My week of Monday 25 February to Sunday 3 March 2019 was moderately produtive, despite the “joys” of starting to adjust me medications to improve my sleep patterns. There were cybers, too.
Weekly Wrap 457: Neuropharmacology and two kinds of cybers
Weekly Wrap 364: Cruising through May, striking few rocks
It’s another multi-week Weekly Wrap, covering the three weeks from Monday 1 to Sunday 21 May 2017. The throat infection is finally gone — touch wood — but the sleep patterns are still rubbish, and the care factor low.
I don’t want to whinge any more, through, so here are the things.
Articles
- Cyber cooperation leads to cybersecurity, so why won’t Australia cyber do it?, ZDNet Australia, 3 May 2017.
- Lawyers and insurers set for data breach payday, ZDNet Australia, 10 May 2017.
- Hey cyber techbros, smugly yelling ‘patch and back-up’ won’t fix ransomware, ZDNet Australia, 15 May 2017. This was my response to the WannaCry worm outbreak a few days previously, and I got a bunch of hate mail, but also a bunch of compliments. Go figure.
Podcasts
None, but see below for my podcast plans.
Media Appearances
- On Tuesday 2 May, I spoke very briefly about the attempted extortion of Netflix by a hacker group on Ten Network’s The Project. It was originally planned to be a longer package followed by a studio guest, but we were cut back to make room for a breaking political story. I forgot to grab a copy of the video, alas.
- Some of my comments on WannaCry were quoted in an article at Popular Science, 5 things we learned from WanaCryptor, the biggest ransomware attack in internet history, as well as some other places.
- Some of my tweets about Twitter’s privacy changes were quoted at Breitbart, of all places, in Twitter Introduces 'Creepy' New Privacy Settings, Auto Location Tracking.
- Some of my tweets on the death of Mark Colvin were quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC journalist Mark Colvin dead at 65.
I’ve just finished reading Mark Colvin’s book, Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy’s Son, and it’s wonderful. If you’re in Australia, it’s currently AUD 8.60 on Kindle.
Corporate Largesse
- On Wednesday 3 May, I covered Cyber Security — the Leadership Imperative 2017, and a lovely breakfast was served. It also led to the first two stories listed above.
The Week Ahead
I’ve dropped my plans to cover the AusCERT Information Security Conference on the Gold Coast later this coming week, in part because I’ve got plenty of other things to do.
This week I plan to do a solid amount of work on the SEKRIT editorial project; write a thing or two for ZDNet, including a 1500-word feature; plus, I guess, a bunch of other things. But I won’t assign specific tasks to specific days, because that tends to jinx things, especially with my sleep patterns still being so dodgy.
Further Ahead
The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed live on Tuesday 30 May from stilgherrian.com/edict/live/, starting at 2100 AEST. You still have time to support this podcast with a one-off contribution.
(For those of you who’ve been asking about ongoing contributions, yes, I still intend to set up a better system for that. That won’t be finalised for a while, though, so one-off contributions are very welcome.)
Beyond that, I’m covering 5th International Conference on Cybercrime and Computer Forensics (ICCCF) on the Gold Coast from 16 to 18 July, I hope; and the national conference of the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) in Sydney on 10 to 12 October.
If there’s anything I should add in there, please let me know.
[Photo: Circles and Spikes. The side of the cruise liner Carnival Spirit docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, Sydney, on 17 May 2017.]
Weekly Wrap 301: Canberra, with quite a few cybers
My week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 March 2016 was another moderately steady improvement, in both productivity and mood. I am moderately pleased.
The Canberra trip went well, as you’ll see immediately below, but it was also exhausting. The rest of the week was therefore relatively quiet.
If you follow my Twitter stream, you already know all of this, and more.
Articles
Both of these articles are derived from material presented at the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit on Tuesday.
- Opt-out e-health a ‘fundamental breach of trust’: Victorian regulator, ZDNet Australia, 9 March 2016.
- Australia needs a ‘national discussion’ on security and civil liberties, ZDNet Australia, 11 March 2016. The conference presentations by two of the people quoted in this article are now available on YouTube: Dr Tobias Feakin, director of the International Cyber Policy Centre, and a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI); and Mike Burgess, chief information security officer at Telstra.
