A smallish bird is perched on a brown wooden window frame, looking in. Its head is black with a white chin, and its chest is also white. Its beak is white with a black tip that ends with a little downwards hook. Its wings are black on top and white bellow, but they can’t really been seen because they’re closed. In the background, out of focus, is a dirt path and some shrubs.
Posted on by Stilgherrian

Weekly Wrap 786: Cleaning the pipes before the mind

My week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 June 2025 began with a continuation of the gastro that began late last week, but somehow I still managed to stay relatively productive. There’s no new podcast, but I’ve started mapping out episodes for the coming couple of months — and planning next week’s holiday.

Articles

  • The Weekly Cybers #73. Is the age assurance tech trial going well or badly? Depends who you ask. Also, Optus cops a $100 million penalty, Amazon to invest $20 billion, and Ghost Bat reaches an important milestone.

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You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.

Podcasts, Photos, Videos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None of these. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.

Muskwatch

It seems odd writing about Elon Musk when the big story from the US is something else entirely, but here we are. Anyway, Musk hasn’t had a good week.

Some Interesting Links

The Week Ahead

The coming week has been mapped out in some detail. Monday and Tuesday are primarily work days, for some value of work, although I know there won’t be a lot to do.

My Adelaide expedition starts on Wednesday, when I head down to Sydney for some vital errands before a flight west on Thursday morning.

On Friday I’ll introduce Snarky Platypus to the O-Bahn guided busway, heading to the largely pointless north-east suburbs.

I’m skipping The Weekly Cybers this week, so there’s some potential for us to enjoy the afternoon — although we’ll probably have an early night because…

[Update 24 June 2024: Actually there might be an edition of The Weekly Cybers after all, because as I insert this update on Tuesday morning we’ve already had quite a bit of relevant news. Stay tunes.]

[Update 30 June 2025: I haven’t posted the new Weekly Wrap yet, but I’ll at least record the changes to the plan which we made on Sunday. There was trackwork on the Seaford railway like which made the logistics difficult. So the Victor Harbor and Gawler trips were swapped over. Also, we thought, why on earth are we rushing to record so much podcast content during a holiday?]

On Saturday morning the Platypus has an exam, so while he’s doing that I’ll be doing some podcast pre-production. Then we’ll probably record the bingo card half-year review episode of The 9pm Edict. Some of these things have actually happened already. The finished episode will be posted around 5 July.

The 9pm Edict and Another Untitled Music Podcast are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You might like to throw a few coins into the tip jar or subscribe for special benefits. Please consider.

On Saturday evening I’ll be at a pub and you’ll be welcome to join me. I haven’t decided which one yet, so watch my socials or check back here towards the end of the week.

On Sunday we’re heading down to Victor Harbor, a town very familiar to me from my childhood, although I can’t even remember the last time I might have been there. Given South Australia’s terrible regional transport options, that’ll wipe out the whole day.

On Sunday we head to my birthplace of Gawler, with lunch at the Prince Albert Hotel.

Further Ahead

  • The Adelaide expedition with Snarky Platypus continues for a few more days, to 2 July 2025. On Monday we head to the McLaren Vale winemaking district, including lunch at the Coriole Vineyard. On Tuesday we head to my birthplace of Gawler, On Tuesday we’re heading down to Victor Harbor, a town very familiar to me from my childhood, although I can’t even remember the last time I might have been there. Given South Australia’s terrible regional transport options, that’ll wipe out the whole day, before we fly back to Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.
  • The 9pm Edict recording with me, Stilgherrian. For a change, Snarky Platypus will be interviewing me about South Australia, my life, my thoughts, and more as we walk around Adelaide and nearby locations. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 8pm AEST this Friday 27 June. This episode will take a little more editing than usual, so it’ll probably appear in late July or early August.
  • The 9pm Edict podcast recording with Sam Roggeveen, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute and author of The Echidna Strategy, an alternative view of Australia’s defence needs, 9 July 2025. Read this review to get the flavour. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please get them to me by 8pm AEST on Tuesday 8 July. No need to mention AUKUS because we’ll definitely be talking about that.
  • Another Untitled Music Podcast episode 1 recording, 12 July 2025, with the completed episode to be posted a few days later.
  • Another Untitled Music Podcast episode 2 recording, 26 July 2025, with the completed episode to be posted a few days later.
  • TechLeaders 2025, Hunter Valley, 16–18 August 2025.
  • Sam Campbell: Window Sucker, Sydney, 31 October 2025.

[Photo: A grey butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) tries to attract my attention on 19 June 2025, and succeeds. This particular bird and its family visit me every day.]

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