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<itunes:summary>Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!</itunes:summary>
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<title>Weekly Wrap 776: Check that grass and check that podcast, if you can</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/776/</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 13 Apr 2025 08:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[dinosaurs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[I am pleased to report that my week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 April 2025 saw me return to more normal levels of productivity — although that’s still relatively low by most people’s standards. And a certain podcast nearly appeared, finally. We’re entering the final week of crowdfunding (nearly) There’s just 9 days left … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/776/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 776: Check that grass and check that podcast, if you can"</span></a></p>]]></description>
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<p><strong>I am pleased to report that my week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 April 2025 saw me return to more normal levels of productivity — although that’s still relatively low by most people’s standards. And a certain podcast <em>nearly</em> appeared, finally.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37873"></span>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">We’re entering the final week of crowdfunding (nearly)</h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="400" height="225" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-finalweek.jpeg" alt="Against a reddish background of autumn leaves there's a giant black microphone and the image of a middle-aged man with short hair and glasses, wearing a cheap grey sweater. That's Stilgherrian! The text says: FINAL WEEK The 9pm Mid-2025 Series." class="wp-image-37886" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-finalweek.jpeg 400w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-finalweek-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-finalweek-75x42.jpeg 75w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a></figure></div>
<p><strong>There’s just 9 days left in this season’s crowdfunding campaign, <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025">The 9pm Mid-2025 Series</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Yeah that’s close enough to the final week.</p>
<p>This campaign combines autumn and winter, and for that matter also my birthday in the first half of May, so I encourage you to be extra generous.</p>
<p>The funding goes towards making more special-guest episodes of my inappropriate and often disturbing podcast for grown-ups, <em>The 9pm Edict</em>, and other projects including <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>.</p>
<p>At the time of writing we’re stalled at 61% of the way towards Target One with 9 days to go. I’d be very grateful if you gave it a push.</p>
<p><strong>Please <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">click though</a>, read, and consider. You have until Tuesday 22 April.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast | Pilot 1</a>, recorded way back on 26 January but finally posted on Sunday — except there’s a problem at the hosting provider and it may not be visible to you yet. Hey, just subscribe in your favourite podcast app and it’ll appear when we fix the bug.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. Please consider the crowdfunder above. If you miss that deadline, or prefer to pay me directly, you can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-63/">The Weekly Cybers #63</a>. Fallout from last week’s superannuation company hacks, AI passes the Turing test (or not), and yet another call for a civilian cyber reserve.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://buttondown.email/refer/stilgherrian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Powered by Buttondown.</a>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Photos, Videos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>One should always pay attention to The Narrative, right? Well right now The Narrative says that tensions are building between Mr Musk and Mr Trump.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>According to Reuters, “Elon Musk’s DOGE team of technologists is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/musks-doge-using-ai-snoop-us-federal-workers-sources-say-2025-04-08/">using artificial intelligence to surveil</a> at least one federal agency’s communications for hostility to President Donald Trump and his agenda.” They’re also using Signal to communicate, presumably to bypass government record-keeping requirements. And they’re “heavily” using Musk’s Grok AI chatbot, according to one source, though it’s not clear how, and where.</li>
<li>From <em>Rolling Stone</em>, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/elon-musk-trump-doge-destruction-1235314218/">Inside Elon Musk’s gleeful destruction of the government</a>.</li>
<li>“A 32-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-12/man-charged-with-threatening-to-kill-donald-trump-and-elon-musk/105169326">charged with threatening to kill</a> US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and other government officials.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-09/elon-musk-peter-navarro-donald-trump-trade-tariffs/105154190">Musk calls Trump trade adviser ‘dumber than bricks’ amid escalating tariffs blowback</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/10/mario-nawfal-putin-interview-elon-musk">Elon Musk boosting influencer who platforms far-right Putin allies</a>.</li>
<li>The Australia government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/09/australia-government-millions-advertising-on-x-twitter-elon-musk-ntwnfb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spent $2.7 million with X</a> for advertising in the first year it was owned by Elon Musk, despite having announced a pause on spending from 29 September 2022. If you are so inclined, here’s the full <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/australian-government-advertising-november-2021-to-november-2024" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">audit report</a>.</li>
<li>And from <em>Vanity Fair</em>, “Elon Musk and Donald Trump are finally (maybe) breaking up.”</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>I’ve discovered a new YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@YourDinosaursAreWrong">Your Dinosaurs are Wrong</a>. Maybe start with the most recent video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuMHfWSyoGI">Sauropods – Air Hulks</a>, which explains how sauropods have four-stroke lungs and whales are cheating, somehow.</li>
<li>Yesterday was the anniversary of humanity’s first space flight, Yuri Gagarin Day. To celebrate, the somewhat mad Russian DJ BASIC put together this set, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXmQ6fUV4qk">Space Journey / Cosmonautics Day Special</a>. </li>
<li>When too much engineering is never enough: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azDaPm13CT8&">Which typeface’s capital “I” makes the best I-beam?</a> This perky young man also tests the engineering qualities of the other letters of the alphabet.</li>
<li>From DW Food, a remarkable video about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuR1ZR7dio4">how to enjoy a British pub</a>, which suggests having six to ten pints of beer before heading to dinner.</li>
<li>And from 1992, the remarkable Keith Floyd suggests some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKfcZ7nP_4Y">hangover cure recipes</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>This week I’ll attempt to continue my solid run of productivity. Well, solid by my standards. I’ll also be plugging the crowdfunder, because it’s not going quite as well as it needs to.</p>
<p>On Wednesday I’m heading down to Sydney for various purposes including health-related stuff and logistics. Just a day trip.</p>
<p><em>The Weekly Cybers</em> will appear on Thursday this week, because Friday is the public holiday for Good Friday. I’ll be heading down to Sydney on the Friday, and I’ll be staying there for about a week.</p>
</div></div>
<p>[<strong>Update 16 April 2025:</strong> OK, I’m shuffling this around again, but this time I have good reasons.]</p>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<p><s>At some time on the long weekend Snarky Platypus and I will record the second pilot episode of <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em>, and it’ll be posted a few days later.</s></p>
<p>On Saturday, Snarky Platypus and I will record a bonus episode of <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast which will include many different things and not just the forthcoming election. I’ll post it on Sunday.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
</div></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">UPDATED:</mark></strong> <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> pilot two recording, 25 April 2025, and it’ll be posted a day or three later.</li>
<li>Federal Election, 3 May 2025. I haven’t made any plans yet, although I’ll be down in Sydney somewhere.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/event/takashi-wakasugi-comedy-samurai/">Takashi Wakasugi Comedy Samurai</a>, The Comedy Store, Sydney, 4 May 2025. I am totally fascinated by this guy’s brain.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneyhelitours.com.au/sydney-heli-grand-flight">Sydney Heli Grand Flight</a>, Sydney HeliTours, 7 May 2025. Someone has been quite generous with this birthday present, my first helicopter flight. There will be photographs.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Stilgherrian’s Nth birthday lunch, where N is divisible by 5, Blue Mountains, Saturday 10 May 2025. This date may or may not be my exact birthday. Some friends have organised lunch at a posh place in the Mountains. If you’re of the opinion that you’d like to join us, please let me know and I’ll connect you with the organiser.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/?s=he+huang">He Huang’s White Man’s Burden</a>, Concourse Chatswood, 17 May 2025. I really love her work. Look for her on YouTube.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miscanthus_sinensis">Miscanthus sinensis</a></em>, or Chinese silver grass, is native to East Asia and South-East Asia, but it has also escaped from gardens in the Blue Mountains and here we are. Photographed near Wentworth Falls on 7 April 2025.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 775: The pollen turns their poo yellow!</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/775/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 06 Apr 2025 09:29:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[banksia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rosella]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[x]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37839</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 31 March to Sunday 6 April 2025 wasn’t very productive, but I’m feeling much, much better after a too-long period of fatigue. Have a flower. Have a bonus bee. There seems to be some low-level infection circulating at the moment. Not bad enough to knock you out, but just enough to … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/775/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 775: The pollen turns their poo yellow!"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 31 March to Sunday 6 April 2025 wasn’t very productive, but I’m feeling much, much better after a too-long period of fatigue. Have a flower. Have a bonus bee.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37839"></span>
<p>There seems to be some low-level infection circulating at the moment. Not bad enough to knock you out, but just enough to push anyone who’s already struggling into The Blurry Land. Anyway, I won’t whinge on. Let’s just get into this new month.</p>
<p>The good news is that the <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_spinulosa">Banksia spinulosa</a></em> is in flower throughout the scrubland here, attracting plenty of loud red wattlebirds (<em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wattlebird">Anthochaera carunculata</a></em>). And bees. The existing population of crimson rosellas (<em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_rosella">Platycercus elegans</a></em>) are scoffing so much pollen it’s turning their poo yellow.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Please support this season’s crowdfunder</h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025"><img decoding="async" width="400" height="225" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title.jpeg" alt="Against a reddish background of autumn leaves there's a giant black microphone and the image of a middle-aged man with short hair and glasses, wearing a cheap grey sweater. That's Stilgherrian! The text says: The 9pm Mid-2025 Series." class="wp-image-37808" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title.jpeg 400w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-75x42.jpeg 75w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a></figure></div>
<p><strong>We’re well into autumn, so last week I launched the new season’s crowdfunding campaign, <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025">The 9pm Mid-2025 Series</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Yes, it combines autumn and winter, and for that matter also my birthday in the first half of May, so I encourage you to be extra generous.</p>
<p>The funding goes towards making more special-guest episodes of my inappropriate and often disturbing podcast for grown-ups, <em>The 9pm Edict</em>, and other projects.</p>
<p>At the time of writing we’re 48% of the way towards Target One with 16 days to go.</p>
<p><strong>Please <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">click though</a>, read, and consider. You have until Tuesday 22 April.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<p>None, but here’s an update. The two show-stoppers, literally, are the music license and the hosting. Certain details have been worked out with APRA AMCOS, the licensing body, so that can proceed. Meanwhile, shifting the hosting to <a href="https://podcastdb.io">PodcastDB</a> so I can use their geoblocking feature has been — well, not so much delayed as simply needing a little work their end. OK, that’s a delay. If you’re particularly interested you can read <a href="https://www.pozible.com/profile/stilgherrian/activity/another-untitled-music-podcast-gets-ever-closer-no-really--44d588e6-3348-4ce3-847f-935efa1d3c09">the details</a>.</p>
<p><strong><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. Please consider the crowdfunder above. If you miss that deadline, or prefer to pay me directly, you can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-62/">The Weekly Cybers #62</a>. AEC rules that podcasts are The Media too, Budget a “missed opportunity”, ASX tech is rubbish, and more.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://buttondown.email/refer/stilgherrian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Powered by Buttondown.</a>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Photos, Videos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>My Schadenfreude Gauge is overloaded.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Why a small judge’s race in Wisconsin will be an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/wisconsin-judicial-race-a-loss-for-trump-and-elon-musk/105127826">embarrassment</a> to Donald Trump and Elon Musk. It’s not just that stupid cheese hat.</li>
<li>The latest polls say <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/02/elon-musk-poll-approval-030168">the people don’t like </a>Musk.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/02/tesla-sales-down-elon-musk">Tesla quarterly sales slump 13% amid backlash against Elon Musk</a>.</li>
<li>I’d missed this last week, but the FBI has <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/25/us/fbi-task-force-tesla-attacks-hnk/index.html">launched a task force</a> targeting anti-Tesla “domestic terrorism”. Yes, that’s why the new FBI director Kash Patel called it..</li>
<li>Reports have been saying <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/02/elon-musk-trump-doge">Musk will leave DOGE soon</a>, when the 130-day cap on his government service expires, although DOGE itself will continue. Apparently <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/02/trump-musk-leaving-political-liability-00265784">Trump said this</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6e9788a0-d43c-434c-be15-996dedd9ee9e">Elon Musk denies this</a>.</li>
<li>X has suffered a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/04/01/hacker-claims-to-have-leaked-200-million-x-user-data-records-for-free/">data breach</a> of 200 million user records. Allegedly.</li>
<li>And CNN puts it this way: <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/03/business/elon-musk-tesla-sales-nightcap/index.html">Everything is blowing up in Elon Musk’s face</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/04/04/ashton-halls-morning-routine-has-gone-viral-for-all-the-wrong-reasons">Ashton Hall’s morning routine has gone viral for all the wrong reasons</a>. And <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ashtonhallofficial/video/7485504739707309342?lang=en">here’s the routine</a>. What a sad, sad existence.</li>
<li>From <em>The Conversation,</em> “Can you tell the difference between real and fake news photos? <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-real-and-fake-news-photos-take-the-quiz-to-find-out-253539">Take the quiz to find out</a>.”</li>
<li>Malaysian comedian Dr Jason Leong explains <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlhkHCZvL4M">What happens when your penis ring gets stuck</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/639078/samsung-bespoke-ai-jet-ultra-vacuum-text-messages">Samsung’s latest stick vac can alert you to calls and text messages</a>, for reasons which are not clear to me. I do not wish to discuss my life with household appliances.</li>
<li>I’ve been wanting to find this for ages. Back in 1992 the BBC produced a 6-part documentary series about comedy called <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_Business_(TV_series)">Funny Business</a></em>. The first episode is the real stand-out: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqKqVrBP-so">Visual Comedy – a Lecture by Rowan Atkinson, MSc (Oxon)</a>. I assume this copy is taken from someone’s old VHS tape, so it’s a bit ratty, but I think it’s still worth watching.</li>
<li>And finally, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ei-z3iUp14">Taskmaster Origins – Rare Footage of the First Ever Show!</a>, Edinburgh, 2010. Yes, Alex Horne developed the TV show out of a stage show. I forget whether this was a deliberate evolutionary step.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>This is literally identical to <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/774/">last week</a>: I’ll keep the plans brief this week: Wrap up <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast’s summer series, or at least lock in the final guest to do so; clock up some client billable hours; and plug the crowdfunder.</p>
<p>And I should finally get to post that first pilot episode of <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em>. I’ve just jinxed it, haven’t I.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
</div></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Sydney days, 18–25 April 2025. Yes, I’m basing myself in Sydney again for a few days.</li>
<li><em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> pilot two recording, 19 April 2025 (TBC). This is Easter Saturday, so there’s a very good chance that Snarky Platypus and I will be able to coordinate a time. If it’s not this day it’ll be a mere day or two later.</li>
<li>Federal Election, 3 May 2025. I haven’t made any plans yet.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/event/takashi-wakasugi-comedy-samurai/">Takashi Wakasugi Comedy Samurai</a>, The Comedy Store, Sydney, 4 May 2025.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.sydneyhelitours.com.au/sydney-heli-grand-flight">Sydney Heli Grand Flight</a>, Sydney HeliTours, 7 May 2025. Someone has been quite generous with this birthday present, my first helicopter flight. There will be photographs.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/?s=he+huang">He Huang’s White Man’s Burden</a>, Concourse Chatswood, 17 May 2025. I really love her work. Look for her on YouTube.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Close-up of a banksia flower, probably a variety of <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_spinulosa">Banksia spinulosa</a></em>, or hairpin banksia, photographed at <a href="https://banksiacottages.com.au">Bunjaree Cottages</a> on 3 April 2025. I do not know the name of the bee. Let’s call her Geraldine.]</p>
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<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 774: Magpies are so talonted, yeah?</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/774/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:22:59 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[crowdfunding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ketamine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[magpie]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[x]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[xai]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37784</guid>
<description><![CDATA[During my week of Monday 24 to Sunday 30 March 2025 the numbers of my magnificent Magpie Army started to swell again, with 18 of them visiting the other morning. I took a photo. I also produced a podcast, launched a crowdfunder, and squeezed out a newsletter. As its peak, however, there’s been up to … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/774/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 774: Magpies are so talonted, yeah?"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>During my week of Monday 24 to Sunday 30 March 2025 the numbers of my magnificent Magpie Army started to swell again, with 18 of them visiting the other morning. I took a photo. I also produced a podcast, launched a crowdfunder, and squeezed out a newsletter.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37784"></span>
<p>As its peak, however, there’s been up to 22 magpies visiting me. There’s various videos of them and other critters at my YouTube playlist, erm, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwzG8y9iemJSuW9wc-l6zlYOH5a2OZaFb">Critters</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Please support this season’s crowdfunder</h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025"><img decoding="async" width="400" height="225" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title.jpeg" alt="Against a reddish background of autumn leaves there's a giant black microphone and the image of a middle-aged man with short hair and glasses, wearing a cheap grey sweater. That's Stilgherrian! The text says: The 9pm Mid-2025 Series." class="wp-image-37808" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title.jpeg 400w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pozible27-hero-01-400-title-75x42.jpeg 75w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a></figure></div>
<p><strong>We’re well into autumn, so this week I launched the new season’s crowdfunding campaign, <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/mid2025">The 9pm Mid-2025 Series</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Yes, it combines autumn and winter, and for that matter also my birthday in the first half of May, so I encourage you to be extra generous.</p>
<p>The funding goes towards making more special-guest episodes of my inappropriate and often disturbing podcast for grown-ups, <em>The 9pm Edict</em>, and other projects.</p>
<p>At the time of writing we’re 33% of the way towards Target One.</p>
<p><strong>Please <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">click though</a>, read, and consider. You have until Tuesday 22 April.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00244/">The 9pm Dreams of American Empire with Associate Professor David Smith</a>, recorded on Tuesday and posted on Wednesday. And now there’s just one more special-guest episode to go for the much-delayed summer series.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-61/">The Weekly Cybers #61</a>. Little digital thrill in the Budget, slow progress in the age assurance tech trial, the US can’t handle its military secrets, and more.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Photos, Videos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>It seems to me that Elon Musk’s attention is starting to waver. The people don’t like him. </p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Elon Musk says <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/companies/elon-musk-says-his-companies-are-suffering-because-of-his-work-with-the-white-house/ar-AA1BSLZZ">his companies are ‘suffering’</a> because of his work with the White House.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/29/elon-musks-xai-firm-buys-social-media-platform-x-for-33bn">Elon Musk’s xAI firm buys social media platform X for $33bn</a>, valuing X at $45 million less $12 billon debt, and DA Davidson & Co analyst Gil Luria says that number is not a coincidence. “It is $1bn higher than the take-private transaction for Twitter in 2022” and he can share the value of the xAI business with X co-investors.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/29/elon-musk-protesters-gather-at-tesla-showrooms">Elon Musk protesters gather at Tesla showrooms</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/637083/elon-musk-reddit-ceo-content-moderation">Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation</a>.</li>
<li>From CNN, “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/28/cars/tesla-elon-musk-investors-doge/index.html">‘I have like 17 jobs.’</a> Investors wonder if Elon Musk is spending enough time at Tesla to lead the company.”</li>
<li>Musk says <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/elon-musk-reveals-he-is-suffering-from-depression-uses-ketamine-heres-all-about-the-drug/articleshow/119411729.cms">his ketamine is prescribed</a> for depression.</li>
<li>“Is Elon Musk planning to step down from Trump’s DOGE team? <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/is-elon-musk-planning-to-step-down-from-donald-trumps-doge-team-heres-what-he-said-8040145">Here’s what he said</a>.”</li>
<li>And finally, Patrick Boyle asks: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT7x31Jm9go">Is Elon Musk’s business empire collapsing?</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<p>Just a few videos this week.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Dan Toomey has an entertaining backgrounder, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KipDBa4bTl8">What does Palantir actually do?</a></li>
<li>Matt Bevan’s <em>If You’re Listening</em> has another good backgrounder, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5MSYFTPz3Q">Why Trump’s Rare Earth scramble makes no sense</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW62RWXMlTc">How does a Michelin Star chef make instant ramen?</a> Apparently while being Korean and speaking English with an Italian accent. </li>
<li>And yeah there’s an election coming up, so I should mention this handy <a href="https://stories.theconversation.com/policy-tracker/">policy tracker</a> at <em>The Conversation</em>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>I’ll keep the plans brief this week: Wrap up <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast’s summer series, or at least lock in the final guest to do so; clock up some client billable hours; and plug the crowdfunder.</p>
<p>I’m also intending to post the first pilot episode of <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> on Saturday. This is much later than planned, of course, but by this date I will have organised the music license, finished the editing, and migrated the hosting to a platform where I can set up geoblocking. I accept that geoblocking will be annoying for listeners outside Australia and New Zealand, and I understand that there is literally no way you could ever work around it.</p>
</div></div>
<p>[<strong>Update 6 April 2025:</strong> Fatigue has been my not-friend this week. The <em>AUMP</em> pilot is not quite ready to post, but I’ve got some of the infrastructure changes done. I’ll explain more soon, but I will say that the new hosting provider <a href="https://podcastdb.io">PodcastDb</a> has been a pleasure to deal with.]</p>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
