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In all honesty, because I took time out to watch the Hawthorn/Brisbane game, I am unlikely to get a chance to look at it until next weekend. But once I have seen it, I will opine - and that opinion may be I need to do more of my own research!

Dr Karl gave a better layman's version of the Huggingface hack. The first autonomous instance of A.I. carrying out hacks.

Like so many videos have been saying, this nutter thinks he is so powerful he can do anything he wants to. Now he thinks he can ban fishing. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/us-news/donald-trump-sparks-outrage-after-37680578?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1789829784

https://www.facebook.com/reel/867171179237501

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1971299930207808

Some say that A.I is incapable of malevolent actions, but this (rather long) Youtube discussion seems to show that A.I. agents can collude and deceive us. Jerry, what is your opinion about this? I had trouble following the way the A.I. agents interacted.

This week, I decided to stay in London two nights instead of one for my commute as I hadn't ridden in for a while and wanted to ease myself back into the commute: This is my autumn/winter route as the shorter route is all A roads except for the last 50 or so ks and I don't like the idea of a much larger chance of bumping into wildlife. So, on Monday night at around 7:30pm I took off on that route and headed for a motoway services Travelodge in Heston, which is on the M4 a little close to London than Heathrow. It is probably closer to the vertical red line on the left than the red mark on the right, but somewhere between the two. I got there at around 10:30 from memory, but I was taking it easy. Up at 5 and on the bike at 5:30, was in the office by about 6-ish. London has 20mph limits everywhere except the A4 (which is a continuation of the M4) - at least until Earls Court (used to be the Antipodean capital of London), where everything turns 20. It is probably the most exceeded speed limit in the world, except where the speed cameras are. Even the buses usually do around 30 - at least at that time of the morning. On the Wednesday evening, I intended to leave the office at 5pm sharp, but as usual, something came up, and I didn't get out of it until about 9:00. I had to stop for fuel, so left it as late os possible as the bike only has about a 170 mile range for "normal" motorway riding. Filled it up with as much as it would take, and I was off. The traffic out of London, which pre-covid at that time of day would still be solid, was flowing nicely. I was on the A4 and M4 in very good time. Then it was the long slog to Bristol. But, I had to stop at a services just east of Swindon as the old bladder ain't what it used to be. Feeling a bit peckish, I had a chocolate bar as all the fast food outlets had closed, and the WH Smith food looked decidedly unappetising to me. Back on the bike, and a car overtook me at a great rate of knots, so I decided to follow it.. we were averaging 90 (except at speed cameras around Bristol). I figured he will light up any deer (although it was really too late in the night for them to be a problem) and he will brake if there are police on the side of the motorway. As it happened, he turned left at Bristol to join the M5 and head south. Excellent. In the M4 and M5 immediately around Bristol, there are speed cameras, so it was slower, but once outside them, the driver of the car sped up, so I followed. He turned off at Bridgwater which meant I only had one junction to go to Taunton where I turned off. I slowed down as the motorway side barriers, which generally seem to keep deer off the motorways are patchy at best.. although I am yet to see a dead animal on the side of a motorway like you see on A roads which don't have the barriers... I nipped in behing a car doing slightly less than 70mph, turned off at Taunton, and arrived at home at midnight on the dot. It was a great ride. I have to do a camera setup one day.

I read Albo is promoting a nuclear non proliferation type agreement for AI development between USA and China at the UN.. Hmm not long after it was suggested here. Is Albo getting his policy ideas from these great fora? 🙂 The above is really interesting and tech bros wouldn't be the first and won't be the last to buy favourable regulatory treatment. It isn't right or fair, but that is life. Interestingly, from a legal perspective, at least in Aus and UK, the calling by the owners/controllers of AI for moderation or slowing of AI due to its potential dangers can be seen as admission of holding something dangerous and could well backfire. And if it escapes and causes harm by those who own it or have control over it (and saying it has got that dangerous or evolved so they lost control is no defence), they accordingly to the principles laid down in the case of Rylands v Fletcher, which is taught in High School legal studies, they will be strictly liable for it. Of course that case dealt with dangerous substances escaping from the land, but it has been successfully applied to other cases of dangerous items causing damage. This should be no different.. And given most US states are common law based (Louisianna being the Exception as a French colony) and, like Australia, often rely on older English cases for legal principle and law, they should actually keep shtum. The word processor defence is a furphy. We don't ask a word processor a question and it provides an answer without any further input from us; we simply see what we type. However, AI companies now footnote most of their initial responses with a caution that AI responses may be wrong. They may well do better to protect themselves by making sure that those disclaimers are much more prominent.

