Tim's Motorbike Rides

You're arguing against a position I've never taken.

At least on that we can agree 🙂

Yeah… LLMs don't assign truth values… they learn statistical correlations from massive text data. “Patterns of meaning” emerge from co-occurrence and context. Transformers use an attention mechanism to model these complex relationships between words, creating a structured (but not grounded) output.

On your first point... absolutely agree there needs to be a wider understanding of the limitations of LLMs, but that should involve an accurate and up-to-date explanation of how they work (and it also doesn't change the fact they can be incredibly useful). No arguments at all on your other points. 🙂

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but the simple answer is: because that's how they're trained. 🙂

That's an oversimplification... we're well beyond that now. While pre-training involves large-scale web data (which can include a mix of "good" and "bad" info), the data is filtered and weighed, and post-training reinforcement learning and fine-tuning pushes models towards more accurate response.

Close, but an oversimplification. LLMs aren't trained on random data... they model factual knowledge and can retrieve it with a high (and continually improving) degree of accuracy. It's true they lack actual "understanding", but they match patterns of meaning, not just words.

Two smiling men pose arm in arm in front of a colorful sign about the Nimbin Aquarius Festival and Rainbow Walk. Both wear ‘Be Kind’ T-shirts with rainbow logos. They stand at the corner of a wooden building on a sunny day, with nearby signs advertising crystals, books, and the Nimbin Artists Gallery. A few people stroll past on the shaded footpath, adding to the village’s relaxed, alternative vibe.

Chillin’ in Nimbin with good vibes and great company. ✌️🌈

#BeKind #RainbowWalk #Nimbin #PrideMonth #MotorcycleLife

Nimbin vibes 🙂

#Nimbin #Pride #MotorcycleLife

A group of eight men are seated around an outdoor café table, smiling and enjoying drinks after a meal. Several empty plates and bottles are visible on the table. One man is standing in the background holding a coffee. The setting appears to be a small town with shops and parked cars in the background. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, with clear blue skies overhead.

Enjoying pizza in Nimbin 🙂

#NimbinPride

Black T-shirt displayed on a rustic wooden background. The shirt features a vintage-style rainbow in Pride colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet—symbolizing LGBTQ+ pride. Above the rainbow is the curved phrase 'In a world where you can be anything,' and below it, in large, typewriter-style text, it reads 'Be kind.'

I had planned to bling my bike up, but typically for me I left it too late 😢.

But I'll be wearing this t-shirt!

Illustrated poster featuring a large, weathered rainbow overlaid with the text 'Nimbin Pride Ride' in a distressed typewriter font. The background shows a colorful forested landscape with native Australian wildlife, a red and white VW van, and two characters—one with a guitar and another smoking in a tree. The style evokes a retro, psychedelic, and counterculture aesthetic.

Off on a ride to celebrate Pride Month tomorrow morning. First time I've done this, but I'm keen to support everything this month stands for—and it has become more personal to me this year.

Nimbin, a centre of counterculture, seems like a fitting destination 🙂.

Hey what about Brisbane @astrokatie.com! 🙂

Amazon River These photos give an idea of why the legendary Amazon River has fascinated so many explorers. / Diese Fotos vermitteln einen Eindruck davon, warum der Amazonas so viele Entdecker fasziniert hat. ESA-...

Damn... so close 🙂

Went hunting... this is the photo I was thinking of, taken by ISS astronaut Alexander Gerst... he's tagged it as the Amazon, but it's actually the Juruá...

Ah, yep, familiar with Procreate. Nice!

IIRC, the second photo is the Juruá River, a tributary of the Amazon River? 🙂

That's pretty neat. How'd you create it? Programmatically, or by hand?

So... that'd be a no, then? 🙂

A tweet by Joseph Allen (@j_g_allen) reads: “Harvard researcher Dr Sarah Fortune was only two years away from creating a vaccine that could have saved the 1.25 million people killed each year by tuberculosis. But last month, she received a letter telling her that the $60 million grant funding her research was being halted by President Trump.” Below the tweet is a quote on a white background: “She knew the president was threatening to pull grants from the university, but she had hoped her research might be spared. ‘I thought maybe somehow Harvard will escape,’ Fortune said. ‘I was very naive. Then the scope of the attack became clear.’” Below the quote is a photo of Dr. Sarah Fortune standing in a laboratory, wearing a black coat with red glasses hanging from the collar. She has shoulder-length blond hair and a serious expression. Laboratory equipment and shelves with supplies are visible in the background.

