My week of Monday 15 to Sunday 21 January 2024 was relatively unproductive, although I did kick off The Weekly Cybers newsletter to replace my Friday blog posts.
Articles
- Digital developments from Canberra 69 — nice! — is now The Weekly Cybers. In the final instalment in this format, we have the government’s update on supporting responsible AI, and a bunch of other news stories.
- NEW NEWSLETTER: The Weekly Cybers #1, being a personal look at what the Australian government has said and done in the digital and cyber realms. Yes, this is the newsletter that replaced the blog posts — although for this week they’re both running.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning. That will include a link to The Weekly Cybers if you don’t mind clicking through.
Podcasts, Videos, Media Appearances, Photos, Corporate Largesse
None of these. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.
There will be at least three more special-guest episodes of The 9pm Edict before the end of February, and probably a couple solo episodes, or episodes with Snarky Platypus.
Recommendations
In my continuing car-crash fascination with Elon Musk, it seems that Cybertruck is the big news this week.
- Elon Musk’s AI start-up secures $US500m towards $US1b funding goal, reported the Australian Financial Review. However Mint reports that Elon Musk dismisses reports about AI company’s $500 million funding as ‘fake news’, and Reuters — heard of them? — says Musk denies report his AI company secures $500 million toward $1 billion funding goal. But who actually knows what is and isn’t true?
- X appears to be juicing MrBeast’s views as Elon Musk tries to woo the YouTuber to the platform. “X users are reporting that MrBeast’s post containing the video upload is being forced into their feed multiple times a day as an unlabelled advertisement.”
- Tesla: You’ll Have to Wipe Dead Bugs and Bird Poop off Your Cybertruck ASAP to Avoid Corrosion.
- Chicago’s wind gusts expose how Elon Musk failed to design a Tesla for when it gets too cold.
- Elon Musk Tries To Have NSW Man Arrested For Exposing Tesla Safety Issues, says Sydney Criminal Lawyers. “An Australian Federal Court judge has rejected a request by the head of American automative company Tesla, Elon Musk, to have an arrest warrant issued against a man accused of uploading leaked documents by a whistleblower.. Elon Musk is an interesting person, with millions of supporters who have been drawn into believing he actually founded companies like PayPay and Tesla, and who is a visionary. But the fact of the matter is the richest man in the world got there with misrepresentation, lies and sinister tactics, and has had very little to do with what the marketer and self promoter claims to have achieved, generating his wealth on the ideas and work of others.”
- Elon Musk has become the world’s biggest hypocrite on free speech.
In other news:
- Antechinus! These fierce, tiny marsupials drop dead after lengthy sex fests – and sometimes become cannibals.
- The World Hasn’t Seen Cicadas Like This Since 1803. “Brood XIX and Brood XIII will both emerge this spring. The last time these bugs showed up at the same time in the United States, Thomas Jefferson was president.”
- The unintentionally homoerotic Chinese-Soviet communist propaganda posters, 1950-1960.
- If you’re into TV game shows, you may like to know that a third season of Jimmy Carr’s I Literally Just Told You has started. I really do like this format. The was also a celebrity episode the other day.
- I’ve stumbled across a YouTube channel about crime in Japan. I’ve only watched one video, but it was fascinating: B?S?ZOKU- The History of Japan’s KAMIKAZE Biker Gangs. Yes, what did the young men trained to be suicide pilots do when the war ended? This, apparently. I’m sure this video should’ve also mentioned Japan’s post-war over-supply of amphetamines, but you’ll get the idea.
- And finally, late last night I was reminded that 15 years ago, back in 2009, there was a conference in Sydney titled Media140 after Twitter’s then maximum tweet length of 140 characters. I was even on one of the panels, and here’s what I said. Media140: What do journos do better, exactly?. Now I’m wondering what’s even changed, exactly?
The Week Ahead
Monday, after some administrivia in the morning, is mostly a day for social things in and around Katoomba. And then Tuesday through Thursday is about clocking up some billable hours, finally.
On Thursday afternoon I’m doing ABC RN Drive‘s Big Tech spot, at 4.50pm AEDT and also in your local timezone around Australia because everything is magic. Of course it will also be on the ABC Listen app and, later, on the website.
Friday is the public holiday for Australia Day, and the resulting long weekend traditionally marks the end of the summer slow season. So far I don’t have any plans.
Update 25 January 2024: On Friday I’ll be running some errands to Katoomba and doing the now-usual Friday newsletter The Weekly Cybers. There another errand to Katoomba on Saturday which will include the shopping. And Sunday will be a lazy day at home.
Further Ahead
- Public hearing as part of the Senate inquiry into the Optus network outage, Canberra, 9 February 2024. No, I won’t be going to Canberra, but this is bound to be a fun event for those who are into the joys of Senate committee hearings, so I’ll be watching the livestream.
- Lunar Comedy Gala 2024, Chatswood NSW, 17 February 2024.
- Aaron Chen’s Funny Garden, Sydney, 27 April 2024.
- He Huang Tiger Daughter versus the World, Chatswood NSW, 5 May 2024.
- Nina Oyama is Coming, Marrickville NSW, 12 May 2024.
[Photo: Five trains stabled at Sydney’s Penrith station. On the left are three Waratah A-Sets, and on the right two Tangara T-set trains. Photographed on 18 January 2020.]