A seer.

You know you're a mid-level academic when you consider feigning death to make people take seriously the fact that your assigned workload actually requires 70-80 hours per week.

I encourage all foreign followers I have to read this, knowing that you will be totally unable to discern anything about its true cultural significance. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...

Today, one of the local colourful identities objected aggressively to my traversing a particular piece of pavement (reason unknown). She actually kind of elbowed me in the ribs, and I was at a loss to know how to react, as she was scrawny and birdlike, while I am well north of 100kg.

"Bob Conkey worked all his life so he could prevent millenials hoping ever to have a secure roof over their heads, let alone a comfortable retirement."

I still don't know who Will Stancil is, so I would have no hope of distinguishing him from his duplicate twin, Will Stencil

This is getting more and more like 40K by the day

Yep. Sector is in crisis.

Every billionaire represents the squandering of the human potential of countless other humans.

While I'm dissmissive of the idea that current AI is sentient, I'm willing to give y'all the benefit of the doubt.

And it goes on. I gather, from the timing, this is partly why Bishop resigned. More here: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...

Do you reckon somebody who murders people with sarcasm is an ass-sass-in?

Well, there goes most of the work I was planning to get done today.

Oy, I resent this

Disturbing....

My personal experience as a University lecturer: Students hate AI with an absolute passion. Sure, they use it, but they hate it.

Coincidentally, I've just written a 5 page rant to a friend, also in academica, about how marking AI-infected student assessments has turned my teaching life into a living hell.

Venice. The City of Casanova no more, it seems.

Several students in my course are seeking extensions on an assessment due to having been in a car crash yesterday. Interestingly, both of them received an extension last month for having been in a car crash the previous day. Don't go on the road the day before an assessment is due, kids.

I find these days that when marking students' work, I actively welcome typos, incorrect grammar and inappropriate tone as refreshing relief from the characterless mush of AI-generated writing.

(I make a "mouth" with the side of my hand and draw little eyes above it) Richard Dawkins: hmmmm (I put lipstick around the "mouth") Richard Dawkins, suavely: well hello

One of the finest songs of classical-era punk (1978). youtu.be/tMaspQzr0YM?...

If "flirtation" is a word, so too must "thwartation" be a word.

There's also more than one serial terrorist out there.

Stochastic terrorism is when they make you do probabilistic analysis for a month and listen to Xenakis.

PS Take up D&D, you knobs

On the plus side, there's got to be the seed of an absolutely smashing (human-written) rom-com in here somewhere.

A big shout out to those people who had a whinge about Welcome to Country ceremonies being "inappropriate" at ANZAC Day events, before going to the pub to gamble and get utterly maggoted.

Time for this evergreen classic. youtu.be/9mc7eb1i9o4?...

Are there two more beautiful words in English than MEETING CANCELLED

If you're wondering how the blockade is landing, this has been making its way around the naval nerds today

"A man in a dinner jacket was spotted fleeing the scene in an Aston Martin"

Yay! I shall wear my krama the next couple of days.

RE. Trump's blockade.

"Our blockade will be the biggest and best blockade in history. Way better than the Iranian blockade."

WTF is the supposed rationale for the *US* blockading the Strait of Hormuz?

I love that they still video the NASA launches and landings from a WB-57 - i.e., a Canberra - a model of plane that first flew in its original British form in 1949.

Which billionaire wrote this?

I think about this a lot.

I dunno, reads just like a student report written by ChatGPT

I should add for Australians, No fucking posting that could compromise certain legal proceedings

I see Trump has engaged Full Hitler Mode overnight.

Another beautiful day off that is a de-facto work day for all of us in academia.

Chuckles in Australian.

NASA isn't why the US doesn't have universal healthcare, or a social safety net. The US doesn't have those things because politicians with the power to provide them choose specifically not to (with varying levels of support from voters). Enthusiasm for human spaceflight doesn't drive that choice.

It's frequently pointed out that NASA activities (and basic/exploratory science in general) have a fantastic return on investment, contributing far more to the economy than they take. But even if they didn't, no one's actually taking from the "cure sick people" pot to put money in the "rockets" pot.

Somewhere up in heaven, Richard Scarry is like “fuck yeah, told you so”: www.bbc.com/news/world-u...

Captain Conehead Cuddles