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Zandy

@iskandarv.bsky.social
191 followers 221 following 2.1K posts

software developer, science fiction fan, Quaker, somewhat distracted by family life, he/him Perth, living on Whadjuk country, Australia Mastodon @iskandarv@mastodon.star-one.org.uk

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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 2h
I have seen articles suggesting how easy it might be for unscrupulous people to disable data centres with a few well placed gunshots. Of course this is only a big risk in countries with lots of guns available to the civilian population.
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Ilanin @ilanin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Movie posters that could only be put up in British railway stations, one of a series of probably one.
An ad for a ghost movie with the tagline "See it. Séance. Haunted."; a reference to the British Transport Police's long-running "See it. Say it. Sorted." ads encouraging the public to report anything vaguely suspicious.
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Gareth L. Powell / G.L. Powell @garethlpowell.bsky.social · 6h
This is insane. If they decide AI will invent antigravity, will they start yeeting themselves off buildings?
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Dave Bagpuss Forsey ☕️ @bagpuss.org · 4h
"AI will change the world."
A screenshot via Reddit https://redd.it/1x4lmsu of someone searching Google "what is penis in braille" and receiving an AI overview: "The penis cannot read Braille because it lacks the necessary nerve receptors. Nerve Endings: Reading Braille requires Meissner's corpuscles, which are specialized nerve endings in the fingertips and other sensitive skin areas responsible for detecting light touch and fine textures."
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Sophia McDougall @sophiamcdougall.bsky.social · 4h
Those who let Wonder pass unseen Shall soon hear death's clock strike thirteen!
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Mel Campbell @incrediblemelk.bsky.social · 13h
Remember how I went wild with rage at this? My friend who had to do the AI interview for this place has now written about it for the Graun
theguardian.com
Dystopian and dehumanising: that’s what it felt like when I was interviewed by an AI assistant | Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
Outsourcing the essential task of interviewing job applicants to a machine seems lazy at best, negligent at worst. I want better for all of us
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 9h
It seemed to just fizzle out. I've not seen any follow up stories re this. Think they got push back in the nature of "good luck getting power, sewage, etc if you don't want your suppliers to adhere to our national policies."
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Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 13h
I am not joking when I say this is how we should be doing it.
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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 21h
🇫🇷 Major French supermarket chains on Monday said they had been hit by a cyberattack that caused their refrigerators to defrost in hundreds of stores, forcing spoilt food to be thrown away and raising concerns about food security. ➡️ u.afp.com/SCxU
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Sounds right
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Renay⁷ @renay.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
What I really want from Bluesky these days: "show full thread from start" with any replies to posts inside the thread stripped out.
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Elizabeth Taylor @elizabethtaylor47.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I have developed my own conspiracy theory that Barbara Cartlands PR lied about how many books she sold. It’s often claimed she sold 750 millions+, but I found it so unbelievable I did a deep dive and I really don’t think it’s even close to being true
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Salesperson kept trying to target my daughter in his suggestions as to how they could help us have a great time. “What colour do you like?” “Lavender” “Oh, I don’t think we have any cars in that colour. We have got a pink Bentley for the ladies” *nil points*
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Had a very odd experience at the shopping centre. There was a Ferrari, we stopped to have a gander. “Is it a lottery?” “No, even better…” My daughter and I are then trapped while the salesman attempts to get us excited about a supercar holiday to the Gold Coast. We are so *not* their demographic.
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Becky @beckymew.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Just a little off the top... Both necklaces and earrings are in stock *at the same time.* Check out my product! www.peculiarityshop.com/product-page...
peculiarityshop.com
Becky's Choppy, Choppy, The Pendant | Peculiarity Shop
It's time we did something about *gestures*.18" chain. Components: Czech glass, base metal alloy, stainless steel. Some very minor variations in construction may apply. Lead/nickel free
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David C Bell @moviehooligan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
If you’re wondering what the vibe is going into the midterms the New England fall fair I went to today had a crochet guillotine for sale.
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kate bush’s husband @airbagged.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Is this supposed to discourage me from seeing the movie?
Olivia Colman re-enacts the Kama Sutra with a sentient basket
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Revenge of the Man-Thing’s Menagerie of Marvelous Monsters @adventurin2fear.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
He already had his face used by someone else, he’s not about to do that all over again.
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Funranium (AKA Phil Broughton) @funranium.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Every community manager/mod in the world read this story, raised an eyebrow, and realized there was another solution to their bot problem.
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Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I posted a joke the other day about how my kid wanted a Mickey song that didn't exist, and a bunch of people were like "just AI to make it." I understand needing to please a toddler, but man--that's just not how I want him to think about music at all. It's not a vending machine.
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Adrian Tchaikovsky @aptshadow.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Executive: so we want an amazing island-scape and wind farms and the SEC building and a castle and a dude on a horse and f’ing Nessie and everything! Artist: ok sure, remind me what your company does. Executive: laundry, obviously.
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Eva Funderburgh @evafunderburgh.com · 22/01/2025
Hello Bluesky! Let’s give this a go. I make sculptures. Mostly ceramic monsters with worrying teeth.
A beast with a sun and a moon hanging from a yoke, and stars on its back. A mist blown beastA small beast with smaller wings. And sharp teeth.
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Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
That time someone dumped a toy house on the cemetery wall and, when I crouched a bit, some ✨ Hollywood Magic ✨ occurred.
A plastic dolls house sitting on a wall, taken from an angle which makes it look as if it might be one of the houses on the street.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Everybody knew Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum - the evidence was there - but people were too afraid of Farage’s mob to say it. So it’s good to see Burnham finally speaking the truth.
observer.co.uk
From Russia with interference: Burnham first PM to confir...
