limitedfocus
@limitedfocus.bsky.social
Software engineer. Remote work / management enthusiast. I like gaming, gardening, the outdoors and sea salt in the breeze. Keeping life simple is a hobby of mine. I generally try to listen more than I speak.
Reposted by limitedfocus
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
Reposted by limitedfocus
Australia’s Social Media Ban Was Pushed By Ad Agency Focused On Gambling Ads It Didn’t Want Banned
We’ve talked about the Australian social media ban that went into effect last week, how dumb it is, and why it’s already a mess. But late last week, some additional news broke that makes the whole…
We’ve talked about the Australian social media ban that went into effect last week, how dumb it is, and why it’s already a mess. But late last week, some additional news broke that makes the whole…
Australia’s Social Media Ban Was Pushed By Ad Agency Focused On Gambling Ads It Didn’t Want Banned
We’ve talked about the Australian social media ban that went into effect last week, how dumb it is, and why it’s already a mess. But late last week, some additional news broke that makes the whole thing even more grotesque: turns out the campaign pushing hardest for the ban was run by an ad agency that makes gambling ads.
www.techdirt.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Australia’s Social Media Ban Was Pushed By Ad Agency Focused On Gambling Ads It Didn’t Want Banned
We’ve talked about the Australian social media ban that went into effect last week, how dumb it is, and why it’s already a mess. But late last week, some additional news broke that makes the whole…
We’ve talked about the Australian social media ban that went into effect last week, how dumb it is, and why it’s already a mess. But late last week, some additional news broke that makes the whole…
My kids must have learned a new language, joined a new sporting team and started playing a new musical instrument all before I got up this morning, because by the time I reached the kitchen, they'd gotten bored and were back on one of the million other platforms/apps on the internet.
The social media ban for under-16s starts today — here's what to know
After months of build-up, the time has finally come. From today, Australians under the age of 16 are banned from having a social media account.
www.abc.net.au
December 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
My kids must have learned a new language, joined a new sporting team and started playing a new musical instrument all before I got up this morning, because by the time I reached the kitchen, they'd gotten bored and were back on one of the million other platforms/apps on the internet.
Reposted by limitedfocus
Absolutely stunning to see Australia's teen social media ban rushed through while every single government, educational institution and probably a huge number of parents are frantically force-injecting chatbot slop into the mind of every single child in the country without a second's hesitation
‘I feel it’s a friend’: quarter of teenagers turn to AI chatbots for mental health support www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
‘I feel it’s a friend’: quarter of teenagers turn to AI chatbots for mental health support
Experts warn of dangers as England and Wales study shows 13- to 17-year-olds consulting AI amid long waiting lists for services
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Absolutely stunning to see Australia's teen social media ban rushed through while every single government, educational institution and probably a huge number of parents are frantically force-injecting chatbot slop into the mind of every single child in the country without a second's hesitation
Reposted by limitedfocus
Authors of net zero cost report say use of their attention grabbing bill headline of $9 trillion is misleading, and the real additional cost is $300 billion. Oops.
reneweconomy.com.au
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Authors of net zero cost report say use of their attention grabbing bill headline of $9 trillion is misleading, and the real additional cost is $300 billion. Oops.
Reposted by limitedfocus
This is a very good framing for why AI makes you a worse designer, developer, etc.
One of the skills of a doctor is diagnosis. That skill is rooted in knowledge, attitudes, and habits-of-mind. Automation is an interruptor to the habits-of-mind that allow doctors to do their work. The quest for increased efficiency in this case is actually a block on an important practice.
August 29, 2025 at 4:26 AM
This is a very good framing for why AI makes you a worse designer, developer, etc.
Reposted by limitedfocus
More evidence that (lots of) bosses are useless. If they were any good, they would be able to assess the output their workers produced instead of trying to recreate the office panopticon.
How bosses are catching out work-from-home fakers
Since the pandemic upended how we work, there has been a steep increase in playing virtual workplace hooky.
www.theage.com.au
August 26, 2025 at 1:43 AM
More evidence that (lots of) bosses are useless. If they were any good, they would be able to assess the output their workers produced instead of trying to recreate the office panopticon.
Reposted by limitedfocus
the mainstream media has been steadily buying into the idea that science and academia are somehow "captured" by left and liberal ideologues, rather than the more obvious explanation that measured analysis leads people away from reactionary thought
June 12, 2025 at 2:08 AM
the mainstream media has been steadily buying into the idea that science and academia are somehow "captured" by left and liberal ideologues, rather than the more obvious explanation that measured analysis leads people away from reactionary thought
Reposted by limitedfocus
Clickbait headline, but useful article. It’s a pity these myths weren’t challenged more regularly in the past!! Takes more than one mention.
www.smh.com.au/environment/...
www.smh.com.au/environment/...
