David Wilson

Though without the jack jumper ants, please.

Golden Plains 2026 review – Basement Jaxx turn a regional farm into a surreal and heaving club With standout sets from Cut Copy, Marlon Williams and Water From Your Eyes, the cult favourite Victorian music festival has become the hottest ticket in town

I can’t cope with music festivals but if I could, Golden Plains is the one I would return to.
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

The government has decided to charge MONEY to visit the Twelve Apostles! Unaustralian! | First Dog on the Moon Maybe we should go all the way and turn it into a 12 (7) Apostles theme park!

"everything is collapsing and it all costs too much to live..."
yes and yes, @firstdogonthemoon.bsky.social.
Lucky under our egalitarian education system, everyone has an equal opportunity to rise to become a political adviser, regardless of generational wealth.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Correct reading attire. Monday. 🦘

Harrison Ford: Life Achievement Award Acceptance Speech | 32nd Annual Actor Awards YouTube video by Netflix

Humility is in.
Beautiful speech, beautifully delivered.
youtu.be/dV_2CEa6Bbs?...

This private school tripled in size in five years — a trend playing out nationwide The latest schools data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a tinderbox of problems that experts warn could explode with growing pressure on household budgets.

Take all the money we put into private schools and put it into public schools.

Problem solved.

#AusPol

Parents are 'following the money' in rush to private schools, experts warn The latest schools data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a tinderbox of problems that experts warn could explode with growing pressure on household budgets.

I weep for my country.
As a former teacher in a public high school, the false and growing belief in private education is the most outrageous swindle & a deliberate stratificaton of our community.
Labor governments abound, but this situation is pure neo-liberalism.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

The #FOI Amendment Bill is officially dead.

This is a victory for civil society, which has worked collectively to ensure this Bill – which would have harmed our democracy – did not become law.

Long live transparency! #auspol

- I wonder if perhaps you might enjoy the Jeanette Winterson story linked in the above, @kazcooke.bsky.social. And the koala photo. And maybe even the sea horse. Play on.

Please enjoy these 11 things - including two reading recommendations (pieces by Jeanette Winterson and Joe Posnanski), some superb vocal harmony and other observations. Play on. ⭐ eregnans.substack.com/p/11-things-...

11 things on 4 March 2026 Photos, stories, reels and music for you

G’day — today I share with you these 11 things at Sproutings.
Enjoy.
eregnans.substack.com/p/11-things-...

Overseeing expansion of fossil fuel mining is the one that will cause the most damage to the most people (and species) over the longest time.

The NYT style guide

“In my language we have no word for ‘stranger.’ White people brought that word to me and to my people. When I look out to you and to the crowd I don’t see strangers - I see people.”
— Ngalakan “Billy” Wanambi, performing with King Stingray, 1 March 2026, St Kilda.

The trouble with declaring “state capture” is that it ignores the choices people make all along the chain.

Wee reminder that inequality is what the rich don’t want us united about.
That’s why they peddle and inflame and get us fighting about identity stuff.
Stay on target.

‘A devastating force’: how recent Mediterranean storms turned to tragedies Atmospheric machine-gun has fired storm after deadly storm at the region this year, leaving a trail of widespread destruction

I continue to be baffled how every single scientist, journalist, communicator and researcher isn't screaming at the top of their lungs at the collapse of a survivable future for billions of people www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Autumn 2026 Climate and Water long-range forecast, issued 26 February 2026 YouTube video by Bureau of Meteorology

A look back at summer and a long-range forecast for autumn. Pass it on.
My turn to present for the Bureau of Meteorology.
#climate #weather #Australia
youtu.be/1J2PlPAB2BE?...

Suffered inappropriate treatment for endometriosis? Here's what to do If allegations that a surgeon performed surgery for "severe" endometriosis on women with little or no sign of the disease have you questioning your own treatment, here is where you can voice your conc...

What to do if you've been operated on by Simon Gordon, thanks to the ABC. If you're concerned about endometriosis symptoms, diagnosis or treatment: I recommend reading the info on endometriosis by the jean hailes organisation. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Hundreds join support group in wake of claims against gynaecologist More former patients of Melbourne gynaecologist Simon Gordon have come forward to express distress over their treatment with many joining a newly-formed private support group.

Love & strength to all women dealing with the aftermath of another possible medical scandal. We MUST end the 'surgeon is god' syndrome & build proper whistle-blowing pathways. The medical regulation system is a failure & it's women who bear almost all the consequences. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Wee reminder that inequality is what the rich don’t want us united about.
That’s why they peddle and inflame and get us fighting about identity stuff.
Stay on target.

BBC News: Five taken to hospital after gas explosion at farm.

Enid Blyton is at it again.

On what we pretend to be - triggered by a chance meeting at a gig after 25 years

Writing little stories over here.
Observations and other bits.
It’s a cosy little spot on the web.
xo
Latest — eregnans.substack.com/p/what-we-pr...

Donald Trump is building an enormous tower on the Gold Coast – this plan cannot fail! | First Dog on the Moon A winning combination of schoolies, real estate and fascism – very Queensland coded

Magnificent
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

On what we pretend to be - triggered by a chance meeting at a gig after 25 years

Feat: old Kurt Vonnegut and young punks “Public Figures” rocking the 3RRR performance space.
@3rrrfm.bsky.social #writing
open.substack.com/pub/eregnans...

A Royal Reckoning YouTube video by Jonathan Pie

A Royal Reckoning.
JonathanPie.com

youtu.be/yiOvAgw4hwE?...

Severe thunderstorms likely (red) and possible (yellow) across large areas of AUS on Sunday.
Potential for heavy rain, damaging winds, large hail. Plan ahead.

Today in #Australian English, I got my first natural use of "not here to fuck spiders", which was exciting

At the library. In my old midnight oil head injuries t-shirt. Library security guy sees me.
LSG: oh wow, man! Now you’re taking me back! (Points to tshirt)
Me: ha! Where to?
LSG: mate! Koala sprint!
Me: no reaction!
LSG: yes! What an ALBUM! bus to Bondi! mate! Taking me right back. Have a great day!

The political effects of X's feed algorithm https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2 Received: 16 December 2024 Accepted: 4 January 2026 Published online: 18 February 2026 Open access • Check for updates Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right.

Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement.

This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.