Basically everything is better aligned to consumer preference than it was 40 years ago. The people have spoken – they said they want bigger, more expensive cars, and cheaper but worse air travel.
Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 23h agoFood, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.
The dust bowl was caused by drought and the farming practices of largely smallholder families of the great plains. After it started the homesteaders fell behind on their mortgages and the land was consolidated into larger concerns. It's an effect of the dust bowl not the cause.
Tbh the AI stuff the government is announcing seems mostly fine. The one thing I would really like to see is a sharp line in the sand on deepfakes. Daily fines for companies producing them and cops knocking on your door if you're creating or sharing them.
Plagiarism/IP arguments against AI feel very weak. Outside the small but loud contingent of journalists, artists, authors etc I doubt it rates in the top 5 AI concerns for normal people.
This is good policy. Less admin for most workers, and reduces the incentive to rort the ATO. Probably >50% of Australia's biggest problems could be fixed by giving a halfway comptetent tax nerd (Jim Chalmers) free reign to do whatever reforms they want.
Millions of Australians will get a $1,000 instant tax deduction under a new law – here’s how it will work
Draft legislation for treasurer Jim Chalmers’ new instant tax deduction policy lands just over a year after Labor proposed the change in the run-up to the 2025 election
theguardian.com
This is an obviously good thing at <5% unemployment, and unless you're 18-20 (which no one is for very long) is also good at higher unemployment rates.
Fair Work Commission abolishes junior pay rates for young adults
The Fair Work Commission has issued its decision to abolish junior pay rates for young adult employees in the retail, fast food, and pharmacy sectors while maintaining them for minors.
abc.net.au
Cutting the fuel excise is a good first step, but what we need is grants for first fuel buyers, early access to super for buying fuel, and tax breaks for people hoarding it in jerry cans.
Are there any super funds with investment options which exclude holding Elon's bag?
Techmeme@techmeme.com · 4mo agoSources: SpaceX's IPO plans include visits to its sites, unusual lockups for early investors, and preferential treatment for investors in Musk's other companies (Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
"We bought the most expensive house we couldn't afford to avoid the pension assets test and so our kids could inherit tax free capital gains but now our fully indexed government pension barely covers insurance. It's like a prison."
The rising cost that risks turning retirement into a 'prison'
The Australian retirement dream is being destabilised by the rising cost of home insurance, as retirees on fixed budgets find themselves unable to absorb skyrocketing premiums.
abc.net.au
Me when I'm about to lose a game of Diplomacy
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 5mo agoPresident Trump threatens Iran:
So I take it the asylum seekers of the Iranian women's soccer team aren't being detained and resettled on Nauru?
A fully modular, subscription-based OS means you can pay Microsoft an extra $10/mo to disable pop-up ads for like Clash of Clans
Can't afford to pay your staff a fair wage? That's a skill issue.
Australian Unions@australianunions.bsky.social · 7mo agoWe've said it before, and we'll say it again (and again). All workers deserve a fair wage.
I'd never noticed anything wrong with Spotify's audio quality, but switching to Qobuz was like getting glasses as a child and finding out the world isn't supposed to be blurry
Brian Merchant@bcmerchant.bsky.social · 8mo agoSeems like a good time to drop this here www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/a-complete...
Did anyone in Obama's administration get prosecuted for bombing weddings and following up on survivors and first responders? I'd love to be wrong, but Hegseth will never face charges.
All the posts about *that* chat bot. Tell me that software engineers need an ethics code and external regulation if they want to be regarded as a profession.
Dress it up in progressive language but you're cheating yourself by not doing the work. This is the worst thing about AI: millions of students refusing to learn, taking zero interest in the world around them, empty in mind and heart. Your punishment is the person you will become.
Imagine if the tech industry had environmental standards on notifications, on design choices, on consumer data, on the ways in which they interact with us. It’s illegal for companies to dump toxic chemicals in our drinking water, why can’t the tech industry have standards too?
This is incredibly dumb ofc, but this "we gotta pump the bags of voters, damn the consequences" mentality is exactly why houses now cost a million bucks, and so many kids have given up on making rational financial decisions in the first place
Mark Cuban@mcuban.bsky.social · last yr.lol. You keep pushing responsibility to everywhere but you. If you are 25 and your networth is $250 and tied up in crypto and every time gary said something you lost money and every time trump did you made money, who you voting for ? Lottery tickets expire. Crypto doesn’t.
Dear Mr. Clegg I have started a business, selling the contents of your house I knew when I launched I did not have legal access your house Without this access my company will not be profitable Others have told me I have a flawed business model, but I disagree Please advise how I should proceed
Interesting that KNEECAP is showing up in my Spotify generated playlists for the first time ever. I wonder why they might be trending currently.
