Dave Dun
@davedun.bsky.social
Language Teacher, Football Coach, Bad Parent, ADHDer. I try to be kind.
Ok, so I’m an O- universal donor and donate plasma every couple of weeks and whole blood every 12 weeks. For nothing.
Would I be making bank in the States?
Would I be making bank in the States?
Surge pricing for plasma
How is this real life
“Donors say that the amount companies pay varies throughout the year, apparently as demand ebbs and flows. Payments tend to go down in December, for instance, when there is an uptick in people wanting to make extra money around the holidays.”
“Donors say that the amount companies pay varies throughout the year, apparently as demand ebbs and flows. Payments tend to go down in December, for instance, when there is an uptick in people wanting to make extra money around the holidays.”
February 16, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Ok, so I’m an O- universal donor and donate plasma every couple of weeks and whole blood every 12 weeks. For nothing.
Would I be making bank in the States?
Would I be making bank in the States?
Beginning to think that it will take a horrendous round of illness and death to remind people why we invented vaccines in the first place.
Australians really need to stop being American.
Record spike in whooping cough cases due to 'potentially catastrophic' trend
A "potentially catastrophic" decline in Australia's childhood vaccination rates has contributed to the sharpest increase in cases of whooping cough in 35 years, infectious diseases experts say.
www.abc.net.au
February 16, 2026 at 4:40 AM
Beginning to think that it will take a horrendous round of illness and death to remind people why we invented vaccines in the first place.
I’m all for social cohesion.
However I’m also for political accountability, the protection of marginalised groups, and preventing genocide.
I eagerly await my state-approved beating. That’s how we’ll get there…
However I’m also for political accountability, the protection of marginalised groups, and preventing genocide.
I eagerly await my state-approved beating. That’s how we’ll get there…
Social cohesion can't be built on a bedrock of police violence, criminalising protest, silencing dissent and ignoring international law.
My Canberra Times column >
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/917467...
My Canberra Times column >
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/917467...
The beatings will continue until social cohesion improves
We must fight to protect our basic civil liberties.
www.canberratimes.com.au
February 14, 2026 at 6:20 AM
I’m all for social cohesion.
However I’m also for political accountability, the protection of marginalised groups, and preventing genocide.
I eagerly await my state-approved beating. That’s how we’ll get there…
However I’m also for political accountability, the protection of marginalised groups, and preventing genocide.
I eagerly await my state-approved beating. That’s how we’ll get there…
Reposted by Dave Dun
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
Not cool.
Taking stuff from a museum is cool if it’s a high-tech heist of questionably obtained items from the Louvre or some such.
This was smashing a window and grabbing Egyptian figurines on Caboolture. It’s B&E, not a heist.
Taking stuff from a museum is cool if it’s a high-tech heist of questionably obtained items from the Louvre or some such.
This was smashing a window and grabbing Egyptian figurines on Caboolture. It’s B&E, not a heist.
An ancient burial mask, cat figurine and jewellery are among the "priceless" Egyptian artefacts stolen from the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology yesterday.
'Priceless' Egyptian artefacts stolen from museum north of Brisbane
An ancient burial mask, cat figurine and jewellery are among the "priceless" Egyptian artefacts stolen from the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology yesterday.
www.abc.net.au
February 14, 2026 at 12:49 AM
Not cool.
Taking stuff from a museum is cool if it’s a high-tech heist of questionably obtained items from the Louvre or some such.
This was smashing a window and grabbing Egyptian figurines on Caboolture. It’s B&E, not a heist.
Taking stuff from a museum is cool if it’s a high-tech heist of questionably obtained items from the Louvre or some such.
This was smashing a window and grabbing Egyptian figurines on Caboolture. It’s B&E, not a heist.
Aussie friends, please read if you think the cops are looking out for you. If they’ve never screwed you over, I’m genuinely happy for you. But they will. They just need the right set of circumstances.
Because I grew up in QLD in the ‘80s, I’m more often surprised when police *don’t* attack demonstrators. So I’ve had that familiar feeling this week of watching people come to a difficult truth: when you see a demo turn ugly, it’s almost always because the cops decided that’s how it was gonna go.
The cop riot
So, first things first, a big congrats to Angus Taylor.
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Aussie friends, please read if you think the cops are looking out for you. If they’ve never screwed you over, I’m genuinely happy for you. But they will. They just need the right set of circumstances.
