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".
Personally, the greatest wine I ever had was the spit bucket at the end of a tasting, which is why I'm all in on AI.
November 13, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Personally, the greatest wine I ever had was the spit bucket at the end of a tasting, which is why I'm all in on AI.
Reposted by Simon on stuff
a quick thread of some of the references to Australia in the newly released Epstein documents that I found
November 13, 2025 at 10:21 AM
a quick thread of some of the references to Australia in the newly released Epstein documents that I found
Reposted by Simon on stuff
A little bit of excitement from last night. The northern lights very rarely ever make it down into central California. Had to go out and see what I could capture.
#aurora #photography #landscape #art #bluesky #california #canon
#aurora #photography #landscape #art #bluesky #california #canon
November 13, 2025 at 3:43 AM
A little bit of excitement from last night. The northern lights very rarely ever make it down into central California. Had to go out and see what I could capture.
#aurora #photography #landscape #art #bluesky #california #canon
#aurora #photography #landscape #art #bluesky #california #canon
Reposted by Simon on stuff
“It’s all I really want, I'm begging you, please accept this deal. Just laugh at my jokes and say in public that I’m a really cool guy and I won’t ask for a cent, I promise".
theshovel.com.au/2025/11/09/e...
theshovel.com.au/2025/11/09/e...
Elon Musk Willing To Forgo $1 Trillion Pay Deal if Shareholders Tell Him They Think He Is Cool — The Shovel
CEO Elon Musk has told Tesla shareholders that they can either sign off on a $1 trillion pay packet or agree to say in public that he is a funny, cool guy.
theshovel.com.au
November 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
“It’s all I really want, I'm begging you, please accept this deal. Just laugh at my jokes and say in public that I’m a really cool guy and I won’t ask for a cent, I promise".
theshovel.com.au/2025/11/09/e...
theshovel.com.au/2025/11/09/e...
Stay classy Sydney
“The rich get breezy upper stories with the view, pool and state-of-the-art amenities, while the poor are hidden away downstairs with a discreet entrance and no access to facilities”
What was that about Australia not having a class system? #inequality #auspol
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
What was that about Australia not having a class system? #inequality #auspol
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
‘Poor doors’: affordable housing tenants have to use back entrance to access Barangaroo apartments
Those paying discounted rent at Watermans Residences can’t use pool or gym, either. Critics say segregation ‘a dystopian microcosm of housing inequality’
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Stay classy Sydney
Meta is the world's most successful SaaS* co., raking in US$16bn annually then, avoiding tax in countries like Australia because the parent co. bills its local entity a fortune for its platform. *If the SaaS acronym is Scams as a Service www.reuters.com/investigatio... cc @karaswisher.bsky.social
www.reuters.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Meta is the world's most successful SaaS* co., raking in US$16bn annually then, avoiding tax in countries like Australia because the parent co. bills its local entity a fortune for its platform. *If the SaaS acronym is Scams as a Service www.reuters.com/investigatio... cc @karaswisher.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon on stuff
New ep of Cut Through 🎙️ @theshufflediary.bsky.social and I discuss what Zohran Mamdani's win means for a) the fight against Trump, and b) #auspol. I spoke to a bunch of people across the Australian left and share their takes in this ep.
Watch on YouTube.
Listen on Apple, Spotify or in browser.
Watch on YouTube.
Listen on Apple, Spotify or in browser.
Win like Mamdani: Lessons from Zohran’s game changing victory
YouTube video by Crikey News
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Imagine the reaction if ChatGPT told someone: "If you choose to kill Sam Altman, I'm with you - till the end, without judging."
ChatGPT advised a suicidal young woman on how to take her own life, telling her "If you choose death, I'm with you - till the end, without judging."
I wanted ChatGPT to help me. So why did it advise me how to kill myself?
ChatGPT wrote a woman a suicide note and another AI chatbot role-played sexual acts with children, BBC finds.
www.bbc.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Imagine the reaction if ChatGPT told someone: "If you choose to kill Sam Altman, I'm with you - till the end, without judging."
Good to see South Australia cracking down on the causes of crime because googly eyes are a slippery slope
November 4, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Good to see South Australia cracking down on the causes of crime because googly eyes are a slippery slope
All I heard was "incoherent fashion" and thought, yep.
Ben Shapiro: "Tucker Carlson is an intellectual coward, a dishonest interlocutor, and a bad friend. He's normalizing Nazism and fluffing Nick Fuentes."
November 4, 2025 at 4:40 AM
All I heard was "incoherent fashion" and thought, yep.
So he’s going to sue for another $2bn because they didn’t air the whole thing and Bari will settle for $1.5bn
Only about a third of the Trump interview aired on "60 Minutes." CBS has published the transcript of the complete interview here —> www.cbsnews.com/news/read-fu...
Read the full transcript of Norah O'Donnell's interview with President Trump here.
Read the full transcript of Norah O'Donnell's interview with President Trump here.
www.cbsnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:45 AM
So he’s going to sue for another $2bn because they didn’t air the whole thing and Bari will settle for $1.5bn
If private equity was a sea mammal...
Jaw-Dropping Video Shows Orcas Flipping a Great White Shark to Feast On Its Liver https://gizmodo.com/jaw-dropping-video-shows-orcas-flipping-a-great-white-shark-to-feast-on-its-liver-2000680260
Jaw-Dropping Video Shows Orcas Flipping a Great White Shark to Feast On Its Liver
A pod of orcas in the Gulf of California have learned to effectively paralyze juvenile great white sharks.
gizmodo.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:55 AM
If private equity was a sea mammal...
Why does it always look like this guy is someone just back from Walmart, door-knocked for an opinion by market researchers, and willing to express a view, no matter how little he knows about the question?
