My week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 October 2023 began in Sydney but ended in Hobart. I produced another podcast and have been planning more. You have been warned.
Podcasts
- The 9pm Kenya with a K and an AI with UNSW Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, recorded last Friday and posted this Friday. It’s a great conversation even if I say so myself.
The 9pm Edict is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can subscribe for special benefits or throw a few coins into the tip jar. Please consider — especially this month because revenue from other work has been a bit lean.
Articles
- Digital developments from Canberra 58. Face-matching legislation is on its way through parliament. Inquiries kick off into fighting cybercrime and regulating crypto assets. And the government ponders adopting Agile development. Also, some stuff from ASIO.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.
Videos, Photos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse
None of these, but see below for news of forthcoming podcasts. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear.
Recommendations
Not a good week for the world richest and most ridiculous billionaire.
- Verified Accounts on Musk’s X Spread 74 Percent of Israel-Hamas War Misinformation. “Posts promoting false claims gained 1,349,979 likes, reposts, replies and bookmarks, according to an analysis of the site.”
- Australia’s eSafety commission fines Elon Musk’s X $610,500 for failing to meet anti-child-abuse standards.
- Elon Musk says X to have two new premium tiers, and X begins charging new users $1 a year in New Zealand, Philippines. I continue to be amused by Musk’s weird idea that charging a dollar will stop the bots, because SMS costing money doesn’t stop spam texts.
- Elon Musk Loses $24 Billion After Tesla Stock Falls Roughly 9%.
- Elon Musk’s X/Twitter removes the New York Times’ gold verification badge, because he’s a childish sook.
- Can Twitter, uh, X, Survive Elon Musk?. “What does it take to destroy a nexus — a place, real or virtual, where people go because they expect to find other people with whom they want to interact? How much do you need to degrade their experience before they stop coming, initiating a sort of death spiral?”
- Elon Musk wants to merge humans with AI. How many brains will be damaged along the way?.
In other news:
- I know I posted about this but I now withdraw it. “Tetris for Trauma” Viral Twitter Thread: A Master Class in Misleading Psych Research. “A TV writer claims that research shows that Tetris is ‘literally a trauma first aid kit’. Her tweets sound scientific, but the research behind it is unconvincing.”
- New frogs! Smooth operators: Introducing a tiny new smooth frog from southern Victoria. Also, Funnier than the original: Introducing the Western Laughing Tree Frog.
- Want to make maps of the world, in many different projections? Try the World Map Generator.
- Finally, I know some of you will really want this: The first English translations of the original novellas about the iconic kaij? Godzilla.
The Week Ahead
The first half of the week will be spent in Hobart, obviously, because here I am.
On Monday we’re going to MONA, the fabled Museum of Old and New Art, getting in the mood by inhabiting the Posh Pit on the MONA ferry on the way there.
On Tuesday I’m recording a podcast with cartoonist and artist Jon Kudelka. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC then please let me know by 8pm AEDT on Monday night.
(You might also want to check out our previous conversation from 2021, The 9pm Snakes, Steaks, and Mistakes with Jon Kudelka.)
On Tuesday night there’s an anyone-can-come evening at the Shamrock Hotel from 5.30pm AEDT.
Wednesday is about returning to Sydney and then catching up with Certain People. Thursday is about client work. Friday is about editing and posting the podcast with Mr Kudelka.
Further Ahead
- NEW: Frog ID Week, 3–12 November 2023. Please be doing some science!
- The War On 2023: Annual Comedy Gala, Bathurst, 5 December 2023. For reasons which are not entirely clear, Snarky Platypus and I will be taking the train to Bathurst to see The Chaser’s end of year show there rather than in Sydney. We’re then continuing on to Orange the next day, returning to our starting points the day after.
[Photo: Sydney Town Hall on the evening of 16 October 2023. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flying at half staff in the wake of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum failing to pass.]