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Weekly Wrap 330: More spring, more cybers, less pain

Ascent: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September 2016 was the first in more than three weeks where I spent a day without any painkillers. Four days, in fact.

Whether it was that, some of the other medical activities, the continuing springing of Spring, certain other factors, or some combination thereof, it was also more productive that recent weeks — despite the stress continuing much as usual.

The week also way the beginnings of Certain Plans being made, but those details are for another time.

Articles

Podcasts

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday, I covered the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit, so obviously there was food and drink.

The Week Ahead

I’m back in Sydney’s inner west again, where I’ll probably be based for a few weeks.

On Monday, I’m writing for ZDNet, bringing my geek-for-hire projects up to date, and negotiating my next moves with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). That stuff continues into Tuesday.

On Tuesday Wednesday, I’m recording and streaming an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. That’s scheduled for 2100 AEST, but before that I’ll be launching a new crowdfunding campaign. I also have a number of meetings in the city.

Thursday is about bookkeeping and medical appointments. Friday is about writing and the like. And then it’s the Labour Day long weekend.

Further Ahead

I’m going to the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, the iappANZ Trust In Privacy Annual Summit in Sydney on 14 November.

I plan to record the next Public House Forum episode of the Edict on Saturday 15 October somewhere in or near Sydney.

Update 27 September 2016: Edited to reflect schedule changes.

[Photo: Ascent, being a photograph of the railway overpass on Blaxland Road, Wentworth Falls, taken on 20 September 2016. It’s a bit muddy, so maybe I should try to improve that image.]

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Weekly Wrap 329: Plenty of cybers as spring unfolds

Almond blossom and eucalypts in the gentle Sunday rain: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 September 2016 started to see a return to productivity after the pain of previous weeks.

There were also some shifts on the personal front, but I’ll keep them to myself for the time being. On with the show…

Articles

Both of these pieces came out of the SINET61 cyber innovation conference. More will follow.

Podcasts

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’m writing for ZDNet, doing some data-wrangling for a client, then re-planning the coming weeks because my mid-October trip to Melbourne has been cancelled.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be a combination of geek work, research, writing, and preparing my next crowdfunding campaign, ordered as the mood takes me.

Thursday, though, is a long one. I’m looking at early train down to Sydney, then the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit through to lunchtime. I’ve got medical appointments from 1415, and then a radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne at 2000 AEST. I’ll stay in Sydney overnight.

On Friday, I’ll probably have some meetings or write for ZDNet, before catching the train back up to the Mountains. I’m still juggling that one.

On Saturday, I’ll bump out of Bunjaree Cottages and head down to Sydney, and once more I’ll be based there for a while. Sunday is a day of rest, allegedly.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded on the evening of Tuesday 27 September. I plan to record the next Public House Forum on Saturday 15 October somewhere in or near Sydney, but the one planned for Melbourne on 19 November is cancelled for the time being.

I’m going to the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, and the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October.

Update 20 September 2016: Edited to reflect some schedule clarifications.

[Photo: Almond blossom and eucalypts in the gentle Sunday rain, yet another photo taken at Bunjaree Cottages near Wentworth Falls, 100km west of Sydney. This one is from the rainy afternoon of 18 September 2016. I’ve previously posted images of the almond blossom emerging.]

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Weekly Wrap 328: Spring goes on, pain goes on, life goes on

Almond Blossom at Bunjaree Cottages, Day Nine: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 September 2016 was consumed by a second week of pain — slightly less pain than last week, and the rapidly-blooming spring helped make it bearable.

Podcasts

Articles

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday should be a relatively quiet day, a mix of production planning and administrivia. If the pain subsides a bit more, though, I might do some writing.

On Tuesday, I’ll be taking an early train down to Sydney, where I’ll stay for a couple of nights. On Tuesday and Wednesday I’m covering the SINET61 cyber innovation conference at Australian Technology Park. On Thursday it’s meetings and medical appointments, before a late-ish train back to the Mountains.

Friday is likely to include some writing, and then the weekend is unplanned.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded on 27 September, despite what I said in this week’s episode. I plan to record the next Public House Forum on Saturday 15 October somewhere in or near Sydney, and then another in Melbourne on 19 November.

I’m going to the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, and an event in Melbourne I can’t tell you about yet on 17 November.

[Photo: Almond Blossom at Bunjaree Cottages, Day Nine, one in a series of daily photos of an almond tree at Bunjaree Cottages near Wentworth Falls, 100km west of Sydney — although the images are of different parts of the tree. This one was taken on 7 September 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 327: Spring is far more painful than planned

Almond Blossom at Bunjaree Cottages, Day Four: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 29 August to Sunday 4 September 2016 was full of pain. I didn’t realise how seriously I’d been injured last weekend. Somehow, however, there’s plenty of things to report.