The prime minister has revealed UK authorities told him there was ‘clear evidence’ that Moscow meddled in the referendum
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ABC News Australia @news.abc.net.au · 11/10/2026
Endangered Carnaby's cockatoos unveiled as Western Australia's newest big thing
abc.net.au
Australia's next big thing unveiled in honour of conservation legend
A WA town unveils an 11.5-metre sculpture designed to inspire the next generation of conservationists and tourists.
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DC @tanngrisnir.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
🧵
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TKarney @pecunium.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Fix your economy with this one weird trick
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Ryan Estrada @ryanestrada.com · 09/10/2026
Why does Korea have a holiday for the alphabet? Because unlike other writing systems that evolved over centuries, Hangul was the work of one dude who solved mass illiteracy by sitting down and creating a brand new fully-formed system from scratch that anyone can learn almost instantly.
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Strandschaf @strandschaf.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Ha! I'm delighted! After I found out, with some tedious work, how to type Ea-nāṣir in cuneiform (𒂍𒀀𒈾𒍢𒅕), I put it into the search bar of 🦆🦆🚶and someone did the work on the search engine to understand it!
Screenshot from DuckDuckGo. In the search bar the name Ea-nāṣir is entered in cuneiform and the results show the Wikipedia page for Ea-nāṣir.
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REwadent Evil @ewacat.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
What a quote, this absolutely bangs
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
“If you don’t like public executions just don’t watch it” says the crowd trying to ban drag shows and books
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Postcard From The Past @pastpostcard.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
MERYL STREEP
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Eric Levai @ericlevai.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Now THIS is how you write a story. Devastating.
Screenshot from this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/politics/fort-hood-execution-streamed-public.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HVE.Rw7O.Sj-0_s5YONzL&smid=nytcore-android-share
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Nanoraptor @nanoraptor.danamania.com · 09/10/2026
I am so sorry. Sometimes, there are just obscure intrusive thoughts y'know?
A picture of a couple of Sydney T set trains parked in a workshop. On top of their displays one reads Darmok, the other Jalad.
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
they did the thing
an october 11 2025 post from me reading: every single tech idea is like “soon our robots will be capable of playing catch with your kid, freeing you up to spend more time working on your employers’ spreadsheets”
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Stilgherrian @stilgherrian.com · 09/10/2026
“Melbourne creative agency Kill Boring Dead has offered to pay employees their full salary for two years if they can successfully automate themselves out of a job through the use of artificial intelligence.” mumbrella.com.au/agency-offer...
mumbrella.com.au
Agency offers staff two years pay if they can replace themselves with AI
Melbourne creative agency Kill Boring Dead has offered to pay employees their full salary for two years if they can successfully automate themselves out of a job through the use of artificial intellig...
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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Having long been aware of those tech bros who read my work as utopian porn, where they’ve taken that doesn’t exactly surprise me.
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Ryan North @ryannorth.ca · 07/10/2026
As nice as it is to share a headline with Margaret Atwood, I wish it were under circumstances not as bleak and depressing www.cbc.ca/books/works-...
cbc.ca
Works by Canadian authors Margaret Atwood and Ryan North among books banned in U.S. schools in 2026 | CBC Books
Nearly 12,000 bans took place in American public schools over the past year, according to a new study from PEN America, the highest total since the free expression organization began tracking removals...
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Celestial M Weasel @celestialweasel.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The strangest story is that he used to go running with Alan Turing www.theguardian.com/books/2011/n...
theguardian.com
My hero: Alan Turing, by Alan Garner
'The Official Secrets Act revealed his true heroism'
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Anthropic banning “abusive or cruel behavior” toward Claude in its new usage policies is proof to me that tech companies are going to moderate violence against AI before they ever moderate violence against women and minorities
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Lucy Worsley @lucyworsley.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The Bayeux Tapestry's in London, but the last scene in its story is lost.  And I think the real story actually begins where the tapestry ends anyway: with four years of rebellion, York burned, and a famine.  A harrowing story this week, that's free to read: lucyworsley.substack.com/p/the-story-...
lucyworsley.substack.com
The Story the Bayeux Tapestry Doesn't Tell You
It shows the battle everyone remembers, but not the rebellion, burning and famine that came after.
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Hillary Monahan @hillarymonahan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
SWEET DREAMS. www.newsweek.com/fire-bull-se...
newsweek.com
Massive Semen Explosion after Blaze Hits Bull Artificial Insemination Farm
Fire at Yarram Herd Services in Victoria, Australia described as a "major blow" for farmers.
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Simon (only spookier) @winklesbloke.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A rare opportunity to acquire part of the backrooms.
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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I can feel a food-racism storm a-brewin, but this is THE most amazing shot and chaser.
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Oddest approach to evangelism I've experienced so far. If he'd just offered a good cookbook at the start he'd have had a sale. But somehow I don't think the food was the important part.
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
He then proffers a book "full of calming stories and pictures of nature". This seems very odd and I try to wind things up. Finally he offers a book about how Jesus loves me and wants to be my friend. The penny drops and I suggest he goes now.
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Zandy @iskandarv.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Young guy comes to the door and asks me if I'm interested in a cookbook. Confused I glance though the book he proffers while trying to work out what is going on. "Are you the cooker or the eater?" he asks. Strange thing to say I think, what is this actually about? I say I have enough cookbooks.
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Australian Spy Museum @aus-spymuseum.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A visit from the artist today - Geoff Jones with his painting Rwetyetme (Mt Sonder for Mr Obama). It’s part of our exhibition The Art and Design of Espionage on at Lyox Gallery, 17 Lyons Road Drummoyne. We’re open Wednesday - Sunday 10:30 - 5:30pm and until 8pm Friday and Saturday.
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Butlerian Jihadist of House Dornick @shimminykricket.blacksky.app · 08/10/2026
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
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