Chris Bennetts
@benetsc.bsky.social
Massive nerd. Programmer. Cyclist. Kindness enthusiast. 🏳️🌈🌻💻🚞🚴✈️🚀🛰️
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
January 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
Astonishing imagery. Consider that most of the planet is being imaged at this resolution or better several times per day.
It gets much, much better!
Airbus' Pleiades NEO 3 satellite captured 30cm resolution imagery of SLS rolling out to the pad today at 16:24:26 UTC.
Incredible imagery!
I've uploaded the full capture to @soaratlas.bsky.social: soaratlas.com/maps/140457
Airbus' Pleiades NEO 3 satellite captured 30cm resolution imagery of SLS rolling out to the pad today at 16:24:26 UTC.
Incredible imagery!
I've uploaded the full capture to @soaratlas.bsky.social: soaratlas.com/maps/140457
January 18, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Astonishing imagery. Consider that most of the planet is being imaged at this resolution or better several times per day.
I had a really lovely US holiday planned, almost ready to book. But going there now is just too off-putting, and somewhere else is getting my tourist money instead. Still quite sad to be missing out on the place.
Australians have absolutely given travel to the US the thumbs down. My column for #ThePoint
thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...
thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...
I like to be in America? New travel figures suggest otherwise.
Australian travellers have given the Trump presidency a resounding thumbs down.
thepoint.com.au
January 17, 2026 at 9:54 PM
I had a really lovely US holiday planned, almost ready to book. But going there now is just too off-putting, and somewhere else is getting my tourist money instead. Still quite sad to be missing out on the place.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
You can write your emails just fine. You always have! Want to improve? Take a writing course (there are cheap and free writing courses for a variety of types of writing to be found online). Using features like this is literally dimming areas of your brain. Keep them lit. Forget this feature exists.
I find Gmail’s new “write this for me” feature deeply sinister. They’re trying to convince you that you are dumb and helpless. Don’t let them steal your ability to formulate thoughts and communicate. You were capable of writing an email in 2022 and you’re capable now.
January 15, 2026 at 7:55 PM
You can write your emails just fine. You always have! Want to improve? Take a writing course (there are cheap and free writing courses for a variety of types of writing to be found online). Using features like this is literally dimming areas of your brain. Keep them lit. Forget this feature exists.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
Some hellish cube farm, or worse, a huge "open space," with flickering lights, lots of noise, no windows in sight, no control over temperature, no place to relax, a quarter-mile trek to the bathroom, and the ambience of a prison, is not a _work_ space at all—nobody can work well in a place like
3/11
3/11
January 11, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Some hellish cube farm, or worse, a huge "open space," with flickering lights, lots of noise, no windows in sight, no control over temperature, no place to relax, a quarter-mile trek to the bathroom, and the ambience of a prison, is not a _work_ space at all—nobody can work well in a place like
3/11
3/11
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
‘There’s no chance of controlling this fire’: Home destroyed as catastrophic conditions loom www.theage.com.au/national/vic... #VicFires
‘There’s no chance of controlling this fire’: Home destroyed as catastrophic conditions loom
Emergency warnings have been issued for towns east of Seymour and for a bushfire burning east of Wodonga in the state’s far north-east.
www.theage.com.au
January 8, 2026 at 8:45 AM
‘There’s no chance of controlling this fire’: Home destroyed as catastrophic conditions loom www.theage.com.au/national/vic... #VicFires
Why the hell does a shop need biometrics to sell someone some groceries?
Wegmans in New York City has begun collecting biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces from anyone who enters its supermarkets
NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces
The supermarket chain says it’s a move to ensure shopper safety. Surveillance experts warn of privacy risks.
gothamist.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Why the hell does a shop need biometrics to sell someone some groceries?
Some of that material is priceless and irreplaceable. As a space nerd this really upsets me.
They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?!
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
January 1, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Some of that material is priceless and irreplaceable. As a space nerd this really upsets me.
I miss regular 50-over international cricket. It’s long enough that players have to develop attention spans, but the games are discrete enough that organisers aren’t out millions when a test doesn’t go the distance.
December 29, 2025 at 7:52 AM
I miss regular 50-over international cricket. It’s long enough that players have to develop attention spans, but the games are discrete enough that organisers aren’t out millions when a test doesn’t go the distance.
It should be easier to cancel something than to sign up for it.
December 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM
It should be easier to cancel something than to sign up for it.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’, study finds www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’, study finds
Low-quality AI-generated content is now saturating social media – and generating about $117m a year, data shows
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:37 AM
More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’, study finds www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
This is art.
December 27, 2025 at 7:16 AM
This is art.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
the median 2025 AI sales pitch
by this time next year ai will be capable of opening presents with your family, freeing you up to finish those spreadsheets your boss has been waiting on
December 26, 2025 at 4:26 AM
the median 2025 AI sales pitch
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
Australian road deaths are climbing again after falling for many years. Why? Jason Murphy dives into the data.
Road deaths may be rising again after falling for years. Why?
Though Australian roads are some of the least lethal in the world, the data shows a slight change in trend in road safety.
www.crikey.com.au
December 19, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Australian road deaths are climbing again after falling for many years. Why? Jason Murphy dives into the data.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
![BREAKING NEWS CONSUMER'S HANDBOOK
1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong.
2. Don't trust anonymous sources.
3. Don't trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information.
4. There's almost never a second shooter.
5. Pay attention to the language the media uses.
• "We are getting reports".
". could mean anything.
• "We are seeking confirmation".. means they don't have it.
• "[News outlet] has learned". means it has a scoop or is going out on limb.
6. Look for news outlets close to the incident.
7. Compare multiple sources.
8. Big news brings out the fakers. And photoshoppers.
9. Beware reflexive retweeting. Some of this is on you.
ON THE MEDIA
ONTHEMEDIA.ORG](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:is7mtapkpnvxq77sxyv64xzq/bafkreidjd6cimg6dhedanmu22nekqoa5xkib6rfjnefghyygms4b3apcu4@jpeg)
December 14, 2025 at 9:46 AM
It’s after 11pm and still >29°C outside. Hate summer.
December 5, 2025 at 12:23 PM
It’s after 11pm and still >29°C outside. Hate summer.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
![Comic. Doing a task using a company or organization’s website: [flowchart] Go to website, try to log in → Did it work? → Yes → Try to do your task. → Did it work? Yes → Nice! Done! If logging in did not work → Spend hours troubleshooting account / login. If that works, go to Try to do your task. If no → Give up and call customer service. If spending hours troubleshooting doesn’t work, also give up and call customer service. After calling customer service: Hold message: “Did you know you could do all this more quickly and easily on our website? Just go to w-w-w dot…” → Throw phone and laptop into the sea.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiewqnkcrrc4tgla7j5skyz2djf3mrrvre3577c4xcgzurvq33bw4y@jpeg)
December 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape
October 1, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
How’s this for a photo of the storm
November 25, 2025 at 8:11 AM
How’s this for a photo of the storm
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
Magnificent
If you need me, tap me on the shoulder. I’ll be happily working all day listening to this on a loop.
November 14, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Magnificent
Reposted by Chris Bennetts
THEN YOU PURCHASE THEM AND DO NOT USE THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:23 PM
THEN YOU PURCHASE THEM AND DO NOT USE THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS
Blue Origin kept us waiting, but damn is that an impressive performance for only their second orbital flight!
November 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Blue Origin kept us waiting, but damn is that an impressive performance for only their second orbital flight!