The injury I mentioned last week turned out to be a severe contusion — that’s bruising — of the ribs. It was just short of a fracture, but oddly enough the bruising is usually more painful, and that pain will be with me for several weeks. It’s strong painkillers, anti-inflammatories, and rest for me.

I strongly recommend never getting severe rib contusions.

All last week’s planned events were cancelled. It’s a good thing, therefore, that things emerged from the pipeline.

Articles

Media Appearances

Podcasts

None, but next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed live on Tuesday 6 September at 2100 AEST.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday is a relatively quiet day. I’m being interviewed about The Code at 1430, but apart from that it’s production planning and administrivia, I think.

On Tuesday, it’s an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.

Past that, well, it depends on the pain levels and the mood. This much pain doesn’t exactly cheer one up. But I’d like to get down to Sydney for at least one day. Stay tuned.

Further Ahead

I’m going to the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, and an event in Melbourne I can’t tell you about yet on 17 November.

[Photo: Almond Blossom at Bunjaree Cottages, Day Four, one in a series of daily photos taken of an almond tree at Bunjaree Cottages near Wentworth Falls, 100km west of Sydney — although the images are of different parts of the tree. This one was taken on 2 September 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 326: To the Mountains for Spring, and pain

Sydney Central Station on a spring morning: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 August 2016 began well, but ended in pain.

Monday and Tuesday went to plan, but after that the fatigue set in right through until Saturday. The cat’s humans returned on Saturday evening, rather than Sunday as I’d expected, and that night became a bit… rowdy.

I awoke Sunday morning in pain, thanks to falling onto the edge of a coffee table, and copping the hard corner in the ribs. Do not trust coffee tables. That made the return to Wentworth Falls… interesting. But hey, here I am.

Articles and Podcasts

None, but I’ve gathered plenty of material for writing over the next few weeks.

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday, I recorded another five videos with Chris Duckett for the ZDNet Security TV series. They will appear over the coming weeks.

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

It’s my first week back in the Blue Mountains for three months, and it’s the start of Spring. I’m looking forward to it.

On Monday I’m keeping quiet to rest my back, then staying in to watch an episode of ABC TV’s Four Corners on Cyber War. On Tuesday I’m doing an early-morning interview, reviewing Four Corners for Crikey, and in the afternoon running errands in Katoomba.

On Wednesday, it’s the long commute down to Sydney for a briefing by Nokia’s Fixed Networks division that morning, then writing for ZDNet. I may or may not stay in Sydney overnight. Then on Thursday I’ll be at the Trend Micro CLOUDSEC conference.

There’s a chance all that might be reshuffled or even cancelled if the pain lingers too long.

It most certainly was reshuffled. It turns out that while I haven’t broken any ribs or damaged my kidneys, it’ll take two to four weeks for the injury to settle down. Resting is a more sensible idea than long train commutes. I’ll do some writing and suchlike from where I am.

I reckon Friday will see some more writing for ZDNet, and then the weekend is unplanned.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed on Tuesday 6 September.

I’m going to the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, and an event in Melbourne I can’t tell you about yet on 17 November.

Update 30 August 2016: Edited to reflect pain-related schedule changes.

[Photo: Sydney Central Station on a spring morning, photographed not this year but on 15 August 2012.]

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Weekly Wrap 325: Crossing a canal as winter ends

Glebe Park Canal: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 15 to Sunday 21 August 2016 was an interesting one. While the severe back pain continued, it’s slowly declining, and so is the stress. We’ll see how that all turns out.

Anyway, on with the details…

Articles

Podcasts

None. I’m planning to produce the next episode of The 9pm Edict in the first week of September.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

Yet another week in Sydney will make it 13 weeks in a row. I wonder when I should start considering Sydney as my home again? Sydney doesn’t feel like home again yet, but then nowhere does. That’s probably a topic for another time, however.

On Monday and Tuesday I’m covering the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney, an event that always seems to be good value for me. On Tuesday night I’m recording some more short videos about security for ZDNet.

The rest of the week is the usual jumble of geek project work, writing for ZDNet, and a few other things, which I’ll juggle as I go along.

On Saturday Sunday I’m bumping out of the Ashfield apartment, leaving a well-fed cat in my wake, and migrating up to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, where I’ll be for a few weeks. Sunday is unplanned.

Further Ahead

I’m going to CLOUDSEC Australia 2016 in Sydney on 1 September, the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, and the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October.

Update 24 August: Edited to reflect changes to the weekend plans.

[Photo: Glebe Park Canal. Crossing the canal at the western side of Centennial Park, Glebe, in Sydney at the end of a late winter day, 17 August 2016.]