messe Solonelle” which is pretty good and, well, has an octobass in the orchestra. #music

A riddle for @theguardian.com books page. p.s. My new book 'Physics for Cats' is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com

It's funny, the more life comes at me, the more enjoyment I get from sharpening knives.

Ah, the craziness of Australia in summer time. (Diagram taken from: https://www.theage.com.au/national/daylight-saving-is-here-again-for-some-what-s-it-all-about-20250926-p5my5p.html)

On the recent recommendation of @troberts, I watched the movie Shadow last night. It's a slow-paced, deeply serious, wuxia drama with just enough action / fighting to keep it interesting. A very artistic movie, hugely atmospheric. Not monochrome, but bloody close! A political thriller, with […]

How many Downton Abbey episodes do you have to watch before it's really good?

"Oranges aren't sentient, they can't hurt you." Orange World, Mildura:

My brain keeps trying to come up with alternate lyrics for an unChristmas carol, The First Koel. Possibly accompanied by slide whistle. 🤪😂 Yes, the koels are currently calling, loudly and often, why do you ask?

From Adam Sharp on Bluesky: «I will again say that my favourite way of telling someone to fuck off in French (often chanted to opposition crowds at football games) is rentre chez toi, ta mère a fait des gaufres. It means "go back home, your mother made you waffles"» […]

Walking from Marmong Point to Speers Point Park yesterday, lots of birds to be seen. Ducks, shags, moorhens, herons (3 types), pelicans, white-bellied sea eagle, swallows galore, seagulls, magpies, noisy miners, bell miners, parrots, …. prolly more. Magical place […] [Original post on aus.social]

Given that clients are still getting their acts together, remaining parent is throwing tantrums at the care home, and it's a long weekend here for the next three days which means everybody and their support animal will be out and about, we pulled the rip cord on today and had Friday Picnic […]

[Workity Work: The 95% Solution] Word is like divorcing someone you have grown to hate. Unpleasant but easy, no fond memories. LaTeX is a failed marriage where both parties love each other but have irreconcilable life goals and cant be married to each other without both of them being completely […]

The kid has named this big boy "Jimmy". This is, apparently, His Spot, as he is frequently seen striking a pose in this exact location, near the hotel swimming pool. #lizardposting #lizardsofmastodon #lizard

It’s not the crash that wakes me up at 4am. That’s survivable. I worry about what the American leadership will do when they suddenly find themselves in charge of a very poor country with the world’s most powerful military. #auspol #finance

In honor of a long and good life, I get a chuckle out of the fact that Jane Goodall thought this Far Side strip was funny and refused to allow the institute that shared her name to take action, and later collaborated with Gary Larson. What a legend. Jane […] [Original post on mastodon.xyz]

An Audit of the #anu accounts show … surprise, surprise … that there is no black hole and the ANU in fact made a $90m profit in 2023-24. ————— Quote: To be clear, as a government owned, not-for-profit entity, the ANU is under no pressure to maximise its profits so that it can maximise […]

You know, one advantage of #brexit from the perspective of the #europeanunion is that we have lost a huge foreign policy liability. I mean, none of the European colonizing nations (which by this point represent only a minority of EU member states, although a powerful one) have really done the […]

Any medieval specialists #medieval #historian #historians around who has any idea where this medieval-looking frog might come from, originally ? (Google image was not helpful, though the image is at least 5 year old on the internet). Boost to prevent a […] [Original post on social.sciences.re]

Looking for Australian telco/ISP recommendations. I run an Android tablet off a mobile hotspot on an Android phone, have no other telephony-type gadgets, and don't wish either to acquire more or learn more about them. (I know nothing of my fridge's inner workings, and aim for that level of […]

In my work, "nm" means nautical miles. In my current science module, "nm" means nanometres. Now when something is "200nm" away I'm not sure how concerned I should be.

finally some normal fucking people on reddit

Watched the end of Marcella season 3 last night. Crikey, what a way to wrap up a series! A seriously dark psychological crime thriller that is so dark it hurts at times. Triggers abound. Fantastic and awful. https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/marcella […] [Original post on aus.social]

#madagascar's president fires the government following days of deadly #genz #protests The #un #humanrights office said Monday that 22 people had been killed. The UN blamed a “violent response” by #securityforces. >100 people also have been injured in the protests, the agency said. #protesters […]

I spent some time yesterday modelling a candle-holder for a birthday cake, then 3d printing 10 of them (for a 40th birthday). The cake isn't for a gardener, so those unfamiliar with the Two Ronnies may be puzzled... #freecad

I had to go to Jesmond shops today for Reasons, and figured I'd pop in to Young Asian for some essentials. But nope, it's still shuttered. Since early August, it and the pharmacy next to it have been closed, with a sign up saying it was due to an electrical circuit failure, open again soon. Six […]

Suggestion: A button on all apps (and messages from apps), allowing the user to ask "What the fuck does that mean?" and get an answer in plain language.