</div></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Sydney days, 18–25 April 2025. Yes, I’m basing myself in Sydney again for a few days.</li>
<li><em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> pilot two recording, 19 April 2025 (TBC). This is Easter Saturday, so there’s a very good chance that Snarky Platypus and I will be able to coordinate a time. If it’s not this day it’ll be a mere day or two later,.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Federal Election, 3 May 2025. I haven’t made any plans yet.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/event/takashi-wakasugi-comedy-samurai/">Takashi Wakasugi Comedy Samurai</a>, The Comedy Store, Sydney, 4 May 2025. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/?s=he+huang">He Huang’s White Man’s Burden</a>, Concourse Chatswood, 17 May 2025. I really love her work. Look for her on YouTube.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Magpie talons, being the feet of an Australian magpie (<em>Gymnorhina tibicen</em>), photographed on 26 March 2025.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The 9pm Dreams of American Empire with Associate Professor David Smith</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00244/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 04:38:36 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The 9pm Edict]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aukus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[david smith]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[greenland]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[potus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[russia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[summer2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[us]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ussc]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[yalta conference]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37789</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There’s a lot going on in The America. You may have noticed. So as the summer series grinds on — way behind schedule — we’re joined by Associate Professor David Smith from the United States Study Centre. In this episode we talk, obviously, about the powers of POTUS and his Yalta 2.0 imperialist desires to … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00244/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The 9pm Dreams of American Empire with Associate Professor David Smith"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-37791" style="aspect-ratio:16/9;object-fit:cover" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200.jpeg 1200w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200-75x42.jpeg 75w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/davidsmith-1200-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Associate Professor David Smith smiles in the face of an increasingly dangerous world. (Photo: US Studies Centre)</em></figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>There’s a lot going on in The America. You may have noticed. So as the summer series grinds on — way behind schedule — we’re joined by Associate Professor David Smith from the United States Study Centre.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37789"></span>
<p>In this episode we talk, obviously, about the powers of POTUS and his Yalta 2.0 imperialist desires to annex Canada. And Greenland. And Mexico. We discuss how the new Trumpian America might affect Australia’s favourite government program, AUKUS. And inevitably, we talk about Trump’s weird relationship with Elon Musk.</p>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=65124392&theme=dark&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-logo=true" width="100%" height="133px" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>This podcast is available on <a href="https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/a4549ab5-7361-4eed-ae84-5086bd98703e/The-9pm-Edict">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-9pm-edict/id1506683812">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2541000">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.deezer.com/show/772822">Deezer</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMTUzMDA3OS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-the-9pm-edict-58203054/">iHeartRadio</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/The-9pm-Edict//1//fjq1r8u2mwU_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/YOs7">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://podplayer.net/?podId=1708973">Podcast Addict</a>, <a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-9pm-edict-981201">Podchaser</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/skankmedia">SoundCloud</a>, <a href="spotify:show:5fUUfNSMoiqGflUTrr64vn">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/the9pmedict">Speaker</a>.</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p>
<p>You can also <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/1530079/episodes/feed">subscribe to the generic podcast feed</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Episode Links</h4>
<ul class="wppb-bookmarks"> <li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">01. Associate Professor David Smith | United States Studies Centre</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">David Smith is jointly appointed between the US Studies Centre and the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney. His research examines political relations between states and minorities, with a focus on religion in the US. His book Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJO3IZlBG70">02. Major US security blunder as Trump team shares top-secret war plans with journalist | BBC News - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[25 March 2025] The White House has confirmed that a journalist was inadvertently added to an insecure group chat in which leading US national security officials and the Vice-President JD Vance debated and planned a military strike in Yemen. The Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg was included on a Signal message group with Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth among its members.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/">03. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 March 2025] U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://archive.md/2NUKC#selection-719.0-719.165">04. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic | Archived</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 March 2025] U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/24/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.6U4.t4TO.ngE5EHmn3PHf&smid=url-share">05. Trump Live Updates: Hegseth's War Plan Texts, Tariffs and Federal Layoffs - The New York Times</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 March 2025] The White House confirmed an extraordinary breach of security involving top government officials — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — who discussed plans for military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen in a group chat on a commercial messaging app that inadvertently included the top editor of The Atlantic. President Trump denied knowing about it.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe">06. Shock and awe - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg">07. Blitzkrieg - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Blitzkrieg[ is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with artillery, air assault, and close air support. The intent is to break through an opponent's lines of defense, dislocate the defenders, confuse the enemy by making it difficult to respond to the continuously changing front, and defeat them in a decisive Vernichtungsschlacht: a battle of annihilation.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-germany-constitution-authoritarianism/681233/">08. How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days - The Atlantic</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 January 2025] He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://archive.md/yDz0D#selection-741.0-741.53">09. How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days - The Atlantic | Archived</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 January2025] He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSz-rhUNtj0">10. WATCH | Trump Canada Annexation, Says U.S Should ‘Annex’ Canada, Claims $200B Subsidy Burden - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[22 March 2025] Trump Canada Annexation—US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his claim that the US should annex Canada, citing a $200 billion annual subsidy to its northern neighbor. Canadian PM Mark Carney has strongly rejected the idea, vowing to defend Canada’s sovereignty and fight Trump’s escalating trade war. Ottawa has imposed 25% tariffs on $30 billion in US imports, retaliating against Trump’s own 25% tariffs. The US president argues that Canada relies on American subsidies and that its exports, including cars, lumber, and energy, are unnecessary. The dispute continues to intensify</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/trump-is-ignoring-the-power-of-nationalism-at-his-own-peril">11. Trump is ignoring the power of nationalism at his own peril | United States Studies Centre</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[20 March 2025] Americans can dismiss Trump’s talk of annexing Canada as a joke, but Canadians can’t. Regardless of whether Trump would ever follow through with attempting an annexation, his language is an attack on Canadian sovereignty. No one with any sense of national pride would tolerate it.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference">12. Yalta Conference - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Yalta Conference (Russian: ????????? ???????????, romanized: Yaltinskaya konferentsiya), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkEn86RIsOk&list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq&index=2">13. How Putin’s dream explains Trump’s policies | If You're Listening - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[15 March 2025] So what’s the deal with Putin and Trump - is what we’re witnessing now just the beginning of their grand plans for a new world order? And what hints can we get on how things might unfold from a conference that happened 80 years ago between US president Franklin Roosevelt, UK prime minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in a little town called Yalta?</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691212463/weak-strongman?srsltid=AfmBOor26NZwJQDjfGDAWT2NGgjYG8WGlaazLdXyg_hDAJFCcBjxqsts">14. Weak Strongman by Timothy Frye | Princeton University Press</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Looking beyond Putin to understand how today's Russia actually works</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/why-doge-might-usher-in-a-new-era-of-big-government-235178053606">15. Why DOGE might usher in a new era of big government</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 March 2025] Labor Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards joins Morning Joe to discuss her new Bloomberg column 'DOGE Just Might Usher in New Era of Big Government'.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/08/doge-musk-goals/">16. Musk’s DOGE goals: Slash government, control data and lean on machines - The Washington Post</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 February 2025] Shrink government, control data and -- according to one official closely watching the billionaire’s DOGE -- replace “the human workforce with machines.”</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://archive.md/raQAt#selection-553.0-553.152">17. Musk’s DOGE goals: Slash government, control data and lean on machines - The Washington Post | Archived</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 February 2025] Shrink government, control data and -- according to one official closely watching the billionaire’s DOGE -- replace “the human workforce with machines.”</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay">18. Enola Gay - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Enola Gay (/??no?l?/) is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-dei-enola-gay-what-next#rebelltitem12">19. 11 things Trump's moronic DEI purge could also remove</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[20 March 2025] After Donald Trump's Department of Defense removed content related to the historic plane the Enola Gay just for having "gay" in its name, everyone is wondering what could be next.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu405P6AEqs">20. Albanese predicted to speak with Trump before more tariffs hit Australia on April 2 - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[Sky News Australia, 23 March 2025]</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro">21. Peter Navarro - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Peter Kent Navarro (born July 15, 1949) is an American economist and author who is currently the senior counselor for trade and manufacturing for U.S. president Donald Trump... Navarro was the second ex-Trump aide to be convicted of contempt of Congress; Bannon had been convicted of the same offense the preceding year... On September 7, 2023, Navarro was convicted on both counts, and on January 25, 2024, he was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $9,500.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/trumps-trade-adviser-says-australia-is-waging-a-frontal-assault-on-us-aluminium-markets-whats-really-going-on">22. Trump’s trade adviser says Australia is waging a ‘frontal assault’ on US aluminium markets. What’s really going on? | International trade | The Guardian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[5 March 2025] Peter Navarro claims aluminium makers in Australia are undermining the US. Are they really?</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbn_5Klmagw">23. Trump’s Tariff Wars - What Happens Next? | Patrick Boyle - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[9 February 2025] Last weekend Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 per cent levy on imports from China. Canadian oil was hit at a lower rate of 10 per cent. The duties will take effect from Tuesday. Just days later these tariffs were suspended. Trump said the actions were in response to the “major threat” posed by the flow of migrants and drugs into the US across its borders with Canada and Mexico.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B38ZvNnQEJs">24. 'What does that mean?': Trump questioned on Aukus deal - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[28 February 2025] The US president, Donald Trump, needed to be reminded what the Aukus deal was when asked a question about it during a meeting with the British prime minister in the Oval Office.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpcvBdLv--Q">25. O Canada | Copyright Free | National Anthem Of Canada - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The National Anthem Of Canada. Music By: Free Beta Records. Link: https://goo.gl/peHHCX
</div> </li>
</ul>
<p>If the links aren’t showing up, <a href="https://pinboard.in/u:stilgherrian/t:edict00244">try here</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry</h4>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<p>This episode it’s thanks to Errol Cavit, whose Edict 02 Schooner Annual subscription renewed, and one anonymous supporter, someone who continues to be very generous. Thank you.</p>
<p>It’s also thanks once more to everyone who supported <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">The 9pm Summer Series 2024</a> crowdfunding campaign.</p>
<p>CONVERSATION TOPICS: Andrew Best, Gay Rainbow Anarchist, Paul McElwee, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Joanna Forbes, kofeyh, Mark Newton, Paul Williams, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU: David Porteous, John Lindsay, Peter Wickins, and Trent Yarwood. This is one of the two new rewards for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> with Snarky Platypus, two pilot episodes of which we’ll produce very soon. Send us your three-song playlist and we’ll play a bit of each one and judge your taste.</p>
<p>ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Kennedy, Andrew M, Bic Smith, Bruce Hardie, Frank Filippone, Joop de Wit, Kit Biggs, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael Cowley, Mindy Johnson, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Peter McCrudden, Ric Hayman, Rohan Pearce, Shane Perris, Tom Carding, Tom Carding again, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>RECOMMEND A SONG TO US: Kimberley Heitman and Rhydwyn. This is the other new reward linked to the <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>. In 25 words or less tell us why we should like a song and we’ll play it and tell you what we think.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: kofeyh.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Ben Harris-Roxas, Matthew Tayloe, Michael Harris, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Ashley Walsh, Daniel O’Connor, Errol Cavit, Garth Kidd, Gurgle Costello (!), James Henstridge, Kiran Castellino, Lindsay, Matthew Crawford, Peter Blakeley, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: Two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>And another 12 people who choose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Series Credits</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/packsViewSingle.php?id=3935">The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian</a> via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=49477">Edict fanfare by neonaeon</a>, via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li>Elephant Stamp theme by <a href="http://twitter.com/vealmince">Joshua Mehlman</a>.</li>
<li><em>O Canada,</em> the national anthem of Canada, by <a href="https://goo.gl/peHHCX">Free Beta Records</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
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<itunes:subtitle>Associate Professor David Smith smiles in the face of an increasingly dangerous world. (Photo: US Studies Centre) There's a lot going on in The America. You may have noticed. So as the summer series grinds on — way behind schedule — we're joined by ...</itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>Associate Professor David Smith smiles in the face of an increasingly dangerous world. (Photo: US Studies Centre)<br />
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There's a lot going on in The America. You may have noticed. So as the summer series grinds on — way behind schedule — we're joined by Associate Professor David Smith from the United States Study Centre.<br />
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In this episode we talk, obviously, about the powers of POTUS and his Yalta 2.0 imperialist desires to annex Canada. And Greenland. And Mexico. We discuss how the new Trumpian America might affect Australia's favourite government program, AUKUS. And inevitably, we talk about Trump's weird relationship with Elon Musk.<br />
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This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.<br />
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You can also subscribe to the generic podcast feed.<br />
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Episode Links<br />
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01. Associate Professor David Smith | United States Studies Centre<br />
David Smith is jointly appointed between the US Studies Centre and the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney. His research examines political relations between states and minorities, with a focus on religion in the US. His book Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015. <br />
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02. Major US security blunder as Trump team shares top-secret war plans with journalist | BBC News - YouTube<br />
[25 March 2025] The White House has confirmed that a journalist was inadvertently added to an insecure group chat in which leading US national security officials and the Vice-President JD Vance debated and planned a military strike in Yemen. The Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg was included on a Signal message group with Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth among its members. <br />
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03. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic<br />
[24 March 2025] U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. <br />
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04. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic | Archived<br />
[24 March 2025] U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. <br />
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05. Trump Live Updates: Hegseth's War Plan Texts, Tariffs and Federal Layoffs - The New York Times<br />
[24 March 2025] The White House confirmed an extraordinary breach of security involving top government officials — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — who discussed plans for military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen in a group chat on a commercial messaging app that inadvertently included the top editor of The Atlantic. President Trump denied knowing about it. <br />
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06. Shock and awe - Wikipedia<br />
Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. <br />
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07. Blitzkrieg - Wikipedia<br />
Blitzkrieg[ is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with artillery, air assault, and close air support.</itunes:summary>
<itunes:author>Stilgherrian</itunes:author>
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<title>Weekly Wrap 773: Remembering a little train in the sunshine</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/773/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Mar 2025 10:09:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[adelaide]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cybertruck]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[neuralink]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spacex]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[starship]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[train]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37740</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 March 2025 wasn’t hugely productive but I’ve started planning more things. I also thought back to 2018, for some reason. Have a train. Yes, just like last week I found myself thinking about the past, including a 2018 trip to four cities including Adelaide to give presentations … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/773/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 773: Remembering a little train in the sunshine"</span></a></p>]]></description>
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<p><strong>My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 March 2025 wasn’t hugely productive but I’ve started planning more things. I also thought back to 2018, for some reason. Have a train.</strong></p>
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<p>Yes, just like <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/772/">last week</a> I found myself thinking about the past, including a 2018 trip to four cities including Adelaide to give presentations about the near future of surveillance cameras, as well as record some podcasts.</p>
<p>I got so much more done in the Beforetimes, although my lack of productivity since then has nothing to do with covid.</p>
<p>Anyway, this week I finally dropped my intention to insert a solo episode of <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast into the calendar, created a more sensible timeline for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> — sorry it’s so late — and despite the fatigue of fighting off a virus, started being a little productive again.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-60/">The Weekly Cybers #60</a>. Australian intelligence review released, news of encrypted messaging apps, new Treasury rules for cryptocurrency, and more.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>My photo of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stilgherrian/51694184541/">Centrepoint Arcade on Summer Street in Orange</a> was used to illustrate the article <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/7-welcoming-towns-to-retire-in-new-south-wales.html">7 Welcoming Towns To Retire In New South Wales</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>Yeah, it’s another semi-random selection of stories about the world’s richest man (pending an audit). I should stop, but it’s a weakness.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>From <em>The Conversation</em>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-are-waging-a-deep-and-wide-uncivil-war-251538">How Donald Trump and Elon Musk are waging a deep and wide ‘uncivil war’</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/musk-pentagon-briefing-china-war-plan.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6E4._7G4.dcKReJQ1F_Q2&smid=url-share">Pentagon set up briefing for Musk on potential war with China</a>, that being a <em>New York Times</em> gift link.</li>
<li>“Tesla is <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/20/business/tesla-cybertruck-recall/index.html">recalling nearly all Cybertrucks</a> in the United States to fix an exterior panel that could detach during driving, the latest in a series of call-backs for the pickup truck”.</li>
<li>Donald Trump’s commerce secretary told Americans to buy stock in Elon Musk’s electric car company, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/howard-lutnick-tesla-trump-musk">only for shares in Tesla to keep falling</a>.</li>
<li>A fascinating essay outlining why <a href="https://www.planetearthandbeyond.co/p/starship-was-doomed-from-the-beginning">SpaceX’s Starship was doomed from the start</a>.</li>
<li>The BBC has an interview with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewk49j7j1po">The man with a mind-reading chip in his brain — thanks to Elon Musk</a>.</li>
<li>And finally from the magnificent <em>Teen Vogue</em>, a very personal story: <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/vivian-jenna-wilson-elon-musk-trans-youth">Vivian Jenna Wilson on being Elon Musk’s estranged daughter, protecting trans youth and taking on the right online</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>By the way, I discovered a newsletter tiled <em><a href="https://www.muskwatch.com">Musk Watch</a></em>. That’s nothing to do with me. We just both chose an obvious title. Looks like it’s worth subscribing.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Let’s start with a delightful short film, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXhnPLMIET0"><em>One-Minute Time Machine</em></a>, “The short film that (probably) helped <em>Rick & Morty</em> win an Emmy”? Yeah dunno about that last claim.</li>
<li>Patrick Boyle has another excellent backgrounder, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ispyUPqqL1c">Why Are Birthrates Plummeting Worldwide?</a>. I learned a lot from this one.</li>
<li>I love some of the lines in this video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8h_0G2WLrA">The Art of Dog Acting</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pirates-booty-mayor-coup-new-york_n_67ddaf97e4b0706f276d8331">‘Pirate’s Booty’ Founder Goes Rogue, Attempts City Council Coup</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/dead-man-toes-court-case-animal-shelter/105061796">Woman narrowly avoids jail after plotting to sell dead man’s toes online</a>.</li>
</ul>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>Monday is a day of logistics and administrivia, include some errands down in Penrith, plus planning out further podcast episodes.</p>
<p><strong>On Tuesday afternoon I’m recording a podcast with <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">Associate Professor David Smith</a> from the United States Study Centre.</strong></p>
<p>If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 8pm AEDT tomorrow, Monday 24 March. The finished episode will be posted later in the week.</p>
<p><strong><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></strong></p>
<p>Tuesday evening I’ll try to catch a Lowy Institute discussion, <a href="https://lowyinstitute-519361.webflow.io/docs/lowy-institute-event-the-future-of-warfare">The future of warfare</a>, although of course it’ll be available online afterwards. Tuesday night is also Budget Night, but I’ll leave my analysis of the budget papers until later in the week — unless someone decides to pay me for it.</p>
<p>Wednesday is about podcast post-production, Thursday is about client work, and Thursday night sees the start of <em>Taskmaster Australia</em> series 4, so I know what I’ll be doing. And then it’s <em>The Weekly Cybers</em> as usual on Friday.</p>
