Episodes
On Friday the 19th of July, 2024 millions of CrowdStrike Falcon Agents the world over would lead to a Windows system crash on business machines throwing parts of the world into chaos. We look into exactly what caused it and how complacency and a lack of understanding amplified the effect of this wholly preventable incident.
Published 10/19/24
In 2017 during an Odoriser decontamination procedure in West Virginia, two people were killed when it unexpectedly exploded. Barely a month later, a similar procedure at the same site led to a second explosion, killing someone else. We examine how poor hazard analysis and legal interference led to yet another fatality...right in front of the eyes of the investigators on site.
Published 06/25/24
Scott Willsey returns to pull apart the Google AI Overviews feature, the risks of trusting LLMs and Generative AI and the OpenAI Scarlett Johansson saga. Also John's returning to the USA in September and embracing Dumb Watches along with a host of other updates.
Published 06/06/24
Vic and John discuss southbooth cooling progress, the lack of Apple Vision Pro internationally, Johns new Electric Ride on Mower, briefly about cricket and finally the US DoJ Anti-Trust case against Apple.
Published 04/15/24
In 2021 the Callide C Power Station experienced a unit failure that tore the turbine-generator apart, resulted in hundreds of thousands of premises losing power, and cost hundreds of millions to repair. We look at how design errors and ultimately a lack of information led to the incident escalating out of control, when it could have been recovered.
Published 03/30/24
Vic joins John to go discuss the new iPhone 15 Pro Max Lenses for photos and video, using the Meta Quest 3 and trying out the Fuji Real3D Camera vs iPhone 15 Pro Max Spatial Videos in anticipation of the upcoming Apple Vision Pro.
Published 01/24/24
After a huge uptick in Electric Vehicle sales in Australia, Tesla responded with a blitz of new SuperChargers throughout Australia but they weren't alone. We look at how Queensland fared as multiple companies push new DC Fast Charger infrastructure forward in an attempt to keep up with surging demand.
Published 12/31/23
In 2021 many of Colonial Pipelines IT systems were locked by malware and out of caution they shutdown the fuel pipelines feeding nearly half of the Eastern US leading to chaos at the gas pump and a state of emergency being declared. We look at how poor off-boarding hygiene led to an easily preventable cyber-attack.
Published 12/09/23
Vic joins John to go through a mixed bag of topics including the two most recent Apple Events, selling lenses, the new 5x iPhone Pro Max Lens, Johns day job company being potentially bought and split as well as the Soundbooth and some conference speaking.
Published 11/07/23
The I35W bridge over the Mississippi River carried 140,000 cars every day. Inspections in 1999 and 2003 showed damage to support plates that was dismissed as unimportant at the time. We look into how poor design checking and assumptions led to the bridge collapsing in 2007, costing the lives of 13 people.
Published 08/27/23
The concept of value has always struck me as odd. Let's pull apart what it actually means, how human it is, and what actually matters when thinking about value.
Published 08/20/23
Vic joins John to look at the history of Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality as we pre-assess the pros and cons of AR and VR and the upcoming Apple Vision Pro.
Published 07/13/23
Five months after Lion Air 610 crashed, another 737-MAX went down with a similar cause. However the official report was at odds with two other internationally respected investigative organisations. We dig into the detail of how the AOA Sensor was claimed to have failed, and review checklist discrepancies to extract fact from opinion as to what most likely triggered this horrible chain of events.
Published 04/22/23
With some initial discussion of the Twitter Appocalypse and M2 Mac Mini, John and Vic dive into the Apple Watchs evolution since 2015 to present and discuss whether or the newest Apple Watch design can be thought of as the ultimate Ultra.
Published 01/26/23
A fireworks company in Western Australia that had been in business for nearly a century, were preparing for a fireworks display in their packing shed when one ignited and set off a fire and an explosion. Onlookers were shocked when there was a subsequent explosion that was so big it was heard 30 kilometers away leaving the facility in ruins.
Published 01/18/23
In the last two days before Christmas in 2022, my Model 3 received a free trial for 30 days for Enhanced AutoPilot - a feature that costs $5,100 AUD. With a week to trial the features, in this episode we look at Auto-lane change and Navigate on Autopilot, with a final conclusion about Enhanced Autopilot as a whole.
Published 01/06/23
In the last two days before Christmas in 2022, my Model 3 received a free trial for 30 days for Enhanced AutoPilot - a feature that costs $5,100 AUD. With a week to trial the features, in this episode we look at Auto-park, Summon and Smart Summon.
Published 12/28/22
In the last two days before Christmas in 2022, my Model 3 received the annual Christmas Update from Tesla. We look at the highlights and the lowlights of Tesla updates, this one included...along with a holiday message.
Published 12/23/22
When a radiation therapy machine was left behind during a move between buildings in central Brazil, it set in motion a series of events that would lead to one of the worst radiological incidents in history. We look into how bureaucracy and misdiagnosis cost four people their lives and how the actions of a concerned mother with no medical experience, saved the lives of countless more.
Published 11/18/22
A road trip episode of Pragmatic Electric, I drive from Monto to Rockhampton to visit some friends, then to the Capricorn Coast and back to Monto in a day in my Model 3. With limited infrastructure to charge, how close will I cut it?
Published 10/30/22
Following Johns appearance on Episode 100 of Podcasting 2.0, John is joined by Dave Jones to workshop the soundbites tag enhancements, as well as touch on BitCoin and Crypto strengths and weaknesses in the longer term.
Published 10/16/22
The tallest building in Missouri with a large atrium perfect for big bands and dancing, hosted a regular Tea Dance in the summer of 1981. When two walkways collapsed killing over a hundred people, the investigators found multiple fundamental design errors. We look at how assumptions, redrafting conventions and negligence led to an incident that has become the case study in how not to do civil structural design.
Published 07/15/22
The longest, tallest, fastest indoor rollercoaster in the world was only open six months when the last carriage of a train came loose, killing three people and all that the day following an inspection that the ride was safe to operate. We look at how a design choice made maintenance more critical and then how wishing for a ride to be safe, doesn't really help.
Published 05/16/22
In 1977, a commuter train from the Blue Mountains, destined for Sydney central station would derail just before Granville Station, causing a bridge to collapse and crush many aboard. It remains Australia's worst ever rail disaster that was predicted by 11 engineering department heads just a year earlier. We look at how management decisions led to a completely avoidable disaster.
Published 04/02/22