The impact of the TACO administration is global, and millions will die as a result of its anti-science agenda.

Visited Hallstatt a few years ago on a trip to Austria. A truly beautiful town. Of course the entire trip I was thinking "I wish I was on a motorcycle" 🙂

landscape image looking out over a cliff to the ocean. The sky has the Milky Way arch hanging over it, and to the lower right, above the ocean and hugging the cliffs are the bright red and orange aurora australis. The image is annotated with features of the Milky Way galaxy.

I was happy to help Filippo out and annotate the beautiful still of his image (non-annotated version sent to @apod.shinyakato.dev as I really think it is worthy).

You could do so much science communication from this one image:

- galaxies (plural!)
- aurora
- stellar evolution
- nearest system

🔭🧪

YouTube video by Filippo Rivetti Aurora Australis at Royal NP

Ok, here it is!

This beautiful footage, made by my friend Filippo Rivetti was taken last night during the height of the storm from Royal National Park, on the southern outskirts of Sydney.

We see #aurora, the beautiful Milky Way and a sea of stars above our Earthly ocean.

They sent a poet ...

🔭🧪

A Facebook post on the account of Jonathan Joss, contains a statement from Tristan Kern de Gonzales, husband of Jonathan Joss. The statement reads: "My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done. Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic. When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired. Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved. To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family. My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together. If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life. I will carr…

Just one reason promoting Pride Month is so important. I have treasured friends whose lives are at risk simply because of who they are. This is not hyperbole... this is the reality they live with every day.

Even without the stunning colour mapping used in the Hubble or James Webb images, the Pillars are still bloody awesome 🙂. Thanks for sharing!

Hey send enough and surely at least some of them won't blow up 🙂

View from above St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, showing its twin bell towers in the foreground and a curved city street lined with historic buildings and red double-decker buses. Image uses a tilt-shift effect that blurs the edges and sharpens the center.

Browsing through some old photos of mine, came across this one... my first attempt at tilt shift 🙂

#urbangaze #cityscape #urbanphotography #tiltshift #londonarchitecture #fromabove

A hand holding a Nokia 2110 mobile phone against a blue background. The phone has a monochrome LCD screen displaying ‘NOKIA GSM’ and menu options ‘Menu’ and ‘Memory.’ It features a physical keypad, directional buttons, and a prominent external antenna on the top right. The casing is black with a curved design and the Nokia logo above the screen.

My first cell phone… 1994. 🙂

YouTube video by Tim's Motorbike Rides Painted Silos Tour – Day 1: Brisbane to Mount Perry

Here's a playlist of four Relive videos of our recent Painted Silos Tour in South-East Queensland!

We started out in the rain, but the skies quickly cleared up, and we had blue skies and sunshine for most of the trip.

Please enjoy! 🙂🏍️

A motorcyclist on a Can-Am Spyder trike rides into the historic Boolboonda Tunnel, a narrow, unlit railway tunnel carved into solid rock, surrounded by dense greenery and rugged cliffs.

A group of motorcycles parked beside the vividly painted silos at Three Moon Creek, with murals depicting a farmer gazing at a cosmic, dreamlike landscape filled with celestial bodies and native wildlife. Two photographers crouch on the grass, capturing the scene.

A Kawasaki Z900RS motorcycle parked on a dirt verge in front of the Thallon silos, which are painted with a sunset landscape featuring Australian flora, fauna, and sheep. Puffy white clouds and a bright blue sky complete the rural Queensland scene.

A Kawasaki Z900RS parked in front of the Yelarbon silos, painted in shades of blue and teal, depicting scenes of wetlands, native birds, and a young boy playing by the water. The artwork stretches across multiple silos under a clear sky.

I've been very slack about posting ride updates here!

A few weeks ago we did a four-day tour targeting some local grain silo art. Here are a few photos from the tour. Will post videos soon.

Two foster kittens, Jemima and Sylvie, resting on a couch. Jemima, a tabby with white paws, is stretched out on a red and white blanket, while Sylvie, a sleek black kitten, lies beside her on a blue plaid blanket. Both appear relaxed and cozy.

Our current foster kittens, Jemima and Sylvie, resting after a hard morning's play 🙂