Simon on stuff
@simonthomsen.bsky.social
Journalist covering tech and startups who likes a bunch of things, including a kinder world. As Guru Adrian said: "Having fun is half the fun".
Should tragedy befall Catholics, and they ask for their head of state, who gets the invite?
February 11, 2026 at 6:33 AM
Should tragedy befall Catholics, and they ask for their head of state, who gets the invite?
How much will a Jim's Libertarians franchise cost? Imagine the corflute margins.
February 11, 2026 at 6:22 AM
How much will a Jim's Libertarians franchise cost? Imagine the corflute margins.
Only late Millennials and younger don't recall that Bondi, Malabar and Manly had constant shit slicks off them up until 1990 when the deep ocean outfalls opened
February 11, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Only late Millennials and younger don't recall that Bondi, Malabar and Manly had constant shit slicks off them up until 1990 when the deep ocean outfalls opened
I was especially triggered when BB said “Always believe in yourself". And "Vales más de lo que piensas, créeme" also deserves a Senate hearing because this could potentially lead to citizens being on equal terms with the grifters in Congress. Perhaps Alford should translate the Epstein files.
Alford: "On Bad Bunny - we're still investigating. There's info out about the lyrics. I don't speak fluent Spanish, but if it's true what was said on natl TV, we have a lot of Qs for entities that broadcast it & we'll be talking w/ the FCC. This could be worse than the Janet wardrobe malfunction"
February 11, 2026 at 12:18 AM
I was especially triggered when BB said “Always believe in yourself". And "Vales más de lo que piensas, créeme" also deserves a Senate hearing because this could potentially lead to citizens being on equal terms with the grifters in Congress. Perhaps Alford should translate the Epstein files.
The Spanish term that springs to mind is pajero.
February 11, 2026 at 12:01 AM
The Spanish term that springs to mind is pajero.
Reads more like someone with his phone in one hand and you-know-what in the other, tugging away as he types in great detail about his idea of depravity.
February 10, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reads more like someone with his phone in one hand and you-know-what in the other, tugging away as he types in great detail about his idea of depravity.
This question is redundant because “Sydney” is the answer
February 10, 2026 at 11:59 AM
This question is redundant because “Sydney” is the answer
February 10, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Old enough to remember the 80s verbals, a former premier's son 4 decades on, the 90s Wood royal commission. The only difference is now people have smartphones contradicting the lie of the state's narrative*.
* punching people on the ground, with 2 officers atop, is always taken out of context.
* punching people on the ground, with 2 officers atop, is always taken out of context.
February 10, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Old enough to remember the 80s verbals, a former premier's son 4 decades on, the 90s Wood royal commission. The only difference is now people have smartphones contradicting the lie of the state's narrative*.
* punching people on the ground, with 2 officers atop, is always taken out of context.
* punching people on the ground, with 2 officers atop, is always taken out of context.
Reposted by Simon on stuff
social cohesion..
February 10, 2026 at 6:01 AM
social cohesion..
Editor years are longer than dog years, so as Jack Gibson so wisely observed: "Played strong. Done fine." 🏆
February 10, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Editor years are longer than dog years, so as Jack Gibson so wisely observed: "Played strong. Done fine." 🏆
Sound familiar?
2. Linked to its alignment with the Netanyahu government is the Labour government’s assaults on the right to protest at home. Assaults that would have stopped the Labour movement in its tracks:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Here’s what you need to know about Starmer’s illiberal protest curbs: they would have killed the Labour party at birth | George Monbiot
The rights we enjoy in the UK, and the movement the PM purports to lead, were built on protest. Those rights are in dire peril, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Sound familiar?
Reposted by Simon on stuff
The award-winning cartoonist Jon Kudelka died in Hobart on Sunday, aged 53. Over 30 years, his work resisted the polarisation of the contemporary Australian media.
As beautiful as they were powerful: Jon Kudelka’s political cartoons were made with true conviction
theconversation.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:34 AM
The award-winning cartoonist Jon Kudelka died in Hobart on Sunday, aged 53. Over 30 years, his work resisted the polarisation of the contemporary Australian media.
There's a very simple test to apply to what happened. You could infer, without knowing, an element of civil disobedience in Muslim men praying outside Sydney Town Hall last night. But imagine another religious group praying similarly in public when police stormed them. What would the reaction be?
February 10, 2026 at 5:29 AM
There's a very simple test to apply to what happened. You could infer, without knowing, an element of civil disobedience in Muslim men praying outside Sydney Town Hall last night. But imagine another religious group praying similarly in public when police stormed them. What would the reaction be?
Reposted by Simon on stuff
"Social cohesion is a scam, a strategy employed by the powerful to delegitimise and suppress the voices of the less powerful... If you are othered by powerful groups, you become the victim of cohesion, not the beneficiary; what you get from social cohesion is a punch from an armed official."
