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I was going to ask abut you.. Glad you're still here. @red750 - First, it's good to hear he is well. Maybe you can entice him back by letting him know that the Block User feature works very well? Send him our best, anyway.

Here is the device in place.

Like all powerful things, A.I. runs the risk of being used for powerful good and powerful evil equally. And it has been developed primarily to make money for it's owners. Which is a good reason for caution.

Today is the big day. I have been to the Cochlear Support Centre and received the external sound processor, which is now turned on. It sounds completely different to what I expected, although I knew it sounded different to what I have been hearing. For example, the ticking of a digital clock sounds like someone tapping a metal pipe with a small spanner. I now have a couple of months for my brain to learn to deal with sound frequencies it hasn't received in years, and for the device to be calibrated to my hearing.

Yeah, and I squeezed my wife's Nair on my toothbrush because she put the tube next to the toothbrushes. Now I wear my reading glasses in the bathroom.

I received a welcome email from Cochlear Limited which included the following note from a user. “Don’t expect to hear speech right away. You will hear sounds. One needs to have patience because it can take a while to hear speech clearly. The learning curve is different for everyone. It depends on how much time and effort one puts into learning to hear with a cochlear implant. It’s not like a hearing aid where you will be able to hear instantly. The more you work at it, the more successful you will be.” – Cathy, who has a cochlear implant.

Yeah, but you asked for it.

Little Johnny was playing in the schoolyard when he got a splinter in his hand. He went to the teacher and said, " Miss, I need some cider." The teacher said, "Why do yo need cider?" Johnny said, "I got a splinter in my hand." The teacher said, "What's that got to do with cider? Little Johnny said, "I heard Mum say when she gets a prick in her hand she puts it in cider."

When I left school, I joined the Commercial Bank of Australia Limited (CBAL) in 1961. I worked for them till 1986 when they merged with the Bank of NSW to form Westpac. I continued working for Westpac until 1991, when banks started rationalising staff and introducing computers in branches. Obviously they did not require two lots of staff, as duplicated branches and departments were merged, so many staff were retrenched. I had been working in a suburban processing centre which was closed, and I was let go. But I still had 2 Westpac credit cards. The other night, after 11 pm., I got a text from Westpac questioning a debit to one of the cards from Optus Prepaid of about $50. I have no business with Optus Prepaid, and certainly had not used my credit card recently. I replied to the text that I did not recognise the transaction. Next morning I got a phone call from Westpac, to clarify details. The transaction was stopped, the card was cancelled, and a replacement card was isssued. Both my cards normally have zero balances or small credit balances no more than $10. I generally use them at parking stations where debit cards are not accepted, and the occasional online purchase. I have not cancelled them as I would never get another card, and it's handy to have recourse to some credit in case of emergency. I have been retired for 16 years and my superannuation has been fully drawn and spent.

I know you aren't really after a trike, but this might stimulate your imagination. Especially the front wheel setup.

I find it very helpful. Particularly with solving IT problems at home.

The headlines have mostly been about experimental AI models that have taken advantage of flawed rules and laboratory environments to do things they weren’t supposed to, and how that can be prevented. Industry self-regulation is a very weak mechanism when the developers are not competing to use AI for the greatest public good but to make the most money in the shortest time. AI can be used for good and it would be helpful to see more examples but I think it’s reasonable that the focus at the moment should be on where the biggest risks and potential for harm are.

I have sent OneTrack an email and am awaiting a reply.

He has disappeared for weeks and months a couple of times in the past, so I hope no cause for alarm.

17th century English explorers thought it looked like a pine cone but tasted like a fruit. Apple was a common name for fruit of various kinds at the time so it became pineapple.

There was an earthquake in Victoria this morning, at 2 am, near Leongatha. It was felt by hundreds in Melbourne, although I was in bed and didn't feel it. My daughter came to my room to check if I had. One woman on Facebook said the shaking lasted long enough for her to wake her husband and ask "Did you feel that?" He got quite excited for a second.

Not how it actually works. The problem was/is that when a business pays via a credit card it's the receiver that will pay the surcharge from the credit provider. This doesn't happen with direct transfer or debit cards. The card company charges not a flat fee but a % of the payment. Then it also hits the payer with interest. A normal transfer EFT or debit costs a fraction of a cent, hence the policy change. Thus the ATO was up for a minimum $200 million bill for accepting credit payments under the new system from all the small businesses. Should we the taxpayer subsidise small businesses to pay via credit? Also that they rely on a constant credit card rollover indicates poor practice and a susceptibility to failure. Business used similar scare stories about needing to pay superannuation employee contributions when they a paid wages rather than using employees money as a piggy bank for months. Similarly this practice could and did lead to companies going bust and super never been paid. Policy wise it was and is a smart move, as it will create a change in business practices. Certainly way too many firms have dodgy finances, and need culling. I bet the banks are spewing also about all the lost revenue from credit card taxation payments.

I have had hair in my teeth before ...more of a side effect from female pleasure.

That's only an admission that you blokes have been abusive. Too bad Onetrack didn't stay on, I could have told him about the latest developments with Veterans medical treatment which has been broadened and somewhat fast tracked. It's still a bit woeful and uncaring, but getting better after all the work that Veterans Associations have been putting in.

One of my pet peeves. What cruel b uses the smallest unreadable font on the bottle to give me the only information I need?

Probably "Dickens" brand. Popular cider among women, apparently.

