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Most popular posts of 2015, such that they were

It has been my custom at the end of each year to list the most-read posts on my website. But this list for 2015 is most disappointing. Perhaps this list might be the last. Or at least the last in this form.

Chart of website traffic 2015

This website doesn’t get much traffic. Once you take out the home page, the about page, and the media page, most pages are only viewed few hundred times.

And in terms of popularity, you have to get past some ancient stuff that just happens to have plenty of Google juice — including all the pre-2015 items listed over the fold — before you get to something actually written in 2015. In 26th spot.

Even then, all ten items are posts related to The 9pm Edict podcast, and I’m pretty sure they only got traffic because I tweeted them repeatedly.

  1. Announcing “The 9pm Live Animal Experiments 1”, 3 November. Even this supposedly “most popular” post only scored 179 pageviews.
  2. The 9pm Sleepless in Canberra, 8 February.
  3. Coming Soon: The 9pm Urgent Hardware Refresh, 24 June.
  4. Live Blog: The 9pm Dirty, Dirty Chasm, which was published in May but taken down when I changed my mind.
  5. The 9pm Orgy of Confusion, 31 May.
  6. The 9pm Planet of Fascist Delusions, 21 June.
  7. The 9pm I can’t believe it’s not January, 1 February.
  8. The 9pm Public House Forum 1, 13 September.
  9. The 9pm Malcolmgasm, 20 September.
  10. The 9pm Statement of Regret, 15 April.

The first text article is down at the the 56th spot, It’s time to turn around the Revenue Ship, and fast. It was published on 5 April, and scored just 103 pageviews.

Continue reading “Most popular posts of 2015, such that they were”

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Weekly Wrap 289: Storm, podcast, change, and more

Sydney Storm: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 14 Sunday 20 December 2015 was full of many things, few of which are listed here. I’ve been doing random geekery rather than media stuff this week.

While I would like to blame my relative lack of productivity solely on my ratty sleep patterns this week — and they have been a thing, for various health-related reasons — I would also like to blame Certain People for plying me with alcohol. You know who you are.

Articles

Podcasts

None, but The 9pm Edict’s Public House Forum #2 was recorded on Saturday, and will be edited and posted online early in the coming week. It was immense fun, and you may well find it amusing.

Media Appearances

  • On Monday, I spoke about the security risks of Wi-Fi Hello Barbie on Sydney radio 2UE, but I did not record it. I’ve spoken about it previously on ABC Radio’s PM.

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by Hitachi Data Systems at the ever-wonderful Gowings Bar and Grill in Sydney. Apart from the usual fine food and wine, we all got a goodie pouch containing a HDS-branded 2600mAh Power Bank, and an 8GB memory stick with the presentation.

The Week Ahead

Since the silly season has begun in Australia, and this coming week is the short week before Christmas, I won’t even bother trying to schedule it too closely. Besides, I’m cat-sitting in Ashfield again, in Sydney’s inner west, and some key items that I’ll need in the next couple of weeks are still in Wentworth Falls.

Nevertheless, between now and Thursday night, which is Christmas Eve, I know I have to design a simple website, write at least one thing for ZDNet, and edit and publish that pub podcast. I’d also like to do that yearly wrap episode of Corrupted Nerds, but I’m not so sure that will happen now.

There’s only two fixed appointments so far, Huawei’s Christmas Drinks on Tuesday evening, and a medical appointment late on Wednesday afternoon. As for the rest of it, I’ll be making it up as I go along.

As you should know by now, my Twitter feed is the most up-to-date data source for these things.

Friday is Christmas Day, so I’m likely to be offline then, as well as through the following weekend.

[Photo: Sydney Storm. The Sydney CBD seen from Lilyfield just before Wednesday’s storm hit. While the CBD itself suffered little harm, around 50 houses were damaged by severe winds at Kurnell.]

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Weekly Wrap 288: There is chaos, there is progress

Tea tree flowers: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 7 Sunday 13 December 2015 went more or less according to plan, with plenty of geek-for-hire work in addition to the media stuff listed here.

I even managed to have an actual weekend.

There’s also been some progress in my plans to tackle the black dog of depression with more vigour than in the past: I’ve been accepted into the Depression Clinic at the highly-respected Black Dog Institute. I’m looking forward to having some up-to-date science being brought to bear, but the clinic is so heavily subscribed that my appointment isn’t until February.

Articles

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm Garden of Hate”, being The 9pm Edict episode 53, was recorded live on Thursday night. You can also listen to it on SoundCloud and Spreaker. It includes a more reflective look at Malcolm Turnbull’s Innovation Statement.

Media Appearances

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

The week begins with an amorphous but busy couple of days. Between now and Wednesday morning, I’ll need to organise some podcast-related things for the remainder of December, write for ZDNet, design a logo, and do various geek-for-hire work. And to add to the need for flexibility, I’m still not sure which days I’ll be in Sydney, and which in Wentworth Falls.

On Wednesday, I’ll be going to a lunchtime briefing by Hitachi Data Systems, and then a medical appointment. On Thursday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, I think. And on Friday, I’ll be migrating to Ashfield for ten days, amongst other things.