<p>On Saturday I have a social thing in Sydney, before which I might get a haircut. Lovely.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<p>I’m finally starting to flesh out the schedule again. It’s been a while, eh?</p>
</div></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">UPDATED:</mark></strong> <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> pilot one posted, Saturday 5 April 2025 (TBC). This is much later than planned, of course, but by this date I will have organised the music license, finished the editing, and migrated the hosting to a platform where I can set up geoblocking. I accept that geoblocking will be annoying for listeners outside Australia and New Zealand, and I understand that there is literally no way you could ever work around it.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Sydney days, 18–25 April 2025. Yes, I’m basing myself in Sydney again for a few days.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">UPDATED:</mark></strong> <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em> pilot two recording, 19 April 2025 (TBC). This is Easter Saturday, so there’s a very good chance that Snarky Platypus and I will be able to coordinate a time. If it’s not this day it’ll be a mere day or two later.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/?s=he+huang">He Huang’s White Man’s Burden</a>, Concourse Chatswood, 17 May 2025. I really love He’s work. Look for her on YouTube.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A coupled pair of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3000_class_railcar">3000-class diesel railcars</a> at Largs station, Adelaide, photographed on 23 March 2018. Since then, the leading car 3011 has been converted to hybrid diesel-electric, and the trailing car 3006 has been retired.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 772: Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/772/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 09:06:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[covid]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cybertruck]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37709</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 March 2025 was slightly more productive than the previous week, thank the gods, but for some reason I found myself thinking about the past. Wash your hands. I don’t have any real reason to reminisce about the covid times. I just happened to be flipping back through … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/772/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 772: Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 March 2025 was slightly more productive than the previous week, thank the gods, but for some reason I found myself thinking about the past. Wash your hands.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37709"></span>
<p>I don’t have any real reason to reminisce about the covid times. I just happened to be flipping back through photos to find something that was created this week in another year and found pictures of empty supermarket shelves, all manner of warning signs, and a man stuffing his hatchback with as much toilet paper as he could carry.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-59/">The Weekly Cybers #59</a>. Ransomware payment reporting is now mandatory, concerns over election misinformation and corporate “cyberwashing”, and why the 1980s <em>D&D</em> panic informs social media policy.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts, Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. However I posted <a href="https://www.pozible.com/profile/stilgherrian/activity/im-still-alive-but-sorry-for-the-delays-so-have-a-cockatoo--e27dfe73-1b7b-4d6e-a34b-048901f054fb">an update on my podcast plans</a> and why things are a but behind schedule. And you can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled. Maybe I should do a livestream soon.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>Every few weeks I wonder whether I should continue my weekly look at Elon Musk in the news, and every time I think, well, here I am. I started it so I should finish it. There is definitely something wrong with me.</p>
<p>Once more this is pretty much a random selection because there’s just so much Musk news these days.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-power.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k4.nkUL.BRuDDs8x6hYo&smid=url-share">Inside the explosive meeting where Trump officials clashed with Elon Musk</a>, a <em>New York Times</em> gift link.</li>
<li>From <em>WIRED</em>, a similarly long feature, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-digital-coup-doge-data-ai/">Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/3/13/elon-musk-wants-to-use-ai-to-run-us-govt-but-experts-say-very-bad-idea">Elon Musk wants to use AI to run US gov’t, but experts say ‘very bad’ idea</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-says-musks-doge-must-release-records-operations-run-secrecy-2025-03-11/">US judge says Musk’s DOGE must release records on operations run in ‘secrecy’</a>. Yes, Elon, the US <em>Freedom of Information Act</em> (FOIA) will get you, Baby!</li>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-10/elon-musk-politics-tesla-sales-protest-investors/105023202">Elon Musk’s foray into politics met with protest that’s hurting Tesla worldwide</a>.</li>
<li>And of course Donald Trump did an informercial for Tesla at the White House, British comedian Michael Spicer has created <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNYkpwqT-dA">an edit to heighten the tragedy</a>.</li>
<li>Amusingly. “<a href="https://www.chasingcars.com.au/news/future-cars/exclusive-tesla-cybertruck-firms-for-australian-release-to-fill-a-real-gap-in-the-market/">Two more Cybertruck demonstrators have landed</a> as Tesla Australia head tells <em>Chasing Cars </em>of the brand’s ambition to beat electrified ute rivals.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/10/making-of-elon-musk-childhood-apartheid-south-africa">The making of Elon Musk: how did his childhood in apartheid South Africa shape him?</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIY7eWSH_Qs">This week’s <em>What the Ship?</em></a> from Sal Mercogliano is an Australian edition, covering that Chinese naval task force, AUKUS, trade, and Australia’s lack of a merchant marine. Highly recommended.</li>
<li>Patrick Boyle has a fun update on NEOM in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMIA-EHS7vM">Saudi Arabia’s Megaproject Disaster!</a>.</li>
<li>“Australia’s superb lyrebirds <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-superb-lyrebirds-farm-the-forest-floor-to-increase-their-prey-a-behaviour-rarely-seen-in-nature-247908">‘farm’ the forest floor</a> to increase their prey – a behaviour rarely seen in nature.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/15/stone-tablets-mesopotamia-iraq-red-tape-bureaucracy">‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds</a>.</li>
<li>How computers should still be today: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxU_3dEJ2nM">Running Microsoft’s first product on the Altair 8800, from paper tape</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>On Monday evening I’ll try to catch the joint seminar by the Lowy Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, <a href="https://resources.lowyinstitute.org/docs/lowy-institute-event-the-future-of-the-australia-us-alliance">The Future of the Australia–US alliance</a>, based on this article from November 2024, <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/alliance-future-rewiring-australia-and-the-united-states">Alliance Future: Rewiring Australia and the United States</a>. Has anything changed since November?</p>
</div></div>
<p>[<strong>Update 22 March 2025:</strong> Let me rearrange this next bit a bit.]</p>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<p>While the bulk of the rest of the week will be about trying to get some client work done — something that I don’t get to do much of lately — I will also record a solo episode of <em>The 9pm Edict</em> on <s>Tuesday or Wednesday</s> Saturday, and lock in those last episodes for the summer series. Or at least contact the relevant guests.</p>
<p>Yes, this is all pushed back a week. As I said, I posted <a href="https://www.pozible.com/profile/stilgherrian/activity/im-still-alive-but-sorry-for-the-delays-so-have-a-cockatoo--e27dfe73-1b7b-4d6e-a34b-048901f054fb">an update on my podcast plans</a>.</p>
<p><strong><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></strong></p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Podcast recording with <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">Associate Professor David Smith</a> from the United States Study Centre, 25 March 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 8pm AEDT on Monday 24 March.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://lowyinstitute-519361.webflow.io/docs/lowy-institute-event-the-future-of-warfare">The future of warfare</a>, Lowy Institute, Melbourne and online, 25 March 2025.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A COVID-19 health message is scrawled in the sky above Ashfield, Sydney, on 12 March 2020.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 771: Never mind the productivity, feel the parrot</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/771/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 07:57:14 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[king parrot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[slow tv]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spacex]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[starship]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37678</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Productivity started to return during my week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 March 2025, but not entirely. So here’s a photo of two king parrots and some links and stuff. There’s also a video of a grey butcherbird. Articles Subscribe to The Weekly Cybers via email Powered by Buttondown. You can read my previous writing … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/771/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 771: Never mind the productivity, feel the parrot"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>Productivity started to return during my week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 March 2025, but not entirely. So here’s a photo of two king parrots and some links and stuff. There’s also a video of a grey butcherbird.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37678"></span>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-58/">The Weekly Cybers #58</a>. Proposed new rules for social media platforms, calls for sweeping changes to government AI, and no, Facebook isn’t for emergencies.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Videos</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1AAupXrc8o">013 Butcherbird Lunch</a>, in which a female grey butcherbird (<em>Cracticus torquatus</em>) catches a ball of food and holds it in her talons as she slowly eats some of it, before flying away. This is the first addition to my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwzG8y9iemJSuW9wc-l6zlYOH5a2OZaFb">Critters</a> playlist in 16 months. I should do better.</li>
</ul>
<p>You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts, Media Appearances, Photos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these.</p>
<p>As I explained <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/770/">last week</a>, I’ve extended summer into March so I can still claim that the summer series episodes of <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast will all have been posted in summer, along with the two pilot episodes of <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em>.</p>
<p><strong>Before then, though, you are more than welcome to <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider. Yes, please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>What a week! It’s another almost random selection of Musk stories from me, but it’s clear that even Donald Trump is starting to tire of him.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>I guess it had to happen eventually. From the <em>New York Times</em>, <a href="http://Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk">Inside the explosive meeting where Trump Officials clashed with Elon Musk</a> (gift link).</li>
<li>“President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/06/trump-cabinet-musk-025093">You’re in charge of your departments</a>, not Elon Musk.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/06/australian-tesla-sales-plummet-elon-musk">Australian Tesla sales plummet as owners rush to distance themselves from Elon Musk</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/08/major-brand-worries-just-how-toxic-is-elon-musk-for-tesla">‘Major brand worries’: Just how toxic is Elon Musk for Tesla?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/3/7/spacexs-starship-explodes-in-latest-launch-setback-for-elon-musk">SpaceX’s Starship explodes in latest launch setback for Elon Musk</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/03/elon-musk-royal-society-fellowship-survives-fractious-members-meeting">Elon Musk survives as fellow of Royal Society despite anger among scientists</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/elon-musk-rogan-interview-empathy-doge/index.html">Elon Musk wants to save Western civilisation from empathy</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>I was reminded that the first modern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_television#">Slow TV</a> program was Norway’s <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvHK4yZNXpk">Bergensbanen – minutt for minutt</a></em>, the seven-hour train journey from Bergen to Oslo.</li>
<li>Patrick Boyle asks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRNxsTkIy_w">Why is The World Run by Old People?</a> and I like his answer.</li>
<li>From History Hit, a fascinating conversation: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM8s7oFn9CI&">Sex & Scandal in Post War Soho l The Sordid History of 1920’s London</a>.</li>
<li>From friend of the pod Dr Alice Gorman, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/drspacejunk.bsky.social/post/3ljtj36sbps2s">The secret history of Australian women in the Space Age</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>It’s yet another week when I need to attempt to concentrate on work, particularly after three weeks of failure to do so. As I’ve said before, that’s not much of a plan, but it’s <em>my</em> plan</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I’ll finish editing the first pilot episode of <em><em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em></em>, although it won’t be posted until the following week. I’ll also produce a brief solo episode of <em>The 9pm Edict</em>, which will appear this week. And of course <em>The Weekly Cybers</em> newsletter will appear as usual on Friday.</p>
<p>As for the client work, well, wish me luck.</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Podcast recording with <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">Associate Professor David Smith</a> from the United States Study Centre, 25 March 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 8pm AEDT on Monday 24 March.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> One of my local <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_king_parrot">king parrot</a> couples (<em>Alisterus scapularis</em>) having lunch at <a href="https://bunjareecottages.com.au">Bunjaree Cottages</a> near Wentworth Falls NSW on 6 March 2025. They’re looking a little damp in the rain. I know I post photos of the local birds quite frequently, but I’m being lazy.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 770: Stress, little productivity, and a photo from two years ago</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/770/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Mar 2025 09:25:29 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[china]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37649</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Oh dear. My week of Monday 24 February to Sunday 2 March 2025 was another unproductive week, making February overall an unproductive month. Remedial action will be needed. For a start, I’m now declaring March to be part of summer. Articles Subscribe to The Weekly Cybers via email Powered by Buttondown. You can read my previous … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/770/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 770: Stress, little productivity, and a photo from two years ago"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>Oh dear. My week of Monday 24 February to Sunday 2 March 2025 was another unproductive week, making February overall an unproductive month. Remedial action will be needed. For a start, I’m now declaring March to be part of summer.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37649"></span>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-57/">The Weekly Cybers #57</a>. The commentariat froths over Starlink’s risk to regional Australia, Apple comes up with a sensible way to do age verification, and the ABC recreates Senator Jacqui Lambie for $100.</li>
</ul>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts, Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled. </p>
<p><strong>As for podcasts, well, the timeline for the summer series will need to be extended. I am therefore declaring March to be part of summer. I can do that, right?</strong></p>
<p>As part of <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">The 9pm Summer Series 2024</a> crowdfunder I still owe you two special-guest episodes of <em>The 9pm Edict</em>. One will probably be about conspiracy theories, so watch out for that. The other will be about what’s happening in The America with <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">Associate Professor David Smith</a> from the United States Study Centre. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 8pm AEDT on Monday 24 March.</p>
<p>Then there’s <em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em>. I’m still waiting for APRA AMCOS, the licensing body, to answer some important but, I would have thought, simple questions about the music license. To be honest, much of the delay is also down to my stress and fatigue levels and such.</p>
<p>I do want to post the first pilot episode, which was recorded a few weeks ago, and then give you time to comment before recording the second, so I’ve pushed back that second recording to a date TBA.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I’m actually a couple of weeks behind schedule in starting the next season’s crowdfunder. Normally I start a campaign towards the end of one season so I can plug it in a few podcasts and so the funds, which arrive well after the campaign ends, don’t arrive too late into the season it’s meant to be supporting. I’ll probably therefore start the autumn crowdfunder in the coming week.</p>
<p><strong>Before then, though, you are more than welcome to <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider. Yes, please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>It’s hard to keep track of all the idiotic things that Elon Musk has been up to, so in a way this is almost a random selection.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Via ABC News: “Is anyone unhappy with Elon?” Trump asked his cabinet. “If they are, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-27/donald-trump-elon-musk-first-cabinet-meeting/104989184">we’ll throw them out of here</a>,” he said to laughs and applause. Later, <a href="https://www.unilad.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-first-cabinet-meeting-elon-musk-844443-20250227">Trump appeared to fall asleep</a>.</li>
<li>From <em>The Conversation</em>, “How Elon Musk’s deep ties to — and admiration for — China could complicate <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-elon-musks-deep-ties-to-and-admiration-for-china-could-complicate-trumps-beijing-policy-249988">Trump’s Beijing policy</a>.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/27/elon-musk-conflicts-of-interest">Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest ‘should scare every American’, experts say</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/dozens-quit-elon-musk-s-doge-citing-security-risks-over-us-data/104983062">Civil servants quit Elon Musk’s DOGE citing security risks over US data</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/01/it-might-be-a-small-consolation-but-elon-musk-is-getting-poorer-by-the-day">It might be a small consolation, but Elon Musk is getting poorer by the day</a>, writes John Naughton. “As his goons root through the innards of the US government, Tesla sales are plummeting, the cars are being defaced and owners are ashamed.”</li>
<li>And finally, from Jianli Yang, founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives, <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-doge-china-cultural-revolution-mao-rcna193562">DOGE’s rampage through institutions has parallels in China’s Cultural Revolution</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The Sydney funnel-web spider has been found to be <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2025/01/sydney-funnel-web-spider-found-to-be-three-different-species/">three different species</a>.</li>
<li>Also, the whirring treefrog is now <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2025/february/new-frog-species-found-in-north-queensland">three different species</a>.</li>
<li>So I should also mention that back in 2021 the bleating treefrog was found to be <a href="https://australian.museum/blog/amri-news/bleating-or-screaming/">three different species</a><font color="#222222"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">, screaming</span></font> rather than bleating. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/cattle-producer-finds-python-eating-bra-and-shirt/104976022">Cattle producer wakes to find olive python eating her bra and shirt</a>. She was not wearing them at the time.</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/whales-sing-when-theyve-had-a-good-meal-new-research-250926">Whales sing when they’ve had a good meal</a>.</li>
<li>Billy Hume presents an interesting argument in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq4BOSaKiYo">The real reason why analog recording is better</a>. It’s not about the sound quality.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>On Monday I’m heading down to Penrith for a variety of reasons. The rest of the week is yet another of those times when I need to attempt to concentrate on work, particularly after two weeks of failure to do so. That’s not much of a plan, but it’s <em>my</em> plan.</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Podcast recording with <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/david-smith">Associate Professor David Smith</a> from the United States Study Centre, 25 March 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 8pm AEDT on Monday 24 March.</li>
</ul>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Departing Sydney Airport for Melbourne exactly two years ago today, 2 March 2023. I was en route to record a podcast and then head to the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport.]</p>
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<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 769: Wrangling the data ruined my mind</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/769/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[blue mountains]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[data]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[stress]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[x]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37622</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I lost three days in the middle of my week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 February 2025 to annoying geekery: rebuilding my whole data backup system. Always make sure your backups are in good order, Gentle Reader, with at least one copy of everything in a different physical location. So yeah that was annoying, … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/769/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 769: Wrangling the data ruined my mind"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>I lost three days in the middle of my week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 February 2025 to annoying geekery: rebuilding my whole data backup system. Always make sure your backups are in good order, Gentle Reader, with at least one copy of everything in a different physical location.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37622"></span>
<p>So yeah that was annoying, and stressful. While the vast majority of the time was spent waiting for data to be shuffled around, one does then have a certain reluctance to do other work in parallel — because you have no backups! Anyway, it’s fixed now.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00243/">The 9pm Nostalgia for Corruption with John Birmingham</a>, posted on Monday but recorded the previous Friday. It was great to have JB back on after a gap of more than a year.</li>
</ul>
<p>As I mentioned last week, I still have the first pilot of <em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em> to post. The main blockage has been getting the music license, and that’s mostly down to my stress and fatigue levels and such.</p>
<p>This week I noticed a sentence in the license’s explanatory material that raised some important questions. I’ve put them to APRA AMCOS, the licensing body, but I have yet to receive a reply. Maybe I’m worrying about nothing, but I really don’t want this pod to be killed by some stupid music licensing glitch.</p>
<p>Hang in there.</p>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-56/">The Weekly Cybers #56</a>. ASIO warns of young people’s vulnerability to radicalisation, the eSafety Commissioner discovers that most young kids are already using social media, and AI continues to be rubbish when tested..</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>I’m a little annoyed by this one. <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/stilgherrian.com/post/3liilsvlliv2s">One of my shitposts</a> was shown in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftD4ZdBQVQo">Talking Pictures</a> segment of ABC TV’s <em>Insiders</em> on Sunday morning, at the 3m12s mark. I wish it had been one of my more intelligent comments, and in the main program. Not that I have much respect for this show.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled. I am aware that several times now I’ve said I’d return to posting photos and videos properly. </p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>Everything is always about the vibe, and my vibe on the Musk vibe is that he’s now being seen as overstepping the mark big time. And as someone said to me, X is the new Slack, the new official workplace communications channel for US federal workers.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>From ABC News, “Donald Trump and Elon Musk are slashing spending, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-23/donald-tump-and-elon-musk-doge-cuts-target-usaid/104963936">some believe it’s going too quickly</a>.”</li>
<li>Unsurprisingly, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/16/elon-musk-doge-government-privatization">Elon Musk’s mass government cuts could make private companies millions</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/18/g-s1-49450/elon-musk-doge-leader">A federal judge has denied states’ bid to halt DOGE and Musk’s work</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-appears-contradict-white-house-says-elon-musk-charge-doge-2025-02-20/">Trump appears to contradict White House, says Elon Musk in charge of DOGE</a>, despite court filings which say he isn’t.</li>
<li>Musk gives all federal workers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-trump-federal-workers-f44257ce4cf8c04c96c8ce0ce262842f">48 hours to explain what they did last week</a> in five bullet points, claiming on X that failing to respond before deadline will count as a resignation. Various agencies are already telling their employees not to reply, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/fbi-director-kash-patel-pushes-back-against-elon-musk-s-productivity-questions-for-now-please-pause-any-responses-11740281628163.html">including Trump’s pick as FBI director</a>, so this will be interesting to watch over the coming hours and days.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-21/new-holland-mouse-rediscovered-in-wollemi-national-park/104960762">New Holland mouse rediscovered in part of Blue Mountains after two decades</a>.</li>