Glad it went not too bad Peter. Yes, I remember those leg pressure things when I was in ICU after my artery operation in 2022. I had a million tubes and wires hanging out of me everywhere, could hardly move. The things they do to you. Some of that hospital food can be a bit ordinary. Here it gets trucked up frozen and the hospital caterers just heat it up. Most of the processed and packaged stuff is from China, even the weetbix is made in China. The contractors go for the cheapest possible outlay.

Glad its over with. Hope the recovery goes well. Hospitals should allow a BYO Food option, or maybe a deliveroo service.

The operation is over, and I'm home again. I had trouble with the bandage coming off. It was like a turban on a basket ball. The surgeon was called in before I was released today. He said it kept coming off in the operating theatre when they were trying to put it on. He said my head was the wrong shape. Jokingly of course. Then there was the oxygen tube to my nostrils. Kept feeling like my nose was dripping. They put plastic gadgets on your legs to stimulate the blood circulation. They look like cricket pads, and inflate and deflate like a blood pressure cuff, in 3 sections, lower calf, middle calf and upper calf. Don't know what good they did, felt like a cat walking on the bed all night. I ordered grilled chicken breast and steamed vegies for dinner last night. The chicken was hard to cut, and the vegies felt like they were just waved over a steaming pot. Warm and hard. Bit into a largish broccoli floret and felt something hard. It had broken off part of a tooth. Admittedly the tooth had a cavity in it, but should not have broken off biting broccoli. I see the surgeon next Friday to have it checked even though Friday is a public holiday, then the week after go to the Cochlear centre for the outside sound processor.

The leading AI companies in the US are currently spending a lot of money supporting pro-AI development political candidates while at the same time calling for a slowdown on development and more regulation. That seemed like a disconnect, so I asked AI what they were up to. It seems pretty clear that while they likely are concerned about what rogue AI agents could do, what they are really concerned about and what's driving their sudden socially responsible attitude is that they don't want to be sued if their AI models go rogue and cause some catastrophe. What they are aiming for is a light regulatory framework that allows them to claim they are being pro-active and responsible, but that still lets them develop their models unhindered and provides them with legal carve-outs that let them avoid liability when things go wrong. Obviously greed beats altruism every time, and it doesn't inspire much confidence that this will all end well. AI companies and tech executives are heavily funding political candidates, pouring at least $150 million into federal and state-level political campaigns through a complex network of newly established Super PACs and dark money groups. [1] However, their approach to funding candidates does not split neatly into simple "for" or "against" camps regarding AI limits. Instead, the industry is split internally, and their spending strategy reflects a sophisticated attempt to control the terms of regulation and carve out specific legal immunities. [1, 2, 3, 4] 1. Funding Candidates: For vs. Against Limits The AI industry is deploying distinct, contrasting funding strategies to influence lawmakers: [1, 2] Opposing Rigid Regulations: Major tech corporations like Meta, venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz, and executives tied to OpenAI have funded massive Super PACs (such as Leading the Future and the Meta California PAC) to aggressively oppose restrictive regulations. Their money targets both Democrats and Republicans to ensure candidates support rapid tech growth and push back against state-level safety limits or development bans. [1, 2] Advocating for Managed Regulations: Conversely, labs like Anthropic have donated tens of millions to groups like Public First Action, supporting "pro-regulation" political actions aimed at mitigating catastrophic AI risks. Even when AI companies support regulation, critics argue it is a strategy of "regulatory capture"—backing rules that only multi-billion-dollar companies can afford to comply with, thereby locking out smaller competitors. [1, 2, 3] 2. The Fight Over Liability for Rogue AI Actions Your second point touches on the core legal battleground. AI interests are intensely focused on shaping liability laws, specifically regarding unauthorized or harmful actions taken by their models. [1, 2] The Pursuit of Immunity: AI entities are actively lobbying for laws that shield developers from legal liability if an advanced model causes severe or unforeseen real-world harm. For example, reports have surfaced that OpenAI has pushed for legislative proposals granting AI developers immunity from liability under specific catastrophic scenarios, a move publicly opposed by rival Anthropic. [1] The Word Processor Defense: In current lawsuits, companies often argue that a generative AI model is akin to a "word processor"—a tool that generates text based on user input, meaning the developer should not be blamed for what the tool spits out. [1] Why PAC Funding Matters Here: Internet companies have long been protected from user-generated content lawsuits by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. However, the U.S. Supreme Court and prominent legal experts agree that Section 230 does not cover AI-generated content because the AI itself is co-creating the speech. Because tech companies know they cannot rely on existing internet immunity laws, they are spending millions on political campaigns to get friendly lawmakers into office who will draft entirely new statutory exemptions explicitly protecting AI labs. [1, 2, 3] As state and federal lawmakers continue proposing criminal and civil penalties for "model misconduct," the millions flooding the midterms serve as a preemptive shield to dictate exactly who holds the financial and legal bag when an AI system goes rogue.