Saw one proposed data centre that would use as much electricity as 1 million homes. At some point the madness has to stop.

In a swimming pool, the P is silent.

I have spent a couple of hours on the phone over four calls with the Westpac bank as they are trying to re-confirm my customer identity. I have banked with them for thirty years at least. I sent them a copy of my driver's licence and, when that was unacceptable, my passport. They say I am not McCarthy but I am Mc Carthy. The space is on my driver's licence and my passport, has always been there and had never caused a problem before. So, I sent them my birth certificate. They say that it is not necessarily me because, although it shows my father's name in full, it only gives my two Christian names, so my surname could be anything. At that point I lost my cool and now may be looking for a new bank.

In DEBT, the B is silent. In KNIFE, the K is silent. In MARRIAGE, the HUSBAND is silent.

Bristol Hercules sleeve valve. don't know if he has finished it.

https://www.rotecaerosport.com/motorcycles

It's not about just helping Ukraine, it's also about helping preserve the international rule of law and the principal that it's wrong to take someone else's country by force. I'm not sure if the peanut would understand that concept.

That's usually the case.

Here's one for you. Wind tunnel tested, hand formed alloy body, straight 8 mid engine two seater. A pic of it before and after it's most recent resto. Not what I'd use for a run to the supermarket. https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/up-from-the-ashes-a-1940s-one-off-streamliner-is-reborn-again/

A bit like keeping a car roadworthy. It depends on how you use AI. I've been more able to get the truth through it than any other sources. it Provides references and answers ANY questions or Questioning. Nev

This is the building I worked in when I first started work in 1960, and again, working for a different company, when I retired in 2010. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DrJavigSH/

Sounds like my trip to the loo this morning.

So far, I am averaging a couple of dollars a day in feedin to the grid. And virtually nil consumption. Might not sound much, but that should add up to at least $700 credit a year. I await in anticipation to see if the new smart meter agrees with the solar inverter logs.

Two guys at the bar. One says: "you won't believe me, but I can bite my right eye. One beer if you loose the bet? " They shake hands or whatever you do in that part of the world to seal a bet and then our guy takes out his right (glass) eye and bites in it. One beer later our guy says "you won't believe me,I but I can bite in my left eye as well." They confirm the bet. Our guy takes out his dentures and bites in his left eye. One beer later our guy says "you won't believe me , but I can piss in your right trouser pocket and you don't get wet". Well, the bet is confirmed, our guy takes out his noodle and pisses in the right pocket of his betting partners trousers. "Fuck, my trousers are all wet!" (giggling) "Sorry, sometimes I lose a bet...."

I had the smart meter installed yesterday, so hopefully all the problems with idiot meter readers and estimated bills have gone for good. It went quite well to my surprise. Considering the disfunctional way power companies operate these days I thought it would be another sh*tfight trying to extract any common sense from them, but luckily the technician was just a normal tradie subcontractor who subbied for the company contracted to supply smart meters for the power retailer. He also happened to live just down the road from me and they'd given him my phone number, so he was able to ring me from the gate. Being just a normal tradie, he was quite happy to throw his gear in my car and let me drive him the 400 metres up to the meter box and back. He had a big front wheel drive van and wanted to give it a go driving that up. I tried my best to talk him out of it, but fortunately he came to a wheel spinning halt in the first fifteen metres so didn't do any damage to his vehicle, and it was easy enough for him to reverse back down to the gate. I'm glad I was there as I had three analog meters and one has never had an outlet to use power so has read 00000 kWh for thirty years or more. The technician wrote the numbers down as 99,999 kWh which would have given me a $3,000 bill for power never used. It took a fair bit to convince him he was wrong but he eventually came round. Attached photo shows the meter. Apart from no more meter reader access problems and issues with power retailers who can't read analog meters correctly, one thing I really like about the smart meter is that it gives one combined power useage figure for all three phases. That unused meter that reads zero has been a headache for years. If you submit a self meter read, the software spits the dummy if you enter the same figure as last time. In that case you have to photograph the meters and email them to people who can't read a meter and always stuff it up. I've even had an inspector from the main power supplier show up to check that I wasn't stealing power, as the zero readings were flagged as suspicious.

Whatever you may think of Musk, Space-X is doing some amazing work. They had three rocket launches on one day this week, one taking four astronauts to the space station, another deploying 30 Starlink satellites and the third launching a military satellite, all while recovering their boosters for re-use. One booster has been re-used 37 times.

Takes care of your furry teeth!

"I'm quick with mathematics." "OK, What is 73 x 39?" "24 !" "Not even close!" "I did say 'quick'."

I wonder if they'll start chanting "Leave my elevator alone".

My Post relates to a couple of Posts back . Putin is KGB. He wants to return Russia to it's Glory days . USSR. ( 3 days it will take and they will throw Roses) It certainly hasn't worked out that way and NOW who could trust him? Nev

And there is a Aussie 3 cyl radial powered bike under construction - all you need is a sidecar for the farm! https://silodrome.com/radial-engined-motorcycle/

That's not moving to the left, it's just stupid. Pity that Larissa went. I thought she was doing a good job.

Good luck for the deluge, hopefully just the right amount.

Lovely!, he said sarcastically.

OneTrack hasn’t been around since June despite being a frequent contributor. I don’t suppose anyone knows what happened to him and whether he’s OK?

If a pineapple is not an apple, and doesn't grow on pine trees, why is it called a pineapple?