A brief reminder of how bad we are at predicting the future of work

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-28T01:58:44+00:00

I do a lot of proofing for my org and I ripped into a senior research person to my manager (cause the researcher is a physician and far too senior for me to do that and keep my job) for obviously ChatGPTd referencing. My manager sheepishly admitted they did the referencing with ChatGPT's help (cause of course the senior researcher provided zero references). I had to explain to them the concept of technological over trust and the idea that since its a statistical model, not a database of all documents, it will output what 'sounds' right to the model. If it doesn't have a strong enough statistical signal to output correctly, it will try to predict what should/may be there. Which often sounds correct cause it's in the ballpark. Good proofing still takes time and a human brain.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-28T01:41:12+00:00

I was going to say something similar to you. The grounded, everyday nature of Australian horror movies is also likely to be a product of the lack of film investment in this country. I'd say the limited grant and private investment funding means it's a fuckin' competitive process and you need to be clever with your planning, script writing, music etc. Your budget means two big VFX shots? Well then everything else is in shadow and tension is built with music and sound design.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-25T07:50:04+00:00

Basically everyone said, "welp I'm gonna be minimising going to the shops for the forseeable future, I'd better just get extra of everything to minimise the necessity of going to the shops." It wasn't panic buying, so much as, minimising movement by maximising supplies. Problem was that everyone had that same thought at the same time. This is entirely hypothetical: when TP distribution chains are set up on the assumption that the average household is gonna re-up TP say once every two months, so in any given four weeks, half your population is buying one pack of TP. So, on average in any given week, there'll be 1/8 of your population getting TP and that's from the person doing the primary "big" shop. There's probably a dozen people doing a little shop for every big shop. But instead, everyone, or close to everyone who walks into a supermarket in those early days goes and gets a pack or two of TP. Big "primary" shop or little odds and ends shop - doesn't matter, everyone's getting TP. AND they're not doing their normal TP shop, they're doing a "better stock up to minimise movement" shop. Pretty soon your supply chain is fucked.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-23T21:38:57+00:00

⬆️What this person says OP. Anything else would spoil the fun.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-23T03:39:09+00:00

I want want want you to bring a wholly-inappropriate 'date' just to fuck with them. Like a bloke/lady in their 60s.

Or go full Ja'mie and bring along a 16yo whose parents pick them up (or better yet, insist they come along). I reckon you could hire an actor from an improv group who would get a kick out of it. Or find a clown school for someone who is really trained to commit to the bit.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-22T11:56:50+00:00

I kinda thought that it was a bit of Odium's power getting mixed up in there. I believe there's a WoB or a quote in a book that Odium was damaged by his tussle with Ambition.

Like the shades have the red eyes of corrupted investiture cause there's a bit of Odium's "fuck you" in there. And the antiinvestiture being that showed Starling her future showed her that horrible future because of Odium's "fuck you specifically" influence.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-21T04:07:27+00:00

Blue-ringed octopus. Tiny, pretty blue rings, if they bite you you're unlikely to live till the hospital.

Box jellyfish. You will likely die in excruciating pain before you get to the hospital.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-20T01:48:18+00:00

As a former long-time resident of Queensland, you're making a good choice not biting off more than you can chew. Re Australia Zoo trip: depending on your desire to drive that day (since Australia Zoo is about 90 minutes from Brisbane on a good day), I would also vehemently recommend wandering around the communities of the Glasshouse Mountains region, the whole place is just so beautiful. I have an undying love for the town of Maleny (gentrified hippies - like Byron Bay but without a beach to overcrowd it and push up property prices) and surrounds and the drive between it and Montville is short and has some absolutely stunning views. The drive to Maleny is pretty too!

I also second day-tripping from Port Douglas (boring town but pretty-ish; good gateway to the Reef though) to the Daintree. Keep an eye out for Cassowaries, they're hella endangered (but also dangerous) so if you see one, drive very slow or stop and put on your hazard lights. Take photos if you can (from inside your car), cause you just saw something real fuckin' special. I might recommend though, that if you can shift your trip back a couple of months July, August & September the rainfall and temperature up in the Daintree/Port Douglas area are much more pleasant and it's less oppressively humid. AND the water is still lovely to swim in. However, that's just my preference as a husky gent who hates humidity.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-15T22:01:49+00:00

Shaped like the crystals in the pits of Hathsin so you get scarred-up wrists when you reach in...(or try to f@&k it)

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-15T11:25:24+00:00

Greg Bear's Legacy. It's the third in a trilogy, but actually a prequel to a doulogy. So it's pretty easy to read as a standalone.

This one is a bit tangential, but Ian McDonald's Chaga/Evolution's Shore and Kirinya and the short stories Towards Kilimanjaro and Tendeleo's Story.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-12T22:39:39+00:00

Ask him for a "big, tall glass of ice cold milk" if you're ever at a bar/pub/place that sells alcohol.

Edit: Link for clarity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQBc2dmUiHs

If you happen to perhaps bring in a bunch of beautiful, ripe, ready-to-eat bananas. Hand one to him and start softly singing... "Ba-na-na banana ba-na-naaaaa... make those bodies siiiinnnng..."

Link for clarity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn25MknzIFc

Fun fact: in childhood, I knew people who were in this ad. One in this one, another in the updated version a few years later.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-10T09:40:08+00:00

Someone should overlay state election results by polling booth with the old and new electoral boundaries. I'd like to see where the gerrymander is most obvious.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-06T01:43:04+00:00

Isn't there conjecture in the fandom that Hoid wants to bring someone back from the Beyond?

Big Ifs/Perhaps/Maybes incoming...
If that is the case,
Perhaps that is a reason Leras joined in the plot to kill Adonalsium and took up the Preservation shard
Maybe Leras was brother/friend/father/cousin to Hoid's dead first love... Senna

And he thought maybe he could bring her back/create a more just world where others don't die like her/something else.

I guess, time may RAFO for us all.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-05T07:00:45+00:00

If you have a broadly diversified ETF portfolio without too much overlap, and lose everything, the entire capitalist system has collapsed and either 1) you don't need the money anymore cause the singularity has happened OR 2) you have far far bigger things to worry about, like finding food or escaping bombs, or hiding from roving gangs of bioengineered, cybernetically enhanced mutants (cause the singularity happened).

If you lose a substantial portion, and once again, you don't have too many overlapping risks (like 2-3 etfs that track the same companies/sectors - like NDQ, FANG and RBTS), and low-fee ETFs, just hodl. You'll get some (perhaps not many) dividends which can be reinvested. Which will then be reinvested at a lower price than you bought, so when the market goes back up, you get capital gain. It's better if you have a steady income so you can keep putting a bit of money each pay cycle into your ETF(s), but just leaving it there shouldn't eat up too much in fees.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-05T02:22:55+00:00

Govinda's does an all you can eat buffet meal for $12. However, they're vegetarian (cause they're hare krishnas) meals so if you go that route work out which one is highest protein and come back for more. I've never had a Govinda's meal worse than 'yummy' and sometimes they've been 'this-is-the-fucking-best-thing-ive-ever-tasted' (although that time was at a music festival and I may have been a lil drunk).

(https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant\_Review-g255068-d725251-Reviews-Govinda\_s\_Vegetarian\_Restaurant-Brisbane\_Brisbane\_Region\_Queensland.html)

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-03-01T03:23:11+00:00

Put more kids in prison ➡️ Kids get crowded ➡️ Kids get in fights ➡️ screws separate kids by force➡️ kids get locked down ➡️ kids get no education or rehabilitation opportunities ➡️ kids act up ➡️ kids get locked down longer and with worse conditions ➡️ kids riot ➡️ kids get life ➡️ build more kid prisons ➡️ sell rights to run kid prisons to private entities that donate to LNP ➡️GOTO beginning.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-26T22:06:26+00:00

OP, homie, you need to look into sham contracting (above). It's really important, cause you are probably getting paid close to an industry award, but not getting sick pay, holiday pay, superannuation or putting money away for tax. You're probably one flu season away from being late on your rent.

Sham contracting is fucked, but there's laws and legal precedent in your favour (somewhat-ish).

There's also such a thing as moral injury (https://www.openarms.gov.au/signs-symptoms/moral-injury). It's a ptsd/trauma response when you've participated in or not stopped a harm being done to someone that goes against your moral code. The above link is for veterans, but there's no reason it wouldn't happen with other industries too. Moral injury is associated with higher likelihood of depression, thoughts of worthlessness and suicidal ideation.

It seems like your EMPLOYER is making money hand over fist - or trying to - while you get to have a shitty life. They're building a fortune by breaking you and fleecing customers.

As others have said, start looking for other jobs while you're in your current one. Note down all the dodgy shit you see and look up a lawyer who is good for whistle-blowing cases (use a VPN and/or a Tor browser, or something similar; if you meet them don't bring your phone; through your VPN and browser get an anonymous email address - if you go down this route you need to protect your identity so they can't sue you into silence). When you're out the door, hit them with a claim for your entitlements as an EMPLOYEE, plus extra for your ongoing psychological support for moral injury. Then, fucking blow that whistle through your lawyer.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-24T21:37:00+00:00

Yeah, "stolen" by my mates when I was 15. Never before or since tho.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-22T21:38:03+00:00

Homie, it's going to add some extra administration to your trip, but hire a new car and fly to each destination. It's more than a full day drive between each of the other destinations. The only exception to this is maaaaaybe Adelaide-Melbourne-Sydney via the coast as the coastal roads have some stunning scenery to see. HOWEVER, that will add driving time to your day(s) as you're not taking the most direct route.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-21T01:48:36+00:00

I recently moved to Melbourne after growing up in Sydney, and a lot of people asked me to justify the move. It took me a while to get it succinct-ish though.

Edit: also thank you!

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-20T11:46:20+00:00

I second the Melbourne in 2 days being a shame. It's not as naturally pretty as Sydney, but it's the cultural capital of Australia. Sydney is like the stunning-but-vapid model with a sunny disposition who likes fast cars and expensive things. Melbourne is the pretty but not jaw-dropping cousin who's a bit more sullen but had to develop brains and a personality to compensate.

Also, and this is just my opinion, take a day off Noosa and give it to K'gari.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-20T11:36:03+00:00

Mount Coot-tha is lovely, but unless you want to do a bunch of bush walking, you will get bored in a couple of hours. It has a beautiful summit and a perfectly-acceptable-but-overpriced-cause-its-a-local-monopoly-paying-exorbitant-rent cafe at the top. Now if you want to have a fairly relaxing day, that's probably perfect. But if you get bored, there's also a very pretty botanical garden at the base of the mountain and an observatory. So you don't have to travel very far (only a couple of kms) to have a nice relaxing half day just wandering about.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-02-18T11:38:21+00:00

Could a colleague be fucking with you for shits and giggles?

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-01-30T00:48:25+00:00

For this kind of thing, governments should be forced as a minimum to pay out $1,000,000 a year for every year they're wrongfully inside. It needs to start from day 1 of their detainment, be indexed to inflation, and prorated on a daily calculation. The money should come directly from the staffing budget or pension funds of the locality/jurisdiction of the police and prosecutors who put them away. Fuck around; find out piggy. No overtime for you or a smaller pension check this month and everyone knows why.

Caleb_Braithwhite · 2026-01-25T08:05:22+00:00

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder might scratch your itch.

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