Most Australians believe wind turbines are not really green. This is what we found
We debunk myths ranging from “there’s no point in acting until China does” to “we need nuclear for baseload power”.
www.smh.com.au
May 1, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Clickbait headline, but useful article. It’s a pity these myths weren’t challenged more regularly in the past!! Takes more than one mention.
www.smh.com.au/environment/...
www.smh.com.au/environment/...
Reposted by limitedfocus
When a politician says we should care about the civil rights of a community and not an individual, you can bet your arse they are talking about a community that only includes poeple who agree with them.
April 8, 2025 at 2:12 AM
When a politician says we should care about the civil rights of a community and not an individual, you can bet your arse they are talking about a community that only includes poeple who agree with them.
Reposted by limitedfocus
#Batteries become dominant player in Australia’s most renewable state, providing more than one third of state demand in early morning peak
Big batteries provide one third of state’s power needs, smashing records and “big banana” tropes
Batteries become dominant player in Australia’s most renewable state, providing more than one third of state demand in early morning peak.
reneweconomy.com.au
April 6, 2025 at 11:12 PM
#Batteries become dominant player in Australia’s most renewable state, providing more than one third of state demand in early morning peak
Reposted by limitedfocus
One my abiding memories of Locdkown was going for a week around the burbs with a friend who will remain nameless - let's just call him John Eales - and noting how many fathers were playing with their children in the parks, in the late afternoon.
100% correct.
I loved lock down. (I know others didn’t). I got to spend all day every day with my kids.
Such an important time to build connection, support, confidence
I loved lock down. (I know others didn’t). I got to spend all day every day with my kids.
Such an important time to build connection, support, confidence
March 9, 2025 at 12:50 AM
One my abiding memories of Locdkown was going for a week around the burbs with a friend who will remain nameless - let's just call him John Eales - and noting how many fathers were playing with their children in the parks, in the late afternoon.
Reposted by limitedfocus
Wrote a bit about this the other day in a business context - the "AI writes the first draft and I edit" approach kills any possibility of effective editing because it kills the process by which understanding emerges.
The process is the point
Using LLMs to rush the design process to the output at the end cuts out the very feedback loop that makes design worth doing in the first place.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
February 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Wrote a bit about this the other day in a business context - the "AI writes the first draft and I edit" approach kills any possibility of effective editing because it kills the process by which understanding emerges.
Reposted by limitedfocus
Democrats call for investigation into potential security breaches by Elon Musk
Democrats call for investigation into potential security breaches by Elon Musk
Concerns that Musk and operatives have illegally accessed classified information as Republican support for Musk falls
* US politics live – latest updates
Senior Democrats are demanding an investigation into potential national security breaches…
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Democrats call for investigation into potential security breaches by Elon Musk
Reposted by limitedfocus
If you don’t stand up for rule of law, nothing else matters. It’s the mechanism of accountability in democracies. If Trump can do anything he wants with shutting down agencies, it’s naive to imagine he will follow the rules in elections and beyond. Preserving rule of law is existential to democracy.
February 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM
If you don’t stand up for rule of law, nothing else matters. It’s the mechanism of accountability in democracies. If Trump can do anything he wants with shutting down agencies, it’s naive to imagine he will follow the rules in elections and beyond. Preserving rule of law is existential to democracy.
Reposted by limitedfocus
But that's utter bullshit isn't it?
Australia is built on cultural diversity. It's based in immigration from all over the world. Always has been.
To argue *against* diversity in the workplace is to argue against what Australia is made up of.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
Australia is built on cultural diversity. It's based in immigration from all over the world. Always has been.
To argue *against* diversity in the workplace is to argue against what Australia is made up of.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
‘Straight from the Trump playbook’: Dutton flags cultural diversity jobs are in the firing line
The opposition leader says such programs and positions “do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians”.
www.smh.com.au
February 2, 2025 at 9:44 PM
But that's utter bullshit isn't it?
Australia is built on cultural diversity. It's based in immigration from all over the world. Always has been.
To argue *against* diversity in the workplace is to argue against what Australia is made up of.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
Australia is built on cultural diversity. It's based in immigration from all over the world. Always has been.
To argue *against* diversity in the workplace is to argue against what Australia is made up of.