Somehere in there, I want to record a “2015 Wrap” episode of Corrupted Nerds, though it may have to slide into next week.

On Saturday, I’m recording The 9pm Public House Forum #2, similar to the first one. I’ll post it onto the internets on Sunday, I think.

Further Ahead

I’ll produce “2015 Wrap” episode of the Edict some time between Christmas and New Year.

[Photo: Tea tree flowers. Flowers of some Leptospermum species, photographed at Bunjaree Cottages, near Wentworth Falls, 100km west of Sydney, on 8 December 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 287: Satisfactory start to summer, with flowers

Railway Parade near Wentworth Falls: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 30 November to Sunday 6 December 2015 went reasonably well. Although I didn’t do things exactly as predicted last week, there was enough progress to make me happy.

In the interests of getting this posted on schedule, I’ll go straight to the list…

Podcasts

Articles

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday, I spoke about the VTech hack on ABC 612 Brisbane.
  • On Wednesday, I spoke about the VTech hack on Kinderling Radio.
  • On Wednesday evening, I took part in a panel discussion at the launch of the Sydney chapter of Electronic Frontiers Australia. The only recording is a very rough one for my own reference, so sorry, you won’t be hearing it.

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, I went to VMware’s end-of-year drinks at O Bar and Dining, Australia Square. Apart from canapés and champagne, I pocketed a pen. They so pwn me now.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be making some sort of announcement regarding innovation, so I suspect I’ll be writing something for ZDNet. If not, well, there’s a thousand tasks of administrivia I need to deal with.

On Tuesday, I’m heading to Sydney for a medical appointment, an interview, and NetSuite’s end-of-year drinks. I’m then heading to the ABC’s Sydney studios to do a spot on ABC 774 Melbourne at 1900 AEDT.

On Wednesday, I’ll be dealing with a number of geek-for-hire tasks, and planning certain things for the next couple of weeks.

On Wednesdayetime=”2015-12-09T03:11:37+00:00″>Thursday, I’ll finally be producing that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, tentatively titled “The 9pm Garden of Hate”, in which I’ll finish off all of the sponsored content that I owe my supporters. I plan to stream that recording session live at 2100 AEDT.

On Thursday, I’m heading to Sydney again for a medical appointment, amongst other things, and probably writing for ZDNet en route.

Friday will see me doing whatever remains to be done, which will include writing for ZDNet.

Further Ahead

I’ll record a “2015 Wrap” episode of the Corrupted Nerds podcast some time in the week beginning Monday 14 December.

The next episode of The 9pm Public House Forum, similar to the first one, will be recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 19 December. The venue will be confirmed in a few days, but it’s now looking like it’ll be somewhere in Sydney’s inner west.

I’ll also produce “2015 Wrap” episode of the Edict some time between Christmas and New Year.

[Update 9 December 2015: Edited to reflect schedule changes.]

[Photo: Railway Parade near Wentworth Falls. On the last day of spring, the yellow flowers of the Coreopsis lanceolata are everywhere. They’re a weed, but pretty nonetheless.]

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Weekly Wrap 286: Rain, radio, and relative progress

Departing Mt Victoria: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 23 to Sunday 29 November 2015 was remarkably productive, a sharp comparison with last week. This pleases me.

Apart from the stuff listed below, I’ve also started a fresh program to tackle my on-again off-again “friendship” with the black dog of depression. I haven’t yet decided whether to write about this highly personal topic or not. Maybe when the timeline takes clearer shape.

I also got quite a bit of planning done for December, including locking in a couple geek-for-money projects that won’t be detailed here.

Podcasts

Articles

Media Appearances

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, as well as heading to Parramatta and Petersham to choose a venue for the next Public House Forum. Various loose ends will be sorted out while on the trains.

On Tuesday, I’ll finish the ZDNet column, make some progress on certain geek-for-money projects, and do some shopping and other errands in Katoomba.

I’ll sleep in on Wednesday, and then head to Sydney to record a SEKRIT podcast episode. Then in the evening I’ll go to VMware’s end-of-year drinks, and then speak at the launch of a Sydney chapter of Electronic Frontiers Australia. It looks like I’ll be getting home quite late.

On Thursday, I’ll write for ZDNet, and then the rest of the week is flexible. I do have some geek projects to weave into the schedule, however.

On Tuesday Friday, I’ll be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, tentatively titled “The 9pm Garden of Hate”, in which I’ll finish off all of the sponsored content that I owe my supporters. I plan to stream that recording session live at 2100 AEDT. This episode will now be made on Monday night 7 December.

Further Ahead

I’ll record a “2015 Wrap” episode of the Corrupted Nerds podcast some time in the week beginning Monday 14 December.

The next episode of The 9pm Public House Forum, similar to the first one, will be recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 19 December, somewhere in or near Parramatta. The venue will be confirmed in a few days.

I’ll also produce “2015 Wrap” episode of the Edict some time between Christmas and New Year.

[Update 1 December 2015: Edited to reflect schedule changes. Update 4 December 2015: Edited again to reflect further schedule changes.]

[Photo: Departing Mt Victoria. The #purpletrain (also known as a V-Set) pulls away from Platform 1 of Mt Victoria railway station on a wet Saturday afternoon, 28 November 2015.]