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Weekly Wrap 285: The millipede of progress marches on

Millipede: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 November 2015 was a complete and utter write-off. Very little productive was done.

Just like last week, there’s no new media objects for you to consume — though that will change fairly quickly over the coming days. I’m hoping my photograph of a rather determined millipede will be an omen of some sort. Or at the very least, a nice photograph of a millipede.

Podcasts

None, but I finished the rough cut and script for my ABC Radio National Future Tense documentary. This episode is now scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday 29 November.

Articles

None this week either. That’s very poor.

Media Appearances

  • On Monday, I spoke about Facebook’s Safety Check tool on ABC 105.7 Darwin. I won’t post that recording, because I don’t think I said anything that amazing.

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday is a long-commute day, and potentially quite busy. My trip to Sydney includes a medical appointment at 1130, and a recording session at the ABC at 1500, where I’ll be laying down the narration for my Future Tense episode. That program will be edited on Tuesday. And then on Wednesday, I’ll be finalising an episode of the Corrupted Nerds podcast, as well as making any final changes to Future Tense that might be needed.

Thursday is another long-commute, with briefings by Deloitte (maybe) (definitely) and AVG (definitely), followed by another medical appointment, though I don’t expect it to be too intense a day.

Some time this week I’ll also be writing for ZDNet, and perhaps even producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, but I won’t be making those decisions until Tuesday or Wednesday. That’s because I also have to commit some geekery for money.

Update: Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded live next Tuesday 1 December, with the tentative title “The 9pm Garden of Hate”.

I’m planning another episode of The 9pm Public House Forum, similar to the first one, tentatively scheduled to be recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 19 December — or should it be a week earlier?

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

There will also be a “2015 Wrap” episode of Corrupted Nerds, to be recorded some time in the week beginning Monday 14 December.

Update 15 November 2015: Edited to reflect a change of schedule, and to add the “Further Ahead” section.

[Photo: Millipede. A Sunday morning visitor visiblly cringes, if that’s not too anthropomorphic a word, as I block its path to take its photo on 22 November 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 284: Busy, with a bit of Law

Stilgherrian speaking at the Law via Internet Conference 2015Monday 9 to Sunday 15 November 2015 was a busy week. But apart from speaking briefly at a conference, and taking part in a couple of media briefings, it was mostly about things being done in the background.

In fact, this Weekly Wrap is so late, and there’s no new media objects for you to consume — apparently that’s how alleged adults speak these days — so unless you’re some kinda of weirdo, you can probably stop reading now.

Podcasts

None, but I did a lot of pre-production for my Future Tense documentary, so there’s that. This episode is now scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 29 November.

Articles

None. That’s a bit poor.

Media Appearances

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, I went to a briefing by Raytheon|Websense over a well-catered morning tea at the rather noice Black by Ezard at The Star.
  • Also on Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by Kaspersky Lab at the Hilton Sydney. In the Kaspersky Lab goodie bag was: a Kaspersky Internet Security Multi-Device license; a Fitbit Charge activity tracker (which I’ve started using, and about which I’ll write at another time); a Kaspersky 8GB OTG USB drive; a Kaspersky-branded folding Bluetooth keyboard; Kaspersky-branded stationery, including a Moleskine Squared Notebook 9 x 14cm, business card holder, and pens; and two small packets of mints.

[Photo: Stilgherrian speaking at the Law via Internet Conference 2015 at the University of New South Wales, 10 November 2015. Also pictured (left to right): Paul Chadwick, journalist and director of Guardian Australia; Lesley Hitchens, Dean of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS); and Martin Felsky, chair of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Photo by Jesse Taylor.]

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Weekly Wrap 283: It’s raining progress, but mostly in audio

Central Station in the rain: click to embiggenSpring this year seems to have a certain momentum. My week of Monday 2 to Sunday 8 November 2015 was yet another continuation of the steady progress in the eternal battle against entropy.

