Author: Stilgherrian

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The 9pm End of the World, Definitely

Photo of Ivanka Trump

North Korea launched yet another ballistic missile in the general direction of the ocean. So stick a nuke on it, and we’re fucked. Well, Japan is fucked. Or the oceans is fucked. Whatever.

There’s also stories from my recent travels, cybersecurity, spooks, terrorists, and something from the Dough Anthony All Stars. And of course Nicholas Fryer with a look through The Arch Window.

But overall, the message is that we’re fucked, the man running America is a goose, so we’re really, really fucked. Plus other stuff.

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Weekly Wraps 350 to 357: Gosh is that the time?

Sunset over Ho Chi Minh CityThis Weekly Wrap is actually eight Weekly Wraps in one, covering Monday 6 February to Sunday 2 April 2017, numbers 350 to 357. Eight times the value!

Of these four weeks, I’ve spent roughly a week each in San Francisco, Ho Chi Minh City, and Canberra. I also visited a Cold War relic near San Francisco, namely Nike Missile Site SF-88L at Fort Barry. Other stuff happened too.

There’s so much in this Eight-Week Wrap, the bulk of it is over the fold. I won’t be able to list all the highlights, but I will mention two of the lowlights. I caught a conference plague, which slowed me down a bit. And my stress and anxiety levels, which had not been declining, went through the roof. And they’re still there.

This health issue is being addressed, so no sympathy is needed. (Instead, perhaps send me a tip to help with the revenue shortfall, especially with the low-reveue holiday periods of Easter and Anzac Day coming up.) But it does mean that my alleged plans for the next few weeks should be taken with an even bigger grain of salt than usual.

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Weekly Wrap 349: Real work begins, travel looms near

Indian-Pacific, stalledMy week of Monday 30 January to Sunday 5 February 2017 has just ended, with some pleasing results.

It seems that once we moved from January into February, and Australia returned from its traditional extended holiday season, that things started moving. I also managed to get rid of some of the pain that had been plaguing me over summer.

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm End of the World, Probably”, being The 9pm Edict episode 65, was recorded on Saturday night. It’s also available on SoundCloud and Spreaker. Needless to say, most of it is about President Donald Trump.

Articles

Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None. But wait until you see what happens over the coming few weeks.

The Week Ahead

I’m based up at Wentworth Falls this week, but on Monday I’m doing the long commute to Sydney for an appointment at the US Consulate, a couple of errands, and maybe a meeting or two. I’ll also finish off a column for ZDNet en route.

For the rest of the week, I’m working on that SEKRIT editorial project. I’ll tell you more about that mid-week. I’ll probably also write a thing or two for ZDNet, because the Australian Parliament starts a new session this week, and there’s some legislation being debated that’s relevant to my interests.

Assuming everything goes to plan, on Sunday I’m flying to San Francisco to cover the RSA Information Security Conference (RSAC), which runs 13 to 16 February.

Further Ahead

I see that I’ll be in San Francisco when the anti-Trump general strike has been planned, Friday 17 February. That should be interesting.

I’m covering the APRICOT 2017 / APNIC43 conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 26 February to 3 March; and the annual conference of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) in Canberra from 14 to 16 March.

Further details are at stilgherrian.com/inpublic/.

[Photo: Indian-Pacific, stalled. The Indian-Pacific is the longest rail journey in Australia, running between Sydney and Perth via Adelaide. For some reason, on 1 February 2017 is was waiting just outside Sydney Central Station. That must be frustrating at the end of a four-day journey.]

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The 9pm End of the World, Probably

Donald Trump before he was President of the United States (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

This is the first episode of this podcast for nearly three months, and what I foretold has come to pass.

“‘President Trump’, get used to saying it,” I first warned you on 5 November 2015, a full year before the US elections.

Told you so.

It’s not really a matter of careful what you wish for, because I wasn’t wishing for this. I just foresaw this new era in human history. I can indeed see through time, and you people really do need to start recognising this simple fact.

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Weekly Wrap 348: And the words return…

Spider and FlyMy week of Monday 23 to Sunday 29 January 2017 saw my first written material for 2017, amongst other things. But it’s the third of three rush-through weeks, so that’s all you’re getting.

Articles

Media Appearances

Podcasts, Corporate Largesse

None.

[Photo: Spider and Fly. A spider of unknown species with its catch at Bunjaree Cottages, photographed on 15 November 2014.]