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
I found these savage ibis in the wild, digging through the mud amongst the mangroves. They have yet to succumb to the civilising effect of rubbish bins.
February 2, 2025 at 1:49 AM
I found these savage ibis in the wild, digging through the mud amongst the mangroves. They have yet to succumb to the civilising effect of rubbish bins.
Reposted by limitedfocus
This Hannah Arendt quote feels appropriate right now
"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty."
"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty."
January 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM
This Hannah Arendt quote feels appropriate right now
"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty."
"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty."
Reposted by limitedfocus
The "gamechanger" rhetoric about ... many tech things... is not only people stating their beliefs, it's people stating their wishes in an effort to influence consumers, decisionmakers, markets, and investment. It's like when little kids say in the hearing of their parents "I wish I had a cookie."
January 28, 2025 at 10:18 PM
The "gamechanger" rhetoric about ... many tech things... is not only people stating their beliefs, it's people stating their wishes in an effort to influence consumers, decisionmakers, markets, and investment. It's like when little kids say in the hearing of their parents "I wish I had a cookie."
Reposted by limitedfocus
Trump again demands to buy Greenland in ‘horrendous’ call with Danish PM
Trump again demands to buy Greenland in ‘horrendous’ call with Danish PM
Source says: ‘The Danes are in crisis mode’ after US president’s call with prime minister Mette Frederiksen
Donald Trump had a fiery phone call with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen over his demands to buy Greenland, according to senior European…
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Trump again demands to buy Greenland in ‘horrendous’ call with Danish PM
Reposted by limitedfocus
Elon Musk's anti-remote work crusade is so funny to me
this is the guy with the vision for the future?
he wants to go to Mars, why? so you can sit in an office cubicle from 9 to 5 but you're doing it on the Red Planet? lol
this is the guy with the vision for the future?
he wants to go to Mars, why? so you can sit in an office cubicle from 9 to 5 but you're doing it on the Red Planet? lol
January 24, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Elon Musk's anti-remote work crusade is so funny to me
this is the guy with the vision for the future?
he wants to go to Mars, why? so you can sit in an office cubicle from 9 to 5 but you're doing it on the Red Planet? lol
this is the guy with the vision for the future?
he wants to go to Mars, why? so you can sit in an office cubicle from 9 to 5 but you're doing it on the Red Planet? lol
Reposted by limitedfocus
I understand that ChatGPT is down and fortunately this is not a problem for me as I have spent considerable time developing a local language model that I am able to run autonomously, fueled by Coke Zero and snacks
January 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I understand that ChatGPT is down and fortunately this is not a problem for me as I have spent considerable time developing a local language model that I am able to run autonomously, fueled by Coke Zero and snacks
Reposted by limitedfocus
So now they can waste billions on full offices. Get rid of the offices if you want to save money 🤦♂️
January 23, 2025 at 9:34 PM
So now they can waste billions on full offices. Get rid of the offices if you want to save money 🤦♂️
Reposted by limitedfocus
Just days before his inauguration, Donald Trump became the world's newest crypto billionaire by peddling a worthless meme coin to his followers.
It's the latest reminder that the entire crypto industry is a giant Ponzi scheme — and that Trump won't do a damn thing to regulate it.
It's the latest reminder that the entire crypto industry is a giant Ponzi scheme — and that Trump won't do a damn thing to regulate it.
Own Cryptocurrency? Watch this. | Robert Reich
Celebrities have been shamelessly peddling crypto.In November, Mark Cuban said that Voyager was "as close to risk free as you’re gonna get in the crypto univ...
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Just days before his inauguration, Donald Trump became the world's newest crypto billionaire by peddling a worthless meme coin to his followers.
It's the latest reminder that the entire crypto industry is a giant Ponzi scheme — and that Trump won't do a damn thing to regulate it.
It's the latest reminder that the entire crypto industry is a giant Ponzi scheme — and that Trump won't do a damn thing to regulate it.
Reposted by limitedfocus
5. The effect has now fully worn off. Capital and class power are triumphant once more. Autocrats scarcely need lift a finger to gain and retain power, as the patrimonial spiral has been turning uninterrupted since 1980 (thanks neoliberalism!). The emperors are back.
January 20, 2025 at 7:09 AM
5. The effect has now fully worn off. Capital and class power are triumphant once more. Autocrats scarcely need lift a finger to gain and retain power, as the patrimonial spiral has been turning uninterrupted since 1980 (thanks neoliberalism!). The emperors are back.