I won’t go into details, lest I jinx it. But apart from the handful of completed items listed below, I made solid progress on the documentary I’m producing for ABC Radio National’s Future Tense, and on developing the audio rig I plan to use for future work.

Most remarkable of all was the fact that I didn’t have to do any work on the weekend — well, apart from this Weekly Wrap.

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm Live Animal Experiments 1”, being The 9pm Edict episode 52, was recorded live and streamed onto the internet on Thursday night. Being able to produce this audio material live is a significant milestone, and I’ll talk about that more in the coming week.

Articles

Media Appearances

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday morning is about bringing my various geek-related jobs up to date, including quoting for two new jobs. The afternoon is devoted to Future Tense production, kicking off with an interview recording at midday.

On Tuesday, I’ll be catching the 0606 train to Sydney, then a bus to the University of NSW, because I’m on a panel at the Law via Internet (LvI) Conference 2015. I can only stay at the conference up until lunchtime, however, because I’ll be doing Future Tense production in the afternoon. I’ll then stay in Sydney overnight, because…

On Wednesday, I’m going to briefings by Raytheon/Websense and Kaspersky Lab, over morning tea and lunch respectively, before returning to Wentworth Falls in the late afternoon.

On Thursday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, then continuing with the radio production. My aim is to complete the program by Friday, and then spend the rest of Friday mapping put all my production work for the rest of the year. The production will almost certainly continue into the weekend.

Update 11 November 2015: Edited to reflect schedule changes.

[Photo: Central Station in the rain, photographed on 4 November 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 282: Is this another turning point?

Producing Corrupted Nerds episode 13My week of Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2015 pleased me, mostly because a certain podcast returned.

I was rather exhausted in the middle of the week, however, because Ruxcon does tend to take it out of you. But I was very pleased that Certain Other Plans seem to be coming together just fine.

Articles

Podcasts

Media Appearances

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, and mapping out my production schedule.

On Tuesday, I’ll sort out my audio recordings for my forthcoming documentary for ABC Radio National’s Future Tense, and organise any interviews that seem to be missing.

On Wednesday, I’ll catch the 0606 train to Sydney and head to ABC Ultimo, with recording sessions schedule at 0845 for Future Tense, and 1000 for Download This Show. I’ll have lunch in the city before heading back up the hill. Any takers?

On Thursday, I’m producing a special live episode of The 9pm Edict.

On Friday, I’ll be recording the last few interviews for Future Tense.

I am determined that the coming weekend will contain no work, mostly because this week’s attempt to have an actual weekend was a dismal failure.

Further Ahead

On Tuesday 10 November, I’ll be in Sydney for the Law via Internet (LvI) Conference 2015 at the University of New South Wales — and if you look carefully at the program, you’ll see that I’m on one of the panels.

I’m also in Sydney on Wednesday 11 for Remembrance Day commemorations, as well as a lunchtime briefing by Kaspersky Lab.

Update 2 November 2015: Edited to reflect some changes to the schedule. Update 3 November 2015: Edited to reflect further changes to the schedule.

[Photo: Producing Corrupted Nerds episode 13, photographed on Sunday 1 November 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 281: Melbourne again, with added chaos

St Kilda Dusk: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October 2015 didn’t unfold as planned, except for the fact that it concluded with me heading to Melbourne to cover Ruxcon. That bit did happen.

The photograph is misleading, therefore. Those relaxing moments at St Kilda, Melbourne, were a tiny minority of those seven days — and they only happened on Saturday night because I’d started suffering microsleeps during the afternoon, and I went back to the hotel for a nap.

Still, I wrote two articles that have been very well received — thank you — and most of the targets were eventually achieved.

Articles

Podcasts

None, again, but a new episode of The 9pm Edict will appear… eventually. No, it will. Truly.

Media Appearances

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

  • While covering Ruxcon, there was a quantity of free food and drink. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) supplied lunch both days, and the after-party drinks were provided by Hacklabs and Assurance.
  • Michael McKinnon, social media and security awareness director with AVG Technologies AU Pty Ltd, has once more been generous with his hospitality and logistic support.