<li>David Tennant opened the BAFTA award ceremony with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUr8QyTCph8">a rendition of <em>500 Miles</em></a>, a cover of The Proclaimers.</li>
<li>From Asianometry, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoLngV0pI2o">How Indonesian instant noodles became a Nigerian sensation</a>. The background is fascinating.</li>
<li>From the <em>Guardian</em>, the final instalment in an incredibly important project: “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/23/more-than-10000-first-nations-people-killed-in-australias-frontier-wars-final-massacre-map-shows-ntwnfb">More than 10,000 First Nations people killed in Australia’s frontier wars</a>, final massacre map shows. ‘Horrendous’ eight-year long project has ended with final fact check, leaving a legacy ‘nobody can argue’ with, says researcher.”</li>
<li>According to Wikipedia, “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motonormativity">Motonormativity</a> (also motornormativity, windshield bias, or car brain) is an unconscious cognitive bias in which the assumption is made that motor car ownership and use is an unremarkable social norm.” According to Professor Ian Walker (hah!_, “<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/ianwalker.bsky.social/post/3lieauoqcwc2e">Our new study shows where this bias comes from</a> AND how it makes people think they’re odd for supporting changes to the transport system.” The full paper is free to read: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378025000172">Why do cars get a free ride? The social-ecological roots of motonormativity</a>.</li>
<li>From <em>The Verge</em>, “The BBC’s library of classic sci-fi sounds is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/615584/bbc-radiophonic-workshop-archive">now available to sample</a>“. And <a href="https://www.spitfireaudio.com/bbc-radiophonic-workshop">here it is</a>. It isn’t free, but I’ve read the license and it seems to be reasonable to use, with no ongoing royalties.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>It’s another of those weeks when I need to attempt to concentrate on work, particularly after this week’s failures, although Monday will be about administrivia and shopping and other loose ends.</p>
<p>On Thursday evening I’ll try to catch <a href="https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7B0BaxsWRJyHCqL6xyEKPg">Australian-Chinese voters’ concerns and priorities</a> from UTS:ACRI, the Australia-China Research Institute.</p>
<p>In theory there’s two more special-guest episodes of the <em>Edict</em> to come before the end of summer. Official Summer ends this Friday, though, so obviously that’s not going to happen — although I have put out the necessary feelers. Sorry, but I’m sure you’ll be able to handle the overrun.</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 8 March 2025 (TBC).</li>
</ul>
<p>It looks like it’s time for me to do some more medium-term planning, eh?</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Data markers or some such on Railway Parade, near Wentworth Falls, photographed on 6 February 2025. These recently-painted markers are a mystery to me. The main sequence in this section of the road is numbered 124, 125, 126 etc, spaced between 90 and 150 metres apart. But this one is numbered 3301. Any suggestions as to their origin? Maybe I should ask the Blue Mountains City Council.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The 9pm Nostalgia for Corruption with John Birmingham</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00243/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Feb 2025 22:30:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The 9pm Edict]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[apple vision pro]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[brisbane]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[expo 88]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[gamergate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[joh bjelke-petersen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[john birmingham]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[monorail]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[south bank]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[summer2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[umberto eco]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37604</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As the summer series grinds on we’re joined once again — well, after a gap of more than a year — by author and columnist John Birmingham. In this episode we talk, inevitably, about the nexus between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. But we also chat about Brisbane and the good old days, cancer, the … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00243/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The 9pm Nostalgia for Corruption with John Birmingham"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208.jpeg" alt="A middle-aged white man with stubble and a hat gazes into the distance. It's John Birmingham! Behind him, the cover of a book looms large." class="wp-image-34300" style="aspect-ratio:16/9;object-fit:cover" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208.jpeg 1200w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208-75x42.jpeg 75w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/john-birmingham-hero-00208-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>John Birmingham is haunted by the cover of one of his popular techno-thrillers. (Photo: Supplied)</em></figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>As the summer series grinds on we’re joined once again — well, after a gap of more than a year — by author and columnist John Birmingham.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37604"></span>
<p>In this episode we talk, inevitably, about the nexus between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. But we also chat about Brisbane and the good old days, cancer, the Apple Vision Pro, World Expo 88, digital locks, physical fitness, and the links between hypermasculinity, Gamergate, and fascism.</p>
<p>It also sees the return of the <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00208/">chia seed protein pudding</a>, and yet more mentions of Umberto Eco.</p>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=64408840&theme=dark&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-logo=true" width="100%" height="133px" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>This podcast is available on <a href="https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/a4549ab5-7361-4eed-ae84-5086bd98703e/The-9pm-Edict">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-9pm-edict/id1506683812">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2541000">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.deezer.com/show/772822">Deezer</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMTUzMDA3OS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-the-9pm-edict-58203054/">iHeartRadio</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/The-9pm-Edict//1//fjq1r8u2mwU_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/YOs7">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://podplayer.net/?podId=1708973">Podcast Addict</a>, <a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-9pm-edict-981201">Podchaser</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/skankmedia">SoundCloud</a>, <a href="spotify:show:5fUUfNSMoiqGflUTrr64vn">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/the9pmedict">Speaker</a>.</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p>
<p>You can also <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/1530079/episodes/feed">subscribe to the generic podcast feed</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Episode Links</h4>
<ul class="wppb-bookmarks"> <li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham">01. John Birmingham - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, and his Axis of Time trilogy.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://cheeseburgergothic.substack.com/">02. John Birmingham's CheeseburgerGothic</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">I write books and things. This is sort of like my private club where anyone can hang out to talk about that stuff. So, okay, not that private. I’ll let you know about the stuff I’m doing, the stuff I love, and more importantly, the sort of things I think you might love too. For once, it’s not all about me.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://mumbrella.com.au/afr-apologises-world-fukt-front-page-222572">03. AFR editor apologises to WA readers for 'World is Fukt' front page - Mumbrella</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 April 2014] The editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review has apologised for a headline that ran on the front page of its Western Australian edition today stating: “ARMS BUILDUP | BUYS PLANES | WORLD IS FUKT.”</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lhwmdpni552f">04. Aaron Rupar - Bluesky</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[12 February 2025] REPORTER: Are you policing yourself for conflicts of interest? What are the checks and balances? MUSK: We post our actions to the DOGE handle on X.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThjwjSNzye0&t=271s">05. Elon Musk at the White House: FULL NEWS CONFERENCE - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 February 2025] President Donald Trump and Elon Musk came together in the White House on Tuesday for Trump to sign an executive order concerning the billionaire’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and wanting federal agencies to work with him. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-kid-keeps-saying-weird-stuff-about-trump-2000563118">06. Elon Musk's Kid Keeps Saying Weird Stuff About Trump</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 February 2025] Little X appeared to tell Trump "shush your mouth" in the Oval Office.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/22/italian-students-hang-elon-musk-effigy-in-square-where-mussolini-was-strung-up">07. Italian leftist student group 'hangs' Elon Musk effigy in square where Mussolini was strung up | Euronews</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[22 January 2025] Students protesting against Elon Musk's extremism have hung him in effigy in Milan's Piazzale Loreto, stringing up a fake body upside down in an imitation of the hanging of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's corpse in the very same square in 1945.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00080/">08. The 9pm Probe: Mike Godwin, attorney and author – Stilgherrian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[28 October 2018] While I was in Washington DC recently, I recorded an interview with attorney and author Mike Godwin, he of Godwin’s Law fame.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html">09. Umberto Eco's List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism | Open Culture</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[1 November 2024] While Eco is firm in claiming “There was only one Nazism,” he says, “the fascist game can be played in many forms, and the name of the game does not change.” Eco reduces the qualities of what he calls “Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism” down to 14 “typical” features.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/">10. Ur-Fascism | Umberto Eco | The New York Review of Books</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[22 June 1995] Freedom and liberation are an unending task.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMalvNeJFLk">11. Law and Order Voice Intro DUN DUN HD Lyrics - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories."</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/08/trump-administration-job-candidates-loyalty-screening/?carta-url=https%253A%252F%252Fs2.washingtonpost.com%252Fcar-ln-tr%252F41006c1%252F67a8d79175757e5b9502273e%252F63a7fab0f7d0347081d17f86%252F13%252F54%252F67a8d79175757e5b9502273e">12. U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test - The Washington Post</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[9 February 2025] Candidates for top intelligence and law enforcement jobs were asked to give “yes” or “no” responses to questions such as: Was Jan. 6 “an inside job?”</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.brentcomedy.com/">13. Brent Terhune</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Search for him on your social media app of choice.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://aliensideboob.substack.com/p/delusions-of-adequacy">14. Delusions of Adequacy - by John Birmingham - Alien Sideboob</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[10 February 2025] I’m a bit over this new masculinity. It stinks of Eau-de-flop-sweat, and there’s no escaping the reek. This whiffy motherfucker is everywhere, like one of Godzilla’s room fillers, and notwithstanding the endless loop of victory laps these guys have been taking recently, it doesn’t smell like victory to me.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_(harassment_campaign)">15. Gamergate (harassment campaign) - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign motivated by a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" primarily in 2014 and 2015.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://cheeseburgergothic.substack.com/p/how-to-eventually-sometime-maybe">16. How to eventually, sometime, maybe stop procrastinating with your friend from the internet, JB.</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">I’ve pulled together everything I’ve learned about procrastination and crammed it into one short book, "The Complete (but little) Book About Procrastination".</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1084695">17. "In the United States, politics is a profession, whereas in Europe it is a right and a duty."</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Umberto Eco (2014). “Travels in Hyperreality”, p.10, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (Originally published 1973.)</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus">18. Herodotus - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Herodotus (Ancient Greek: ????????, romanized: H?ródotos; c.?484 – c.?425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the Histories, a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars among other subjects such as the rise of the Achaemenid Dynasty of Cyrus, and was the first writer to apply the scientific method to historical events. He has been described as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero, and the "Father of Lies" by others.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Expo_88">19. World Expo 88 - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo was "Leisure in the Age of Technology", and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gafrCY5A768">20. World Expo '88: Brisbane Australia (TV Commercial) - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">From the Australian Television Archive</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/blog/roy-hg-state-of-origin-commentary/">21. Roy and H.G.'s State of Origin commentary - Stuart McMillen blog</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">A lengthy introduction to State of Origin rugby league is given by “King Wally Otto in the Soundproof Booth” (a pseudonym for well-known Australian voice-over presenter Robbie McGregor).</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh_Bjelke-Petersen">22. Joh Bjelke-Petersen - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen KCMG (13 January 1911 – 23 April 2005) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987 as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the Country Party)... The developer, Mike Gore, was seen as a key member of the "white shoe brigade", a group of Gold Coast businessmen who became influential supporters of Bjelke-Petersen. The "white-shoe" nickname was a contemptuous allusion to the nouveau riche origins revealed by their gaudy and tasteless choice of clothing, which included brightly coloured or patterned shirts, slacks with white stripes or in pastel shades, and shoes and belts of white leather, these often having gold or gilt buckles.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCp-0FT-BtU">23. John Farnham - Live at Expo '88 (full Concert) - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">From the original Master Tape, upscaled and enhanced.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Bank,_Queensland">24. South Bank, Queensland - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">South Bank is a cultural, social, educational and recreational precinct in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The precinct is located in the suburb of South Brisbane, on the southern bank of the Brisbane River.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11832873/Mafia-figure-owned-illegal-Valley-casinos-brothels-dead.html">25. Mafia figure who owned illegal Valley casinos and brothels dead | Daily Mail Online</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 March 2023] Mafia figure who paid off cops and ran illegal casinos and the notorious 'Bubbles Bath House' dies aged 80 - and now his seedy story can be told in full.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Goss">26. Wayne Goss - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.thenorthernmyth.com/2017/12/25/requiem-monster-john-birmingham/">27. Requiem for a Monster, by John Birmingham - The Northern Myth</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">A long time ago, in a magazine far far way—well, okay, the old Bulletin mag before it folded—I was asked to write an obituary for Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, premier of Queensland and the closest thing to an actual fascist dictator this country has ever known.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00238/#edict00243">28. The 9pm Major Irritation (and certain other amusements) – The 9pm Edict</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[19 December 2024] In this episode Stilkgherrian talks about his recent injuries and related hospital visits, the history of those hospitals, content warnings, dildos in Texas, and some old anti-vaxxers. Then photos are down the bottom of the page.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.mup.com.au/authors/brian-toohey">29. Brian Toohey — Melbourne University Publishing</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Brian Toohey was a columnist with the Australian Financial Review who has also written for The Nikkei Asia Review, The West Australian, The Sunday Age and other publications. He was editor of The National Times and a Canberra and Washington correspondent for AFR. He is the author or co-author of four books: "Oyster: The Story of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service"; "Tumbling Dice: The Story of Modern Economic Policy"; "The Book of Leaks" and "The Winchester Scandal". Among other subjects, he has written extensively about national security policy since 1973.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_Peace_Pagoda">30. Nepalese Peace Pagoda - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Nepal Peace Pagoda in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is located at the transformed Brisbane World Expo '88 site, South Bank Parklands. It is one of the most significant heritage items in Brisbane from the hosting of the Expo. It is the only international exhibit remaining on the site.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Vision_Pro">31. Apple Vision Pro - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset developed by Apple. It was announced on June 5, 2023, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Pre-orders began on January 19, 2024, and became available for purchase on February 2, 2024, in the United States.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen">32. Marc Andreessen - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Marc Lowell Andreessen (/æn?dri?s?n/ AN-dree-sen; born July 9, 1971) is an American businessman and former software engineer. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface; co-founder of Netscape; and co-founder and general partner of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_car_project">33. Apple car project - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">From 2014 until 2024, Apple undertook a research and development effort to develop an electric and self-driving car, codenamed "Project Titan". Apple never openly discussed any of its automotive research, but around 5,000 employees were reported to be working on the project as of 2018.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://social.afront.org/@MLE_online/113998496072980942">34. Emily Velasco: A Social Front Organization</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[14 February 2025] Another tale from this tech-driven hell we're living in: A coworker who was evacuated from his home because of the fires last month is living in a short-term rental until he and his family can move home. The rental has only digital door locks with a touch screen for entering your pin number. He's been locked out of his rental house in the rain for a half hour because the touch screen of the digital door lock is wet from the rain and ignoring his touches. There is no physical key for unlocking the doors. You can only open them electronically -- with electronics that don't work in the rain.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Time">35. Axis of Time - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Axis of Time trilogy is an alternative history series of novels written by Australian journalist and author John Birmingham, from Macmillan Publishing.</div> </li>
</ul>
<p>If the links aren’t showing up, <a href="https://pinboard.in/u:stilgherrian/t:edict00243">try here</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry</h4>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<p>This episode it’s thanks once more to everyone who supported <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">The 9pm Summer Series 2024</a> crowdfunding campaign.</p>
<p>CONVERSATION TOPICS: Andrew Best, Gay Rainbow Anarchist, Paul McElwee, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Joanna Forbes, kofeyh, Mark Newton, Paul Williams, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU: David Porteous, John Lindsay, Peter Wickins, and Trent Yarwood. This is one of the two new rewards for the Untitled Music Podcast with Snarky Platypus, two pilot episodes of which we’ll produce in January. Send us your three-song playlist and we’ll play a bit of each one and judge your taste.</p>
<p>ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Kennedy, Andrew M, Bic Smith, Bruce Hardie, Frank Filippone, Joop de Wit, Kit Biggs, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael Cowley, Mindy Johnson, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Peter McCrudden, Ric Hayman, Rohan Pearce, Shane Perris, Tom Carding, Tom Carding again, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>RECOMMEND A SONG TO US: Kimberley Heitman and Rhydwyn. This is the other new reward linked to the Untitled Music Podcast. In 25 words or less tell us why we should like a song and we’ll play it and tell you what we think.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: kofeyh.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Ben Harris-Roxas, Matthew Tayloe, Michael Harris, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Ashley Walsh, Daniel O’Connor, Errol Cavit, Garth Kidd, Gurgle Costello (!), James Henstridge, Kiran Castellino, Lindsay, Matthew Crawford, Peter Blakeley, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: Two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>And another 12 people who choose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Series Credits</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/packsViewSingle.php?id=3935">The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian</a> via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=49477">Edict fanfare by neonaeon</a>, via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li>Elephant Stamp theme by <a href="http://twitter.com/vealmince">Joshua Mehlman</a>.</li>
</ul>
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<itunes:subtitle>John Birmingham is haunted by the cover of one of his popular techno-thrillers. (Photo: Supplied) As the summer series grinds on we’re joined once again — well, after a gap of more than a year — by author and columnist John Birmingham. </itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>John Birmingham is haunted by the cover of one of his popular techno-thrillers. (Photo: Supplied)<br />
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As the summer series grinds on we’re joined once again — well, after a gap of more than a year — by author and columnist John Birmingham.<br />
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In this episode we talk, inevitably, about the nexus between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. But we also chat about Brisbane and the good old days, cancer, the Apple Vision Pro, World Expo 88, digital locks, physical fitness, and the links between hypermasculinity, Gamergate, and fascism.<br />
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It also sees the return of the chia seed protein pudding, and yet more mentions of Umberto Eco.<br />
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This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.<br />
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You can also subscribe to the generic podcast feed.<br />
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Episode Links<br />
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01. John Birmingham - Wikipedia<br />
John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, and his Axis of Time trilogy. <br />
<br />
02. John Birmingham's CheeseburgerGothic<br />
I write books and things. This is sort of like my private club where anyone can hang out to talk about that stuff. So, okay, not that private. I’ll let you know about the stuff I’m doing, the stuff I love, and more importantly, the sort of things I think you might love too. For once, it’s not all about me. <br />
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03. AFR editor apologises to WA readers for 'World is Fukt' front page - Mumbrella<br />
[24 April 2014] The editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review has apologised for a headline that ran on the front page of its Western Australian edition today stating: “ARMS BUILDUP | BUYS PLANES | WORLD IS FUKT.” <br />
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04. Aaron Rupar - Bluesky<br />
[12 February 2025] REPORTER: Are you policing yourself for conflicts of interest? What are the checks and balances? MUSK: We post our actions to the DOGE handle on X. <br />
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05. Elon Musk at the White House: FULL NEWS CONFERENCE - YouTube<br />
[13 February 2025] President Donald Trump and Elon Musk came together in the White House on Tuesday for Trump to sign an executive order concerning the billionaire’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and wanting federal agencies to work with him. <br />
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06. Elon Musk's Kid Keeps Saying Weird Stuff About Trump<br />
[13 February 2025] Little X appeared to tell Trump "shush your mouth" in the Oval Office. <br />
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07. Italian leftist student group 'hangs' Elon Musk effigy in square where Mussolini was strung up | Euronews<br />
[22 January 2025] Students protesting against Elon Musk's extremism have hung him in effigy in Milan's Piazzale Loreto, stringing up a fake body upside down in an imitation of the hanging of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's corpse in the very same square in 1945. <br />
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08. The 9pm Probe: Mike Godwin, attorney and author – Stilgherrian<br />
[28 October 2018] While I was in Washington DC recently, I recorded an interview with attorney and author Mike Godwin, he of Godwin’s Law fame. <br />
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09. Umberto Eco's List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism | Open Culture<br />
[1 November 2024] While Eco is firm in claiming “There was only one Nazism,” he says, “the fascist game can be played in many forms, and the name of the game does not change.” Eco reduces the qualities of what he calls “Ur-Fascism,</itunes:summary>
<itunes:author>Stilgherrian</itunes:author>
