Weekly Wrap – Page 80

20 March 201623 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 302: Rain, rest, and the equinox

My week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 March 2016 was pretty much as planned, though slightly more tiring than I’d hoped.

Right now I’m more in the mood to listen to the rain outside than write, so I’ll leave it there.

Articles

US government demands for vendors’ source code are nothing new, ZDNet Australia, 18 March 2016.

Podcasts

None. But scroll down for details of a new episode of The 9pm Edict in just a few days.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

On Monday morning, I dropped into Tech Leaders Forum, and had a coffee on their tab. Nothing newsworthy was said, however.

The Week Ahead

I’m spending the short work week before Easter in Lilyfield, in Sydney’s inner west, as well as Easter itself. I’ll be working steadily through three geek-for-hire projects, catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and writing a ZDNet column.

~~On Wednesday night, I’m finally recording and streaming that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. That’s at 2100 AEDT on this website. Details will be posted on Monday.~~

That much-delayed episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be produced and posted over the weekend. The recording won’t be streamed live, for a number of reasons, though I might stream the finished podcast at a specific time so you can enjoy it together.

Further Ahead

The short week after Easter will be an extension of the plan just described. So will the following week, at least at this stage.

After that, I should be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. A plan is slowly evolving.

I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

Update 23 March 2016: Edited to reflect changed plans.

[Photo: Old Target. Today I found one of the National Rifle Association regulation practice targets that I used when I went to American Shooters, a firearms range in Las Vegas, in 2011. I think I need some more practice.]

13 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 301: Canberra, with quite a few cybers

My week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 March 2016 was another moderately steady improvement, in both productivity and mood. I am moderately pleased.

The Canberra trip went well, as you’ll see immediately below, but it was also exhausting. The rest of the week was therefore relatively quiet.

If you follow my Twitter stream, you already know all of this, and more.

Articles

Both of these articles are derived from material presented at the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit on Tuesday.

Opt-out e-health a ‘fundamental breach of trust’: Victorian regulator, ZDNet Australia, 9 March 2016.
Australia needs a ‘national discussion’ on security and civil liberties, ZDNet Australia, 11 March 2016. The conference presentations by two of the people quoted in this article are now available on YouTube: Dr Tobias Feakin, director of the International Cyber Policy Centre, and a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI); and Mike Burgess, chief information security officer at Telstra.

Podcasts

None. I know you’ve heard this before, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

I travelled to Canberra as a guest of the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA). They paid for my flights, plus one night of my stay at the Little National Hotel. And of course there was plenty of food at the Navigating Privacy and Security Summit.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’m heading a few kilometres up the Great Western Highway to Leura for part of Tech Leaders, namely a keynote by Labor’s communications spokesperson Jason Clare, and then reporting on same for ZDNet. I’ll probably have lunch in Katoomba after that.

I then plan to spend the rest of the week working on three geek-for-hire projects that have fallen behind schedule, and catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

That said, I hope to make the day trip to Sydney one day for a medical appointment and various errands. I’m also looking at doing that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast one evening. And I should probably write a ZDNet column in there somewhere too.

I can’t make final arrangements until Monday afternoon, however, and I need to keep the pace reasonable, so stay tuned for details.

Further Ahead

The following two weeks are the two short weeks either side of the Easter long weekend, and will mostly be an extension of the plan just described.

I then plan to be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. The trick will be organising travel and accommodation.

I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: The End of Summer. These are the colours of an Australian summer, as you can also see from last week’s photo — and we’ve had a long one this year. Photographed from VA654 on final approach to Canberra airport (CBR) on 7 March 2016.]

06 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 300: Melbourne, mayhem, and the blockchain

My week of Monday 29 February to Sunday 6 March 2016 was a significant improvement on the previous week — mostly because I was in Melbourne, but also due to the bad influence of that hacker and an evil cyberpixie.

As I write this, it’s still very early on Sunday morning, so technically the week hasn’t ended yet — but details. You’ll cope.

Articles

Who will benefit from Australia’s big new defence spend?, ZDNet Australia, 29 February 2016.
Let’s quit the blockchain magic talk, ZDNet Australia, 3 March 2016. As with my previous ZDNet articles about Bitcoin, Bitcoin: More ideology than trustworthy currency, and Bitcoin: It’s not just loopy tulip land, it’s worse, I was “savaged” by people passive-aggressively referring to me as “the author” and telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about — without bothering to read what I’d actually written. So funny.

Podcasts

None, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

I travelled to Melbourne as a guest of Sixtree. They paid for my flights, plus three nights accommodation at Mantra Southbank. And of course there was plenty of food and drink at the APIdays conference.

The Week Ahead

It’s another rather structured week for me. Monday kicks off with the 1024 train down to Sydney, and at 1335 I’m catching VA648 SYD-CBR. I’m organising a meeting or two for the afternoon and evening.

On Tuesday, I’m covering the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit for ZDNet. On Wednesday, I’ll be writing about that before another meeting or two. Then at 1905 it’s VA669 CBR-SYD.

Thursday through Saturday is unplanned as yet, but I’ll be back in Wentworth Falls, and I hope to get that damn podcast done somewhere in there.

On Sunday, I’m heading a few kilometres up the Great Western Highway to Leura for day one of Tech Leaders.

Further Ahead

I’ll be in Canberra again 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. And I’ll be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: Approaching Melbourne. A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 banks as it turns for its final approach to Melbourne Airport on 29 February 2016.]

