ajsadauskas

Vale Tito Jackson.

Really sad news about a talented musician who was far too often overlooked in favour of his more famous siblings: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2kddp5x5zno

Here's a performance by Tito from earlier this year, with Austin Brown and BLVK CVSTLE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBobSF68Tdk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65eEHAMZMSo

#TitoJackson #music #Pop #PopMusic #MichaelJackson #JanetJackson #Jackson5 @music

Up! Up! Coles' annual profits are up to $1.1 billion.

And to think the Reserve Bank still acts as though inflation and the cost of living crisis is due to wages (below the rate of inflation) or consumer spending, rather than corporate profiteering.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/27/coles-reports-8-surge-in-annual-profit-to-11bn-amid-cost-of-living-crisis

@australia #news #politics #finance #business #auspol #coles #woolworths #capitalism #auspol

And another one bites the dust — this time it's Rex.

It's a real shame, because (at least from my experience) their staff were far friendlier and more accommodating. And their prices were reasonable.

(They also never seemed to sell all their business class seats, so a seat up the front could be yours for $50 extra if you wanted it.)

I wonder whether Qantas or Virgin will pick up the regional routes?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/rex-airlines-enters-voluntary-administration/104155898

#airlines #Rex @australia #business #auspol #airline #bankrupt

Adam Neely makes a really insightful point about the limitations of "generative AIs"/LLMs and music.

LLMs can mimic the output of music, but they can't handle the process of making music.

I think his insight applies to many other creative fields as well. LLMs mimic the output, but not the process:

https://youtu.be/N8NyEjB_XeA?si=sUgCV6aeITBqas5E

@music #LLM #music #GenAI #generativeAI #tech #technology #chatGPT

It's time to call a spade a spade. ChatGPT isn't just hallucinating. It's a bullshit machine.

From TFA (thanks @mxtiffanyleigh for sharing):

"Bullshit is 'any utterance produced where a speaker has indifference towards the truth of the utterance'. That explanation, in turn, is divided into two "species": hard bullshit, which occurs when there is an agenda to mislead, or soft bullshit, which is uttered without agenda.

"ChatGPT is at minimum a soft bullshitter or a bullshit machine, because if it is not an agent then it can neither hold any attitudes towards truth nor towards deceiving hearers about its (or, perhaps more properly, its users') agenda."

https://futurism.com/the-byte/researchers-ai-chatgpt-hallucinations-terminology

@technology #technology #chatGPT #LLM #LargeLanguageModels

Time for an ICQ for the Fediverse?

Looks like ICQ is finally shutting down, just as interest in retro internet tools is growing.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/25/24164579/icq-shut-down-june

@fediverse #ICQ #Fediverse

A vital step forward for Parramatta as Sydney's second CBD.

The old Riverside Theatre is frankly starting to show its age.

Having a modern venue for theatre, concerts, and live music in Western Sydney is an important investment for the arts.

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/theatre/broadway-comes-to-parramatta-new-188-million-theatre-for-western-sydney-20240522-p5jfoh.html

@sydney #Parramatta #Art #concerts #theatre #nsw #nswpol #sydney

I'm thinking seriously about getting Google out of my life, and trying NextCloud.

Looking to get a personal account through a managed provider.

Does anyone have any experience with it?

How does it compare to ownCloud?

Any hosts I should look at or avoid?

Any apps I should get for it, or avoid?

Any issues I should be aware of before I switch?

@asklemmy #NextCloud #OpenSource #Linux #Cloud

So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.

For those who wonder why Aussies think toll roads are a scam (https://aus.social/@[email protected]/112405373613706682), here's a great example of why.

"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.

...

"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.

"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.

"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/federal-funding-to-boost-victorian-road-link-by-3-25-billion-20240509-p5ii7b.html

@fuck_cars #Urbanism #Auspol #Vicpol #roads #UrbanPlanning #transport #cities #Melbourne #Naarm #Victoria #Australia

Hornsby is the fifth best place to live in Australia, apparently.

At least, according to a study SGS Economics and Planning:

"Sydney's Northern beaches ranks as the highest in the nation for wellbeing, with only one Queensland city making it to the top 10, the annual index revealed today.

"The Australian Capital Territory came in second due to its low gender wage gaps, climate change risks and the division of wealth."

The study assessed 518 local council areas on seven indicators:

* economy
* income and wealth
* employment, knowledge and skills
* housing
* health
* equality, community and work-life balance
* environment

The top 10 local government areas are:

1. Northern Beaches (Greater Sydney)

2. Australian Capital Territory

3. North Sydney (Greater Sydney)

4. Ku-ring-gai (Greater Sydney)

5. Hornsby (Greater Sydney)

6. Lane Cove (Greater Sydney)

7. Mosman (Greater Sydney)

8. Sutherland (Greater Sydney)

9. Sydney (Greater Sydney)

10. Brisbane (Greater Brisbane)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-08/sgs-cities-regions-wellbeing-index-wage-gaps-environment-health/103815302

#sydney @sydney #livability #nsw #planning #UrbanPlanning

The toll road scam: A government-made monopoly you pay for.

Here's a funny-because-it's-true take on Transurban and the poor tax it imposes, from Punter's Politics:

https://youtu.be/FlKBakPAtiw?si=G39_0GcJzSB0SSA8

#cars #roads #fuckcars @fuck_cars #tolls #tollroads #memes #funny #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #auspol #vicpol #nswpol

So the RTA's own modelling showed the Rozelle Interchange would be a traffic disaster—but generating more toll road trips for Transurban was more important.

"The [NSW Roads and Traffic Authority] finalised the first business case for the WestConnex tunnel project in June 2013, with the help of road designers from around the world.

"[Paul Forward, a former CEO of the RTA] said the initial concept did not include the Rozelle Interchange.

...

"In 2014, an expert review group was formed to assess these plans.

"Mr Forward said it was at this point that TfNSW bureaucrats began to question the connectivity provided by the design.

"The RTA's former director of traffic Chris Ford told the inquiry that 15 alternative designs were modelled.

"Mr Ford said the modelling found that another motorway leading to the Anzac Bridge would cause congestion.

"'The issues that we see today were very clearly established in the modelling in 2014,' he said.

"In November 2015, after Mr Forward and Mr Ford were dismissed, TfNSW updated the WestConnex business case to include the tunnel to the Anzac Bridge, despite the congestion concerns raised by the modelling.

"In 2016, Transport for NSW updated the business case a second time ... creating a tunnel linking the Iron Cove Bridge to the Anzac Bridge."

...

"In 2018, the NSW government sold its 51 per cent stake in the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the body responsible for operating WestConnex, to Transurban for $9 billion.

"Mr Forward said the final design would generate a larger number of toll trips than previous options."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-03/sydney-western-harbour-tunnel-warringah-freeway-traffic-disaster/103801818

@fuck_cars #roads #cars #urbanism #nswpol #sydney #WestConnex #UrbanPlanning #transport