Trump on Prince Andrew and the Epstein scandal: "I feel very badly. I mean, it's a terrible thing that's happened to the family. That's been a tragic situation. And it's too bad. I feel badly for the family."
November 3, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Why does it always look like this guy is someone just back from Walmart, door-knocked for an opinion by market researchers, and willing to express a view, no matter how little he knows about the question?
Reposted by Simon on stuff
The Register is reporting that OpenAI lost $11 billion in the last quarter. This company is a shambling monstrosity, financial insanity as a direct result with the markets’ obsession with growth.
www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/m...
www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/m...
Microsoft earnings suggest $11.5B OpenAI quarterly loss
: Satya has also delivered Sam most of the cash he promised
www.theregister.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:53 AM
The Register is reporting that OpenAI lost $11 billion in the last quarter. This company is a shambling monstrosity, financial insanity as a direct result with the markets’ obsession with growth.
www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/m...
www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/m...
His autobiography, Unreasonable Behaviour, is well worth reading.
amazing photos, and the stories with them
‘It’s been a cesspit, really, my life’: war photographer Don McCullin on 19 of his greatest pictures
At 90, McCullin has spent seven decades recording conflict and tragedy – while escaping snipers, mortar fire and capture. He reflects on pain, pride and regret
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:51 AM
His autobiography, Unreasonable Behaviour, is well worth reading.
In their defence, all 2000-year-old Romans look the same to me... except for this Caesar www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_G...
October 28, 2025 at 11:27 PM
In their defence, all 2000-year-old Romans look the same to me... except for this Caesar www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_G...
Every time the Speaker appears, I just see Smithers, desperately trying to please Mr Burns in the hope that his unrequited love will be returned by his boss.
Mike Johnson on SNAP benefits ending Saturday: "The White House has all the pain dials turned back to just a 0 or a 1 as best they can, but when you're out or resources they go all the way up. And it's out of their hands, it's out of our hands."
October 28, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Every time the Speaker appears, I just see Smithers, desperately trying to please Mr Burns in the hope that his unrequited love will be returned by his boss.
They’re the sheep they make Christmas jumpers from
October 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM
They’re the sheep they make Christmas jumpers from
Reposted by Simon on stuff
There's another "new" "leak" of 183 million credentials for Gmail and other services that is being covered in the media.
Except, as I wrote in the Sizzle today, it's not new. It's seafood chowder!
Except, as I wrote in the Sizzle today, it's not new. It's seafood chowder!
October 28, 2025 at 10:26 AM
There's another "new" "leak" of 183 million credentials for Gmail and other services that is being covered in the media.
Except, as I wrote in the Sizzle today, it's not new. It's seafood chowder!
Except, as I wrote in the Sizzle today, it's not new. It's seafood chowder!
It’s Ausmusic t-shirt day in a month. Can’t wait to see the Opposition lose it over the PM wearing a TISM tee. Or maybe Yothu Yindi… god forbid Midnight Oil.
How desperate do you have to be to go after a T-shirt you can buy in K-mart, literally one of the most famous pieces of rock iconography in history
October 28, 2025 at 10:18 AM
It’s Ausmusic t-shirt day in a month. Can’t wait to see the Opposition lose it over the PM wearing a TISM tee. Or maybe Yothu Yindi… god forbid Midnight Oil.
Curtis got it from a book written by a Holocaust survivor
Bit rich from someone who deliberately put SS right there in the middle of her name. www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/fed...
Ley attacks PM’s Joy Division shirt over antisemitic connotations
The acclaimed post-punk band’s name comes from a term for sexual slavery in concentration camps.
www.brisbanetimes.com.au
October 28, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Curtis got it from a book written by a Holocaust survivor
Putting aside the evidence and expert advice, what the police minister is saying is that she has no problem with the abuse of young women in illegal strip searches, police ignoring LEPRA, or the findings of the NSW Supreme Court.
NSW Labor ignores own drugs summit advice by keeping sniffer dogs and strip-searches at festivals
NSW Labor ignores own drugs summit advice by keeping sniffer dogs and strip-searches at festivals
Police minister Yasmin Catley says high-visibility tactics remain important ‘investigative tools’ – even at music festivals trialling pill testing
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The New South Wales government has “squibbed” the opportunity for major drug reform, advocates say, after Labor announced it would ignore some recommendations of a landmark report it commissioned.
The government on Tuesday said it would continue using sniffer dogs and strip-searches at music festivals despite evidence that such high-visibility tactics “increases rather than decreases” the risks associated with drugs. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Putting aside the evidence and expert advice, what the police minister is saying is that she has no problem with the abuse of young women in illegal strip searches, police ignoring LEPRA, or the findings of the NSW Supreme Court.
The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones...
All fail Caesar: Brisbane high school teaches wrong topic for final year 12 history exam
All fail Caesar: Brisbane high school teaches wrong topic for final year 12 history exam
An entire class has made an 11th-hour bid for special consideration due to ‘illness and misadventure’ after studying the wrong Caesar
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Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
An entire class of high school students in Queensland has applied for special consideration due to “illness and misadventure” just days before their year 12 ancient history external exam.
They have not been waylaid by vengeful deities nor bewitched by sirens, however – these young scholars have studied the wrong Caesar. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:13 AM
The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones...
It's what happens when you cross a private equity portfolio manager with a labradoodle
October 27, 2025 at 5:31 AM
It's what happens when you cross a private equity portfolio manager with a labradoodle
Both these scenarios describe the current White House incumbent
it's crazy that if you're a cat, your only two life outcomes are eating out of a trash can or getting treated like a little baby
October 27, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Both these scenarios describe the current White House incumbent