The highlight of my week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 November 2023 was really stupid. I ended up in The Media™ again, this time because I’d posted on the socials about Microsoft’s Bing Search telling the world that Australia didn’t exist. So, so stupid.
Crowdfunding Update: Target One achieved with four days to go!
With a mere four days left in The 9pm Summer Series 2023 crowdfunder we’ve just hit Target One. Thanks so much.
And thanks to arithmetic that means we’re already 77% of the way to Target Two.
This campaign is mostly about special-guest episodes of my inappropriate and often disturbing podcast for grown-ups The 9pm Edict and other projects.
Oh, and about my survival over the holiday season — but let’s not get too dramatic.
Target One funds four episodes, and I’ve already confirmed the guests for three of them.
- Writer and columnist John Birmingham, who’s been on the pod many times before. You all know JB, right?
- Infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood, who’s also been on the pod several times. He’ll be giving us a pre-Christmas update on All The Infections you can look forward to getting, and more.
- Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk (previous appearances) and Rami Mandow (previous appearances) will be wrapping up the year in space.
Target Two will get you two more episodes. And Target Three gets you a couple episodes of The 8pm Quiz video livestream, like last year.
Please click through for all the details and to pledge your support.
The campaign ends this Thursday 30 November 2023 at 9pm AEDT. Better hurry.
Articles
- Digital developments from Canberra 63. So many cybers this week! Cybersecurity. Cybersafety. More cybersafety! Cyber surveillance. Also, whistleblowers, corruption, and more on government AI.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.
Media Appearances
- On Thursday some silliness on Bluesky led to a Guardian article, Does Australia exist? Well, that depends on which search engine you ask …. This story was picked up by some other outlets and even reported in Spanish. Internet y Microsoft Bing están matando an Australia. And also in German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Serbian, Russian, and Vietnamese.
- My ZDNet story Blaming Russia for NotPetya was coordinated diplomatic action from 2018 was cited in the paper The role of insurers in shaping international cyber-security norms about cyber-war.
Podcasts, Videos, Photos, Corporate Largesse
None of these. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear.
Recommendations
The theme this week seems to be that Elon Musk is losing his mind.
- Elon Musk Trolls His Way Into the OpenAI Drama, reports Wired. “Elon Musk cofounded OpenAI but left after his own failed coup. Now he has shared an unsigned letter containing unverified accusations against the recently fired CEO, Sam Altman.”
- Elon Musk weighs in on Dublin riots claiming country’s PM ‘hates the Irish people’.
- Elon Musk is now boosting the ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory.
- Elon Musk’s social-media comments spark Tesla investor backlash.
- Here are six important questions as Elon Musk faces an ever-deepening crisis over his unhinged behaviour.
- And, bizarrely, Elon Musk Nominated For “Most Divorced Gamer” At The Game Awards.
In other news, just a couple of links because I’m way behind schedule:
- A.I. Belongs to the Capitalists Now, writes the New York Times. “The fight over OpenAI was at least partly about duelling visions of artificial intelligence. One side clearly won out.”
- Last night I was reminded of a great little short film starring Macaulay Culkin as an adult version of this character from Home Alone. :DRYVRS Ep. 1, “Just Me In The House By Myself”. Yes, the colon is part of the title.
The Week Ahead
On Monday I’m recording a solo podcast episode. I’ve collected a few thoughts that I’d like to share, and I also want to give the crowdfunder a final push. This episode will definitely be the last in the spring series because spring is about to end.
The 9pm Edict is supported by the generosity of its listeners. Please support The 9pm Summer Series 2023 described earlier.
If you miss the deadline, you can always subscribe for special benefits or throw a few coins into the tip jar.
Tuesday through Thursday are reserved for client work, should I have the energy.
Thursday night sees the end of the The 9pm Summer Series 2023 crowdfunding campaign at 9pm AEDT. I’m toying with the idea of doing some sort of livestream as that happens. Stay tuned.
Friday includes a day trip to Sydney for a medical appointment and some other stuff.
Further Ahead
- 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 respective starting points the day after.
- I’ve decided that if the crowdfunding goes well I’ll do some live-streamed episodes of The 8pm Quiz during the holiday season. I’ve pencilled in some dates in my own calendar, but I will announce them on 1 December.
- NEW: TwoSet Violin World Tour, Sydney, 22 January 2024 (TBC, assuming I can get tickets).
[Photo: A rock dove or common pigeon (Columba livia) photographed in Sydney’s Chinatown on 25 November 2023. As you can see from the camera angle, it was happy for me to get very close indeed.]