The Week Ahead

On Monday (today), I’m sorting out all my audio recordings from Ruxcon, organising a few more recordings, and probably writing for ZDNet, before a live radio spot at 1930 AEDT on ABC 774 Melbourne.

On Tuesday, I’ll be doing a few more media things in Melbourne before catching VA865 MEL-SYD at 1645 AEDT. Whether I return directly to Wentworth Falls after that, or pause a while in Sydney, is yet to be decided.

The remainder of the week will see me writing a column for ZDNet, producing an episode of The 9pm Edict, finally finishing the video of my UTS lecture, and doing some pre-production for my Future Tense documentary — but the exact order has yet to be arranged.

I am determined that the coming weekend will contain no work.

[Photo: St Kilda Dusk, photographed on Saturday 24 October 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 280: Hacking, Melbourne, productivity returns

Lumpy Weather: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October 2015 was a marked return to productivity — despite a severe lack of sleep along the way.

Apart from generating three quite adequate articles, and recording plenty of audio for future projects, I also made some excellent contacts at the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference and elsewhere, and certain geekery went pretty much to plan.

I was especially pleased that the Pozible campaign Send Stilgherrian To Ruxcon 2015 was fully funded. I’ll have more to say about that on Monday.

Articles

I also recorded an interview with Joe Franzi, Assistant Secretary Cyber Security with the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Australia’s equivalent to the US National Security Agency (NSA). It’s the first recorded interview he’s ever done in that role, and it’ll turn into an article for ZDNet on Monday. The full audio will appear in due course. Stand by.

Podcasts

None, but a new episode of The 9pm Edict will appear on Tuesday.

I’ve also been commissioned to produce an episode of ABC Radio National’s Future Tense, which will appear in late November.

Media Appearances

  • On Friday, I was interviewed for a story looking at the future of technology for ABC Online, which will appear some time in the coming week.

5at5

There’s still nothing from 5at5, and that continues to be terrible. Why not subscribe so you’ll get all the future ones when they eventually appear?

Corporate Largesse

  • The AISA conference obviously included plenty of free food and drink.
  • My travel and accommodation for that Melbourne trip was covered by Tanium.
  • Michael McKinnon, social media and security awareness director with AVG Technologies AU Pty Ltd, was generous with the hospitality too.

The Week Ahead

It’s another busy week ahead. On Monday, I’m dealing with administrative loose ends, and at 1600 AEDT being a guest for the recording of Mark Pesce’s podcast TWISTA – This Week in Startups Australia, before finally returning to the Blue Mountains some time on Tuesday.

On Tuesday Wednesday, I’m doing the shopping in Katoomba, and wrapping up starting on another episode of The 9pm Edict. But mostly, it’ll be spent writing for ZDNet.

Wednesday is a day off.

On Thursday, I’m writing for ZDNet, before heading into Sydney for the evening. Once there, I’ll complete the podcast, I’ll waste much of the day tying up idioti lcoose ends.

Friday starts extremely early, waking at 0230 to pack and catch the 0358 train to Sydney in time for my 0715 AEDT flight to Melbourne. The rest of the day will be spent catching up with various people, and doing some location scouting in a stupor of tiredness, before some sort of drinks and dinner thing with a few people.

Saturday and Sunday will be spent covering Ruxcon, another of Australia’s key information security conferences. This will include recording material for Corrupted Nerds as well as Future Tense.

Further Ahead

On Monday and Tuesday 26-27 October, I’ll still be in Melbourne doing various things. That includes a Monday night radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne at 1930 AEDT.

Update 19 October 2015: Edited to reflect a change of plans. Update 20 October 2015: Edited to reflect further change to the plan. Update 25 October 2015: Edited once more to reflect continuing change.

[Photo: Lumpy Weather, photographed from seat 29A of VA830 on 13 October 2015.]