Claire 🇦🇺
@matchingpegs.bsky.social
1.1K followers 300 following 230 posts
I believe in evidence based policy. I work on websites for local government. I sew, 🪡 🧵 and despite being a lifelong Melbournian, I don’t wear black. My curiosity is my superpower. 🇦🇺 🦘 Living on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung of the Kulin Nation
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matchingpegs.bsky.social
Why stop at schools. Let’s do hospitals, workplaces, shopping centres, churches, gyms, all public buildings!
nousaerons.bsky.social
A Secret Weapon for Improving Student Outcomes: Better Air Quality. Research shows that test scores and attendance improve when schools install air filters and upgrade ventilation. Thanks to @davidcarel.bsky.social for this reminder.
www.the74million.org/article/a-se...
A Secret Weapon for Improving Student Outcomes: Better Air Quality
Carel: Research shows that test scores and attendance improve when schools install air filters and upgrade ventilation.
www.the74million.org
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
tyranny.sparklenoise.com
we could have like cool ass HEPA filtration tech everywhere but I guess we get to have dysentery measles instead
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
docsenvaus.bsky.social
Groundbreaking research released today measures the health impacts that Woodside's Scarborough Gas Project will cause. It shows the harm to our health and the health of our environment.

We cannot pretend that greenhouse gas emissions from any one fossil fuel project don't count.
For the first time, scientists can show the impact of gas project emissions
Fossil fuel companies and governments argue it's not possible to link climate impacts to specific projects, but Australian researchers have done the numbers.
www.abc.net.au
matchingpegs.bsky.social
Doona cover sewing is the best. I was just on a sewing weekend, and there was a fair bit of that being done.
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social
This isn’t fearmongering — it’s reality. Hospital-acquired COVID can delay care or cost you your health — even your life.

Infection control measures — masks, ventilation, testing, and staff/patient protections — should be standard care in every healthcare setting.

Source: x.com/PrognosticCh...
Prognostic Chats @PrognosticChats

Some day you’ll be in hospital for surgery or chemotherapy or with another illness & a nurse, or doctor or visitor at the next bed, or the patient opposite you will give you a Covid infection & your treatment will get delayed & your life will be put at unnecessary risk.

4:28 AM · Oct 12, 2025 · 5,515  Views
matchingpegs.bsky.social
It’s not evidence based, and it’s inhumane to treat vulnerable people this way. It must hurt very much to have it happen while you are on staff. I’m sorry.
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
yungenchee.bsky.social
Meanwhile in Australia, the so-called National Press Club cancels decorated journalist, Chris Hedges, who was to speak on the "amplification of Israeli lies in the press, which most reporters know are lies, betraying Palestinian colleagues who are slandered, targeted and killed by Israel"
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
kazcooke.bsky.social
Ugh can we not have AI depictions of witches (or anything else) please. The self-entrenching stereotypes of AI used for women of all ages are shit-house. If you want an image, please search for a usable one that exists & credit the artist, or draw it, or commission it.
matchingpegs.bsky.social
elhopkins.bsky.social
I went into a bookshop today and there was a sign on the door that said ‘masks are encouraged, please consider wearing one’. It was so refreshing to see a sign like this.
matchingpegs.bsky.social
I really want us to learn this lesson quickly!
thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social
Why investment in clean indoor air is vital preparation for the pandemics and climate emergencies to come.

"Each day, we breathe more than 7,000 litres of air. Unsurprisingly, the quality of this air really matters."

Source: archive.md/ueB9Z
Crowded indoor school assembly. Dozens of primary-age students sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor, wearing bright red, green, blue, and yellow polo uniforms, clapping in unison. A black caption bar reads, “Why investment in clean indoor air is vital…” from The Conversation.

Published: October 2, 2025 4.39am AEST
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
bluemattred.bsky.social
I went to a great presentation the other day about designing for people with brain injuries.

Fascinating insights, such as someone who'd had a stroke using paper to hide text on a web page.

Because they found more than a couple of lines of text overwhelming.

Break up your text. Use white space.
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
jay.bsky.team
“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”
― Jane Goodall

💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero
Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf
matchingpegs.bsky.social
“In summary, the team’s findings resolve key uncertainties about the biological basis of Long COVID brain fog and may pave the way for novel diagnostic tools and effective therapies for patients suffering from this condition.”
thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social
Scientists Finally Reveal Biological Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog.