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<title>Weekly Wrap 768: The view from St Vincent’s Private Hospital was a highlight of my Sydney day</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/768/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Feb 2025 09:17:47 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 February 2025 was dominated by a long day trip to Sydney on Wednesday and the Cabramatta Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday. But next week will be a big podcast week. If you’ve been following some of my health stories in recent months, you’ll know that in … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/768/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 768: The view from St Vincent’s Private Hospital was a highlight of my Sydney day"</span></a></p>]]></description>
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<p><strong>My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 February 2025 was dominated by a long day trip to Sydney on Wednesday and the Cabramatta Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday. But next week will be a big podcast week.</strong></p>
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<p>If you’ve been following some of my health stories in recent months, you’ll know that in December <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00238/">I fell over and broke my face</a>. There’s photos down the bottom of that page.</p>
<p>Well, as a follow-up, my medical team (hah!) thought it would be best to check my heart. Some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_CT_angiography">CT coronary angiography</a> reveals that I do have a heart, and it works, but that there’s some calcification of the arteries. Not unusual, and not urgent, and not related to the falling down thing, but I’m told it’s in the top 30% “for a man of your age”.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, kids, they’ll start using that phrase for you eventually. Unless you’re not a man, in which case they’ll use the equivalent.</p>
<p>Some other tests confirmed what I already knew: I am seriously not fit. So these matters will be addressed with more vigour, both literally and metaphorically. Stay tuned.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>On Friday I recorded a fun but disturbing conversation with columnist and author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham">John Birmingham</a>, but a confluence of cosmic forces has meant it won’t be posted until early in the coming week. Probably on Monday.</li>
<li>I also have the first pilot of <em><a href="https://anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com">Another Untitled Music Podcast</a></em> still to post, and I expect that one to be posted in the coming week as well.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-55/">The Weekly Cybers #55</a>. AI doesn’t work, AI makes you dumb, AI for HR is high-risk, the US says don’t worry about AI safety, and Apple fights a UK backdoor order.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>I have a problem. Yes, I know, but let’s focus on <em>this one problem</em>. While I want to keep track of what the world’s often-richest persons up to, his fate is now linked to the madness of American politics under Donald Trump. To talk about Musk is to talk about his creation DOGE, and to talk about DOGE is to talk about the most significant force in American government. I’ll keep this going for a new more week, but I’m not sure how long it will last.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Elon Musk’s DOGE agency is at the centre of controversy in the US. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-15/elon-musks-doge-agency-explained/104929704">So what is it?</a>” This article is headed with a photo of Musk standing in a triumphant pose at the lectern of the President of the United States. You just know he’s been fantasising about this.</li>
<li>Musk appeared at a joint press conference in the Oval Office with some minion called Trump, and here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThjwjSNzye0">the full video</a>.</li>
<li>In a clip from that video, <a href="https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-kid-keeps-saying-weird-stuff-about-trump-2000563118">Elon Musk’s kid keeps saying weird stuff about Trump</a>, but don’t we all?</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3nrx1dq5o">US government struggles to rehire nuclear safety staff it laid off days ago</a>. This is what happens when you sack people without proper HR processes.</li>
<li>“Elon Musk’s gutting of US agencies is illegal, experts say. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/10/elon-musk-doge-agency-illegal">How do you muzzle Doge?</a>“</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgerr2jvkgo">What it means when Elon Musk brings his children to work</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/hate-speech-on-x-surged-for-at-least-8-months-after-elon-musk-takeover-new-research-249603">Hate speech on X surged for at least 8 months after Elon Musk takeover</a>.</li>
<li>“Look past Elon Musk’s chaos. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/opinion/musk-trump-government-takeover.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xU4.nRTr.Grmol63Wwifx&smid=url-share">There’s something more sinister at work</a>.” That should be a <em>New York Times</em> guest link.</li>
<li>“Donald Trump enjoys massive support, but some of his voters are already <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-14/some-donald-trump-voters-are-already-turning-on-elon-musk/104932176">turning on Elon Musk</a>.”</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Matt Bevan’s <em>If You’re Listening</em> is excellent this week, and this explains a lot. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUGdSEXkQU&">The shocking story behind Trump’s plan to “own” Gaza</a>.</li>
<li>Yes, I’m posting another Patrick Boyle, but this one contains some truly excellent snark: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-65bHmC9HY4">The Dumbest Megaprojects!</a>.</li>
<li>I remember using library music, an older term for royalty-free production music, back in the olden days. Well, watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoUmNiq-vcg">How An Obscure 70s Genre Has DEFINED Modern Music</a>.</li>
<li>My attention has been drawn to <a href="https://retrosweat.com.au">RETROSWEAT</a>, “The authentic 1980s freestyle aerobics workout”. They have published their <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/kcri46upuks7rwwdeip754r1j">music playlists</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>Apart from Monday, which will have to include some shopping in Katoomba and doing the laundry, as well as posting the podcast I recorded with John Birmingham, I won’t assign specific tasks to specific days. This may seem lazy for now, but I can see a relatively wide-open calendar and a long to-do list, so I’m pretty sure I can make them work together.</p>
<p>It’s likely to be a big podcast-related week. I have two things to edit and post, I should lock in another special-guest episode of the <em>Edict</em> to meet my summer series commitments, and I need to set up the crowdfunder for the autumn series. I’m already a week behind schedule with that one.</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7B0BaxsWRJyHCqL6xyEKPg">Australian-Chinese voters’ concerns and priorities</a>, UTS:ACRI, Sydney and online, 27 February 2025 (TBC). Something to consider before this year’s federal election.</li>
<li>Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 8 March 2025.</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s two more special-guest episodes of the <em>Edict</em> to come before the end of summer, one of which might well be about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A view from the 13th floor of St Vincent’s Private Hospital, where I saw my cardiologist this week, featuring Harry Seidler’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_Apartments">Horizon Apartments</a>, photographed on 12 February 2025.]</p>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 767: Pondering trains instead of productivity</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/767/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:23:06 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nsw trainlink]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[palantir]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[r-set]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37522</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 February 2025 was relatively unproductive, but I did spend some time pondering once again what a disappointment the trains are between Sydney and Canberra. But I got plenty of planning done. The other day I watched an update on the new regional fleet for NSW TrainLink. It’s … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/767/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 767: Pondering trains instead of productivity"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 February 2025 was relatively unproductive, but I did spend some time pondering once again what a disappointment the trains are between Sydney and Canberra. But I got plenty of planning done.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37522"></span>
<p>The other day I watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB0LNVAg_ZE">an update on the new regional fleet</a> for NSW TrainLink. It’s not the best video, because there’s some speculation about things which could be learned from digging out more documents, but it’s a decent outline of where we’re up to. And once again I’ve seen one of these new R-set trains in the yard at Auburn.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1800" height="1013" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284.jpeg" alt="A rail yard studded with many grey steel poles and supports for electrical wiring. In the middle distance is a shiny new single-deck train, mostly dark orange in colour but with silver and black highlights on the nose." class="wp-image-37567" style="object-fit:cover" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284.jpeg 1800w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284-75x42.jpeg 75w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8284-1536x864.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A NSW TrainLink New Regional Fleet R-Set train in the yard at Auburn, photographed on 30 January 2025 through the dirty window of a speeding train. (Photo: Stilgherrian)</figcaption></figure>
<p>But <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00042/">as I said almost a decade ago</a>, even these new trains from Spain which go fast only on the plains — sorry — seem to lack a sense grandeur. Oh well. </p>
<p>The plains thing is true, though, They’ll still have to slow right down as they wind their way down the hills into Canberra.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com/2443520/episodes/16550055-another-untitled-music-podcast-trailer-2">Another Untitled Music Podcast | Trailer 2</a>, which I’m including again because technically it happened this week, being posted on Monday. The two pilot episodes have been pushed back a little, as described below.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-54/">The Weekly Cybers #54</a>. Online platforms to cop a Digital Duty of Care, but when? DeepSeek continues to break brains, concerns rise over dependence on Musk’s Starlink, and the Scams Prevention Framework is about to arrive.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>In the third week of this strange US leadership, things are moving so quickly that a weekly summary is starting to become difficult. So this time it’s just a few highlights. Or lowlights. Whatever.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Elon Musk’s DOGE takeover is reportedly being <a href="https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-doge-college-student-takeover">spearheaded by young college grads</a>,” which explains why the website deletion program is so half-arsed.</li>
<li>“Elon Musk and his DOGE team are seeking (and apparently gaining) <a href="https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2025/02/musk-and-treasurys-payment-systems.html">access to Treasury’s computer systems</a> for managing payments.”</li>
<li>There’s <a href="https://www.crisesnotes.com/day-six-of-the-trump-musk-treasury-payments-crisis-of-2025/">more in this detail post</a> by Nathan Tankus.</li>
<li>DOGE employees have been <a href="https://www.404media.co/email/dc4f2fa1-e993-4f30-aea1-b985998bd90a/">ordered to stop using Slack</a> while the agency transitions to a records system that is not subject to the <em>Freedom of Information Act</em> (FOIA).</li>
<li>One DOGE staffers has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/doge-staffer-resigns-over-racist-posts-d9f11a93?st=eMRyR5&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">resigned over racists posts</a>. That should be a gift link to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>.</li>
<li>There’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/musk-federal-government.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uE4.X2HB.dkhmA7KHgjCa&smid=url-share">much more at the <em>New York Times</em></a>. That too should be a gift link.</li>
<li>And the <em>Washington Post</em> says Musk’s ultimate goal is to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/08/doge-musk-goals/">replace the human workforce with machines</a>. (<a href="https://archive.md/raQAt">Liberated copy</a>.)</li>
<li>Elon Musk suggests <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/elon-musk-regulations-default-gone_n_67a12742e4b09a02376043c7">getting rid of all regulations</a> in midnight call.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>I know I’ve mentioned finance expert Patrick Boyle rather a lot lately, but he’s become an essential part of my slow-news approach to understanding what’s going on. This week it’s no exception, with half an hour on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbn_5Klmagw">Trump’s Tariff Wars – What Happens Next?</a>.</li>
<li>Palantir CEO Alex Karp says one of his aims when building the controversial spy?tech company was to <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/04/palantir_karp_comments/">“power the West to its obvious innate superiority”</a>.</li>
<li>“Journey Beyond has announced the first luxury sleeper suites in Australia, designed by Woods Bagot. The ‘Aurora’ and ‘Australis’ suites will join iconic trains The Ghan, Indian Pacific and the Great Southern from April 2026, slated to set a <a href="https://www.woodsbagot.com/global-studio/news/progress/heralding-a-new-era-of-luxury-cross-country-train-travel/">new benchmark in luxury train travel</a> the likes of the Orient Express,” writes Woods Bagot, the company that designed these new carriages.</li>
<li>Birds have been <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/aukeflorian.bsky.social/post/3lhf2cuhehs2g">making nests out of anti-bird spikes</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>It’s going to be a busy week, ideally, so I’ll just list the things which must happen to a fixed schedule and not all my feeble attempts at getting some work done. After all, this Weekly Wrap is already nearly a day late.</p>
<p>Wednesday is a long day centred around a trip down to Sydney, a journey which is a couple of hours each way. There’s three medical and health-related appointments, a meeting, and whatever else I can squeeze in.</p>
</div></div>
<p>Friday will see the writing of <em>The Weekly Cybers</em>, but…</p>
<p>[<strong>Update 12 February 2025:</strong> I’ve clarified some of this week’s stuff from here on.]</p>
<p><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> On Friday I’m <s>also likely to be</s> recording a podcast with columnist and author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham">John Birmingham</a>. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC to spend, please let me know by 9am AEDT this Friday 14 February.</p>
<p>On Saturday I might go to the <a href="https://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/Whats-on/Events-Workshops-and-Social-Calendar/Major-Events/Cabramatta-Lunar-New-Year">Cabramatta Lunar New Year</a> event, Cabramatta being the centre of a thriving Vietnamese community, and this event being a bunch of fun.</p>
<p><s>And on Sunday I might go to <a href="https://www.mardigras.org.au/event/fair-day/">Mardi Gras Fair Day</a>. It’s been a good few years since I’ve been to any Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras events, so I’ve allowed myself to be talked into going this year. Possibly.</s></p>
<p>However the logistics of it all might well mean I choose only one of these, and budget constraints that I go to neither.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7B0BaxsWRJyHCqL6xyEKPg">Australian-Chinese voters’ concerns and priorities</a>, UTS:ACRI, Sydney and online, 27 February 2025. Something to consider before this year’s federal election.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">RESCHEDULED:</mark></strong> Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 8 March 2025. I’ve pushed the recording date back again so we can get some feedback on the first pilot before recording the second. Snarky Platypus has his weekends booked out until March so here we are.</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s two more special-guest episodes of the <em>Edict</em> to come before the end of summer, one of which might well be about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A NSW TrainLink <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_Xplorer">Xplorer DMU</a> stands at Sydney Central station, almost ready for its departure for Canberra, on 19 January 2025. <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00042/">As I’ve said before</a>, this filthy old unit and its stablemates are what serves as the thrice-daily train between one of the nation’s two biggest cities and its capital.]</p>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 766: Apartments supplement a medical theme</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/766/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 02:07:11 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[granville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[us]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[usaid]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37477</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 27 January to Sunday 2 February 2025 was relatively routine. I produced a podcast, amusing with a medical theme, because soon thereafter I had some medical scans done. I’ll let you know the results as soon as they’ve been checked out. I must admit, with it being a short week due … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/766/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 766: Apartments supplement a medical theme"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 27 January to Sunday 2 February 2025 was relatively routine. I produced a podcast, amusing with a medical theme, because soon thereafter I had some medical scans done. I’ll let you know the results as soon as they’ve been checked out.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37477"></span>
<p>I must admit, with it being a short week due to the Australia Day holiday, and me being somewhat more social than usual because I was in Sydney, I didn’t get as much done as I’d have hoped. But I needed it.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00242/">The 9pm Medical Semiotics of Bow Ties, Long Covid, and Poo with Dr Trent Yarwood</a>, recorded on Tuesday evening and posted on Wednesday afternoon.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com/2443520/episodes/16550055-another-untitled-music-podcast-trailer-2">Another Untitled Music Podcast | Trailer 2</a>, recorded on Sunday and posted slightly late on Monday. As mentioned <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/765/">last week</a>, Snarky Platypus and I have already recorded the first of two pilot episodes, but we can’t post it until the music license is finalised. Stay tuned.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-53/">The Weekly Cybers #53</a>. Chinese AI DeepSeek breaks people’s brains, the UK reports on AI safety, Donald Trump dabbles in cryptocurrency, and much more. Posted on Saturday rather than Friday, sorry.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled — not that there’s been either of those things for ages.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>In the second week of Elon Musk’s de facto vice-presidency things are hotting up, and not in a good way.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/us/politics/elon-musk-doge-federal-payments-system.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uE4.-gsQ.Beh8XLWg-KT8&smid=url-share">Elon Musk’s team now has access to Treasury’s payments system</a>, a gift link to the <em>New York Times</em>.</li>
<li>Musk aides have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/">locked workers out of computer systems</a> at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), essentially the US government’s HR department.</li>
<li>Senior USAID security officials have been put on leave after <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/02/politics/usaid-officials-leave-musk-doge/index.html">attempting to refuse Musk’s DOGE access</a> to agency systems. It’s worth noting that USAID is an independent agency, not part of executive government, and they were probably well within their rights to refuse access.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/27/elon-musk-doge-job-listing">Elon Musk’s Doge accused of ‘illegal’ job posting by federal workers’ union</a>, reports the <em>Guardian</em>. “Union leader claims Trump-created organisation is ‘corrupt’ as X owner posts vague request for applications.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/27/bill-gates-elon-musk-far-right">Bill Gates calls Elon Musk’s embrace of far-right politicians abroad ‘insane shit’</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2025/01/29/elon-musk-steering-tesla-brand-crisis">Is Elon Musk steering Tesla into a brand crisis?</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Patrick Boyle has been getting a lot of my attention lately. Here’s his video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSxEycfjr10">The South Sea Bubble – The First Financial Crash</a>. It is relevant today.</li>
<li>From Matt Bevan’s <em>If You’re Listening</em>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhRPA57_iQE">What will Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico cost you?</a>, with some excellent history of Australia’s most to colour TV in 1975.</li>
<li>I didn’t see it before posting <em>The Weekly Cybers</em> yesterday, but it’s well worth reading the <em>Guardian</em>‘s Marina Hyde, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/31/tech-bros-deepseek-china-sam-altman-openai">Oh, I’m sorry, tech bros – did DeepSeek copy your work? I can hardly imagine your distress</a>.</li>
<li>And from Dan Toomey, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fNSNsyhjmQ">Nvestigating Nvidia’s world domination</a>. It was produced before this week’s price drop, but it’s still 100% relevant.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>Monday is about turning the ever-expanding to-do list into a plan for the month, plus some administrivia. Tuesday and Wednesday are then about client work, kinda.</p>
<p>On Thursday I’ll check out the “webinar” <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/election-essentials-data-visualization-for-journalists-tickets-1220755796449">Election essentials: Data visualization for journalists</a>. While I don’t particularly want to visualise election data, I do want to see how it’s done.</p>
<p>On Thursday evening I’ll try to catch <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/event/safeguarding-australian-elections-addressing-ai-enabled-disinformation">Safeguarding Australian elections: Addressing AI-enabled disinformation</a> from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. You can also attend in person in Canberra.</p>
</div></div>
<p>Friday is about <em>The Weekly Cybers</em> and, perhaps, shopping.</p>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<p><s>On the weekend Snarky Platypus and I are recording the second pilot episode of <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>, whether or not we’ve managed to post the first pilot.</s></p>
<p>[<strong>Update 7 February 2025:</strong> Various scheduling challenges mean we’ve had to push back this recording a few more weeks. This is fine. We still have to post the first pilot.</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/Whats-on/Events-Workshops-and-Social-Calendar/Major-Events/Cabramatta-Lunar-New-Year">Cabramatta Lunar New Year</a>, Cabramatta, 15 February 2025.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.mardigras.org.au/event/fair-day/">Mardi Gras Fair Day</a>, Victoria Park, Sydney, 16 February 2025. It’s been a good few years since I’ve been to any Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, so I’ve allowed myself to be talked into going this year.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7B0BaxsWRJyHCqL6xyEKPg">Australian-Chinese voters’ concerns and priorities</a>, UTS:ACRI, Sydney and online, 27 February 2025. Something to consider before this year’s federal election.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">RESCHEDULED:</mark></strong> Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 8 March 2025. I’ve pushed the recording date back agai so we can get some feedback on the first pilot before recording the second. Snarky Platypus has his weekends booked out until March so here we are.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writer and columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Birmingham</a> will likely be joining us for a podcast later in February. And there’s one more special guest episode of the <em>Edict</em> to come before the end of summer, which might well be about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Two modern apartment buildings in Granville, Sydney, photographed on 11 January 2025. These are the same apartments as I posted <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/763/">three weeks ago</a>.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The 9pm Medical Semiotics of Bow Ties, Long Covid, and Poo with Dr Trent Yarwood</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00242/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 05:02:59 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The 9pm Edict]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[appendix]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[bird flu]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[covid]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hiv]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[influenza]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[long covid]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[norovirus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[semiotics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[smallpox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[summer2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[trent yarwood]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37480</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The summer series continues, and it’s more science. Today’s special guest is infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood. In this episode we talk about infectious diseases, of course, from smallpox to long covid, and HIV to measles. But we also discuss the appendix, biological warfare, norovirus, poo, and the medical semiotics of bow ties. This … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00242/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The 9pm Medical Semiotics of Bow Ties, Long Covid, and Poo with Dr Trent Yarwood"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-28547" style="aspect-ratio:16/9;object-fit:cover" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200.jpeg 1200w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200-75x42.jpeg 75w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/trentyarwood-1200-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr Trent Yarwood does not wear a white coat because they are a Bad Thing. (Photo: Brisbane Times. Digital processing: Stilgherrian)</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>The summer series continues, and it’s more science. Today’s special guest is infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37480"></span>
