May 2017 – Stilgherrian

29 May 201729 May 2017

Weekly Wrap 365: A certain quality of light in May

My week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 May 2017 wasn’t special in any way whatsoever. Why should it be? All this carry-on about magical lives is a bunch of middle-class smugness that should be erased from the earth.

Did I tell you I broke my glasses on Wednesday? That event shaped the latter part of the week, because I’m struggling a bit to organise replacements. That’s under way now, thanks to the generosity of friends, and I’ll tell you more over the next few days.

For now, on with the show…

Articles, Podcasts, Corporate Largesse

None, but I did write a piece for ZDNet that’ll appear in the next few days, and podcast plans are detailed below.

Media Appearances

On Monday 22 May, one of my photos was used to illustrate a piece on The Conversation, The weather is now political. I’m continually amazed by the way people find a use for what are really just random snapshots, and poor ones.

The Week Ahead

Like last week, this week I plan to do a solid amount of work on the SEKRIT editorial project; write a thing or two for ZDNet, plus, I guess, a bunch of other things, like organise new glasses. I won’t assign specific tasks to specific days, because as I explained last week, that tends to jinx things.

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed live on ~~Tuesday 30 May~~ Thursday 1 June 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.)

Further Ahead

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.

I also plan to produce a short series of podcasts which will be conversations with people I don’t necessarily agree with. These might be public figures — I hope to speak with One Nation’s Senator Malcolm Roberts, for example — or people who simply represent a different point of view. In June, I’ll record a pilot episode, kicking off with an easy question: Is there a God?

[Photo: The Library a la Jeffrey Smart. The view from the cafe in the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba, photographed on 5 May 2017. The cropping and adjustments to the colour needed to bring out detail in the seated figure drew out the light in the matter of a Jeffrey Smart painting.]

21 May 2017

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.

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.]

01 May 201717 May 2017

Weekly Wrap 361: The last pause, I hope

This Weekly Wrap covers two weeks, Monday 17 to Sunday 30 April 2017, because little happened during this time apart from the continuing throat infection, and grumpiness, and a day off for Anzac Day.

Here’s a list, and a completely unrelated photo.

Articles

Australia’s bold plan for cybersecurity growth, ZDNet Australia, 20 April 2017.

Podcasts

None, but I’ll be announcing the next date for The 9pm Edict very soon.

Media Appearances

On Wednesday 19 April, I spoke about a whole bunch of things on ABC Melbourne. Once more, I may or may not post this audio. Stay tuned, or something.
On Thursday 27 April, I was quoted in an ABC News story, FaceApp: Experts have privacy concerns about popular face transformation app.

Corporate Largesse

On Thursday 20 April, I covered the launch of Australia’s Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and a lovely buffet breakfast was served. This is what generated the article listed above.

The Week Ahead

Monday will be a day of catching up on work and household loose ends as I finally kill this throat infection. And writing this.

On Tuesday, I’m working on the SEKRIT editorial project, then catching a train down to Sydney for The Double Disillusionists podcast recording at Giant Dwarf that evening. I’ll stay in Sydney overnight.

On Wednesday morning, I’ll be covering the half-day conference Cyber Security â€” the Leadership Imperative 2017, which I daresay I’ll write about before returning to Wentworth Falls.

Thursday through Sunday are as yet unplanned, but I know there’s lots of writing and editing to catch up on. What the daily plans emerge on Twitter.

Further Ahead

I’m covering ~~the AusCERT Information Security Conference on the Gold Coast from 24 to 26 May;~~ the 5th International Conference on Cybercrime and Computer Forensics (ICCCF) on the Gold Coast from 16 to 18 July, or at least I hope; and the national conference of the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) in Sydney on 10 to 12 October.

Update 17 May 2016: Edited to reflect schedule changes.

[Photo: Approaching Singapore, photographed on 6 March 2017 when I was en route from Ho Chi Minh City back to Sydney.]