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Onno Benschop

@owh.bsky.social
189 followers 88 following 2.3K posts

Experienced polyglot IT professional, software developer, trouble shooter, researcher, public speaker, educator, writer and publisher, founder and small business owner, podcaster, and licensed radio amateur (VK6FLAB). /home is ext4 .. in a VM on ext4

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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 20h
Why wait? Becoming licensed is essentially doing a course, passing a test, paying a fee and waiting for your local regulator to issue your licence. Several countries offer the course and test over a weekend. You can start sooner by playing with hundreds of "webSDR" radios in your browser today.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 23h
As a radio amateur, I really appreciate the allocation for ham radio as a separate band 😇
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 23h
Spectrum Allocation xkcd.com/3307/
Comic: Modern Spectrum Allocation Chart. [Long line of rectangles of different widths in shades of gray. From top to bottom: radio (shouting), TV test patterns, 1G cellular, radio (music), radio (static), reserved for zeppelin navigation, TV channels 2, 5, 7-13, 16, 17, and 28 with 2G cellular in between, interference, WKRP in Cincinnati, spaceship beeps, all other TV, car dealership ads, numbers stations, weather balloons, amateur radio, HAM radio, “weather balloons”, *Choosing Texas* 24/7, [extra large rectangle] boat captains say they need this for something and we don’t ask what because they’re scary, the secret radio waves that make planes stay up, defunct satellite phone company, radioastronomy, radioastrology, [extra small rectangle] all modern wireless infrastructure, death rays, LoFi hip hop beats to relax/study to, security guard walkie talkies, amateur military satellites, left open in case aliens try to call, one brand of garage door openers with a lot of political pull.]
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I wonder if anyone has modelling to show where the house acquisition financial gorge lies, since being unable to afford a house is not limited to being young.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
With the #cybersecurity legislation that Australia has created for itself, "for safety", with emphasis on creating bigger and bigger datasets, think Know Your Customer and Age Verification, it's going to get a whole lot worse and no path out. #privacy #auspol www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI disclose another hack on government department in Australia
Attack accessing historical data on bushfires occurred in June but not disclosed by the tech company until Thursday
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Kelly Lepo @kellylepo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Didn't realize that the original image had a transparent background and Bluesky would render that as black, making the axes unreadable. Anyway, here is a diagram showing the opacity of the Earth's atmosphere by wavelength of light.
Plot of atmospheric opacity vs. wavelength. On the y-axis, values range from 0% opacity to 100% opacity. On the x-axis, values range from 0.1 nm to 1 km. Gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet light are blocked by the upper atmosphere (best observed from space). This wavelength range, from about 0.1 nm to 100 nm, is shown at 100% opacity. Visible light is observable from Earth, with some atmospheric distortion. Visible light is represented by a rainbow at around 300 to 700 nm. From about 100 nm to 10 microns, the opacity dips to near zero, with some narrow bands, shown as spikes, which reach near 100% opacity. Most of the infrared spectrum is absorbed by atmospheric gases (best observed from space). From about 10 microns to 1 cm, the atmosphere is mostly at 100% opacity. Radio waves are observable from Earth. From about 1 cm to 10 m, the atmospheric absorption is 0. Long-wavelength radio waves are blocked. From about 10 m to 10 km, the atmospheric opacity is 100%.
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ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 30/09/2026
Inspector Smile is ready for science! 🫡 This is Smile’s first ultraviolet view showing an auroral substorm. With the ultraviolet camera now operational, Smile becomes the first spacecraft since 2008 to capture the full ring of northern lights around the north pole in ultraviolet light. 🔭 🧪 ☀️
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#auspol #copyright #ai www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
British celebrities beat AI companies lobbying to get free use of their work. They have a warning for Australia
‘People care about the songs, books and pictures that influence the critical moments in their lives,’ says the architect of the fightback in the UK
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Saving .. on a negative income? I can't wait to go backwards even faster.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Feel free to include verbose diatribes in your weekly newsletter.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
So, we now have multiple billionaires trying to buy the Australian parliament, first Clive, now Gina, and before all that Rupert, Kerry and the other Kerry. Are there any others on this list buying? www.forbes.com/lists/austra... At some point we're going to make this illegal .. right? #auspol
forbes.com
Australia’s 50 Richest
Amid global uncertainty unleashed by U.S. tariffs and geopolitical tensions, resource-rich Australia remained somewhat resilient. Thanks partly to a rising Australian dollar, up 9% in the past year, t...
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oooooh boy .. that's mouth watering!
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
So the #AFL is now in the business of sanctioned violence. This is a good example of why we still don't treat #DV seriously in #Australia.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Not sure why you'd need to use Assumed Intelligence to implement an IF .. THEN statement.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
c.org/ymhSY5RGCp
c.org
Sign the Petition
Stop auDA’s Policy Changes: Protect Australian Domains & Small Businesses
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think our politicians don't understand this distinction and that's disturbing to put it mildly.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
c.org/ymhSY5RGCp
c.org
Sign the Petition
Stop auDA’s Policy Changes: Protect Australian Domains & Small Businesses
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Hypertoroidal Pan @christbot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Shit, also hacked was the Aussie NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research website!
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Anthony B, @swearyanthony.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sorry, why aren't they being charged? I know Albanese is PM solely to collect selfies, but this is a criminal act.
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Anthony B, @swearyanthony.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Next time Albanese or one of the usual stooges tell us about the Glorious AI Future, make sure to get clarity on which crimes are legal now.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Can someone please explain why a hotel holds on to passport and credit card records for years? #privacy #cybersecurity www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Quest tells customers to replace passports after security breach