28 February 2016

Weekly Wrap 299: Ale and altitude, kind of

My week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 February 2016 was another relative unproductive one, for reasons explained last time, but it was an improvement. Improvement is good.

A personal update will be posted in the next few days. For now, on with the show…

Podcasts

None, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.

Articles

None, but I have a ZDNet column being published on Monday.

Media Appearances

I spoke about Apple’s Error 53 problem and (briefly) about the company’s battle with the FBI on this week’s Balls Radio. You can hear me 46 min 41 sec into the program.
On Wednesday, I spoke about smartphone data usage and battery life on ABC South West WA. I don’t have a recording, but it’s more or less the same information as last week’s chat on ABC Kimberley and in the ABC News story, Simple tricks to double your phone’s battery life and halve your data usage.
Also on Wednesday, I spoke about Li-Fi on ABC 666 Canberra. I don’t have a recording, but you can read the ABC News story, Li-fi ‘100 times faster than wi-fi’ at shine of a light presented at Mobile World Congress.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

This will be the first is a series of quite structured weeks for me, which will be a challenge. I daresay I may have to change a few things as I go along. But with that said, here’s the plan…

On Monday, I’ll catch the 0734 train to Sydney, completing my ZDNet column en route. At 1100, I’ll catch VA834 SYD-MEL. Once I’ve checked in to my hotel, I’ll bring my various geek-for-hire projects up to date.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I’ll be covering the APIdays conference for ZDNet, and catching up with friends in the evenings. On Thursday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, and having a couple of work-related meetings, before catching VA859 MEL-SYD at 1600. I’ll probably return to Wentworth Falls that night.

Friday through Saturday? Well, that depends on my energy levels. But I hope to get that podcast done somewhere in there.

Further Ahead

The following week, I’ll be in Canberra from Monday 7 March for the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit on Tuesday. I’ll probably stay in Canberra on Wednesday. Then on Sunday, I’ll be back in the Blue Mountains for Tech Leaders.

I’ll be in Canberra again 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. And I’ll be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: Beer Bubbles, specifically the Katoomba Brewing Company Great Western Golden Ale, photographed on 22 February 2016.]

21 February 201621 February 2016

Weekly Wrap 298: Loving* the fatigue, and an observation

My week of Monday 15 to Sunday 21 February 2016 was full of fatigue as I began the multi-month process of changing management plans to deal with a different dog.

A certain new medication is great fun (not). It even comes with such a lovely (not) list of potential side effects, some of which cause what might accurately be called occasional death, that the transition process lasts two or three months.

The fatigue and disrupted sleep patterns that made this week almost completely non-productive were within the expected range of problems, however. The coming week is likely to be much the same, which is one reason why the plan listed below is just an unscheduled list.

One brief observation from recent weeks: I’ve had so much experience in the broadcast media, and I’m so comfortable with it, that doing radio and TV spots don’t feel like work. Neither do podcasts, of course. I should perhaps shift my focus to doing more of that. Assuming people would pay for it occasionally.

Media Appearances

On Wednesday, I spoke about smartphone data usage and battery life on ABC Kimberley.
On Thursday, this became an ABC News story, Simple tricks to double your phone’s battery life and halve your data usage.
On Friday, I recorded an interview for Phil Dobbie’s podcast Balls Radio, which has yet to be posted.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

I’m keeping the coming week flexible, not just for the medical reasons listed above, but also because I’ll only be able to make some of the finer-grained arrangements on Monday.

However the week is likely to include writing for ZDNet, work on several geek-for-hire projects, more bookkeeping related to my outstanding income tax returns, and the production of an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.

There will also be a trip down to Sydney at some point, because I have to collect a package, but I’ll schedule that around any work appointments which might arise.

Further Ahead

Subsequent weeks will have more structure.

I’ll be returning to Melbourne on Monday 29 February to cover the APIdays conference on 1-2 March, returning to Sydney on Thursday 3 March.

I’ll be in Canberra on Tuesday 8 March for the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit. Then if all goes to plan, the rest of the week will be spent in Melbourne at Cisco LIVE!. Then on Sunday I’ll be back in the Blue Mountains for Tech Leaders.

[Photo: Federation Reflections. The eastern side of Deakin Edge at Melbourne’s Federation Square, photographed on 11 February 2016. Which was last week.]

21 February 201628 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 297: Melbourne, with yabby and fatigue

My week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 February 2016 is well gone now. It mostly went to plan, except for me being somewhat more tired than I’d hoped — which let me to skip most of the social events.

I’ll tell you more in the next Weekly Wrap. For now, just the facts…

Media Appearances

On Wednesday, I spoke about digital surveillance and privacy on ABC 774 Melbourne.
On Thursday morning, I spoke about digital surveillance and privacy with Virginia Trioli on ABC TV’s News Breakfast, but I haven’t got a recording.
On Thursday afternoon, I spoke about those issues at Pause Fest, but I don’t have a recording of that either.

Corporate Largesse

Pause Fest paid for my flights to Melbourne and one night of hotel accommodation, as well as some food and drink. This doesn’t really count as largesse, though, because I was speaking at their event, and I wasn’t paid for that.

[Photo: Yabby House. I’d never expected to find an eating house named after Australia’s freshwater crustacean, but I found one in Melbourne on 10 February 2016.]