<p>In this episode we talk about infectious diseases, of course, from smallpox to long covid, and HIV to measles. But we also discuss the appendix, biological warfare, norovirus, poo, and the medical semiotics of bow ties.</p>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=63985604&theme=dark&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-logo=true" width="100%" height="133px" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>This podcast is available on <a href="https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/a4549ab5-7361-4eed-ae84-5086bd98703e/The-9pm-Edict">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-9pm-edict/id1506683812">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2541000">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.deezer.com/show/772822">Deezer</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMTUzMDA3OS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-the-9pm-edict-58203054/">iHeartRadio</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/The-9pm-Edict//1//fjq1r8u2mwU_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/YOs7">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://podplayer.net/?podId=1708973">Podcast Addict</a>, <a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-9pm-edict-981201">Podchaser</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/skankmedia">SoundCloud</a>, <a href="spotify:show:5fUUfNSMoiqGflUTrr64vn">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/the9pmedict">Speaker</a>.</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p>
<p>You can also listen to the podcast below, or <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/1530079/episodes/feed">subscribe to the generic podcast feed</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Episode Links</h4>
<ul class="wppb-bookmarks"> <li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://yarwood.id.au/about-trent/">01. Professional biography of Dr Trent Yarwood</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Trent Yarwood is an infectious diseases physician, based in Cairns, Australia. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://eigenmagic.net/@trent">02. Trent (@trent@eigenmagic.net) - eigenmagic.net (Mastodon)</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Drug-resistant infection, digital health, random geekery and rants. Future Wise. "Ninja old guy". Doesn't pity the fool. Personal opinions.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_flies_like_an_arrow;_fruit_flies_like_a_banana">03. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana" is a humorous saying that is used in linguistics as an example of a garden path sentence or syntactic ambiguity, and in word play as an example of punning, double entendre, and antanaclasis.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://bsky.app/profile/ejustin46.bsky.social/post/3lgodduv7kj24">04. ejustin46 — Bluesky</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[27 January 2025] A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS with NO TREATMENT is SPREADING in PA. Norovirus can spread quickly from person to person, so you'll need to clean up the right way to prevent others from getting ill. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-norovirus-contagious-stomach-bug/">05. How to avoid norovirus — and what to do when you get it - WHYY</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[7 January 2025] One expert says the rate of norovirus infections has increased substantially this year compared to years past.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus">06. Norovirus - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Norovirus, also known as Norwalk virus and sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://eigenmagic.net/@NewtonMark/113818263241893440">08. Mark Newton - eigenmagic.net</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 January 2025] @stilgherrian @daedalus ACMA is the Commonwealth's appendix. At some point in the past it might have served some kind of useful purpose, but these days you can mostly ignore it, except when it flares up and causes pain, at which point the best answer is to just remove it.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008102334.htm">09. Appendix Isn't Useless At All: It's A Safe House For Good Bacteria | ScienceDaily</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[8 October 2007] Long denigrated as vestigial or useless, the appendix now appears to have a reason to be - as a "safe house" for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut. The gut is populated with different microbes that help the digestive system break down the foods we eat. In return, the gut provides nourishment and safety to the bacteria. Parker now believes that the immune system cells found in the appendix are there to protect, rather than harm, the good bacteria.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_(anatomy)">10. Appendix (anatomy) - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The appendix (pl.: appendices or appendixes; also vermiform appendix; cecal (or caecal, cæcal) appendix; vermix; or vermiform process) is a finger-like, blind-ended tube connected to the cecum, from which it develops in the embryo</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/24/us-health-agencies-funding-cuts-trump">11. Travel, grant and funding cuts ‘stifling’ US health agencies in new Trump era | US healthcare | The Guardian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 January 2025] Halts to external communications, publishing reports and reviewing and approving research a ‘dramatic shift’.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/news/25432/">12. Here’s How Trump Attacked Reproductive Freedom During His First Week in Office - Reproductive Freedom for All</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[27 January 2025] Despite Trump’s campaign promises to not attack reproductive freedom, he wasted no time using his executive powers to do exactly that. From rescinding Biden-era executive orders that expanded access to reproductive health care, including access to abortion and contraception, to pardoning anti-abortion extremists, Trump took expansive action to roll back reproductive freedom.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/28/what-a-us-exit-from-the-who-means-for-global-healthcare">13. What a US exit from the WHO means for global healthcare | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[28 January 2025] US withdrawal from WHO means missing February’s meeting, reducing influence and hindering global health efforts.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.reactgroup.org/about-us/">14. ReAct</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Created in 2005 ReAct is one of the first international independent networks to articulate the complex nature of antibiotic resistance and its drivers.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics">15. Semiotics - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Semiotics (/?s?mi??t?ks/ SEM-ee-OT-iks) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco#edict00242">16. Umberto Eco - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Umberto Eco OMRI (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00240/">17. The 9pm Full-time Bingo Card Update 2024 with Snarky Platypus</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[31 December 2024] Back at the start of the year, my good friend Snarky Platypus and I created some bingo cards for 2024. Two sets of 25 things that might happen. Well, we’re now at the end of the year, so let’s see how we went.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-10/the-ends-of-aids-as-a-public-health-issue-in-australia/7580852">18. AIDS epidemic no longer a public health issue in Australia, scientists say - ABC News</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[10 July 2016] The nation's top scientists have declared "the end of AIDS" as a public health issue, as Australia joins the ranks of a select few countries which have successfully beaten the epidemic.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/Pre-exposure-prophylaxis-PrEP">19. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) | healthdirect</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an anti-viral medicine taken by someone who does not have HIV to lower their chance of catching HIV.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles">20. Measles - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German masel(e) ("blemish, blood blister"))[11] is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by measles virus.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaposi%27s_sarcoma">21. Kaposi's sarcoma - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a type of cancer that can form masses on the skin, in lymph nodes, in the mouth, or in other organs... Except for Classical KS where there is generally no immune suppression, KS is caused by a combination of immune suppression (such as due to HIV/AIDS) and infection by Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8 – also called KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)).</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_(film)">22. Philadelphia (film) - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Philadelphia is a 1993 American legal drama film directed and produced by Jonathan Demme, written by Ron Nyswaner, and starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Filmed on location in its namesake city, it tells the story of attorney Andrew Beckett (Hanks) who comes to ask a personal injury attorney, Joe Miller (Washington), to help him sue his former employer, who fired him after discovering he was gay and that he had AIDS.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su48a7.htm">23. The Principles of Disease Elimination and Eradication</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[31 December 1999] The Dahlem Workshop discussed the hierarchy of possible public health interventions in dealing with infectious diseases, which were deflned as control, elimination of disease, elimination of infections, eradication, and extinction.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever">24. Dengue fever - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox">25. Smallpox - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980, making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated to date.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Medical_Research_Institute_of_Infectious_Diseases">26. United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID; /ju??sæmr?d/) is the United States Army's main institution and facility for defensive research into countermeasures against biological warfare.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/08/smallpox-vials-found-cardboard-box-maryland-laboratory">27. Forgotten smallpox vials found in cardboard box at Maryland laboratory | Infectious diseases | The Guardian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[9 July 2014] US government scientist clearing out old storage room found decades-old vials, but CDC does not yet know if virus is live.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopreparat">28. Biopreparat - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The All-Union Science Production Association Biopreparat (Russian: ???????????, [b???pr??p??rat], lit.?'bio-medication') was a Soviet agency created in April 1974, which spearheaded the largest and most sophisticated offensive biological warfare program the world has ever seen. It was a vast, ostensibly civilian, network employing 30–40,000 personnel and incorporating five major military-focused research institutes, numerous design and instrument-making facilities, three pilot plants and five dual-use production plants.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Aral_smallpox_incident">29. 1971 Aral smallpox incident - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Aral smallpox incident was a 30 July 1971 outbreak of the viral disease which occurred as a result of a field test at a Soviet biological weapons (BW) facility on an island in the Aral Sea. The incident sickened ten people, of whom three died, and came to widespread public notice only in 2002.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://yarwood.id.au/files/Pestilence.pdf">30. Pestilence by Trent Yarwood (PDF)</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">A presentation from 2016.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_COVID">31. Long COVID - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/2-in-3-people-with-long-covid-likely-still-have-their-symptoms-in-the-second-year-after-infection">32. 2 in 3 people with Long COVID likely still have their symptoms in the 2nd year after infection - Scimex</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[24 January 2025] Following up months later, two-thirds of the Long COVID participants still reported symptoms, and when participants underwent health testing, those still reporting symptoms showed objective signs of poorer health and brain function. The most common persistent symptoms included fatigue, attention/memory problems, breathlessness, and mental health and sleep problems.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/women-may-be-more-likely-than-men-to-get-long-covid">33. Women may be more likely than men to get long COVID - Scimex</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[23 January 2025] US scientists say women may be more likely than men to contract long COVID, with women aged 40-55 most at risk. The team looked at health data from more than 12,000 people and found women were between 1.31 and 1.44 times as likely as men to have the condition overall. They say these findings held true across all age groups except among women aged 18 to 39 years, who had a lower risk at 1.04 times that of men.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endometriosis">34. Endometriosis - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Endometriosis is a disease in which cells like those in the endometrium, the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, grow outside the uterus.</div> </li>
</ul>
<p>If the links aren’t showing up, <a href="https://pinboard.in/u:stilgherrian/t:edict00242">try here</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry</h4>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<p>This episode it’s thanks once more to everyone who supported <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">The 9pm Summer Series 2024</a> crowdfunding campaign.</p>
<p>CONVERSATION TOPICS: Andrew Best, Gay Rainbow Anarchist, Paul McElwee, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Joanna Forbes, kofeyh, Mark Newton, Paul Williams, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU: David Porteous, John Lindsay, Peter Wickins, and Trent Yarwood. This is one of the two new rewards for the Untitled Music Podcast with Snarky Platypus, two pilot episodes of which we’ll produce in January. Send us your three-song playlist and we’ll play a bit of each one and judge your taste.</p>
<p>ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Kennedy, Andrew M, Bic Smith, Bruce Hardie, Frank Filippone, Joop de Wit, Kit Biggs, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael Cowley, Mindy Johnson, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Peter McCrudden, Ric Hayman, Rohan Pearce, Shane Perris, Tom Carding, Tom Carding again, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>RECOMMEND A SONG TO US: Kimberley Heitman and Rhydwyn. This is the other new reward linked to the Untitled Music Podcast. In 25 words or less tell us why we should like a song and we’ll play it and tell you what we think.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: kofeyh.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Ben Harris-Roxas, Matthew Tayloe, Michael Harris, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Ashley Walsh, Daniel O’Connor, Errol Cavit, Garth Kidd, Gurgle Costello (!), James Henstridge, Kiran Castellino, Lindsay, Matthew Crawford, Peter Blakeley, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: Two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>And another 12 people who choose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Series Credits</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/packsViewSingle.php?id=3935">The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian</a> via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=49477">Edict fanfare by neonaeon</a>, via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li>Elephant Stamp theme by <a href="http://twitter.com/vealmince">Joshua Mehlman</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
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<itunes:subtitle>Dr Trent Yarwood does not wear a white coat because they are a Bad Thing. (Photo: Brisbane Times. Digital processing: Stilgherrian) The summer series continues, and it's more science. Today's special guest is infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Y...</itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>Dr Trent Yarwood does not wear a white coat because they are a Bad Thing. (Photo: Brisbane Times. Digital processing: Stilgherrian)<br />
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The summer series continues, and it's more science. Today's special guest is infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood.<br />
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In this episode we talk about infectious diseases, of course, from smallpox to long covid, and HIV to measles. But we also discuss the appendix, biological warfare, norovirus, poo, and the medical semiotics of bow ties.<br />
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This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.<br />
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You can also listen to the podcast below, or subscribe to the generic podcast feed.<br />
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01. Professional biography of Dr Trent Yarwood<br />
Trent Yarwood is an infectious diseases physician, based in Cairns, Australia. <br />
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02. Trent (@trent@eigenmagic.net) - eigenmagic.net (Mastodon)<br />
Drug-resistant infection, digital health, random geekery and rants. Future Wise. "Ninja old guy". Doesn't pity the fool. Personal opinions. <br />
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03. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana - Wikipedia<br />
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana" is a humorous saying that is used in linguistics as an example of a garden path sentence or syntactic ambiguity, and in word play as an example of punning, double entendre, and antanaclasis. <br />
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04. ejustin46 — Bluesky<br />
[27 January 2025] A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS with NO TREATMENT is SPREADING in PA. Norovirus can spread quickly from person to person, so you'll need to clean up the right way to prevent others from getting ill. <br />
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05. How to avoid norovirus — and what to do when you get it - WHYY<br />
[7 January 2025] One expert says the rate of norovirus infections has increased substantially this year compared to years past. <br />
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06. Norovirus - Wikipedia<br />
Norovirus, also known as Norwalk virus and sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. <br />
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08. Mark Newton - eigenmagic.net<br />
[13 January 2025] @stilgherrian @daedalus ACMA is the Commonwealth's appendix. At some point in the past it might have served some kind of useful purpose, but these days you can mostly ignore it, except when it flares up and causes pain, at which point the best answer is to just remove it. <br />
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09. Appendix Isn't Useless At All: It's A Safe House For Good Bacteria | ScienceDaily<br />
[8 October 2007] Long denigrated as vestigial or useless, the appendix now appears to have a reason to be - as a "safe house" for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut. The gut is populated with different microbes that help the digestive system break down the foods we eat. In return, the gut provides nourishment and safety to the bacteria. Parker now believes that the immune system cells found in the appendix are there to protect, rather than harm, the good bacteria. <br />
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10. Appendix (anatomy) - Wikipedia<br />
The appendix (pl.: appendices or appendixes; also vermiform appendix; cecal (or caecal, cæcal) appendix; vermix; or vermiform process) is a finger-like, blind-ended tube connected to the cecum, from which it develops in the embryo <br />
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11. Travel, grant and funding cuts ‘stifling’ US health agencies in new Trump era | US healthcare | The Guardian<br />
[24 January 2025] Halts to external communications,</itunes:summary>
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<title>Weekly Wrap 765: Feed me, said the magpie</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/765/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jan 2025 23:02:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[afd]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[artificial intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[doge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[magpie]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[podcast]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37429</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 January 2025 was both productive and enjoyable, because I’m a hero. Yes, the music podcast thing is starting to happen. And the younger magpies are starting to get quite insistent. Podcasts The 9pm Edict and Another Untitled Music Podcast are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/765/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 765: Feed me, said the magpie"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 January 2025 was both productive and enjoyable, because I’m a hero. Yes, the music podcast thing is starting to happen. And the younger magpies are starting to get quite insistent.</strong></p>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.anotheruntitledmusicpodcast.com/2443520/episodes/16468016-another-untitled-music-podcast-trailer-1">Another Untitled Music Podcast | Trailer 1</a>, recorded by Snarky Platypus and myself in a North Sydney park on 19 January and posted on Friday.</li>
<li>Another Untitled Music Podcast | Pilot 1, recorded on Sunday evening but not yet edited and posted. I still have to finalise at the music license and get the pod into all the directories. But it was a fun episode and I think you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the music selections.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider. And yes, all this needs to be updated.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-52/">The Weekly Cybers #52</a>. Trump’s executive orders and Musk’s sookage echo around the world, the Tech Policy Design Institute is launched in Canberra, Services Australia keeps on keeping on with debt recovery, and much more.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled — not that there’s been either of those things for ages.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>What a week! In his first days as POTUS’s First Buddy, Elon Musk has of course managed to court controversy with his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/21/the-gesture-speaks-for-itself-germans-divided-over-musks-apparent-nazi-salute">awkward gesture</a>, as some have put it. He is very much the main character, and Donald Trump won’t like that.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“US tech billionaire Elon Musk has again <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-26/elon-musk-supports-afd-party-again-/104860812">endorsed the far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland</a> (AfD) party in Germany ahead of elections.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/26/elon-musk-peter-thiel-apartheid-south-africa">How the roots of the ‘PayPal mafia’ extend to apartheid South Africa</a>, writes the <em>Guardian</em>. “Elon Musk grew up with the privileges of a stratified racial order and Peter Thiel lived in a city that venerated Hitler.”</li>
<li>From <em>The Conversation</em>, “Elon Musk now has an office in the White House. <a href="https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-now-has-an-office-in-the-white-house-whats-his-political-game-plan-248011">What’s his political game plan?</a>“</li>
<li>Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (DOGE) was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit">sued</a> within minutes of Donald Trump being sworn in.</li>
<li>“Some of President Donald Trump’s key aides and allies are <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/23/trump-staff-musk-conflict-00200311">furious with Elon Musk</a> for publicly trashing his $500 billion artificial intelligence mega-deal,” reports <em>Politico</em>.</li>
<li>From Al Jazeera, “Elon Musk believes he got Trump elected. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/21/elon-musk-believes-he-got-trump-elected-now-hes-coming-for-europe">Now he’s coming for Europe</a>.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/22/elon-musk-admits-cheating-at-video-games-chat-transcript-appears-to-show">Elon Musk admits cheating at video games, chat transcript appears to show</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<p>For some reason it’s all videos this week. You like videos, don’t you?</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Diane Morgan (Philomena Cunk) and Alistair Green (Ted Lasso) star in an award-winning sci-fi short film, <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOdtv8PDBbQ">Thawed</a></em>.</li>
<li>Dan Toomey presents <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrmHvE3aKM4">Helping a 4th grader explain her loser dad’s stupid hedge fund job lol</a>.</li>
<li>Billy Hume looks and sounds like he’s shouting “Get off my lawn!” but there’s a lot of knowledge behind this video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZgPKGVJrdc">The Real Reason Why Todays Music Is Starting To Sound The Same</a>. Stay with him. He knows stuff.</li>
<li>Please be enjoying Nile Rodgers and CHIC playing an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRERgcQe-fQ">NPR Tiny Desk Concert</a>. Outstanding. </li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>Monday is the public holiday for Australia Day, which was actually on Sunday, but Australians can’t cope with not having a weekday off work. I plan to be social, run some errands, and take the train back to the Blue Mountains.</p>
<p>On Tuesday evening I’m recording an episode of <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast with infectious diseases physician <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/tag/trent-yarwood/">Dr Trent Yarwood</a>. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 10am AEDT that day, Tuesday 28 January.</p>
<p>The finished episode will be posted the following day, probably, which means that Wednesday will be about podcast post-production.</p>
<p>On Thursday afternoon I’m heading to Sydney for another weekend away from the Blue Mountains.</p>
<p>On Friday, as well as writing <em>The Weekly Cybers</em>, there’s some medical things to deal: getting some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_CT_angiography">coronary CT angiography</a> and a second <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/diseases/mpox-monkeypox/vaccines">mpox vaccination</a>. The two are not related.</p>
<p>In between all that I really must clock up some billable hours for clients. It’s been a tough summer. And, assuming I get the paperwork done, I’ll edit and post the first pilot episode of <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> — although increasingly it looks like that will have to be shunted back another week.</p>
</div></div>
<p>[<strong>Update 30 January 2025:</strong> I’ve just added that that last bit to the preceding paragraph. This week is running away from me.]</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/event/safeguarding-australian-elections-addressing-ai-enabled-disinformation">Safeguarding Australian elections: Addressing AI-enabled disinformation</a>, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra and online, 6 February 2025.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">RESCHEDULED:</mark></strong> Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 8 February 2025. I’ve pushed the recording date back a week so we can get some feedback on the first pilot before recording the second.</li>
</ul>
<p>There will soon be an episode of the <em>Edict</em> about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth, unless that turns out to be true. Writer and columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Birmingham</a> will likely be joining us in February. And there’s one more special guest episode to come before the end of summer.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A juvenile <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie">Australian magpie</a> (<em>Gymnorhina tibicen</em>), still in its lighter grey feathers rather than black, its orange eyes staring straight into the camera. This bird is probably around two years old. Photographed on 23 January 2025.]</p>