Podcasts
None. I know you’ve heard this before, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.
Media Appearances
None.
Corporate Largesse
- I travelled to Canberra as a guest of the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA). They paid for my flights, plus one night of my stay at the Little National Hotel. And of course there was plenty of food at the Navigating Privacy and Security Summit.
The Week Ahead
On Monday, I’m heading a few kilometres up the Great Western Highway to Leura for part of Tech Leaders, namely a keynote by Labor’s communications spokesperson Jason Clare, and then reporting on same for ZDNet. I’ll probably have lunch in Katoomba after that.
I then plan to spend the rest of the week working on three geek-for-hire projects that have fallen behind schedule, and catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
That said, I hope to make the day trip to Sydney one day for a medical appointment and various errands. I’m also looking at doing that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast one evening. And I should probably write a ZDNet column in there somewhere too.
I can’t make final arrangements until Monday afternoon, however, and I need to keep the pace reasonable, so stay tuned for details.
Further Ahead
The following two weeks are the two short weeks either side of the Easter long weekend, and will mostly be an extension of the plan just described.
I then plan to be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. The trick will be organising travel and accommodation.
I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.
[Photo: The End of Summer. These are the colours of an Australian summer, as you can also see from last week’s photo — and we’ve had a long one this year. Photographed from VA654 on final approach to Canberra airport (CBR) on 7 March 2016.]
Weekly Wrap 289: Storm, podcast, change, and more
My week of Monday 14 Sunday 20 December 2015 was full of many things, few of which are listed here. I’ve been doing random geekery rather than media stuff this week.
While I would like to blame my relative lack of productivity solely on my ratty sleep patterns this week — and they have been a thing, for various health-related reasons — I would also like to blame Certain People for plying me with alcohol. You know who you are.
Articles
- Hey Australian businesses, if you fear it, do something about it, ZDNet Australia, 15 December 2015. This is a response to the release of a joint report by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and CERT Australia, 2015 Cyber Security Survey: Major Australian Businesses (PDF).
Podcasts
None, but The 9pm Edict’s Public House Forum #2 was recorded on Saturday, and will be edited and posted online early in the coming week. It was immense fun, and you may well find it amusing.
Media Appearances
- On Monday, I spoke about the security risks of Wi-Fi Hello Barbie on Sydney radio 2UE, but I did not record it. I’ve spoken about it previously on ABC Radio’s PM.
5at5
Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.
Corporate Largesse
- On Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by Hitachi Data Systems at the ever-wonderful Gowings Bar and Grill in Sydney. Apart from the usual fine food and wine, we all got a goodie pouch containing a HDS-branded 2600mAh Power Bank, and an 8GB memory stick with the presentation.
The Week Ahead
Since the silly season has begun in Australia, and this coming week is the short week before Christmas, I won’t even bother trying to schedule it too closely. Besides, I’m cat-sitting in Ashfield again, in Sydney’s inner west, and some key items that I’ll need in the next couple of weeks are still in Wentworth Falls.
Nevertheless, between now and Thursday night, which is Christmas Eve, I know I have to design a simple website, write at least one thing for ZDNet, and edit and publish that pub podcast. I’d also like to do that yearly wrap episode of Corrupted Nerds, but I’m not so sure that will happen now.
There’s only two fixed appointments so far, Huawei’s Christmas Drinks on Tuesday evening, and a medical appointment late on Wednesday afternoon. As for the rest of it, I’ll be making it up as I go along.
As you should know by now, my Twitter feed is the most up-to-date data source for these things.
Friday is Christmas Day, so I’m likely to be offline then, as well as through the following weekend.
[Photo: Sydney Storm. The Sydney CBD seen from Lilyfield just before Wednesday’s storm hit. While the CBD itself suffered little harm, around 50 houses were damaged by severe winds at Kurnell.]
Weekly Wrap 246: Tired, hollow, but oh so productive
My week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 February 2015 has been busy, productive and exhausting. And it’s still going. If only my life lately were about more than just trying to be busy and productive. Sigh.
Podcasts
- “The 9pm Malcolm and the Cnuts”, being The 9pm Edict episode 37. I hadn’t planned to do an episode of the Edict this week, but on Friday I had an encounter with Malcolm Turnbull, and one thing led to another… But I am getting more efficient. This episode only took six hours to produce, although it did omit a couple of regular segments.
