censusfail – Stilgherrian

04 December 2016

Weekly Wrap 339: The Census disaster and the taxi-killer

My week of Monday 21 to Sunday 27 November 2016 was even less productive than the previous week, but I know why that happened.

One, a change to my medication dosages screwed up my sleep patterns for a while. Two, I did quite a bit of background work that won’t produce visible results for a while. And three, I was lazy.

Articles

Census reports highlight government IT incompetence, ZDNet, 25 November 2016. This was my third ZDNet story on the Census debacle, this one based on the reports from the Senate inquiry and the PM’s Special Advisor on Cyber Security.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None.

[Photo: â€œYes! Chase them. Kill them. You can do it. Mwuahaha! Kill them!â€, photographed on 21 October 2016.]

Actually, this photo deserves a fuller explanation.

When taking the SkyBus from Melbourne Airport into the city, I rode at the front of the upper deck. This young man seated immediately in front of me pretended he was the pilot.

â€œI need speed,â€ he chanted. â€œI need speed. I need speed.â€

Then he started threatening to crush the taxis in front of us. â€œYes! Chase them. Kill them. You can do it. Mwuahaha! Kill them! Youâ€™re stupid. Stupid. Iâ€™ll drive you to death! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.â€

He was really getting into it as we zoomed through that well-known structure on the Tullamarine Freeway.

05 November 2016

Weekly Wrap 335: Being a busy media whore in Melbourne

My week of Monday 24 to Sunday 30 October 2016 was spent in Melbourne, being busy, and being a bit of a media whore.

Since this Weekly Wrap is late, just like last week’s, I’ll get straight into it.

Articles

International mobile data networks still a serious security problem, ZDNet Australia, 24 October 2016.
Censusfail: An omnishambles of fabulous proportions, ZDNet Australia, 26 October 2016.

Podcasts

None, but I recorded material for another Ruxcon-related episode of Corrupted Nerds, and The 9pm Edict Public House Forum 4. Both will appear during the week of 7 November.

Media Appearances

On Monday, some of my comments about the late Leslie Nassar were included in the Crikey obit, Razer: vale Leslie Nassar, engineering genius and champion shit-stirrer.
Also on Monday, one of my silly tweets was included in a Junkee story, People Are Roasting George Brandis Over His Incredibly Weird Signature.
On Tuesday, my comments on medical technology hacks were feature on ABC Radio’s The World Today. The ABC also ran a news item, Cyber security experts claim St Jude cardiac implants vulnerable to life-threatening hacks.
On Tuesday night, I spoke about various technology matters in ABC 774 Melbourne. I hope to have a recording available by 10 November.
The Register ran an item on my tweeted observation, Aussie trams equivalent to 30 skateboarding rhinos.
On Wednesday, I was MC for the La Trobe University event, “Big Data and Cybersecurity: Are We Ready?”. I’m told that a recording will become available eventually.
On Friday, my comments on Twitter closing Vine were featured on ABC Radio’s AM. The ABC also ran a news story, Vine video sharing app killed off in latest sign of troubled times for Twitter.

Corporate Largesse

None.

[Photo: Melbourne is doomed, photographed on 30 October 2016. A cold front was approaching Melbourne, accompanied by a severe weather warning about strong winds. This is what it looked like from St Kilda Beach.]

14 August 201625 January 2019

The 9pm Fracking Your Data Real Good

Jill Charker from the Bureau of Statistics explains a census form to traditional dancer Peter Gurruwiwi in northeast Arnhem Land

It’s that special day that comes but once every five years. Australia’s national Census 2016. And so far hasn’t it been a disaster.

“Look we don’t like to call it data mining, it’s more like data fracking,” tweeted by Johannes Jakob on 9 August, and he’s right.