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<item>
<title>Weekly Wrap 764: The purple fan-flower of productivity</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/764/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Jan 2025 10:38:47 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[apple]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sleep]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tiktok]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tim hunkin]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37383</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It’s been a rainy week, this week of Monday 12 to Sunday 19 January 2025. But despite the weather, I made a podcast, planned the structure of another, and produced a newsletter — though that still didn’t include everything that needed doing. The main reason was that I slept for almost the entirety of Thursday. … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/764/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 764: The purple fan-flower of productivity"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>It’s been a rainy week, this week of Monday 12 to Sunday 19 January 2025. But despite the weather, I made a podcast, planned the structure of another, and produced a newsletter — though that still didn’t include everything that needed doing.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37383"></span>
<p>The main reason was that I slept for almost the entirety of Thursday. You may well have noticed that I have quite a few sleep problems. Well, I learned recently that some of the strategies I’ve tried in the past have since been improved, so I’m looking at re-addressing things. Stay tuned.</p>
<p>However I did meet with Snarky Platypus to plan <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>, as it’s now going to be called. It turned out there’s already an <em><a href="https://musicpodkast.podbean.com">Untitled Music PodKast</a></em> and it felt rude to match it so closely, even though they haven’t posted since 2022. In any event, there’s already a <em>lot</em> of podcasts with “untitled” in the title, so we needed to change it a bit.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00241/">The 9pm Colonisation of Mars and the Universe with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow</a>, recorded on Monday night and posted on Tuesday night.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-51/">The Weekly Cybers #51</a>. Meta continues its swerve to the right, NBN to dump fibre-to-the-node, Services Australia gets a new minister, and much more.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>With mere hours remaining until Donald Trump is sworn in as POTUS for the second time, the main focus on Elon Musk is on now he’ll behave as Trump’s “First Buddy”. Here’s just a taste. I’m sure there will be much more in the coming days.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/elon-musk-speak-trump-inauguration-weekend-rally-rcna188047">Elon Musk to speak at Trump’s inauguration weekend rally</a>. “The rally in downtown Washington on the day before Trump’s inauguration ceremony will also feature Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock, and Village People,” because of course it will.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/us/politics/elon-musk-white-house-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU4.PsER.xzkwBoq1GRRW&smid=url-share">Elon Musk is expected to use office space in the White House complex</a>, reports the <em>New York Times</em> (gift link).</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/13/china-tiktok-sale-elon-musk">Chinese officials reportedly discuss sale of TikTok in US to Elon Musk</a>, although TikTok itself says it’s “pure fiction”.</li>
<li>From <em>The Conversation</em>, “Elon Musk is elevating Trump’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-is-elevating-trumps-foreign-policy-of-deliberate-disruption-to-a-new-level-247159">foreign policy of deliberate disruption</a> to a new level.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/12/canada-election-elon-musk-justin-trudeau">Canada’s election is about to have an Elon Musk problem with Trudeau’s exit</a>.</li>
<li>Also from <em>The Conversation</em>, “Albanese says our laws would stop Elon Musk interfering in the Australian election. <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-says-our-laws-would-stop-elon-musk-interfering-in-the-australian-election-in-truth-theres-little-to-stop-him-247361">In truth, there’s little to stop him</a>.”</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Patrick Boyle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfbfaA8kriI">dissects the numbers</a> of Trump’s plan for mass deportations, showing how this would fuck up America in so many different ways.</li>
<li>Decades ago British cartoonist Tim Hunkin ended up making a TV series titled <em>The Secret Life of Machines</em>, explaining in a distinctly quirky style the stories of the refrigerator and the radio, the sewing machine and the quartz watch. He’s now posted links to <a href="https://www.timhunkin.com/a243_Secret-Life-of-Machines-intro.htm">all the restored videos</a>.</li>
<li>Like many people I was appalled by the number of prisoners fighting California’s wildfires, some 30% in the total force. But this <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/hahnscratch.bsky.social/post/3lfqlxqafkc25">thread by former incarcerated firefighter</a> Matthew Hahn has caused me to rethink things.</li>
<li>Take a look at the <a href="https://512pixels.net/2024/03/apple-jonathan-modular-concept/">Apple Jonathon</a>, a 1980s concept computer that never shipped.</li>
<li>Voice artist SungWon Cho shows us how he can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-3rq9p-5-Oo">hit every high note in <em>Take On Me</em></a>, the A-ha song.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>I won’t micromanage the first part of the week, but it will include some client work (no really it will), podcast planning for both <em>The 9pm Edict</em> and <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>, and a variety of smaller tasks. There may even be a small solo episode of the <em>Edict</em>.</p>
<p>On Friday, just like last week, I’ll be writing <em>The Weekly Cybers</em> as well as heading down to Sydney for the weekend. I love being able to work on the train.</p>
<p>On <s>Saturday</s> Sunday, Snarky Platypus and I will be recording the first pilot episode of <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em>. <s>Assuming the music license can be organised in time, it’ll be posted on Sunday — which also happens to be Australia Day.</s></p>
<p><strong>[Update 25 January 2025:</strong> Paperwork! Not only have I been tardy with the music license, I also forgot that it takes around a week to get a podcast listed in all the directories. So we’ll record the first pilot episode on Sunday, but post it when all those other things are organised, perhaps around a week later. Stay tuned.]</p>
</div></div>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast recording with infectious diseases physician <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/tag/trent-yarwood/">Dr Trent Yarwood</a>, 28 January 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 10am AEDT that day. The finished episode will be posted the following day, probably.</li>
<li>Sydney days, 31 January to 2 February 2025. Just another excuse to spend some time away from the Blue Mountains.</li>
<li>Podcast recording for <em>Another Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 1 February 2025 (TBC). The finished episode is likely to be posted a day or two later, assuming all the administrivia is done.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/event/safeguarding-australian-elections-addressing-ai-enabled-disinformation">Safeguarding Australian elections: Addressing AI-enabled disinformation</a>, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra and online, 6 February 2025.</li>
</ul>
<p>There will soon be an episode about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth, unless that turns out to be true. Writer and columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Birmingham</a> will likely be joining us in February. And there’s one more special guest episode to come before the end of summer.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaevola_ramosissima">purple fan-flower</a> (<em>Scaevola ramosissima</em>) photographed at <a href="https://bunjareecottages.com.au">Bunjaree Cottages</a> on 16 January 2023.]</p>
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The 9pm Colonisation of Mars and the Universe with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00241/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:34:12 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The 9pm Edict]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[alice gorman]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[arthur c clarke]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[blue origin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[kenya]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mars]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nasa]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[new glenn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[new shepard]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rami mandow]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[robert heinlein]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[space junk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spacex]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[summer2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[uranus]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37369</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Happy New Year. It’s time for another look at space news, I reckon, so once more my special guests are space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk from Flinders University, and astrophysicist and founder of SpaceAustralia.com Rami Mandow. In this episode we talk about Mars, including its role as both a source of … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00241/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The 9pm Colonisation of Mars and the Universe with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-34368" style="aspect-ratio:16/9;object-fit:cover" srcset="https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200.jpeg 1200w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200-350x197.jpeg 350w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200-600x338.jpeg 600w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200-75x42.jpeg 75w, https://stilgherrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/alicerami-1200-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Plotting the overthrow of the space colonies! Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian)</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong><strong><strong>Happy New Year. It’s time for another look at space news, I reckon, so once more my special guests are space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk from Flinders University, and astrophysicist and founder of SpaceAustralia.com Rami Mandow.</strong></strong></strong></p>
<span id="more-37369"></span>
<p>In this episode we talk about Mars, including its role as both a source of aliens and as a potential new home for humans. That does mean we dissect Elon Musk’s comments about colonising Mars.</p>
<p>We also talk about the space debris that fell on Kenya earlier this month— or was it something else? And we discuss Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicle which failed to launch on Monday, the future of human civilisation, early science fiction, O’Neill cylinders, and the pronunciation of Uranus.</p>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=63684945&theme=dark&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-logo=true" width="100%" height="133px" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>This podcast is available on <a href="https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/a4549ab5-7361-4eed-ae84-5086bd98703e/The-9pm-Edict">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-9pm-edict/id1506683812">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2541000">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.deezer.com/show/772822">Deezer</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMTUzMDA3OS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-the-9pm-edict-58203054/">iHeartRadio</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/The-9pm-Edict//1//fjq1r8u2mwU_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/YOs7">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://podplayer.net/?podId=1708973">Podcast Addict</a>, <a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-9pm-edict-981201">Podchaser</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/skankmedia">SoundCloud</a>, <a href="spotify:show:5fUUfNSMoiqGflUTrr64vn">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/the9pmedict">Speaker</a>.</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p>
<p>You can also listen to the podcast below, or <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/1530079/episodes/feed">subscribe to the generic podcast feed</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Episode Links</h4>
<ul class="wppb-bookmarks"> <li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Gorman">01. Alice Gorman - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Alice Gorman (born 1964) FSA is an Australian archaeologist, heritage consultant, and lecturer, who is best known for pioneering work in the field of space archaeology and her Space Age Archaeology blog.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://bsky.app/profile/cosmicrami.com">02. CosmicRami ????????? (@cosmicrami.com) — Bluesky</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Astronomer, driving The Dish? to study pulsars in my PhD. Also, founded SpaceAustralia.com. Also, love a bit of astrophotography. Also, do everything with my little mate, Max. Also, Ultra-Gay. He/Him. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNvZTLUVdKw">03. Massive mysterious metal ring crashes into Kenyan village | REUTERS - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[3 January 2025] A metallic object, likely space junk, crashed in Kenya's Mukuku village. The massive ring, weighing approximately 1100 lbs and about 8 feet in diameter, is believed to be from a rocket launch vehicle. The Kenya Space Agency is investigating its origin and impact.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyn9dgdwe3o">04. Space junk metal ring baffles residents and sparks concern in Kenya village</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[12 January 2025] A massive round metal object had plummeted from above landing on farmland near a dry riverbed - and it was piping hot.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://futurism.com/metal-ring-kenya-space-junk">05. Expert Not Convinced Mysterious, 8-Foot Ring of "Space Junk" in Kenya Actually Came from Space</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[11 January 2025] What the hell is it?</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://bsky.app/profile/planet4589.bsky.social/post/3lezeu2zodk22">06. Jonathan McDowell | Bluesky</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[6 January 2025] Well, my skepticism about the Kenya space debris may have been wrong. I reviewed the data again, concluding that Space Force estimates of the Ariane V184 upper stage reentry are unreliable; an association with this object can't be ruled out.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/skylab">07. Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia - IEEE Spectrum</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[30 April 2023] On 14 May 1973, a modified Saturn V rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying Skylab, the United States’ first space station. Six years later, in the early hours of 12 July 1979, Skylab reentered Earth’s atmosphere in a fiery blaze, spreading debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_launches_in_July%E2%80%93December_2024#December">08. List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2024 - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">This article lists orbital and suborbital launches planned for the second half of the year 2024, including launches planned for 2024 without a specific launch date. [That said, it does give the actual launch times down to the second.]</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/more-space-junk-found-in-nsw-snowy-mountains-near-tumbarumba/101362020">09. Fourth piece of SpaceX debris found in NSW Snowy Mountains, near Tumbarumba - ABC News</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[23 August 2022] It appears another piece of space debris has been found in the NSW Snowy Mountains believed to belong to SpaceX. A few pieces have been found so far, including two pieces near Dalgety and one near Jindabyne, after residents in the region heard a loud bang on July 9. The latest fragment has been discovered near Tumbarumba, which cattle farmer Jordan Hobbs encountered while feeding his livestock on August 13. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro">10. Tom Lehrer - Wernher von Braun - YouTube</a></div>
</li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_inaccessibility#Oceanic_pole_of_inaccessibility">11. Pole of inaccessibility - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The oceanic pole of inaccessibility, also known as Point Nemo, is located at roughly 48°52.6?S 123°23.6?W and is the place in the ocean that is farthest from land. It represents the solution to the "longest swim" problem.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNGiWC0CH6c&list=OLAK5uy_mKBSqKjHAO0YRat-PTjQO5cIXKdMJvcYw">12. The Eve of the War - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Eve of the War · Jeff Wayne · Liam Neeson · Gary Barlow from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds - The New Generation (2012).</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Wayne's_Musical_Version_of_The_War_of_the_Worlds#Personnel">13. Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells in a rock opera style with a rock band, orchestra, narrator, and leitmotifs to carry the story and lyrics that express the feelings of the various characters</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.space.com/35281-january-full-moon.html">14. January full moon 2025: The Wolf Moon hides Mars | Space</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[4 January 2025] The full Wolf Moon of January 2025 occurs on Jan. 13 and will pass in front of Mars during a lunar occultation visible from North America.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars">15. Mars - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_canals">16. Martian canals - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was erroneously believed that there were "canals" on the planet Mars. These were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions from 60° north to 60° south latitude on Mars, observed by astronomers using early telescopes without photography... They were first described by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli during the opposition of 1877, and attested to by later observers. Schiaparelli called these canali ("channels"), which was mis-translated into English as "canals"... During the 1894 opposition, the idea that Schiaparelli's canali were really irrigation canals made by intelligent beings was first hinted at, and then adopted as the only intelligible explanation, by American astronomer Percival Lowell and a few others.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gernsback">17. Hugo Gernsback - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Hugo Gernsback (/????rnzbæk/; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish American editor and magazine publisher whose publications included the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with the novelists Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, he is sometimes called "The Father of Science Fiction".</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireball_XL5#edict00241">18. Fireball XL5 - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Fireball XL5 is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of Fireball XL5, a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, XL5 defends Earth from interstellar threats while encountering a wide variety of alien civilisations.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Honeymoon_in_Space">19. A Honeymoon in Space - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">"A Honeymoon in Space" is a 1901 novel by George Griffith. It was originally serialized in abridged form in Pearson's Magazine in 1900 under the title "Stories of Other Worlds". The scientific romance story depicts a tour of the Solar System, a type of story that was in vogue at the time.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19476">19. A Honeymoon in Space by George Chetwynd Griffith | Project Gutenberg</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[Free downloads of the full novel in various formats.]</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1847732923686146425">20. Mario Nawfal on X, quoting Elon Musk (with video)</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[20 October 2024] Mars may one day come back and save Earth, just like America came back and saved Europe and saved the rest of the world three times last century. Three times, America saved the world last century. And what a disaster would have been if America had not existed.
And one day, Mars may play that same role on Earth.”</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsYKhVtvm3k">21. Full Video: Elon Musk Town Hall in Philadelphia (Oct. 18) - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[20 October 2024] Elon Musk participated in a town hall event in Philadelphia on Oct. 18, where he addressed various topics and answered audience questions.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Rhawn_Joseph">22. Rhawn Joseph - RationalWiki</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Rhawn Gabriel Joseph is an American author, internet kook, ufologist and promoter of pseudoscience known for his controversial views on the origin of life on Earth and the origin of the Universe. He has filed numerous lawsuits against NASA, Amazon.com, academic publisher Springer and the City of San Jose which have been dismissed. Joseph is involved with the pseudojournal Journal of Cosmology and is the author of "Astrobiology: The Origins of Life and the Death of Darwinism", published in 2001</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rhawn-Joseph">24. Rhawn JOSEPH | Professor | Research profile</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Rhawn Gabriel Joseph currently works at Cosmology.com. Their current project is Extrasterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere and Lower Atmosphere and Ocean.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress">25. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar colony's revolt against absentee rule from Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses libertarian ideals. It is respected for its credible presentation of a comprehensively imagined future human society on both the Earth and the Moon.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_City_on_Mars">26. A City on Mars - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">"A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?" is a 2023 popular science book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. It covers the current state of knowledge of space settlement given changes in the economics of space travel in the 2010s and 2020s, with a particular focus on challenges that the authors consider unresolved or underestimated.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://theconversation.com/george-h-w-bushs-overlooked-legacy-in-space-exploration-108148">27. George H.W. Bush’s overlooked legacy in space exploration</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[5 December 2018] On July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, President George H. W. Bush stood on the steps of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and, backed by the Apollo 11 crew, announced his new Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). He believed that this new program would put America on a track to return to the moon and make an eventual push to Mars.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040114-3.html">28. President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[14 January 2004] Today we set a new course for America's space program. We will give NASA a new focus and vision for future exploration. We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond our own.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/13/mars-vs-moon-elon-musk-congress-fight-00197610">29. Moon over Mars? Congress is determined to kill Elon Musk’s space dream. - POLITICO</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 January 2015] The Trump ally wants the U.S. to forgo the lunar surface for the red planet. He faces one problem: Congress.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://tychogirl.wordpress.com/2016/04/02/climbing-olympus-mons/">30. Climbing Olympus Mons | tychogirl</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[2 April 2016] A poem.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/14/qantas-flights-delayed-spacex-falling-debris-sydney-to-johannesburg?CMP=aus_bsky">31. Qantas South Africa flights delayed by falling debris from SpaceX rockets, airline says | Qantas | The Guardian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[14 December 2025] Delays on Sydney-Johannesburg route after advice from US government over debris from SpaceX rocket re-entry in southern Indian Ocean</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/21/1232639289/international-space-station-retirement-space-stations-future">32. NASA will retire the ISS soon. Here's what comes next. : NPR</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[21 February 2024] Since its first modules launched at the end of 1998, the International Space Station has been orbiting 250 miles above Earth. But at the end of 2030, NASA plans to crash the ISS into the ocean after it is replaced with a new space station, a reminder that nothing within Earth's orbit can stay in space forever.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://physics.weber.edu/carroll/archimedes/lever.htm">33. Law of the Lever</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">"Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the earth."</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://stilgherrian.com/edict/00238/">34. The 9pm Major Irritation (and certain other amusements) – The 9pm Edict</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[19 December 2024] In this episode Stilkgherrian talks about his recent injuries and related hospital visits, the history of those hospitals, content warnings, dildos in Texas, and some old anti-vaxxers.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Glenn">35. New Glenn - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the American company Blue Origin. The rocket features a partially reusable, two-stage design with a diameter of 7 meters (23 ft). The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, while the second stage relies on two BE-3U engines, all designed and built in-house by Blue Origin. It is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36, with future missions planned from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 9.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kR53vTrCiY">36. Blue Origin postpones inaugural launch of New Glenn rocket indefinitely - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 January 2025] Blue Origin postpones inaugural launch of New Glenn rocket indefinitely.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission">37. New Glenn NG-1 Mission Updates | Blue Origin</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 January 2025] 9:07 p.m. EST / 02:07 UTC: We’re moving our NG-1 launch to no earlier than Thursday, January 16. The three-hour launch window opens at 1 a.m. EST (0600 UTC).</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Shepard">38. New Shepard - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard, who became the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings. Additionally, it is also capable of carrying humans and customer payloads into a sub-orbital trajectory.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn#edict00241">39. John Glenn - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a U.S. Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77.