- Corrupted Nerds Extra: Malcolm Turnbull opens NICTA Techfest 2015, being the full audio of Turnbull’s speech and subsequent doorstop press conference.
Articles
- Stop monkeying around with our metadata laws, prime minister, ZDNet Australia, 19 February 2015. I’ve had an incredible reaction to this story about Australia’s plans for mandatory telecommunications data retention. The Prime Minister makes his major statement on national security tomorrow. He’s wanting to rush this legislation through parliament before the end of March. But as this article and this week’s Download This Show explain, even some law enforcement folks are concerned about this unseemly haste.
- Lenovo screwed by the Superfish: a cybersecurity nightmare, Crikey, 20 February 2015.
5at5
There were four editions of 5at5 this week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and an off-schedule 7at7 on Sunday morning. You might want to subscribe so you receive them all as they’re released. Subscribe. Just subscribe.
Media Appearances
None.
Corporate Largesse
- On Friday, I went to NICTA’s Techfest at Australian Technology Park, where I was fed and watered.
- Sunday is the first day of the Tech Leaders Forum, formerly known as Kickstart, at the Fairmont Resort. The event continues on Monday, so I’ll post the full list of largesse next week.
The Week Ahead
Monday is the second and final day of the Tech Leaders Forum, after which I shall collapse and have an early night.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I’m writing a feature for ZDNet Australia.
On Thursday, I’m heading to Sydney for the next step in my treatment program for sleep apnoea — which I have yet to blog about in any detail — as well as some errands and then, at 1615 AEDT, a television spot on ABC News24.
On Friday, I’ll probably be writing my usual column for ZDNet Australia.
Saturday is unplanned. Place your bids now.
On Sunday, I’ll be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. Because I am an idiot.
[Photo: Log. Termites had eaten out the core of this tree at Bunjaree Cottages, and it had filled with water — much to the surprise of the chain-saw wielding chap who felled it. A shame I wasn’t there to see it. Photographed on 20 February 2015.]
Weekly Wrap 242: Insomnia revelations, and more
My week of Monday 19 to Sunday 25 January 2015 continued the unproductive period, as my intestinal troubles went through their final stages, and then after that I really couldn’t be bothered putting in the effort.
Given that the early part of January was so exhausting, Monday through Wednesday ended up being mental health days. This lack of productivity will now haunt me for the next two months. Such is life.
On Thursday I discovered something interesting: that the cause of my endless insomnia is actually severe sleep apnoea. It’s probably also responsible for a large chunk of my depression. A sleep study showed that I was experiencing a disturbance to my respiratory functions every 90 seconds through the night, roughly, and doing rather a lot of loud snoring. So that’s something to take on board. There’ll be more to come on this soon, because I’ll be starting a treatment program next week soon.
Articles
None. But I did start work on a feature for ZDNet Australia that’ll appear next week.
5at5
There was only one edition of 5at5 this week, on Friday. You might want to subscribe so you receive them all in the future. Subscribe. Just subscribe.
Media Appearances
None.
Corporate Largesse
None. But the PR industry will be returning to its usual levels of largesse in the coming week, I suspect.
The Week Ahead
The main theme will be returning my productivity levels to some semblance of normality, and wrapping up all the things that need to be completed this month. This week also sees me based back at Bunjaree Cottages in Wentworth Falls, after my sojourn in Lilyfield since late December.
It’s Australia Day on Monday, but despite the public holiday I’ll be working on the ZDNet feature. That work continues into Tuesday. On Wednesday I’ll file that feature, and then head into Sydney for a lunchtime media briefing by Check Point Software, Dimension Data and L.E.K Consulting, followed by an appointment with a sleep physician to start the treatment program.
On Thursday, I’ll be writing my usual column for ZDNet Australia, and on Friday and/or Saturday I’ll be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, finally.
The weekend is unplanned, mostly, but I’m hoping it’ll be a quiet one.
Update 27 January 2015: Updated to reflect the cancellation of Wednesday’s trip to Sydney.
[Photo: A section of the data produced during the sleep study, showing disruptions to airflow and snoring. Yes, I was the patient.]