Month: July 2016

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Weekly Wrap 322: Fewer Pokémon, more stress reduction

Theme and variations in Kuhne Major: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 25 to Sunday 31 July 2016 was much the same as last week, so I won’t repeat all that. Let’s look to the future.

That said, I did get a bunch of stuff done on those much-delayed geek projects. I’ll tell you more about them as they emerge into the light over the coming weeks.

Podcasts, Articles, Media Appearances, and Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

I believe I’ll be in Sydney for the next four weeks, perhaps even longer. It was always part of The Plan to slowly wind down the arrangement which had me based in the Blue Mountains, but things are still flexible.

On Monday, I’m writing a column for ZDNet about the emerging privacy controversy over Australia’s national Census, as well as fleshing out the structure of a client website. The latter work continues on Tuesday. And Wednesday.

Tuesday Wednesdayis Some later day will be dedicated to producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. At this stage I plan to livestream the recording session at 2100 AEST. But if I do pre-record some segments, or even the entire podcast, I’ll still livestream it when it’s ready to create that live audience vibe on the Twitter.

The rest of the week will continue to be a mix of geek work and writing for ZDNet, depending on my mood. The weekend is unplanned.

Further Ahead

I’ll be going to the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney on 22-23 August, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, and Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October.

Update 2 August 2016: Edited to reflect schedule changes. Update 3 August 2016: Edited again to reflect schedule changes.

[Photo: Theme and variations in Kuhne Major. Sydney’s Darling Park towers, designed by American-born British architect architect Eric Kuhne, photographed from Pyrmont Bridge on a gorgeous winter day, 29 July 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 321: Pokémon, a bad trip, and stress reduction

Circular QuayMy week of Monday 18 to Sunday 24 July 2016 was the second of three quite annoying weeks, full of stress and fatigue but little productivity.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that there’s been a few, well, difficult times in my life in recent years. This week falls in a period when my stress levels have been particularly high. “Very severe”, according to one measure. So I’ve been trying to take it easy.

If you’ve got a few stresses in your life, or you’re feeling down, or anxious, you might want to spend the next three minutes doing a DASS-21 assessment. It measures the three related states of depression, anxiety and stress. While it doesn’t provide a diagnosis on its own, it’s a good starting point for a conversation with your GP.

To add injury to insult, as it were, on Saturday evening I tripped and fell into the street, causing some “excellent” grazed elbow, as well as hands and knees.

Podcasts and Articles

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday, I went to a briefing on ransomware put on by Trend Micro at the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. A lovely light breakfast and morning tea were provided, along with the usual branded USB key holding the PR guff.

[Photo: Sydney’s Circular Quay, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House of course, photographed in the late morning of 21 July 2016.]

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Talking Pokémon Go and e-voting on ABC 774 Melbourne

ABC Sydney TARDIS 1ABC logoThe massive global phenomenon that is the Pokémon Go augmented reality game naturally caught the interest of media producers all over — including at ABC 774 Melbourne.

Here’s my chat with Wendy Touhy from the evening of 20 July. I’m hoping I didn’t screw up some detail of the game, although I’m pretty sure I did.

We also spoke about one of my pet topics, the risks of electronic voting.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (9.5MB)

This audio is ©2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

[Photo: Ready to go live on ABC 774 Melbourne from ABC Sydney TARDIS 1, 20 July 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 320: A midwinter shift in focus

Sydney in WinterMy week of Monday 11 to Sunday 17 July 2016 was full of exhaustion.

After finishing an important stage in bringing my tax compliance up to date last week, and after producing a marathon podcast, the stress was reduced a little. I spent a lot of time resting this week.

That said, in between the sleep and the neverending lurgi, I did start to get back into research and writing, and the coming week will see more.

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading”, being The 9pm Edict episode 61, was posted on Monday night, having been recorded the previous Saturday. You can also listen on SoundCloud and Spreaker. Yes I know I listed this last week, but if other people listed for more than two and a half hours then so can you.

Articles

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

None. But there’s plenty in the coming week.

The Week Ahead

I believe I’ll be in Sydney all this week, working through some geek stuff, as well as writing for ZDNet. So far I also have three fixed appointments…

On Wednesday evening, I’ll be doing a radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne, at either 1900 or 1930 AEST. Check my Twitter stream on the day for the time.

On Thursday, I’ve got a couple of briefings. First thing in the morning, it’s a briefing on the current state of ransomware by folks from Trend Micro. Then in the late afternoon it’s a look at “The Changing Landscape of Cybersecurity” from a legal and risk perspective, with law firm Jones Day, and a panel including Alastair MacGibbon, who’s now the prime minister’s special adviser on cyber security.

Further Ahead

While the following few weeks are still be be organised, I can say that I’ll be going to theGartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney on 22-23 August, and the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October.

[Photo: Sydney in Winter, photographed from Lilyfield in the late afternoon of 13 July 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 319: Progress and a change of pace

Sydney Harbour Bridge from Milsons Point Wharf: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 4 to Sunday 10 July 2016 was full of significance.

First, the last batch of documentation needed to bring my tax compliance disaster up to date was sent to my accountant. There’s still plenty to go in this saga, but that’s the first phase done.

Second, I stepped outside my planned production schedule to create the special podcast episode listed immediately below. It was both fun and scary.

Podcasts

Articles, Media Appearances, and Corporate Largesse

None, sadly. But all will return in the coming weeks.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, which is almost finished as I write this, I’ll be shifting mental gears away from tax compliance to other things. I’ll be writing for ZDNet, wrapping up the post-production for The 9pm Edict, and then migrating from Ashfield to Lilyfield.

Tuesday is all about a certain interview. Research in the morning, conducting the interview at 1300, then writing something based in that interview for ZDNet.

On Wednesday, I’ll be helping a client automate a routine administration process in their business, and returning to the other much-delayed geek-for-hire projects. That work is likely to continue for the rest of the week.

Further Ahead

While the following few weeks are still be be organised, I can say that I’ll be going to theGartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney on 22-23 August, and the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October.

[Photo: Sydney Harbour Bridge from Milsons Point Wharf, photographed at dusk on 4 July 2016.]

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The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading

Pauline Hanson

It’s now 20 years since Pauline Hanson first entered the Australian parliament with her controversial views. Well now she’s back. At last Saturday’s federal election, Queensland voters propelled her into the Senate.

Hanson isn’t worried about just Asians these days. She’s targeting the supposed threat of Islam. And there’s more — much more — in the policy agenda of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. It’s time to take a closer look.

In this special episode of the Edict, we go inside the mind of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, as Stilgherrian reads their entire policy agenda — live. Every single word. You’ll also hear some of Pauline Hanson’s political wisdom in her own words.

Continue reading “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading”