BreakingFrance fridge hack: how 700 supermarkets lost their cold AustraliaIBAC report on COVID grants lands amid abortion clash AmplifiedAnberlin — Never Take Friendship Personal AustraliaSenate blocks inquiry into Hanson's staffing bill Borderline DeskOpinion: Explain our slang to newcomers, don't sand it away AmplifiedEmery — The Question Borderline DeskA dictionary of Australian slang, from arvo to yakka Borderline DeskHow war gave Australia digger, furphy and Aussie AmplifiedDemon Hunter — Summer of Darkness Borderline DeskOxford's idiom advice echoed by Australian universities Coming SoonArizona Sunshine leaves VR on 21 January 2027 AmplifiedNorma Jean — Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child Tech DeskApple TV 4K (4th generation) brings Siri AI for A$449 United StatesJudge blocks Trump press ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico AustraliaAlice Springs storms: 96 km/h gust cuts power to thousands Space DeskChandra ties the Treble Clef to a galaxy cluster collision Christian DeskPope Leo homily: no future without strong families AustraliaMcPhillamys goldmine: court voids Plibersek heritage order AI DeskGrok Voice 3.0 tops speech-to-speech index at $0.08 a minute Borderline DeskUS border encounters fall as ICE removals pass 356,000

BreakingFrance fridge hack: how 700 supermarkets lost their cold AustraliaIBAC report on COVID grants lands amid abortion clash AmplifiedAnberlin — Never Take Friendship Personal AustraliaSenate blocks inquiry into Hanson's staffing bill Borderline DeskOpinion: Explain our slang to newcomers, don't sand it away AmplifiedEmery — The Question Borderline DeskA dictionary of Australian slang, from arvo to yakka Borderline DeskHow war gave Australia digger, furphy and Aussie AmplifiedDemon Hunter — Summer of Darkness Borderline DeskOxford's idiom advice echoed by Australian universities Coming SoonArizona Sunshine leaves VR on 21 January 2027 AmplifiedNorma Jean — Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child Tech DeskApple TV 4K (4th generation) brings Siri AI for A$449 United StatesJudge blocks Trump press ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico AustraliaAlice Springs storms: 96 km/h gust cuts power to thousands Space DeskChandra ties the Treble Clef to a galaxy cluster collision Christian DeskPope Leo homily: no future without strong families AustraliaMcPhillamys goldmine: court voids Plibersek heritage order AI DeskGrok Voice 3.0 tops speech-to-speech index at $0.08 a minute Borderline DeskUS border encounters fall as ICE removals pass 356,000

Thursday 15 October 2026

Silicon in the sand

ASCII hex, affine and a Nihilist to finish. Ten in all, with answers below the fold.

Cipher Friday 16 October 2026, open calendar3 min read

Photo: Radiotrefoil / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped

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Every chip starts as sand and ends up as billions of switches smaller than most viruses. Today's pack is a little bigger than that.

A mirror-like multicrystalline silicon wafer with iridescent surface. — Photo: Radiotrefoil / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped

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Cipher Friday 16 October 2026 at 6:23 am Adelaide, open calendar3 min read

This desk has not corrected this file. Corrections.

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