Local news for local people
General and miscellaneous articles - Page 1
There are miscellaneous stories in the archives.
Things that don't fit anywhere else.
Older people's media literacy can be boosted in just 60 minutes - new study I know I keep harping on about the sewer pipe of mis- and disinformation that floods us every day from social media (and real media, too). Some new research published in The Conversation indicates that older people might be more susceptible to this while some (but not all or enough) young people are taught something about critical thinking at school. The research went on to look for ways to correct this deficiency, and the good news is that there is some evidence that the problem can be averted with a quite small amount of education and training, although this needs constant reinforcement. |  |
 | Another winter driving hazard to worry about Now that winter is here, this is your annual reminder about freezing fog. This is a road hazard that rarely gets mentioned but which can be very serious (and frightening) when it happens. |
Photos of children on the Internet It's a tragedy of our times that anything can be abused by perverts. The latest is that AI systems are being used to exploit photos of children by removing clothing or putting other heads on bodies. The world's largest pornography site, PornHub, recently banned one of their advertisers who was paying a million dollars a year to advertise AI-generated child porn. That company is Australian. Elon Musk is threatening to sue a US state because it has banned Musk's Grok AI for the ease with which it can be used to produce images of naked children. Musk claims this is an infringement of free speech, a statement that renders sane people speechless. Legitimate search engines are blocked from indexing any images on this site but it is almost impossible to prevent web site content from being scavenged by AI robots and the only alternative is to not publish photos, so over the next few weeks I will be going through all the sports and school reports on the site and removing any photos in which kids can be identified. (This tiny and obscure site is continually trawled by AI bots, although all except ChatGPT try to remain anonymous. The papers published by Nine Entertainment are currently being hit 30,000,000 times a month by AI content thieves. It is work for several people just to try to keep up with the blocking.) The two articles below from The Conversation address the danger of putting your kids' photos online. |  |
Another week. Another scam. The creativity (or perhaps dishonesty) of scammers is remarkable. They never tire of finding new ways to steal money from unsuspecting targets. Here's a statement from the Oberon Men's Shed about one going around town right now. The Shed has received an enquiry stating that a "Jeff" from the Men's Shed had done some odd jobs at a home for a lady in town. She had overpaid him and was requesting the return of the overpayment. The Oberon Men's Shed doesn't perform odd jobs for members of the community as our insurance doesn't cover this type of work. Nor do we intrude on the type of work local handymen undertake. Additionally, the Shed has never had a member called "Jeff." Please be aware that if "Jeff" or anyone else approaches you claiming to be from the Men's Shed looking to do handyman's work around your home, we reiterate that we don't perform this sort of work for the community as we don't have the required insurance. |
There are a lot of cattle around Oberon
July 23, 2026 in General News
Thanks to Scott Hilburn at the Argyle Sweater
 | How to stop fraudsters tricking disabled people out of their NDIS funding There is a temptation to blame welfare recipients for fraud and wastage in government programs. There are almost certainly people claiming benefits to which they are not entitled, but almost all the fraud in the NDIS is being conducted by those people pretending to be the ones doing the helping. This report from The Conversation provides some details of the fraud involved. |
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Could this be Australia's warmest winter ever? Hottest June day ever in the UK. Heat waves across Eastern Europe and
the USA. Hottest ever start to winter across most of Australia. But don't
mention climate change or someone will tell you that it was really cold
in Oberon last Friday so global warming is a HOAX (the word is always capitalised).
This article from The Conversation is written by a couple of academics
who probably know what they are talking about. |
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Action this day! There has been some good news about Victoria Pass. A decision has been made about who will be fixing the broken Mitchells Causeway. Transport for NSW had this to say: Contract awarded to reopen Great Western Highway, with further relief for impacted businesses
The Government is also announcing an expanded package of support for local businesses affected by the closure. The NSW Government knows the uncertainty of the past few months has been incredibly difficult for local communities. While this process has taken time, there could be no shortcuts when it came to understanding the cause of the failure and determining the safest long-term solution. Following an accelerated procurement process, Seymour Whyte has been selected to construct a new crossing that will restore the connection between the Blue Mountains and Central West while improving its long-term resilience. Extensive geotechnical investigations carried out over the past few months were critical to the procurement process, providing the evidence needed to develop the proposal for the safest and fastest reopening. You can read the complete media release here. Completion by April 2027 is a rather optimistic schedule so cynics can expect that the final date for reopening Victoria Pass will be "adjusted" as time goes on. No estimate of the cost has been announced, but it can be guessed as being $Lots. |  |
The NSW Government is today providing certainty for communities impacted by the closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass announcing the successful contractor to deliver a new, more durable crossing at Mitchells Causeway, with major construction to begin in July, and the road expected to reopen in the second quarter of next year.
 | Census paranoia This year's census will happen on August 11. Every time a census rolls around there are people whining about privacy and the government (or "gubmnt", if you prefer) wanting to know everything about us. This is an updated version of something I wrote a few years ago when Facebook seemed to be full of people expressing much concern. And yes, when I was distributing forms for the 2021 census I was threatened by someone who refused to allow me to put the forms in his letterbox. |
Pines Wind Farm - Quarterly update Every three months, representatives of the Pines Wind Farm give a presentation to Oberon Council about the status and progress of the project. The most recent meeting took place on June 9. See a recording of the meeting here |  |
