Greybeard

Greybeard

@greybeard.bsky.social

Former IT Geek, snake catcher and book hoarder

1.5K followers844 following3.2K posts

Greybeard reposted

Sometimes it just dawns on me how deeply weird and wild this situation is. A company making a crappy, unchecked and badly designed product, but thanks to pre-existing science fiction narratives they can aggressively tout their own failures and inadequacies as reasons for self-regulation

Greg Jericho@grogsgamut.bsky.social

"Anthropic model accessed voter information" Yes the info is publicly available (for a fee) but "the model bypassed a paywall in accessing the information, according to Georgia officials and Anthropic." www.axios.com/2026/10/25/a...

Greybeard reposted

Just think of the media explosion if this was Iran, Russia, China, or any country other than Israel.

CAMERON WILSON@cameronwilson.bsky.social

Scoop: ABC has wiped staff devices exposed to malicious ads from an Israeli company that used digital advertising to hack and track devices without a click. ABC is just one of many Australian government/critical infra/media orgs reportedly targeted www.abc.net.au/news/...

Always something interesting in the compost (it's a rich, full life). Slimy ink caps. Not fatal (allegedly) but mixing with alcohol has horrible results.

Told the grandkids I'd made them something for Halloween and they looked at me with narrowed eyes and deep suspicion. Until I explained it was a ceiling fan costume...

Mrs GB picked up two very hot kids and took them for icecreams. And brought me a tub of pistachio. Against all reason she seems to like me.

Greybeard reposted

I have a lot of respect for a lot of journalists trying to make sense of this week’s events. But what I’ve mainly taken away from the bulk of the analysis is how out of touch most of our media and political class are with the lives of ordinary people

Greybeard reposted

Remember the story we at #4Corners did about Channel 7, 2 years ago? About soul-crushing culture of sexism & exploitation, particularly of young women? Their internal review has vindicated our reporting, despite legal threats at the time (which went nowhere). Report: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...

abc.net.auSecret review into Seven West Media reveals 'diabolical' culture problemsA bombshell review of Seven West Media in 2024 has been told of a "diabolical" corporate culture, with allegations sexism, bullying and harassment were rife and "sacred cow" executives favoured by the...

Greybeard reposted

It seems true that global south countries are under-represented in IPCC science, but absolutely bad-faith concern trolling using a cynical and callously faked social justice rationalisation from Saudi, Russia and China to justify delaying the next IPCC report www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.comWhy have countries been pushing for a vital global climate report to be delayed?Saudi Arabia, Russia and China among those claiming developed countries have skewed findings of IPCC review

Greybeard reposted

Seemed the health costs of installing gas (and the cost of gas!) not taken into account

InSnip News (AU)@insnip.bsky.social

Victoria's opposition leader Jess Wilson vowed to scrap Labor's gas appliance ban within 100 days if elected, citing costs of up to 15,000 dollars for new builds. insnip.com #auspol

Greybeard reposted

What... there are people who have not read this... If you are one of them... fix this ASAP

Vicki Marklew@vmarklew.bsky.social

Re-reading @birmo.bsky.social ‘s Disappearance trilogy and all those numpties saying “I never thought these horrors could happen in the US” clearly know squat about history but also never cracked open a SFF/alt history book cos damn! but the post-wave sections of this trilogy are prescient.

Greybeard reposted

Some archaeological finds may appear unremarkable and ordinary, yet they often are more interesting than any treasure, such as this Roman glass square bottle remarkably containing a rare find – preserved ointment. The waxy mass of fatty acids and glycerine contains plant fibres from...🧵1/2 📷 me

I always start tearing my hair at this time of year, trying to find Xmas presents. BUT, this year I've found something for the many lapsed people in my life. I've just bought some indulgences from a (former) priest turned comedian. The list of sins looks pretty apt too.

Greybeard reposted

I think it's important to interact with AI in a very carefully controlled way: specifically to understand exactly how toxic and terrible it is I only get it to return text in two conditions: (a) a topic I know well and (b) a question I **already answered**. You learn v quick how bad the answers are

newrepublic.comDoes Generative AI “Work”? That’s a Misleading Question.Generative AI works a lot like fossil fuels “work”—narrowly, intermittently, and with a lot of nasty side effects.
Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social

One of the things that really shines through in these AI debates is how many of the antis refuse to actually use or touch the thing they're trying to criticize, which leads to claims that have this religious tenor and bear no resemblance whatsoever to real-world manifestations of AI.

I'm reduced to making my own cat videos, and frankly, apart from climbing a ladder to chase his tail, Jenkins hasn't got that spark.

Greybeard reposted

Spectacles were invented in northern Italy in the late 13th century AD. Beyond correcting sight, they were also seen to provide moral vision, as visual perception and the cognition of God’s light were linked in late medieval philosophy #WorldSightDay 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

We've electrified everything so I suppose now we advertise. One for us, three for friends. Happy to discuss our low running costs for house and car.

I was given a laptop to fix. Not uncommon but all that was wrong was a broken screen. In the past I'd remove the lid, add a cheap KB and monitor and someone gets a free functional computer. Owner, panicked about privacy, "cut all the wires". SSD is still intact. Sigh.

Greybeard reposted

Amy notes that China has joined Japan is now onselling Australian gas. FMD we *really* need to tax the gas. Barely a more obvious policy has presented itself. One political party will do it and they will get all the advantage. #TaxTheGas www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...

thenewdaily.com.auTwo things easily missed while we were distracted by triviaIn Australia, we’re too busy looking at the next carriage on the political sushi train to realise the track itself is broken.

Last weekend of the school holidays, it's wet, the g'kids are bored and their house smells of paint and wood stain. Guess who's having a sleepover?