Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
On Tuesday I did another radio interview about Google’s stupid names policy, as outlined in my expletive-filled blog post and an op-ed for ABC The Drum.
This time the conversation was with ABC 105.7 Darwin presenter Annie Gastin, in the context of the full range of unusual names. Quite fun.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.2MB)
The audio is of course ©2011 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, but since they don’t usually post it online here it is.
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets. This week included a visit to Canberra and the final death of my battered MacBook Pro.
The computer was three and a half years old, and has seen quite a few accidents. The biggie was doing a somersault down an asphalt road, bouncing off every corner and denting and warping the case. Another fall was only a cafe table leg, which dented the spine. After all that and plenty of other dents and scratches, the “9” and “delete” keys had failed and it tended to crash randomly if I picked it up carelessly.
This morning the motherboard finally gave out. I’m amazed it lasted this long. It has been replaced with a crisp new MacBook Pro.
Every article I wrote this week related to the third annual eCrime Symposium in Canberra.
None.
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: The Canberra Rex Hotel, where I stayed for three nights this week, is being renovated — and it’s long overdue. This is the toilet-flush button from my room, and there’s further evidence.]
I’m off to Canberra again on 22 November for Trend Micro’s half-day Canberra Cloud Security Conference on 23 November, which I’m covering for CSO Online.
I’m actually a bit skeptical about the worth of this event. Some of the language on Trend Micro’s promotional materioal does not fill me with confidence.
This C-level gathering will bring together stakeholders across government, while offering a dedicated platform that weighs the pros and cons of the journey to the cloud… This event will offer a unique format for leading security specialists and business leaders in Federal Government to exchange ideas, gain valuable knowledge, and share their real-world risk management experiences.
What’s so goddam “dedicated” and “unique” about a bunch of people listening to a few blokes talking, followed by a panel discussion? Arsehats.
These architectural features on Cumberland Street in The Rocks, Sydney, look quite lovely I suppose — until you stop, look and think. Then you’ll realise they’re completely pointless. They’re an architectural wank. Wankitecture.
The things with the red canopies look like they’re some sort of, well, canopies to protect people from sun and rain. But they’re positioned such that they offer no protection whatsoever to the benches and picnic tables. No, the benches and picnic tables sit fully exposed to the elements. The only things the things with the red canopies protect are bleak patches of pavement.
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets — which was a relatively quiet week after three significantly more busy ones. Thank the gods.
None.
None.
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: A Harts Pub sign, The Rocks, Sydney, photographed this afternoon.]
I’m off to Canberra for a few days next week to cover the 3rd Annual eCrime Symposium, which this year is a two-day event at the University of Canberra.
This event has been steadily growing since it was kicked off by former Australian Federal Police chaps Alastair MacGibbon and Nigel Phair two years ago. On that occasion I filed a story for Crikey, eCrime: the bad guys pwn the internet.
Last year I don’t seem to have filed a written story — I was writing abut the National Broadband Network instead — but I did chat with the FBI’s Will Blevins for a podcast, Cybercrime: the FBI’s worldview.
Those first two events were run under the rubric of the Surete Group, but now Messrs MacGibbon and Phair have formed the Centre for Internet Safety, part of the law school at the University of Canberra, and it’s all rather more special.
This year I’ll be filing for CSO Online. I’m arriving in Canberra on Monday evening 7 November, and will stay in town until just before lunchtime on Thursday 10 November.
[Update 12 November 2011: The articles I wrote about this conference are listed at Weekly Wrap 75: eCrime, Canberra and a dead computer.]