Nothing says cohesion like a punch in the head: Violence of Minns' goons exposes the lie of 'social cohesion'
NSW Police's actions against protesters in in Sydney was about the powerful dictating the terms of free speech — through state-sanctioned violence if necessary.
www.crikey.com.au
February 10, 2026 at 2:55 AM
"Social cohesion is a scam, a strategy employed by the powerful to delegitimise and suppress the voices of the less powerful... If you are othered by powerful groups, you become the victim of cohesion, not the beneficiary; what you get from social cohesion is a punch from an armed official."
Keep thinking about 2020, when NSW police piled on Sydney Uni law prof Simon Rice observing a protest - confidential settlement for assault, battery & false imprisonment. 78yo Danny Lim at QVB, 2023, hospitalised with head injuries from excessive force. And TJ Hickey (2004), Jai Wright (2022).
February 10, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Keep thinking about 2020, when NSW police piled on Sydney Uni law prof Simon Rice observing a protest - confidential settlement for assault, battery & false imprisonment. 78yo Danny Lim at QVB, 2023, hospitalised with head injuries from excessive force. And TJ Hickey (2004), Jai Wright (2022).
It's also designed to maximise water capture, so function as much as form
February 10, 2026 at 12:57 AM
It's also designed to maximise water capture, so function as much as form
Have to say the $16 million the NSW premier spent on bringing the UFC to Sydney is really paying off in terms of its impact on local culture.
February 10, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Have to say the $16 million the NSW premier spent on bringing the UFC to Sydney is really paying off in terms of its impact on local culture.
Can someone teach him how to mash avocado and chop tomatoes so he doesn't have to spend $10 on prepackaged food?
February 10, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Can someone teach him how to mash avocado and chop tomatoes so he doesn't have to spend $10 on prepackaged food?
Reposted by Simon on stuff
SpaceX shifts focus from something that it will never do on Mars to something it will never do on the Moon.
February 9, 2026 at 3:32 AM
SpaceX shifts focus from something that it will never do on Mars to something it will never do on the Moon.
reminds me of former conservative Australian prime minister John Howard saying he's a Bob Dylan fan - for the music, not lyrics, adding "you shouldn’t be so politically correct, that somebody that may not necessarily share the views of the vocalist, can’t enjoy the music, that’s very narrow minded".
February 9, 2026 at 12:37 AM
reminds me of former conservative Australian prime minister John Howard saying he's a Bob Dylan fan - for the music, not lyrics, adding "you shouldn’t be so politically correct, that somebody that may not necessarily share the views of the vocalist, can’t enjoy the music, that’s very narrow minded".
Everything Musk says has a Rapture mindset - any day now the Lord returns, and his predictions are just as accurate.
I'm going with Sir Isaac Newtown's calculation for a 2nd Coming, 2060, as around when Musk gets there, assuming the Vogons don't wipe out Earth for a hyperspace express first
I'm going with Sir Isaac Newtown's calculation for a 2nd Coming, 2060, as around when Musk gets there, assuming the Vogons don't wipe out Earth for a hyperspace express first
February 9, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Everything Musk says has a Rapture mindset - any day now the Lord returns, and his predictions are just as accurate.
I'm going with Sir Isaac Newtown's calculation for a 2nd Coming, 2060, as around when Musk gets there, assuming the Vogons don't wipe out Earth for a hyperspace express first
I'm going with Sir Isaac Newtown's calculation for a 2nd Coming, 2060, as around when Musk gets there, assuming the Vogons don't wipe out Earth for a hyperspace express first
And then ChatGPT says: "But if your farm income drops below a sustainable level, consider a side hustle on Golden Encounters, where roaring cougars offer emotional connection to sensitive cubs at a price where everybody gets to sow their oats".
There's a ChatGPT ad about a family farm where the owner says her family has been doing this for a hundred years and she doesn't want to be the one to screw it up and that's why she's getting advice from ChatGPT and, my God, can you people hear yourselves?
February 9, 2026 at 12:06 AM
And then ChatGPT says: "But if your farm income drops below a sustainable level, consider a side hustle on Golden Encounters, where roaring cougars offer emotional connection to sensitive cubs at a price where everybody gets to sow their oats".
His linkedIn post: "Here's what agentic AI taught me about divorce", is a cracking read.
February 9, 2026 at 12:01 AM
His linkedIn post: "Here's what agentic AI taught me about divorce", is a cracking read.
Every time I see a number and argument like this, my first thought is "but as a % of total wealth, how much of it is owned by to the top 0.1% of earners?"
California relies heavily on billionaires and other high earners. In 2023, more than one-sixth of the state's personal income tax revenue came from the top 0.1% of earners -- or about 17,500 tax returns.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
February 8, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Every time I see a number and argument like this, my first thought is "but as a % of total wealth, how much of it is owned by to the top 0.1% of earners?"