Patients with brain fog may have disrupted AMPA receptor (AMPAR) expression—key molecules for memory and learning. Imaging of Long COVID patients showed elevated AMPAR density tied to more severe cognitive impairment.
Scientists Finally Reveal Biological Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog
Researchers employed a specialized brain imaging technique to identify a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for Long COVID. More than four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, scien...
scitechdaily.com
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
tjheffernan.bsky.social
It would be really nice if academic institutions and governments pushing "AI is the future" stopped buying the hype and admitted they were conned, so we can get back to thinking through useful solutions to world problems.
abeba.bsky.social
"Microsoft says its Agent Mode in Excel has an accuracy rate of 57.2%" 😶

I often wonder how these corps would have turned the world upside down if genAI was actually accurate and useful. they've lost their minds over shoddy and mediocre tools

www.theverge.com/news/787076/...
Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Excel and Word
Vibe working is all about Office’s new Agent Mode.
www.theverge.com
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social
COVID Isn’t a Cold. It’s Cigarettes All Over Again.

5 years into this experiment: we let COVID rip and pretended it was fine. Damage piled up—unlike smoking’s slow toll, we’re seeing it in real time. Every infection leaves a mark; even “mild.” The bill comes due. We chose denial

archive.md/Jyi7k
A vintage 1946 Camel cigarette advertisement shows a smiling older white man in a doctor’s coat holding a cigarette. The slogan claims “More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette.” Above the ad, bold yellow text reads “COVID Isn’t a Cold. It’s Cigarettes All Over Again,” drawing a parallel between COVID risks and the tobacco industry’s history of downplaying harm.
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
pennyallmanpayne.com
Stop ‘rationing’ aged care and end the wait lists - that’s what a majority of Senators in our Aged Care Inquiry have agreed to work towards.

Sadly, Labor disagreed and voted to ensure enforced shortages meaning people die waiting 12mo+ for care.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Aged care waiting lists a ‘calculated denial of services’ that could be fatal, Senate inquiry warns
Greens-chaired inquiry says system should be demand driven despite Labor’s dissenting view that this could cause unintended flow-on issues
www.theguardian.com
matchingpegs.bsky.social
This sounds super lovely! I’ll definitely think about it.
matchingpegs.bsky.social
This is the thought I keep having too. LLM seem like solutions that are looking for problems and struggling.
matchingpegs.bsky.social
‘Brain rot: what is tech doing to our memories?’ An interesting episode, and food for thought.

pca.st/episode/510d...
Brain Rot: What is tech doing to your memory?
pca.st
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
helenczerski.bsky.social
In discussion with a computer scientist from the University of Cambridge last night:

Me: "you've described some of the things that AI is good at. How would you describe the category of things it's not good at?

**pause**

Him: "Anything where it has to be right".
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
gayfabfourfan.bsky.social
Finally a public health org is laying out the brutal truth: that every COVID infection increases your risk for permanent organ damage. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll experience it months after an infection, but years. Protect yourself & others. Wear a good mask where you can get or spread it.
durhamhealthnc.bsky.social
COVID-19 cases are still high, so be sure to know the facts and avoid the myths in order to protect yourself and others.
COVID-19 myths vs. facts. myth: If I’ve already had COVID-19 once, I’m immune from getting it again. Fact: There is no limit on how many times you can  get COVID-19. Reinfection is common, and each new infection raises your risk of serious illness, organ damage, Long COVID, and more. COVID-19 myths vs. facts. myth: I won’t get COVID-19 as long as I wash my hands well. Fact: It’s always a good idea to wash your hands, but COVID-19 spreads primarily through the air and respiratory droplets, so handwashing is much less likely to prevent COVID-19 than wearing masks. COVID-19 myths vs. facts. myth: I don’t need to wear masks if I’ve already been vaccinated.Fact: Vaccines can reduce your risk of infection, and if you do get sick after being vaccinated,  you are much less likely to experience severe illness or death, but it is still possible to get COVID-19 and spread it to others even if you’ve been vaccinated, so it’s a good idea to keep masking.
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
mikehoney.bsky.social
Australian COVID-19 weekly stats update:

The risk estimate fell to 0.2% “Currently Infectious”, or 1-in-523.

That implies a 6% chance that someone is infectious in a group of 30.

#COVID19 #SARSCoV2 #Australia
🧵
Reposted by Claire 🇦🇺
derekjesq.bsky.social
“Fascism” isn’t a slur for politics we don’t like. It’s a precise word with precise meaning. And in the face of what’s happening right now in America, it’s the most honest one we have.

I’ll lay it out as plainly as I can. 🧵