Weekly Wrap 268: Changing perspectives

Rosella Cottage and its solar panels: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 July 2015 was ruined by health problems. I won’t go into the details. If you saw some facts, you saw them. Otherwise you missed them.

There were no articles or podcasts or editions of 5at5 produced, so I’ll make this Weekly Wrap look slightly better by omitting the sub-heads. I’ll skip the Corporate Largesse section too, because there wasn’t any, and stick to what did happen.

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday, I spoke about the Ashley Madison data breach on ABC 936 Hobart.
  • On Wednesday, I spoke about the Ashley Madison data breach on Sydney radio 2UE, but I won’t be posting a recording because it adds nothing to the Hobart one. I’m thinking about being a lot more selective about what I post here — or at least what I go to the effort of writing a whole blog post about — and maybe even automating most of the Weekly Wrap. I mean, do you even read this?

The Week Ahead

I’m not going to match specific tasks to specific days at this stage, for various reasons. But I will say that my Pozible crowdfunding campaign for The 9pm Urgent Hardware Refresh has been given the green light, so I’ll press the “Go” button on that relatively early in the week, and I’ll produce an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast to coincide with that, more or less.

I’ll also write some stuff for people. Is that vague enough?

I’ll be in the Mountains for most of the week, I think. I can’t see much that’d draw me into Sydney, not when I apply a strict cost benefit analysis to it all. You people are terrible.

[Photo: Rosella Cottage and its solar panels, photographed on 30 January 2012. This week I returned to being based in Rosella Cottage, rather than the Bunjaree Cottages outbuilding called “The Studio”. It’s not only far more pleasant, it gives me morning views like this, and this, and this. I think this will help.]

Weekly Wrap 267: Chaos, then embracing the change

To boldly go...: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 13 to Sunday 19 July 2015 continued the lack-of-productivity theme, alas. Mostly because my dying computer decided to die far more rapidly than it had been until now.

My sincere thanks go to Justin Clacherty for lending me a spare MacBook Pro until I can organise my own new machine. I’m pleased that the set-up and transfer of data to this “new” machine only took nine hours — well, plus the six hours it took to take a proper backup of the old machine, because it kept throwing errors.

That said, in the latter part of the week I did get quite a bit done on the Pozible crowdfunding campaign to pay for that replacement machine. That campaign should launch in the next few days.

And because I had to archive some data off the old computer — because it had a 750GB hard drive, whereas the loaner has a 500GB SSD — I was browsing through old photos and videos. This put me into a particularly reflective mood again on the weekend. I hope that some good will come of this, because having a properly-working computer again — and a fast one! — should provide another boost to my optimism.

Articles

Podcasts

None.

5at5

5at5 was still on hiatus this week.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday evening, I caught up with Leslie Nassar to discuss a SEKRIT project, and he bought me dinner.

The Week Ahead

I’m back in Wentworth Falls this coming week, and most of it hasn’t been mapped out yet. Still, I have a broad outline.

On Monday Tuesday, I’ll be submitting that Pozible project for approval, doing some shopping in Katoomba, and mapping out my writing commitments for the next few weeks. Now that I have a working computer again, I’ve got heaps of work to catch up with.

On Tuesday Wednesday, I’ll be completing a video to go with that Pozible project, which should launch that day. I’ll also be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. I’ll delay the posting of both until Wednesday Thursday if the Pozible campaign doesn’t launch.

The rest of the week is a bit vague, but I know there’ll be a ZDNet column in there somewhere. And I’m guessing I’d better organise some other work as well.

Update 20 July 2015: Edited to slide nearly everything in the plan back a day, to reflect a Monday sickie.

[Photo: To boldly go…, being a small boat heading out into the fog of San Francisco Bay on 10 December 2010.]

Announcing “The gasping computer, the changing plan”

Gasps of a dying computer: click to embiggenSome three weeks ago, I told you how my computer was dying, and crowdfunding would ensue. Then just two days ago I said that the crowdfunding was imminent. That too must change.

Yesterday morning I lost three hours to chasing various error messages. The week’s plans were ruined from day one.

Last night I stopped to think how the computer’s steadily degrading performance was affecting my productivity, and I went digging. The image at the top of the post shows just one species of frequent error message.

As I explain on the Flickr post:

For whatever reason, user interface (UI) updates get disabled — and stay disabled for seconds at a time. Signals just aren’t getting through, and I’ve seen them last for up to 20 seconds or more.

So the basic problem is that you click on something, or press a key on the keyboard, and there’s a delay. Then another one.

And that’s just one of several serious symptoms.

Trying to assemble the crowdfunding campaign — as well as all my other work — on the dying computer itself is a fool’s errand. And I have been that fool.

Fortunately, Justin Clacherty has a spare mid-2013 MacBook Pro with maxed-out processor and RAM specs, and he’s going to lend it to me while I organise things. The new current planned start for the crowdfunding campaign is during the week beginning 20 July. Wish me luck.

Weekly Wrap 266: The chasm of change yawns wide

Wi-Fi: No hardware detectedMy week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 July 2015 was the first of two weeks I’ll be spending in Sydney — but it wasn’t just the geography that made it unusual.

