A new listing of federal government R&D grants turned up one intriguing case. A Canberra company called The Distillery Pty Ltd picked up a very tidy $4.15 million grant for a project called Operation Bundy. The Note isn’t an expert on rum, but we had visions of a large polar bear being recruited to support the development of a potent new drink. The full title of the project added to the intrigue: Operation Bundy – advanced intelligence led operations. It turns out the project has nothing to do with alcoholic drinks. Instead it involves “a range of new generation software products” to revolutionise the management of counter terrorism, law enforcement and major fraud investigations.