Quest Apartment Hotels tells customers affected by a security breach in August to replace passports and driver's licences after personal information was exposed.
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TW @twesq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
this is fantastic and I learned something new
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The Point @thepointau.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"What’s the real reason for the falling fertility rate?" a new cartoon from Fiona Katauskas (@fionakatauskas.bsky.social). View the cartoon on The Point: thepoint.com.au/opinions/260922-wha…
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Dave Earley @earleyedition.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Since the start of 2016, the three salmon companies operating in Tasmanian marine areas – Huon Aquaculture, Tassal and Petuna – have deployed 150,488 underwater explosives to deter seals
theguardian.com
More than 150,000 underwater explosives used to deter seals at Tasmanian salmon farms since 2016
Salmon companies operating in Tasmanian marine areas deployed almost 1,800 explosives in first half of 2026, government figures reveal
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
What I want is a TV documentary channel entirely devoted to documentaries with no quick-cut montages of everything about to happen, which don't give a fuck about keeping my attention, presented by extremely knowledgeable people in a terrible mood who have no interest in trying to make me like them
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
And apparently it's International day of Peace today as well.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Hey @robwords.com do you know the answer to this by chance?
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Now try and access the data...
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Why does the word "suns" exist and when was it coined?
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is my reality. www.theguardian.com/money/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘I feel invisible’: over-50s reveal harsh realities of trying to get a job
Candidates describe feelings of rejection after submitting hundreds of applications but getting a handful of interviews
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You need to tag that with a #DadJoke content warning!
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Kameron Hurley @kameronhurley.com · 18/09/2026
So many exciting new terms out there! 😆
"slopgrade" - when someone less talented than you runs your work through GPT and "fixes" it for you - examples "the campaign copy was locked until the CFO flopgraded it" usage note "the slopgrader has ready neither the original nor the fix. confidence is unaffected"
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
If you want a preview on how that's going to work out, just look at the processes in place for hiring people. If you've never had the "joy" of receiving a "we will not be progressing your application further" email, 30 seconds after submitting an application you worked on for days, you're lucky!
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
www.gadgetreview.com/starlinks-si...
gadgetreview.com
Starlink's Signal Leakage Is Threatening Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies
Starlink signal leakage is contaminating SKA-Low's critical frequencies, with emissions up to 10,000 times stronger than the cosmic signals astronomers need to detect.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It's going to happen by "magic" .. obviously.
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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
If the law stated REAL DAMN CLEAR that a frontier lab is found liable for punitive damages if its model escapes its sandbox and hacks shit, and if that law was robustly enforced, then the frontier labs would figure out how to build better sandboxes. This really isn't rocket science.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I wonder when people are going to understand that the current Assumed Intelligence Unsupervised Text Extruders cannot be "fixed".
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Gotta love the Australia Post phishing email attempts. Particularly noticeable because Australia Post obviously never actually talks to its customers, other than to seek validation for their poor customer service.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#wtf is wrong with #telstra, advertising during the #freodockers #afl game that you should buy a $799 #apple watch for your kids. Are they #delusional? No wonder our mobile phone bills keep going up.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Tomorrow my weekly podcast goes into how this map is created. It's quite the journey.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#sneakpeek youtu.be/CJZyh2EqvkU
youtu.be
Near Real Time Global Ionospheric Map for 2026-08
YouTube video by Onno VK6FLAB
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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Our planet is very old. We, on the other hand, are not. And when I say "not", I probably cannot convey to you how astonishingly, eye-swivellingly, knee-tremblingly non-old we are compared to the Earth under our feet. But I'm going to try. Please wish me luck. 1/
Photo of the Earth seen from over the crater-pocked brown-grey surface of the Moon, from Artemis II.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
While we're at it, can we have a list for people who can't spell?
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Watched "Father Mother Sister Brother" and I can't stop thinking about it. Offering an all too recognisable peek at how three families navigate life, revealing the gap between sporadic wellness checks and reality with some intricate teeth clenching awkwardness. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_...
en.wikipedia.org
Father Mother Sister Brother - Wikipedia
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is going to kill all life on Earth isn't it?
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Until just now I'd never heard of Leon Black, seems he's never heard of the Streisand effect. I wonder who else is hidden away in the #Epstein files. www.nytimes.com./2026/09/03/b...
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the Juice Media @thejuicemedia.com · 03/09/2026
The Australien Government made an ad about carbon offsets and koalas, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative 🌏🌳🐨 💛 produced by our Patrons 🙏 support us on Patreon: patreon.com/thejuicemedia ☕ buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/thejuicemedia
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Rob Arnol @robertarnol.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Lisa Jane Spencer.
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Are you sure that these geography enlightened ones aren't talking about Austria?
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Onno Benschop @owh.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Why does the Spirit of Tasmania V only have four lifeboats when it has a passenger capacity of 1,800?
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