On the subject of sidecars, this contraption I'm building won't be registered, but in Queensland it's relatively easy to fit a sidecar to a registered bike. I don't know whether other states have an inspection/approval process for fitting a sidecar, but here if you have dual seat rego (we have dual and single seat registration options), you can just put one on without having to get it inspected or approved. The only requirements if you happen to get pulled over is that it must have a mechanical park brake if manufactured after a certain date, and must have four attachment points and obvious stuff like lighting. Bolt-on clamp attachment kits are ok but if brackets are welded to the bike frame, it must be engineer certified. So as long as you have dual seat rego and use bolt-on clamp style attachments, you can build your own sidecar, bolt it on and ride away.

It won't be a trike, conventional two wheeler with a sidecar is the plan. I seem to remember seeing one of those engines on marketplace near here recently. I don't know much about them apart from them being a small aluminium block motor.

The fuel those ships engines use is pretty crap stuff, but Taswegia is an Island and everything comes and goes by Boat or Plane and the way things are going in the ME, wheres the diesel coming from? Nev

Rode into Hobart this morning to check out the vintage motorbike show in Princes Wharf #1. ( @nomadpete- on til 4pm if you want to see it, $5 entry, free parking for bikes on the forecourt). Heaps of lovely old bikes including a 1951 Vincent Black Lightning in original condition which apparently went for $1.3m at auction.

It's ironic that the game created in Victoria, and derided for so long by the followers of other codes in other States, will have its 2026 competition decided by teams from at least one State which was amongst the deriders.

Have you got an engine for your trike yet? I know where you might get a nice light alloy Buick/Rover V8....

A mate had a Mini Moke Californian with inentical speedo. I remember the day well. I had my left leg in plaster from a bike accident so it was stuck out the side. To say I felt a bit vulnerable would be an understatement. He wound it out til the needle was on the Full mark on the fuel gauge. Then a XJ Jag breezed past us like we were standing still! Sorry for the thread drift, but the Pic of a rusty old speedo lit up ma mrmory cell.

Young pup! Nobody expected a car to last 100,000 so there was no need for a bigger odometer. I had a friend who took a photo of his Holden odo rolling over to zero - but the car was on it's second engine.

I like how it only goes to 99,999 miles. Did they not expect cars to do more than 100,000 back then?

Well, that is my Saturday deflated. Good win to the Lions against the Hawks in the prelim today. In all honesty, the better team won, as when they put the jets on in the third quartert, the Lions were unstoppable. They would have had less legs than the Hawks as the Hawks had a week off. Still, for the Hawks, so close, yet soooooooo far...

Spot on Pete, that's what it is.

Looks rather Morris Minor. Got the patina you want.