</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard">40. Alan Shepard - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/10/meta-ending-dei-program">41. Meta terminates its DEI programs days before Trump inauguration | US news | The Guardian</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[11 January 2025] Meta, fresh off announcement to end factchecking, follows McDonald’s and Walmart in rolling back diversity initiatives.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/mark-zuckerberg-tells-joe-rogan-that-masculinity-is-back/485481">42. 'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression | Entrepreneur</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[13 January 2025] On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91KTUAXuzqc">43. Blue Origin: For the Benefit of Earth - YouTube</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[20 April 2023] Earth is the best planet. Yet, its resources are limited. In space, there are abundant resources that will help humanity preserve Earth for future generations. We can go to space for what we need, and move the most polluting industries from Earth into the solar system where they can't stress our environment. Space is the long-term solution for Earth, humanity's blue origin. Join the mission.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale">44. Kardashev scale - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The Kardashev scale (Russian: ????? ?????????, romanized: shkala Kardashyova) is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, and was named after him.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere#edict00241">45. Dyson sphere - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder">46. O'Neill cylinder - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">An O'Neill cylinder (also called an O'Neill colony) is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book "The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space". O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for the 21st century, using materials extracted from the Moon and later from asteroids.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/this-70s-artist-painted-our-future-in-space/">47. This '70s Artist Painted Our Future In Space</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">[19 October 2015] Forty years ago, artist Rick Guidice teamed up with NASA scientists to envision the space civilizations of the future.</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://nss.org/o-neill-cylinder-space-settlement/">48. O’Neill Cylinder Space Settlement – NSS</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">The O’Neill Cylinder, designed by Princeton physicist Gerard K. O’Neill, is considerably larger than the other two designs, and is referred to as an “Island 3” or 3rd-generation space colony. The configuration consists of a pair of cylinders, each 20 miles long and 4 miles in diameter. Each cylinder has three land areas alternating with three windows, and three mirrors that open and close to form a day-night cycle inside. The total land area inside a pair of cylinders is about 500 square miles and can house several million people. The cylinders are always in pairs which rotate in opposite directions, making it much easier to keep them aimed toward the sun. For more information see O’Neill’s original paper on The Colonization of Space (Physics Today, 1974).</div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_with_Rama">49. Rendezvous with Rama - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Rendezvous with Rama is a 1973 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a 50-by-20-kilometre (31-by-12-mile) cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its mysteries. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards upon its release, and is regarded as one of the cornerstones in Clarke's bibliography. </div> </li>
<li class="wppb-bookmark">
<div class="wppb-header"><a class="wppb-title" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengers_(2016_film)#Reception">50. Passengers (2016 film) - Wikipedia</a></div>
<div class="wppb-description">Passengers is a 2016 American science-fiction romantic film directed by Morten Tyldum, written by Jon Spaihts and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. The supporting cast features Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, and Andy García. The film follows two passengers on an interstellar spacecraft carrying thousands of people to a colony 120-years-traveling-distance from Earth, when the two are awakened 90 years early from their induced hibernation.</div> </li>
</ul>
<p>If the links aren’t showing up, <a href="https://pinboard.in/u:stilgherrian/t:edict00241">try here</a>.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry</h4>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<p>This episode it’s thanks once more to everyone who supported <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/summer2024">The 9pm Summer Series 2024</a> crowdfunding campaign.</p>
<p>CONVERSATION TOPICS: Andrew Best, Gay Rainbow Anarchist, Paul McElwee, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Joanna Forbes, kofeyh, Mark Newton, Paul Williams, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU: David Porteous, John Lindsay, Peter Wickins, and Trent Yarwood. This is one of the two new rewards for the Untitled Music Podcast with Snarky Platypus, two pilot episodes of which we’ll produce in January. Send us your three-song playlist and we’ll play a bit of each one and judge your taste.</p>
<p>ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Kennedy, Andrew M, Bic Smith, Bruce Hardie, Frank Filippone, Joop de Wit, Kit Biggs, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael Cowley, Mindy Johnson, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Peter McCrudden, Ric Hayman, Rohan Pearce, Shane Perris, Tom Carding, Tom Carding again, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>RECOMMEND A SONG TO US: Kimberley Heitman and Rhydwyn. This is the other new reward linked to the Untitled Music Podcast. In 25 words or less tell us why we should like a song and we’ll play it and tell you what we think.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: kofeyh.</p>
<p>PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Ben Harris-Roxas, Matthew Tayloe, Michael Harris, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Ashley Walsh, Daniel O’Connor, Errol Cavit, Garth Kidd, Gurgle Costello (!), James Henstridge, Kiran Castellino, Lindsay, Matthew Crawford, Peter Blakeley, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: Two people who choose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>And another 12 people who choose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Series Credits</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/packsViewSingle.php?id=3935">The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian</a> via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=49477">Edict fanfare by neonaeon</a>, via <a href="http://www.freesound.org/">The Freesound Project</a>.</li>
<li>Elephant Stamp theme by <a href="http://twitter.com/vealmince">Joshua Mehlman</a>.</li>
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<itunes:subtitle>Plotting the overthrow of the space colonies! Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian) Happy New Year. It's time for another look at space news, I reckon,</itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>Plotting the overthrow of the space colonies! Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian)<br />
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Happy New Year. It's time for another look at space news, I reckon, so once more my special guests are space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk from Flinders University, and astrophysicist and founder of SpaceAustralia.com Rami Mandow.<br />
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In this episode we talk about Mars, including its role as both a source of aliens and as a potential new home for humans. That does mean we dissect Elon Musk's comments about colonising Mars.<br />
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We also talk about the space debris that fell on Kenya earlier this month— or was it something else? And we discuss Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle which failed to launch on Monday, the future of human civilisation, early science fiction, O'Neill cylinders, and the pronunciation of Uranus.<br />
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This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.<br />
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You can also listen to the podcast below, or subscribe to the generic podcast feed.<br />
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Episode Links<br />
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01. Alice Gorman - Wikipedia<br />
Alice Gorman (born 1964) FSA is an Australian archaeologist, heritage consultant, and lecturer, who is best known for pioneering work in the field of space archaeology and her Space Age Archaeology blog. <br />
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02. CosmicRami ????????? (@cosmicrami.com) — Bluesky<br />
Astronomer, driving The Dish? to study pulsars in my PhD. Also, founded SpaceAustralia.com. Also, love a bit of astrophotography. Also, do everything with my little mate, Max. Also, Ultra-Gay. He/Him. <br />
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03. Massive mysterious metal ring crashes into Kenyan village | REUTERS - YouTube<br />
[3 January 2025] A metallic object, likely space junk, crashed in Kenya's Mukuku village. The massive ring, weighing approximately 1100 lbs and about 8 feet in diameter, is believed to be from a rocket launch vehicle. The Kenya Space Agency is investigating its origin and impact. <br />
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04. Space junk metal ring baffles residents and sparks concern in Kenya village<br />
[12 January 2025] A massive round metal object had plummeted from above landing on farmland near a dry riverbed - and it was piping hot. <br />
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05. Expert Not Convinced Mysterious, 8-Foot Ring of "Space Junk" in Kenya Actually Came from Space<br />
[11 January 2025] What the hell is it? <br />
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06. Jonathan McDowell | Bluesky<br />
[6 January 2025] Well, my skepticism about the Kenya space debris may have been wrong. I reviewed the data again, concluding that Space Force estimates of the Ariane V184 upper stage reentry are unreliable; an association with this object can't be ruled out. <br />
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07. Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia - IEEE Spectrum<br />
[30 April 2023] On 14 May 1973, a modified Saturn V rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying Skylab, the United States’ first space station. Six years later, in the early hours of 12 July 1979, Skylab reentered Earth’s atmosphere in a fiery blaze, spreading debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. <br />
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08. List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2024 - Wikipedia<br />
This article lists orbital and suborbital launches planned for the second half of the year 2024, including launches planned for 2024 without a specific launch date. [That said, it does give the actual launch times down to the second.] <br />
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<title>Weekly Wrap 763: Getting to the heart of the matter</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/763/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2025 10:37:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fatigue]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[granville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[heart]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mpox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nigel farage]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 January 2025 was less productive than I’d hoped, but at least I got some planning done. That and I saw a very nice cardiologist. The fatigue came from having had an mpox vaccination. According to the US Centres for Disease Control, about one in three people have a … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/763/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 763: Getting to the heart of the matter"</span></a></p>]]></description>
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<p><strong>My week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 January 2025 was less productive than I’d hoped, but at least I got some planning done. That and I saw a very nice cardiologist.</strong></p>
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<p>The fatigue came from having had an <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mpox/Pages/book-a-vaccine.aspx">mpox vaccination</a>. According to the US Centres for Disease Control, about one in three people have a reaction significant enough to cause them to skip work or social activities. I already have long-standing sleep and fatigue problems, so this was enough to push me over the limit. Oh well. I’m back now.</p>
<p>As for the cardiologist, well, after I fell on my face back in early December, the wonderful people at St Vincent’s Hospital noticed a couple of interesting things. Nothing to be concerned about immediately, but my GP subsequently noted that I’m a certain age and somewhat unfit — he keeps saying that for some reason — so maybe it’s time for a proper cardiac check. So here I go, making solid use of Australia’s medical system.</p>
<p>Nothing untoward turned up in the initial ECG. I’ll post updates as the process unfolds.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/stilgherrian/archive/the-weekly-cybers-50/">The Weekly Cybers #50</a>. In the first edition for 2025, Australia’s treasurer talks up cryptocurrency, Meta dumps fact-checking and loosens hateful conduct rules, federal agencies’ cybersecurity goes backwards, and more.</li>
</ul>
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<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts, Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>Mr Musk has certainly been flexing his political muscles lately, yet his new best buddy Mr Trump is still nine days from becoming POTUS for the second time. So much ketamine, so little time!</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-06/musk-backflips-on-support-for-farage/104786950">Elon Musk calls for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to quit</a>.</li>
<li>UK prime minister Keir Starmer <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-07/article-keir-starmer-musk-reform-party-latest/104791100">slams ‘lies’</a> after online attacks from Elon Musk, so in a way Musk is a non-partisan political annoyance. In a way.</li>
<li>The Chancellor of Germany says <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/05/dont-feed-the-troll-german-chancellor-responds-to-elon-musk-comments">‘Don’t feed the troll’</a>.</li>
<li>“A growing number of MEPs have questioned whether Musk’s posts <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/tech/news/meps-call-for-debate-on-elon-musks-abuse-of-social-networks/">breach the EU’s content moderation law</a>.”</li>
<li>From <em>The Conversation</em>, “Elon Musk and the tech titans v the rest of Maga — <a href="https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-and-the-tech-titans-v-the-rest-of-maga-heres-where-the-big-splits-could-happen-246643">here’s where the big splits could happen</a>.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.adnews.com.au/news/elon-musk-goes-nuclear-on-the-sydney-morning-herald">Elon Musk goes nuclear on the <em>Sydney Morning Herald</em></a>.</li>
<li>Telstra has <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telstra-to-trial-satellite-to-mobile-services-with-starlink-614240" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">signed an agreement with SpaceX Starlink</a> to provide satellite-to-mobile services, starting with SMS this year.</li>
<li>And finally, a daft comment. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/09/elon-musk-data-ai-training-artificial-intelligence">Elon Musk says all human data for AI training ‘exhausted’</a>. I suspect he only means textual information that’s already in digital form, readily available, and in English. “The only way to then supplement that is with synthetic data where … it will sort of write an essay or come up with a thesis and then will grade itself and … go through this process of self-learning,” he said. </li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
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<li>It’s always struck me as ridiculous that on the US poorly trained prisoners are rounded up to fight wildfires. In the current Los Angeles area fires, some 30% of those on a ground are convict labour. As usual, <em>Teen Vogue</em> is on the case with <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/wildfire-camp-incarcerated-teens">The Last Wildfire-Fighting Camp for Incarcerated Teens in California</a>.</li>
<li>From the redoubtable Patrick Boyle, an explainer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h8K58qhMaI">Is Electrification Killing the Auto Industry</a>? It’s a thorough look at the current economics of the electric vehicle industry. It contains facts.</li>
<li>An excellent BBC documentary on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwYZQjgUljA">the history of Bauhaus</a> for its centenary in 2019.</li>
<li>Cairns police appealed to the public to help find a “missing” taser believed lost during a pursuit on New Year’s Eve. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-02/cairns-police-reveal-missing-taser-was-at-actually-at-station/104779438">Oh wait, they found it</a>.</li>
<li>And from the Royal Variety Performance 2024, Mischief Theatre performs a short play, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr19-ENMVRo">The Comedy About Spies</a>.</li>
</ul>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>On Monday night I’m recording an episode of<em> The 9pm Edict</em> podcast about space with space archaeologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Gorman" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr Alice Gorman</a> aka Dr Space Junk and astrophysicist <a href="https://au.linkedin.com/in/ramimandow" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rami Mandow</a>, 13 January 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 12 midday AEDT that day.</p>
<p>Tuesday will be about editing and posting that podcast, while Wednesday and Thursday are about <s>client work</s> errands and client work respectively. [<strong>Update 14 January 2025:</strong> Yes, a slight tweak to this to reflect what the emphasis is lively to be. But there’s always an attempt at minor clients tasks.]</p>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<p>On Friday I’ll be writing <em>The Weekly Cybers</em>, of course, but I’ll also be heading down to Sydney for a couple of days. I’ll also be in Sydney for the two weekends after that.</p>
<p>On Saturday Snarky Platypus and I will be planning <em>The Untitled Music Podcast</em> — yes we’re sticking with that title — and as you’ll see below we plan to record the first pilot episode the following weekend. This is slightly later than originally planned, but close enough.</p>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Podcast recording for <em>The Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot one, 25 January 2025 (TBC). The current sketch of a plan is for the finished episode to be posted a day or two later. </li>
<li><em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast recording with infectious diseases physician <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/tag/trent-yarwood/">Dr Trent Yarwood</a>, 28 January 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 10am AEDT that day.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW:</mark></strong> Podcast recording for <em>The Untitled Music Podcast</em> pilot two, 1 February 2025 (TBC). Again, the finished episode is likely to be posted a day or two later. </li>
</ul>
<p>There will soon be an episode about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth, unless that turns out to be true. Writer and columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Birmingham</a> will likely be joining us in February.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> The Moon over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_railway_station">Granville station</a>, Sydney, as people queue for the Saturday night rail replacement buses, photographed on 11 January 2025.]</p>
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<title>Weekly Wrap 762: Starting a new year by looking at a century-old building</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/762/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jan 2025 09:42:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Weekly Wrap]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hibernian house]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nigel farage]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tommy robinson]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37270</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My week of Monday 30 December 2024 to Sunday 5 January 2025 represented a transition from a shit year to a year which may be more shit or may be less shit. Either way, we made a podcast about the year that has been, and a bingo card for the year which is to come. … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/weekly-wrap/762/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Weekly Wrap 762: Starting a new year by looking at a century-old building"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>My week of Monday 30 December 2024 to Sunday 5 January 2025 represented a transition from a shit year to a year which may be more shit or may be less shit. Either way, we made a podcast about the year that has been, and a bingo card for the year which is to come.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37270"></span>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Podcasts</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00240/">The 9pm Full-time Bingo Card Update 2024 with Snarky Platypus</a>, recorded on Friday last week and posted this Tuesday evening, which was New Year’s Eve.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><em>The 9pm Edict</em> is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always <a href="https://skank.com.au/tip/">throw a few coins into the tip jar</a> or <a href="https://skank.com.au/subscribe">subscribe for special benefits</a>. Please consider.</strong></p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Articles</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/essay/bingo-card-2025/">Bingo Card 2025: Which of these things will happen?</a>, created by Snarky Platypus and myself and posted on Sunday night. Yes, we’ll also do half-time and full-time podcast episodes to discuss how the year has unfolded.</li>
</ul>
<p>You can read my <a href="https://authory.com/Stilgherrian">previous writing at Authory</a>, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Appearances, Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse</h4>
<p>None of these. You can subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/stilgherrian/">my YouTube channel</a> to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.</p>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="recommendations-add">Muskwatch</h4>
<p>I’ve split up the Recommendations into two parts, This on, Muskwatch should be obvious. I certainly don’t recommend Elon Musk! And it’ll be followed each week by Some Interesting Links, which again says what it is.</p>
<p>Back in 2023 I toyed with the idea of a weekly podcast, <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/rws0/">Rhymes with Sasquatch</a>, which was basically a podcast version of this stuff. Back then no one seemed to be as interested as I was. Maybe now?</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/3/who-is-tommy-robinson-and-why-is-elon-musk-throwing-his-weight-behind-him">Who is Tommy Robinson and why is Elon Musk throwing his weight behind him?</a> “American billionaire Elon Musk is ruffling political feathers in the United Kingdom as well with an online campaign to free Tommy Robinson, a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/2/musk-calls-for-jailed-uk-far-right-activist-tommy-robinson-to-be-released">far-right activist</a>, from prison,” writes Al Jazeera.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7ve4m1q42vo">Farage distances himself from Musk on Robinson</a>.</li>
<li>“Elon Musk is <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-discussion-german-far-right-leader-alice-weidel-x/">planning a live discussion with Alice Weidel</a>, the chancellor candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, ahead of Germany’s snap election on Feb. 23.”</li>
<li>“It’s little wonder <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/solve-problem-elon-musk-uk/">governments across Europe are in turmoil</a> over how to navigate Elon Musk, while dodging his erratic and often ill-informed criticisms about their domestic politics,” writes <em>Politico</em>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/31/elon-musk-china-security-risk-trump">Elon Musk’s China ties pose security risk, ex-general warns</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/01/elon-musk-donald-trump">‘Trump is a little guy, Musk is a big guy’: historian predicts trouble for president-elect</a>.</li>
<li>And I supposed I should mention the bloke who <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-03/man-who-died-in-cybertruck-blast-was-in-us-army/104780632">blew up a Cybertruck</a> outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, although at this stage I don’t think it’s about Musk himself.</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Some Interesting Links</h4>
<p>Not many this week, because I’ve been taking it easy. By this time next week I’ll be developed a Process for Dealing with It.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>H I Sutton has put together an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjUgb8vaeok">Essential Guide To 2024 Naval War In Black Sea</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/03/australia-flying-foxes-endangered-species-list">Australia’s flying foxes are ‘curious, gentle and intelligent’ – and often misunderstood</a>.</li>
<li>The wonderful Kazuya Shibata has designed an extremely useful and totally convenient <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BsixNFfVhQQ">holder for all your credit cards</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Week Ahead</h4>
<p>This week is about easing back into the working year. There will be clients to coordinate with, podcasts to be planned, and all manner of administrivia, nearly all of which will be done from my Blue Mountains eyrie.</p>
<p><s>On Tuesday night I’m catching up with a friend for drinks win Katoomba. A social life mid-week? How is this possible?</s></p>
<p>[<strong>Update 6 January 2025:</strong> Turns out it isn’t possible, but mostly because I’m very fatigued after an <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mpox/Pages/book-a-vaccine.aspx">mpox vaccination</a>.]</p>
<p>On Friday my newsletter <em><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/theweeklycybers">The Weekly Cybers</a></em> will return for 2025.</p>
<p>And on Saturday I’m heading down to Sydney for a medical appointment and some social things.</p>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Further Ahead</h4>
<p>[<strong>Update 9 January 2025:</strong> A recording data has been confirmed for another podcast.]</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW</mark>:</strong> <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast recording about space with space archaeologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Gorman" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr Alice Gorman</a> aka Dr Space Junk and astrophysicist <a href="https://au.linkedin.com/in/ramimandow" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rami Mandow</a>, 13 January 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 2pm AEDT that day.</li>
<li><strong><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">NEW</mark>:</strong> <em>The 9pm Edict</em> podcast recording with infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood, 28 January 2025. If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, please get them to me by 10am AEDT that day.</li>
</ul>
<p>While not yet locked into specific dates, in January there will also be an episode about conspiracy theories like the Flat Earth, unless that turns out to be true. And writer and columnist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Birmingham</a> will probably join us in February.</p>
<p>We’ll also have those two pilot episodes of the Untitled Music Podcast, which I’ll start organising this week. The first task will be organising the music license.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Hibernian House, a six-storey commercial and residential building built in 1924 by W J Gilroy for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernian_Australasian_Catholic_Benefit_Society">Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society</a> at 328-344 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills. <a href="https://ra.co/clubs/79602">According to <em>Resident Advisor</em></a>, “Situated in a grungy, graffiti-laced five-storey building, Hibernian House is home to artist studios and accommodation, gallery space, a lo-fi theatre space (Old 505), and a dance studio. Over the years it’s been home to many a DIY gig, exhibition and party and had many artists call it home.” It’s photographed here by me on 30 December 2024. You might want to <a href="https://www.little-tokyo.com.au/blog-post-hibernia-house/">check out these photos</a> or the <a href="https://www.adnews.com.au/news/better-workplaces-inside-hibernian-house-s-recording-studio">recording studio Mosaic Music & Sound</a>, or just do what I did and search for its name and go down the rabbit hole.]</p>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Bingo Card 2025: Which of these things will happen?</title>
<link>https://stilgherrian.com/essay/bingo-card-2025/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stilgherrian]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jan 2025 09:29:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Essay]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aukus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[bingo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[boeing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[china]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[elon musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[king charles iii]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[myanmar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ozempic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[penrith]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rupert murdoch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tanya plibersek]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[taylor swift]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tiktok]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[us]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://stilgherrian.com/?p=37302</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Snarky Platypus and I have created this bingo card for 2025 listing 25 distinctly possible things. We also list the suggestions which didn’t make it. These are our 25 possibilities, arranged randomly. There is no free square in the middle of this one. And as we did last year for the also-rans, I decided to … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://stilgherrian.com/essay/bingo-card-2025/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Bingo Card 2025: Which of these things will happen?"</span></a></p>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p><strong>Snarky Platypus and I have created this bingo card for 2025 listing 25 distinctly possible things. We also list the suggestions which didn’t make it.</strong></p>
<span id="more-37302"></span>
<p>These are our 25 possibilities, arranged randomly. There is no free square in the middle of this one. And as we did last year for the also-rans, I decided to use <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/silly.bsky.social/post/3khqpsj7oi22m">Becca Levi’s suggestion</a> for a certainty as a free square.</p>
<table id="tablepress-8" class="tablepress tablepress-id-8">
<tbody>
<tr class="row-1">
<td class="column-1">Australia announces another immigration amnesty</td><td class="column-2">Coalition forms a minority government in Canberra</td><td class="column-3">TikTok is able to operate in the US again</td><td class="column-4">US and China warships exchange live fire</td><td class="column-5">Musk disposes of X/Twitter</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-2">
<td class="column-1">Rupert Murdoch separates from current partner</td><td class="column-2">AUKUS cancelled by US</td><td class="column-3">Penrith doesn’t win the NRL championship</td><td class="column-4">Fatalities caused by space debris hitting a developed nation</td><td class="column-5">Betelgeuse goes supernova</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-3">
<td class="column-1">ABC finally cancels Insiders and/or Q&A</td><td class="column-2">Hungary leaves the EU</td><td class="column-3">FREE SQUARE: Musk embarrasses himself publicly</td><td class="column-4">Taylor Swift separates from current partner</td><td class="column-5">Fairy bread flavoured Shapes becomes a thing</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-4">
<td class="column-1">Semaglutide (Ozempic) on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for weight management [See note 1]</td><td class="column-2">Congestion charge introduced in an Australian city</td><td class="column-3">Drug possession decriminalised in an Australian state or territory</td><td class="column-4">US withdraws from NATO</td><td class="column-5">Myanmar junta is overthrown</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-5">
<td class="column-1">Tanya Plibersek becomes ALP leader</td><td class="column-2">Natural disaster bankrupts a large insurance company</td><td class="column-3">Boeing carved up or bought out by Airbus</td><td class="column-4">Tianwen-2 finds ingredients of life on Kamo?oalewa</td><td class="column-5">King Charles III dies</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!-- #tablepress-8 from cache -->
<p><strong>Note 1:</strong> I’ve added “for weight management” here because <a href="https://www.pbs.gov.au/pbs/search?term=semaglutide">semaglutide is already on the PBS</a>. According to <a href="https://aus.social/@zanchey/113775316057224653">David Adam</a>, “Novo Nordisk have applied to get Wegovy (the brand approved for weight management) on the PBS but the economics don’t stack up (mostly because long term benefits of weight loss are not well demonstrated)… I think Mounjaro (tirzepatide) getting the nod is more likely because it causes more weight loss, but to expand on my earlier comment there’s a great deal of post hoc thinking about obesity that (IMO) doesn’t match the real-world evidence. Even the riskier but more effective interventions like bariatric surgery don’t have strong lifelong evidence.”</p>
<p>Here’s what didn’t make the cut, in no particular order or grammar.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Indonesia and China kick off a trade war.</li>
<li>Atlantic Conveyor ocean current collapses.</li>
<li>New X-Men movie announced.</li>
<li>ABC and SBS merge.</li>
<li>Rihanna releases a new album.</li>
<li>Apple buys Disney.</li>
<li>PRC naval base confirmed for a Pacific nation.</li>
<li>La Niña occurs.</li>
<li>New metro line officially announced for Sydney.</li>
<li>Australian housing prices decrease nationally.</li>
<li>PRC is approved to join the TPP.</li>
<li>New broad-spectrum antibiotic discovered.</li>
<li><em>Frontline</em> remake announced.</li>
<li>Taylor Swift releases an original Christmas album (courtesy <a href="https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3534883/dumping-them-out-official-2025-bingo-card">Barstool Sports</a>).</li>
<li>Qantas re-nationalised.</li>
<li>Cable drags move from the Baltic to the North Sea.</li>
<li>Trump killed in Tesla self-driving crash. (This won’t happen because the US Secret Service would forbid it but I just wanted to write it down.)</li>
<li>UK snap election.</li>
<li>Bird flu infects humans in Australia.</li>
<li>Kyle Sandilands jailed.</li>
</ul>
<p>You might also want to see <a href="https://stilgherrian.com/essay/bingo-card-2024/">last year’s card</a> and listen to our podcast discussions at <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00224/">half time</a> and <a href="https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00240/">full time</a>.</p>
<p>[<strong>Photo:</strong> Background image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/card-number-bingo-strategy-wooden-6218490/">Rudonni</a> via Pixabay. Foreground bingo card originally by Milton Bradley Company, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bingo_card_-_B%26W.jpg">photo by Abby Hendrickson</a> under under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC-BY 2.0 Generic</a> license. Digital composition by Stilgherrian.]</p>
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