I had intended to get a Pozible crowdfunding campaign under way for The 9pm Urgent Hardware Refresh, but I ended up doing quite a bit of work on the SEKRIT television project instead.

This is a Good Thing, because it’s fun and interesting work, and the pay is quite reasonable. But as the photo at the top of the post shows, my computer is dying fast. The Wi-Fi hardware fails regularly, and you can also make out the screen cracks. So that crowdfunding effort will have to happen quite soon. Like in the coming week.

Articles

Podcasts

None.

5at5

5at5 is on hiatus this week and next.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday evening, I went to Tanium’s open-house demo and drinks evening in Sydney, where of course there was free food and drink.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’ll be working on that crowdfunding campaign, as well as getting a haircut, and in the evening meeting with Leslie Nassar about yet another, different SEKRIT project.

On Tuesday, I’ll be doing further work on the crowdfunding project and, ideally, launching it. I’ll also be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, which may extend into Wednesday. Otherwise, Wednesday is likely to be a day of research and writing, before I wander to Oracle’s drinks evening in Surry Hills. Thursday is also a day of writing, ideally culminating in a column for ZDNet.

Friday and the weekend are as yet unplanned. However there are many, many things that need organising, so I daresay they’ll be quite full days. Stand by. Also, and and all of this schedule may be disrupted by urgent work on the SEKRIT television project.

Update 13 July 2015: Edited to add The Saturday Paper reference, and indicate the flexibility of the schedule.

[Photo: “Wi-Fi: No hardware detected”, being an increasingly common sight on my rapidly-disintegrating MacBook Pro.]

Weekly Wrap 265: You want entropy? We got entropy!

The dreadful Sydney winter continues: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 29 June to Sunday 5 July 2015 looks less productive than it actually was. But however you measure it, it was… interesting.

I didn’t publish any new media work this week. The ZDNet feature has been held over. The 9pm Edict podcast has been held over too, because I want to get the crowdfunding campaign locked in first. That campaign has been a little more difficult to conceptualise than I first thought.

And the rest of my time was full of end-of-financial-year tasks, and the stark realisation of how many different things I’m trying to do at once. So the list of media work actually generated this week is… also stark.

But that’s only because it doesn’t include the work I did on the SEKRIT television project.

Actually it’s not that SEKRIT. There have been hints.

Articles

None published, but I did complete that ZDNet feature which is expected to appear very soon.

Podcasts

None.

5at5

Only one edition of 5at5 was published this week, on Tuesday. To save me having to tell you this, you could just subscribe.

Actually, there won’t be any editions of 5at5 in the coming week, because I’ll be doing things that don’t lend themselves to spotting interesting things.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

None. Just like it tends to dry up at the end of the financial year, it takes a while to start flowing again in the new year. It will indeed start to flow next week.

The Week Ahead

It’s going to be hectic. Damn hectic. But at least my mood should be improved by being in Sydney for the duration, rather than freezing to death in the Blue Mountains.

On Monday, I’ll be setting up the crowdfunding campaign, dealing with a pile of urgent administrivia that’s turned up like an unwanted distant relative who just expects to be a houseguest, and doing the laundry.

On Tuesday, I’ll be reviewing scripts for the SEKRIT television project, then popping in to Tanium’s Sydney office for drinks. The SEKRIT project will continue on Wednesday. If all goes well, the crowdfunding campaign will launch on Tuesday or Wednesday.

On Thursday, I’ll probably write something for ZDNet.

Friday is dominated by the SEKRIT television project and very long meeting, after which my brain will collapse. TGIF. And then I’ll have a well-earned break.

[Photo: The dreadful Sydney winter continues , being another view of the Sydney skyline from Rydges Camperdown hotel on 30 June 2015. I can sit and watch this sky for hours.]

Weekly Wrap 264: The endless war on entropy continues

Another dreadful Sydney winter day: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 June 2015 was a disaster area. This Weekly Wrap is appallingly late as a result. And that’s why I chose a pretty picture.

While the cold weather and dreary mood didn’t help, because that meant I was fighting a cold most of the time, the main problem was that my computer is dying. And that leads to…

Podcasts

Articles

None published, but a bunch of work was done on a ZDNet feature that will appear very soon.

5at5

Only one edition of 5at5 was published this week, on Wednesday. To save me having to tell you this, you could just subscribe.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

None. It tends to dry up at the end of the financial year.

The Week Ahead

Well most of it’s gone, of course. But I’ve been doing all the end-of-financial-year administrivia, planning that crowdfunding campaign, mapping out July, and coming to terms with the many, many things that need to change this financial year.

On Friday I’ll be doing some work on a certain SEKRIT television project. Well, it’s not that SEKRIT, but I’ll make a formal announcement when the time is ripe. On Saturday I’ll be migrating to Sydney for a week or so. And on the weekend I’ll also be finalising the plan for that crowdfunding campaign, and recording an episode of The 9pm Edict. Busy!

[Photo: Another dreadful Sydney winter day, being the view of the Sydney skyline from Rydges Camperdown hotel on 30 June 2015.]