Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
My week of Monday 21 Sunday 27 December 2015 started badly. At 0823 I received an SMS message from my bank, asking about a suspect transaction. Within minutes, the card number was cancelled, and a new card organised — but not before hundreds of dollars had been siphoned out in a series of transactions to PlayStation Network GBR.
Continue reading “Weekly Wrap 290: A cash-based Christmas”
It was a week for extended radio conversations about the darker side of the internet, it seems.
Not only did I speak about Anonymous on ABC 774 Melbourne, on Friday night I spoke about that ill-defined phenomenon known as the “dark web†on ABC 891 Adelaide with evening presenter Deb Tribe. And here is that conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.5MB)
This audio is ©2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Planet Earth is dissolving into a replay of the Middle Ages. Crusader Rabbit is off his leash, with more mouth foam than a rabid dog full of dishwashing liquid.
In this podcast, there’s talk of cybercrime, civilisation, sodomy, and probing up the jaxie. Nicholas Fryer ponders the strange days of Australian politics. And there’s just a little too much information about teapots.
Continue reading “The 9pm Garden of Hate”This evening I did one of my now (ir)regular spots on ABC 774 Melbourne, and since I’d been at Ruxcon over the weekend, that conference was an obvious topic.
Presenter Lindy Burns and I started off talking about the origins of the word “hacker”, and that led into a brief history of cybercrime, before we got into the so-called “dark web” and Silk Road… and even the risks of smart TVs.
Here’s the entire 23-minute conversation exactly as it aired — and as Ms Burns herself freely admits, it strayed well away from our planned topics.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.1MB)
The audio is ©2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
My week of Monday 25 to Sunday 31 August was hectic. Again. Hence so many missing blog posts until now. But it also marked the end of winter. I therefore have some hope that today, 1 September, will mark some new beginnings.
“New beginnings” sounds a bit naff, I know, but “spring cleaning” sounds a bit naff too.
Only one edition this week.
Head to the 5at5 site to subscribe or browse through recent editions.
It’s another busy one. Monday has already gotten off to a slow start — though deliberately. I’m writing this post on the train from Sydney to the Blue Mountains. En route and later this afternoon I’ll be planning a month-long fundraising campaign for my podcasts, and particularly The 9pm Edict.
On Tuesday I’ll launch that fundraising campaign with a podcast and appropriate noises on Twitter. I’ll also be starting some spring cleaning, starting off with the backlog of audio recordings that need sorting out.
Wednesday will see a continuation of the spring cleaning theme. It’ll also see 5at5 number 100, so I might mark that occasion in some way. Bursting into tears, perhaps.
Thursday will be a day of writing, with the usual column for ZDNet Australia, and perhaps something else. Friday will also be a day of media production, but I’m not sure what that’ll entail, apart from another mini-podcast.
Saturday is a day of cleaning and tidying at Bunjaree Cottages, before heading to Sydney to spend a month housesitting in Hurstville.
[Photo: Sydney skyline at dawn, photographed from Camperdown on 31 August 2014. Not quite the first day of spring, but it certainly had that feel about it.]
I’m pleased that the eBay data breach has been getting widespread media coverage. I certainly don’t mind doing a third radio spot today.
As has become a semi-regular thing, I spoke with afternoon presenter Will Goodings on 1395 FIVEaa Adelaide. Just a quick five minutes between a fascinating talkback in which people expressed strong feelings about not being able to smoke at al fresco eateries and the news.
I think we covered the essentials, no?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.2MB)
eBay users should change their passwords immediately, and if they use the same password anywhere else, they should change the password there too — and invest in password management software so they can start using different random, complex passwords for every online service.
The audio is ©2014 dmgRadio Australia.