Dr Fordwalker

Looking over an alert dog’s shoulder we see a wallaby standing frozen in the path, staring back

Morning walks with the dog in Tasmania require regular stops for furry pistols at dawn

Just need to get some Fosters beer now and he'll be so thrilled

aussie friend coming to visit for the first time on Monday so gonna help him feel at home with lunch at Outback

People offer ‘army intelligence’ as the prime example of an oxymoron, but consider: ‘political party’

I doubt anyone in Hobart who’s been outside and watched the Aurora Australis strobing through the night sky will ever forget tonight. This is the most active Aurora I’ve seen. Photos taken on my IPhone 14 Pro Max about 1.3 kilometres from my front door.

Beautiful! That’ll be a core memory for them. I still remember being hustled down to the beach in the early hours as a child to watch a meteor shower.

We are so lucky! I’ve been in Tassie for 15 years and have seen a few but this one might be the best yet!

Blackmans Bay! Far enough south of Hobart to miss the city lights, and on the coast. I’d have got better shots if I went to the beach but I am sadly very lazy and barely managed pants for this

Photo of aurora australis

Photo of aurora australis

aurora australis: *enters rave mode*

Photo of the Aurora Australis

Excuse me aurora australis do you mind keeping it down? Some of us are trying to sleep

I'm sorry. As a technology writer, I'm supposed to be telling you that this bet will some day pay off, because one day we will have shoveled so many words into the word-guessing program that it wakes up and learns how to actually do the jobs it is failing spectacularly at today. This is a proposition akin to the idea that if we keep breeding horses to run faster and faster, one of them will give birth to a locomotive. Humans possess intelligence, and machines do not. The difference between a human and a word-guessing program isn't how many words the human knows. I'm sorry. I know that when we talk about "digital sovereignty," we're obliged to talk about how we can build more data-centres that we can fill up with money-losing chips from American silicon monopolists in the hopes of destroying as many jobs as possible while blowing through our clean energy goals and enshittifying as much of our potable water as possible. I don't have any advice for how to do that. I'm sorry!

Cory Doctorow is great. From pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...

I was just talking to @fordwalker.bsky.social about this: after using Scrivener, going back to Word for edits feels like *punishment*.

Yeah, it’s what the publishers use. We gotta track those changes.

And yet. It’s like being put in stocks.

Unmissable Fantasy and SciFi of 2026! The EXTREMELY MANY SFF releases of 2026 that I consider unmissable!

The one, the only: the ✨UNMISSABLE SFF of 2026✨ list!

🎆 🎆 🎆 🎆 🎆

aka all the fantasy and sci-fi that should definitely be on your tbr, how are these not on your tbr already??? you poor unfortunate soul, let's fix that!
buff.ly/IWTR8A6

I just assume this of all your posts, Alan

I feel this. It's no coincidence that gardening was something I enjoyed this year. Fewer devices, less tracking, more care. Paper books, friends IRL, walking, tea, perfume, cinema, gigs...
Just be mindful that the attention economy is *not*your friend and not everything is accomplished by shopping.

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

Sir Terry Pratchett is best understood as one of the most interesting, deeply ethical practical (I would say Pragmatist but I cede to actual experts) philosophers of the late 20th Century who just happened to work in deconstructed fantasy literature as his medium.

Oooof

Jesus, can you hear me? Good, the comms are working. Now, you're gonna need to run if you want to evade those Roman soldiers. Hold down A to sprint. Go ahead and try it. ... Good work! You just might be the savior yet. Now pick up that AR-15 and let's do some target practice.

A painting in gouache and watercolour of a dog stealing Christmas lights

Merry today! Here is a festive painting of my dog in watercolour and gouache.

(I’m learning to paint! When my impotent rage about AI wore itself out, all that remained was an urge to create in the most aggressively lo-fi mode possible.)

How would you motivate people to study foreign languages?

This German caller has the ultimate, definitive answer.

[I love this so much 💙]

“hey leena how’s your day going?”

“WAKE IN FRIGHT WAS A DOCUMENTARY”

Impeccable cover! No notes!

AD-ROCK: Yo Ebenezer you gotta show re-
BEASTIES: MORSE
AD-ROCK: Redemption is not a mere matter of
Beasties: COURSE
MIKE D: We’ll show you Bob Cratchit’s not a lazy
BEASTIES: MOOCHER
MCA: We’re Christmas Past
MIKE D: Christmas Present
BEASTIES: AND CHRISTMAS FUTURE

"they don't know how to express the idea" here's rian johnson's storyboard for knives out

pick up a pencil and a napkin

Liberal application of sugar is the answer. Then they taste like sugar-coated styrofoam!

SOLICITED DOC PIC

@adelaidesean.bsky.social Just realised I was not following you. The audacity!

He declared he was ‘photobombing’ (a photo he was invited to participate in). 😂

LEVEL UP! You receive: Floppy Hat!