I don't normally bother with restaurant reviews, but this one took a turn. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/sep/28/brasserie-constance-london-sw6-grace-dent-restaurant-review

"Newcastle’s Rudderless Records will close one door to open another in November when it merges with Wallsend’s Hiss & Crackle Records." https://newcastleweekly.com.au/better-together-rudderless-records-and-hiss-crackle-join-forces/ #newcastleau #newcastlensw

WARATAHS ARE OUT! In the nasho, if you know where to go... This has basically been the perfect trip home. #royalnp #nsw #bloomscrolling #florespondence #flowerfriday

War ravaged Portland

Over 30 years ago, I watched the Coen Brothers movie The Hudsucker Proxy, and it just didn't hit. Tonight, after absorbing all of their other movies, I watched it again and it hit! Gloriously camp, a real pantomime. Very glad that SBS showed it again during its focus on the Coen Brothers movies […]

Wot’s going on here? We left some stuff wrapped up in a *blue* tarp on the back paved area for a bit over a year. We have some medium sized back birds who live in our garden and spend most of their time digging up the mulch and making a general mess of the garden […] [Original post on aus.social]

Washing machine started giving a persistent DE error code: Door lock. Rang Fast Sean, and he just did the Fast Sean thing: • ran into the house directly to washing machine • power plug out • old door lock removed • new door lock installed • power plug in • tested • ran out of the house to his […]

It is WILD that we now live in a time where my job as an astrophysics professor has gone from "learn cool things about space" to "try to get someone to hold billionaires accountable for dropping shit on us from orbit"

Senior rescue cat Gracie¹, who is missing one back leg, brought a snake inside. The second one this spring. I commented to her hoomam (Mx 21) “I wouldn’t have guessed it’s the three legged cat who’s been catching the snakes”. The reply: “She still outnumbers them. She only hunts things with […]

No, you're mistaken: the rapture DID happen, and all the genuinely good and true Christians were taken. Guess the fact that you're still here says it all about what sort of Christian YOU are. Maybe it's time you stop being such a judgemental, hate-filled carrot?

"A confusing contradiction is unfolding in companies embracing generative AI tools: while workers are largely following mandates to embrace the technology, few are seeing it create real value. [...] In collaboration with Stanford Social Media Lab, our research team at BetterUp Labs has […]

I have just stuck written bell-ringing instructions next to the bell, for all the good it will do. I included the words 'No batteries, no wires, no electronics' and pointed out that if they can't hear the bell, neither can I. Now I'm remembering all of the passive-aggressive notices (headlined […]

The raptor is coming tomorrow.

"Do you remember, the 21st night of September?" Happy #earthwindandfireday! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk #earthwindandfire #september #september21 #music #nowlistening

“ "In the first century in Israel, Christianity was a community of believers. Then Christianity moved to Greece and became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome and became an institution. Then it moved to Europe and became a culture. And then it moved to America and became a business." --Richard […]

With SBS doing a focus on the Coen Brothers movies, I finally got around to watching Hail, Caesar! tonight. It's a great pisstake on 1950s Hollywood, both a tribute and a send up. A movie lover's giggle, peppered with big name actors and finely crafted with genre […] [Original post on aus.social]

I know it’s to keep away bots but I like to imagine they had to do this to keep ants from editing their own pages.

SBS is putting a focus on Coen Brothers movies this month, not the lot but a good few. About the only one I haven't seen is Hail, Caesar! so that'll get a viewing this weekend. Much love for their collection in general, O Brother in particular. But if you haven't seen A Serious Man yet, catch […]

I love it when clients pay their invoices on time! At least, I imagine that I would.

It'd be a tough gig marketing mushrooms in Australia right now, what with you know what. And tying them to footy finals is stretching things a bit.

welp