bencourtice

basalt plains bush regeneration. bolshie commentary. botany. banjo. books. bollocks. Bacchus Marshian. boy (he/him/hey dickhead).

Occasional blog:
https://astherivergoesby.wordpress.com

Public Key

npub1f0hqpwyrkeklz406y8jz0n62y5v7auhzd4vrfv327v2fqam85zgqrun4sp

NIP-05 Address

bencourtice_at_aus.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsyhmsqhzpmvm032hazrep8ea9z2x0w7t3x6kp5kg40x9yswan6pyqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntfpn04h

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1f0hqpwyrkeklz406y8jz0n62y5v7auhzd4vrfv327v2fqam85zgqrun4sp

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-04-12 07:15:11 UTC

- reply

does Israel want Iran to accept any conditions other than complete obliteration? Genuine question

2026-03-01 02:58:44 UTC

- reply

now there's someone I actually do miss.

2026-02-03 11:11:26 UTC

- reply

I am also mindful it might become a snake buffet if not placed carefully

2026-02-03 10:26:19 UTC

- reply

I'm thinking I could probably build these "frog sauna" bricks, one of my workmates does pottery, it can't be too hard if you know what sizes to build

2026-02-01 21:30:20 UTC

- reply

Are hybrid heat pumps the ones that combine with a gas burner? That's pretty terrible

2026-01-03 10:28:12 UTC

- reply

snatch squad rather than invasion, perhaps

2026-01-03 08:29:00 UTC

- reply

Troops on the ground seems unlikely without more extensive bombardment and siege/starvation. Else it's more likely to be like Bay of Pigs than Grenada.

2025-09-10 08:27:57 UTC

An excellent discussion of the intertwined economics of AI and semiconductors (chips). A classic case of what Marx would have called a crisis of overproduction, where the productive forces have outgrown the market. More recent Marxist analysis takes this further , showing how it leads to attempts to create new "needs", either via advertising, or using monopoly leverage to force adoption (ie not giving any other choice to consumers). But this can only delay the crisis of overproduction, as the underlying irrationality remains.
#monopolycapital #AI #Marxism
https://gauthierroussilhe.com/en/articles/how-to-use-computing-power-faster

2025-08-22 21:22:49 UTC

Why don't they ride in the bike lane? Let me count the ways. Neale Rd, Deer Park.
#cycling #bikelanes #WhyDontTheyRideInTheBikeLane
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/074/493/146/440/688/original/083ed42dd8fc32e2.jpg

2025-07-24 22:14:44 UTC

- reply

looks like Bromus catharticus to me

2025-07-20 06:10:26 UTC

Bluebells at McCorkells Rd grassland. Extra blue today!
#nofilter #bloomscrolling #wildflowers #campanulaceae #grasslands
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/884/061/716/558/903/original/786769d4ddedb0dd.jpg

2025-06-24 10:12:18 UTC

- reply

A good article - but re the Strait of Hormuz: Pretty sure it hasn't been closed. Iranian parliament apparently discussed it and was in favour but no legislation or executive order has been proposed to enact it. At least, that was the latest news I could find.

2025-04-27 20:47:01 UTC

- reply

on the plus side, this might spare the Greens and teals the poisoned chalice of negotiating a government partnership with the authoritarian, racist, neoliberal ALP. Well, they may not see it as a plus but sometimes opposition is better.

2025-03-30 04:07:11 UTC

So Vic police can search anyone anytime without a warrant in designated areas. They only need 12 hours notice to desgnate an area for up to 12 months. The whole Melbourne CBD is one such designated area.
"This is democracy manifest!"
This is under a state Labor government. Progressives should stop wasting time on "keep the Liberals out" type campaigns and spend that energy on restoring the rights and power of the population.
"Get your hand off my penis!"
etc
#Auspol
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/249/394/476/441/802/original/2b039e1d6e55a076.jpg

2025-03-22 20:33:46 UTC

Don't forget. Since Israel has blatantly and violently abandoned the ceasefire process, it's time to protest again. In Melbourne the protest is noon today at the State Library. Without protests, we will never stop the genocide.
https://www.freepalestinevic.org/events/
#naarm #melbourne #gaza #palestine

2024-11-25 02:21:08 UTC

As we lose 2g, 3g coverage and "progress" to 5g, are rural areas losing coverage? I'm in Macedon Ranges, just outside Melbourne. Mobile coverage through the ranges has always been crap but I feel like maybe its getting worse? Can't even load a basic webpage here today despite showing 2 bars of 5g coverage.
#5g #3g #mobilereception

2024-09-21 20:25:29 UTC

- reply

This little herb forms deep taproots (probably >1m) as thick as my wrist. They are very long lived, up to hundreds of years (according to my #botany prof). It was common across the basalt plains but now probably close to an #endangeredspecies - long lived individual plants hang on well after the prospects of reproduction via pollination have disappeared due to small remnant population size (in some sites just one or two). It's Ptilotus macrocephalus (#Amaranthaceae), aka Featherheads. Here the tall flower spike has just begun to grow.
/3
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/177/401/043/918/511/original/47ba772109d66b9f.jpg

2024-09-21 20:09:52 UTC

- reply

Native #grasslands used to be full of (mostly) small annual #wildflowers. This is Triptilodiscus pygmaeus (#Asteraceae) aka pygmy sunray. It's about 1-2 cm tall here. Apparently it just showed up of its own accord. It would probably be absent if there were livestock present, or the carpet of weedy annual exotic grasses that come with them.
/2
#restorationecology
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/177/332/299/075/275/original/9e69bb94eebf22b3.jpg

2024-09-21 20:02:43 UTC

Yesterday toured a restored basalt plains #grassland on private land near Bacchus Marsh. It's been more or less in drought since late summer, but there are still some great plants there. Here is Stackhousia subterranea (#Celastraceae), aka Grassland candles. This plant was a rescue transplant from a development site.
/1
#ecologicalrestoration
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/177/314/877/902/992/original/76c9db3f46193351.jpg