My week of Monday 9 to Sunday 15 February 2026 saw me settle into a busier phase of life, preparing for my move back to Sydney after 15 years in a kind of exile, as well as the usual podcast production and, as it happens, a new phase of work for a client.
So yeah, as I explained last week I’m moving from the Blue Mountains to Campsie in Sydney in the second half of March. Thanks very much to the people who’ve already kicked in almost two-third of the funding for The 9pm Stilgherrian’s Dramatic Decamp to Campsie. I’ve just posted an update there.
Podcasts
- The 9pm S-Bend of Technology with David Gerard, recorded on Wednesday evening and posted on Friday morning. Yes, it’s a discussion of AI and related topics, and it seems to be attracting some praise. Thank you.
- I’ve uploaded the second pilot episode of Another Untitled Music Podcast to Mixcloud. All of the existing episodes are already on YouTube. At this stage we plan to resume recording new episodes in March.
Articles
- The Weekly Cybers #104. US court to decide whether social media is addictive, eSafety puts Roblox on notice over child safety, Elon Musk’s X found to have boosted far-right politics in Germany, and much more.
Photos, Videos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse
None of these. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled.
Some Interesting Links
- From the Guardian, “The Australian aerial photographer Andrew Vukosav takes his striking images while flying solo in his Cessna 182 on long journeys into remote terrain. His plane, named Valerie, has a high-resolution camera fixed to its underbelly to capture landscapes that challenge cliches of the outback.” Check out his website for more.
- Balming Tiger’s Omega Sapien has a new music video in which he manages to be shirtless for almost the entire time. Also, a great tune. Krapow!
- From Eleanor Morton, If Straight men packed like straight women. Stay for the punchline.
- Sizzler is making a Sydney comeback. That story is behind a paywall but I’m sure you figure out how to work around that. I mean by paying a subscription, right?
- And finally from literary magazine Meanjin in 2015, a fascinating essay by Liam Hogan: Sydney, Freeways and the Tramway Network. In case you haven’t heard, the news this week is that Meanin is being resurrected by QUT. Full disclosure: I had been working on Meanjin‘s website for some years, and will be involved in the handover in some way.
- This week’s suggested follow: Tanner’s Videos is a train and travel-oriented YouTube channel by Tanner, a young Hawaiian guy now living in Tokyo. As he describes it, “I make videos featuring Japan’s low key, lesser-known spots you can reach by train.” I like his laidback style, his constant surprise at everything which happens around him, and his fear of birds. It’s quite sweet, really, and we see a different side of Japan.
The Week Ahead
Monday is about planning, administrivia, and shopping. There’s a lot of loose ends for me to get my head around, if that’s not a mixed metaphor. And a bunch of tasks which will need to fit in the unallocated portions of this week.
On Tuesday I’m heading down to Sydney again for the vaccine trial I mentioned last week. This is the one-week follow-up to see how I’ve responded. Other errands will also be performed, and I might have a quiet drink to two for Lunar New Year.
On Thursday I’ll post another old episode of AUMP to Mixcloud. Friday sees The Weekly Cybers newsletter as usual. And Saturday is currently unplanned but I have a few ideas.
Further Ahead
- The 9pm Edict recording with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow, late February 2026 (TBC). This will be another space-oriented episode, originally timed to coincide with NASA’s Artemis II mission, although that’s now been delayed until March.
- NEW: Campsie Lantern Festival, 28 February 2026 (TBC). Given that I’m about to move to Campsie, I guess I should pre-celebrate my arrival? But I’m still not sure that I want a late night that weekend.
- NEW: Detailed inspection of the Campsie apartment, 3 March 2026. The settlement date isn’t until 13 March, but this will give Snarky Platypus and I the chance to make some more detailed plans. It’s all very exciting!
- NEW: Sydney Day, 10 March 2026, for the one-month checkup after I was given a vaccine, or maybe the placebo. Full details were posted the other week.
- NEW: The 9pm Edict recording with Johanna Weaver and Zoe Hawkins from the Tech Policy Design Institute, 11 March 2026. If you’re a supporter with a TRIGGER WORD or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for this episode, please let me know by 2pm AEDT on Tuesday 10 March. The finished podcast will be posted by Friday morning.
- Takashi Wakasugi’s Wabi-Sabi Comedy, Sydney, 16 May 2026 (TBC). I saw Takashi’s work-in-progress show back in December, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all comes together.
[Photo: The view across the southern end of Hyde Park, Sydney, looking west from the upper floors of a building on College Street, photographed on 13 January 2026.]