My week of Monday 30 June to Sunday 6 July 2025 began in Adelaide, and we visited my birthplace of Gawler on Monday, and Victor Harbor and Granite Island on Tuesday. Bad weather in Sydney meant our return trip on Wednesday went via Melbourne and an almost-pointless overnight stay until Thursday, but here we are.
As you may have noticed in last week’s very delayed Weekly Wrap, I abandoned several plans so I could fully enjoy my time in South Australia. I deem this to have been a sensible decision.
One of those plans was posting about the holiday. That will happen some time in the coming week. This is not a travel blog. But that said, I did see a nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides) on Granite Island. Oh, and quite a bit of wine was consumed.
Articles
- The Weekly Cybers #75. ART overturns eSafety takedown notice, Services Australia moves to Finance, Qantas suffers a data breach, and AI video fakes get harder to spot. If you haven’t already done so, you should try that quiz.
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
- Apparently my photo of the Sydney Opera House seal was used in the video Sydney, Austrália – Excursão de um dia chuvoso – Atrações turísticas em vídeo Australia but I can’t be bothered checking.
Podcasts, Photos, Videos, 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
Pour out the Schadenfreude Gin, because things have been happening this week.
- “US President Donald Trump has suggested DOGE should take a look at how government subsidies are benefiting billionaire Elon Musk. Mr Trump also suggested his administration would ‘take a look’ at deporting Mr Musk, a naturalised US citizen,” reports ABC News.
- Musk vows to unseat lawmakers who support Trump’s sweeping spending bill.
- From The Conversation, “Elon Musk says he may launch his own party: but US history tells us that’s not a recipe for success”.
- Indeed, Musk has now done so, and it’s the America Party.
- And to wrap it up for this week, ‘A billion people backing you’: China transfixed as Musk turns against Trump.
Some Interesting Links
- “Does eating cheese before bed really give you nightmares? Here’s what the science says.
- Either way, there’s a century-old comic strip devoted to cheese-fueled nightmares. Thanks, @capnhapster.
- A thread on the UK’s New Towns post-WW2 reconstruction program with lots of historical pamphlets.
- And for those interested in public transport, a very Sydney story from Sharath’s Building Beautifully channel: The B-Line, and how Northern Beaches NIMBYs ruined it.
The Week Ahead
After a week and a bit in holidays mode, I’ll ease into the week gently with some client work. However the next couple of weeks will see a bunch of podcast production. Indeed, there will be one every week for the next four weeks, I reckon.
On Wednesday I’m recording an episode of The 9pm Edict 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. 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 this Tuesday 8 July. No need to mention AUKUS because we’ll definitely be talking about that. The finished episode will be posted on Friday.
On the weekend I’ll head down to Sydney so Snarky Platypus and I can catching up on some podcast recording. This will include Another Untitled Music Podcast episode 1, the bingo card half-year review episode of The 9pm Edict — and yes some of those things have already happened. Those two episodes will appear in the following week.
We might also record some bits and pieces we didn’t record while we were in Adelaide, but that now has a lower priority. More on that next week.
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.
Further Ahead
- 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: The serene view from Granite Island towards Victor Harbor, South Australia, on 1 July 2025.]