Reposted by Dave Dun
All you need to know about Australia in one screenshot. The woman in the much smaller article below actually won a gold medal.
February 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
All you need to know about Australia in one screenshot. The woman in the much smaller article below actually won a gold medal.
Reposted by Dave Dun
Work has become less and less the single breadwinner working 40 years, 40 hours per week. It is increasingly complex and will continue to be so with more need for upskilling, smaller contracts and projects...
Putting a solid foundation down takes all this from precarity to possibility.
Putting a solid foundation down takes all this from precarity to possibility.
February 13, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Work has become less and less the single breadwinner working 40 years, 40 hours per week. It is increasingly complex and will continue to be so with more need for upskilling, smaller contracts and projects...
Putting a solid foundation down takes all this from precarity to possibility.
Putting a solid foundation down takes all this from precarity to possibility.
Sharing a thread that was genuinely enlightening for me and also showing off my own ignorance. Ableist thinking something I’m working to did myself of.
I have a friend who said, of Starfleet Academy, that this took them out of it - that seeing a person in a wheelchair in the 32nd century seemed unrealistic, since medicine in Star Trek "should be able to cure whatever was wrong with them."
That's not the case, for any number of possible reasons.
That's not the case, for any number of possible reasons.
February 13, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Sharing a thread that was genuinely enlightening for me and also showing off my own ignorance. Ableist thinking something I’m working to did myself of.
If there is a hell, I’m going there for sure. But in my case this 👇 is just ADHD and the guilt I feel because of it could turn coal into diamonds.
February 13, 2026 at 10:53 PM
If there is a hell, I’m going there for sure. But in my case this 👇 is just ADHD and the guilt I feel because of it could turn coal into diamonds.
Reposted by Dave Dun
Australia formally joins the UK and US as a member of Smol Bean Fascist Alliance
February 11, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Australia formally joins the UK and US as a member of Smol Bean Fascist Alliance
Reposted by Dave Dun
It's interesting that Fallout, which began in 1997 (which was 29 years ago btw) depicted Vault-Tec in a way that you simply can't do after seeing the last quarter century of Epstein-adjacent billionaire freaks completely annihilate the cold war idea of malicious competence.
February 10, 2026 at 2:30 PM
It's interesting that Fallout, which began in 1997 (which was 29 years ago btw) depicted Vault-Tec in a way that you simply can't do after seeing the last quarter century of Epstein-adjacent billionaire freaks completely annihilate the cold war idea of malicious competence.
Reposted by Dave Dun
If you are in any situation where licking boots matters, you would, at this point be making a mistake to not hype up fashy tech.
That can mean doubting yourself, failing to interact with other experts, or confusing yourself further. Exercise your judgment, don't use them.
That can mean doubting yourself, failing to interact with other experts, or confusing yourself further. Exercise your judgment, don't use them.
February 10, 2026 at 2:47 PM
If you are in any situation where licking boots matters, you would, at this point be making a mistake to not hype up fashy tech.
That can mean doubting yourself, failing to interact with other experts, or confusing yourself further. Exercise your judgment, don't use them.
That can mean doubting yourself, failing to interact with other experts, or confusing yourself further. Exercise your judgment, don't use them.
Reposted by Dave Dun
4/ With the authority of the NSW Supreme Court, NSW Police instruct the NSW Public on the precise meaning of the term 'Social Cohesion'; a lesson which will no doubt be repeated as often as necessary throughout the week while the NSW Government shelters an alleged war criminal.
February 9, 2026 at 9:51 AM
4/ With the authority of the NSW Supreme Court, NSW Police instruct the NSW Public on the precise meaning of the term 'Social Cohesion'; a lesson which will no doubt be repeated as often as necessary throughout the week while the NSW Government shelters an alleged war criminal.
Reposted by Dave Dun
Good artists want context, and correctness. Specificity breeds art.
It’s choices made from the wealth of experience that other people’s art makes . It also gives people belief in their worth
It’s why cultural studies are the first to go / be redone
And it matters no matter who does it
It’s choices made from the wealth of experience that other people’s art makes . It also gives people belief in their worth
It’s why cultural studies are the first to go / be redone
And it matters no matter who does it
Not at all surprised to learn that Bad Bunny has a historical adviser. His halftime show was a reminder that our history and culture are deeply intertwined with the rest of the western hemisphere. We should think of his performance as part of #America250. #SuperBowl
news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
February 9, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Good artists want context, and correctness. Specificity breeds art.
