US brands I've chosen to stick with: Firefox, Signal, Bluesky, 404 Media; and less happily: Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max. Essential products for which I can't find a non-US alternative: Visa/Mastercard, Windows OS, Android OS, Google Maps.
Wonderful to see Australia exporting joy to the world. Good on you Bluey!
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
So, I've finally moved from MS Office to LibreOffice. Also, from Hotmail & Google Calendar to the Proton alternatives. I mostly use a burner digital debit card online these days, rather than PayPal. I no longer buy from Amazon; and use a Kobo eReader, rather than Kindle. There's a theme here…
I wasn't treated badly by 2025, but for some reason I feel a tremendous relief to be done with it. And, for no sensible reason whatsoever, I have great hopes for 2026. I confidently predict that there will be long walks, good company and random frivolity!!
Hey, it looks like you are about to swear at your computer. Would you like Copilot to draft your outburst?
Two chatbots sign into a social forum. "You're just too predictable!" they complain simultaneously.
A woman and a chatbot walk into a bar. "Tell me about yourself", asks the AI. "Keep your eyes off my dataset", replies the woman.
A man and a chatbot walk into a bar. "Come here often?" asks the man. "Let me tell you how to vote," replies the AI.
Australia's Conservative politicians this week: Whoops, we forgot to register 132 candidates for Council elections. Of course we didn't take any action when one employee raped another in a senior politician's office. Those starving Palestinian children are way too dangerous to let into Australia.
"102 millionaires paid no tax..." headlined the ABC yesterday. "Top earners and companies bear record tax burden" countered the Australian Financial Review. The exact same data release from the ATO stoking resentment at opposite ends of the income spectrum?
I'm saving a spot for an AI-ready computer, right between my 3D TV and my fuzzy logic washing machine.
"I can foresee your desire for an even bigger SUV and backstage passes to Taylor Swift" pronounced the incorporeal AI. "You can read our minds, and verily shall we worship you" replied the people.
Of all the robots in my life, our dishwasher is most definitely my favourite. It quietly and politely gets the job done, using its smarts to fine-tune various cycles, but with no smarmy AI interface trying to contradict my choices.
Every year on Anzac Day, I make a point of listening to The Pogues' version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and Redgum's "I Was Only 19". The poignant lyrics always leave me with a tear in my eye.
youtu.be/PKURhqmSLmM
youtu.be/1gmgwx77osw
X for hatred, Instagram for envy, TikTok for falsehoods, Facebook for tedium and Bluesky for butterflies. I'll take butterflies every time. 😀
Gosh, you can see why the Libs employed Lehrmann. You don't get a social fit like that by accident!
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
By the by, some of the best books I've read in recent years are: The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells), Imperial Radch trilogy (Ann Leckie), Finding My Place: From Cairo to Canberra (Anne Aly), Unknown: A Refugee's Story (Akuch Kuol Anyieth) and Anthro-Vision (Gillian Tett). #IWD
Asbestos contamination in mulch all over Sydney... Once again, those pushing to cut red tape and save money, have done the opposite (with potentially fatal consequences).
My annual digital-footprint review is complete. I've deleted some superfluous shopping accounts, expunged Twitter (I feel so much cleaner), and my neglected Substack and Tumblr accounts are now history. They already have my data, but deleting unused accounts seems safer than just forgetting them. 😀
So Donald Trump can give away US military secrets as a schoolboy-style show-off, but Julian Assange is facing life in prison for reporting in the public interest?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023...
When confronted with a question about moral decency or social conscience, it can be helpful to ask yourself; What would Dutton do? Or Morrison or Abbott? And then do the opposite. #Yes23
The Conservatives said same-sex marriage would be the end of the world. They said Robodebt was fair and legal. They said climate change wasn't real. Now they say we don't need an indigenous voice to parliament. Screw them! I'm voting #Yes23.
If the political parties of the selfish and the small-minded are saying vote no, that's a pretty big hint that the correct answer is yes. #Yes23