It’s choices made from the wealth of experience that other people’s art makes . It also gives people belief in their worth
It’s why cultural studies are the first to go / be redone
And it matters no matter who does it
It’s choices made from the wealth of experience that other people’s art makes . It also gives people belief in their worth
It’s why cultural studies are the first to go / be redone
And it matters no matter who does it
One more reason to love the guy…
Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
February 9, 2026 at 1:03 PM
One more reason to love the guy…
Their job is *not* and has never been to protect us.
Shared with us from Sydney happening now. He had his hands up.
February 9, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Their job is *not* and has never been to protect us.
iTalki now added to the list of language learning apps to avoid/delete.
The *only* way we push back against AI (in this case to non-consensually record audio!) is to refuse to use it.
The *only* way we push back against AI (in this case to non-consensually record audio!) is to refuse to use it.
I used to recommend italki for language learning but they've gone full anti-user by forcing their AI on everyone and recording and using lessons without consent. I'll be deleting my italki account.
cool cool 🙄 #langsky
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
February 8, 2026 at 7:16 AM
iTalki now added to the list of language learning apps to avoid/delete.
The *only* way we push back against AI (in this case to non-consensually record audio!) is to refuse to use it.
The *only* way we push back against AI (in this case to non-consensually record audio!) is to refuse to use it.
Reposted by Dave Dun
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 7, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Reposted by Dave Dun
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
Reposted by Dave Dun
Editorial: Tell me Australia, which is worse: signing bombs or making anti-bomb signs? preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webvi...
February 7, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Editorial: Tell me Australia, which is worse: signing bombs or making anti-bomb signs? preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webvi...
Reposted by Dave Dun
This galaxy is VERY tiny—much much smaller than our own Milky Way—& incredibly distant. But we can see it AND distinguish its shape!
How?
The light we see from it is from SO LONG AGO that the Universe was MUCH smaller at the time: we see it as it was when it was close enough to us to look big!! 🤯
How?
The light we see from it is from SO LONG AGO that the Universe was MUCH smaller at the time: we see it as it was when it was close enough to us to look big!! 🤯
This is what the most distant confirmed galaxy looks like. The light we're receiving was emitted when the Universe was ~15x smaller in linear size than today, and right now it's ~30 billion light-years away from us. The light was emitted when the Universe was <300 million years old. Pretty amazing!
News from the edge of the visible universe:
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
February 7, 2026 at 2:28 AM
This galaxy is VERY tiny—much much smaller than our own Milky Way—& incredibly distant. But we can see it AND distinguish its shape!
How?
The light we see from it is from SO LONG AGO that the Universe was MUCH smaller at the time: we see it as it was when it was close enough to us to look big!! 🤯
How?
The light we see from it is from SO LONG AGO that the Universe was MUCH smaller at the time: we see it as it was when it was close enough to us to look big!! 🤯
Despite appearances, I do actually like to post positive things. And this news really *is* positive.
A twice yearly injection that essentially prevents HIV infection. Wow! 🤯 🎉
A twice yearly injection that essentially prevents HIV infection. Wow! 🤯 🎉
Just because good news is worth celebrating:
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
February 7, 2026 at 3:18 AM
Despite appearances, I do actually like to post positive things. And this news really *is* positive.
A twice yearly injection that essentially prevents HIV infection. Wow! 🤯 🎉
A twice yearly injection that essentially prevents HIV infection. Wow! 🤯 🎉
He’s *very* good at this.
Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal?
Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…
Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.
Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake.
Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…
Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.
Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake.
February 7, 2026 at 12:47 AM
He’s *very* good at this.
We’re affected by all this here in 🇦🇺. The tech fascists are coming for us all and we all need to fight back.
🧵If these men meant “get rid of poverty”, they would have said that. Thatcher/Reagan policy was built on the idea that the poor of whatever skin colour was genetically trapped in uselessness. Atlas Network partner tanks selected an irrelevant academic to foster & promote these ideas. His “studies”
February 7, 2026 at 12:43 AM
We’re affected by all this here in 🇦🇺. The tech fascists are coming for us all and we all need to fight back.