Tag: depression

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Weekly Wrap 305: Unproductive anticipation

Australian Landscape: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 4 to Sunday 10 April 2016 was distinctly unproductive. This Weekly Wrap is running late. I’ll stick to the essential points.

I’ll mention one thing though. I returned to Wentworth Falls on Sunday, after more than three weeks in Sydney. Time flies.

Articles and Podcasts

None. Stand by for more details to be announced on the weekend, however.

Media Appearances

  • On Friday, I was interviewed by Steve Molk for his delightful podcast Humans of Twitter. That episode is expected to appear on Friday 22 April. If you don’t already subscribe to this podcast then you should — at least if you’re Australian, because he’s been concentrating on Australians so far.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday has already been a write-off, spent organising things which had become disorganised, and stressing about them. We shall speak of it no more.

On Tuesday — that is, today — I’m catching a morning train to Sydney, and then the 1212 train to Canberra, scheduled to arrive in the nation’s capital at 1629. I thought it might be an interesting change from flying, even though it takes longer.

On Tuesday evening, it’s drinks before spending Wednesday and Thursday covering the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference at the rather drab National Convention Centre. This has become one of the must-attend information security conferences in Australia, and I’m looking forward to meeting and hearing from law enforcement and national security people who we usually don’t hear from.

On Friday, I return to Sydney on the 1153 train, arriving back in the nation’s largest city at around 1600. From there until the end of the weekend, things are unplanned.

Further Ahead

I’m going to the Amazon Web Services Summit Sydney on 27-28 April. And on 24-27 May, I’m covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast.

Update 16 April 2016: Date for Humans of Twitter posting added.

[Photo: Australian Landscape. This photograph was taken while approaching Canberra airport on 7 March 2016, but it could have been taken almost anywhere across south-eastern Australia.]

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Weekly Wrap 304: The ill-managed stumble-crash of progress

1984 in 2016, with Wyatt Roy: click to embiggenMonday 28 March to Sunday 3 April 2016 was another short week, thanks to Easter. But it also seemed to be more productive than the previous week, which was drenched in fatigue.

I’m almost two months into the slow transition to a new medication regime. The fatigue, the “general feeling of tiredness or weakness”, is slowly fading. So too are the headaches, body aches, random muscle tics in my legs, nausea, constipation, and trouble with sleeping.

Also fading are the intense, vivid dreams that woke me towards the end of the night. That’s good, because the confused muddle of reality and dream-thoughts that continued into wakefulness was accompanied by dizziness and loss of coordination. Exiting the bed in an ill-managed stumble-crash into furniture and walls led to slightly more bruises than I’d planned for.

I’m frustrated that things aren’t magically better straight away. I’m embarrassed by having to constantly reschedule things because I’ve fallen asleep after breakfast, or whatever. But I can see gradual progress, or at least the illusion of progress, which is almost as good.

On to the visible achievements…

Articles

Podcasts

None, but I’ll be pondering the future of my podcasts over the next couple of weeks.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, there was plenty of free food and drink at D61+ LIVE.
  • On Wednesday night, PR princess Shuna Boyd paid for the drinks at her own retirement party.
  • On Thursday, law firm Gilbert+Tobin provided snacks and wine at the seminar by the International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia and New Zealand (iappANZ).

The Week Ahead

It’s going to be a busy one. No fixed appointments, but plenty to do on my current geek-for-hire projects, and on my tax compliance backlog. I’ll also write a column or two for ZDNet. Order of play TBA.

On Saturday, I’ll tidy up the Lilyfield house, before returning to Wentworth Falls on Sunday afternoon.

Further Ahead

On Tuesday 12 April, I’ll take a train from Sydney to Canberra — it should be an interesting change from the airlines — to cover the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. The event runs through to Thursday 14 April, and I’ll return to Sydney on the Friday, writing for ZDNet en route.

I’m going to the Amazon Web Services Summit Sydney on 27-28 April.

And on 24-27 May, I’m covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast.

[Photo: 1984 in 2016, with Wyatt Roy. A video message from Australia’s Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy is played to attendees of Data61’s D61+ LIVE event at Australian Technology Park in Sydney on 30 March 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 303: A wet and work-filled Easter

Old and New: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 21 to Sunday 28 March 2016 was a mixed bag. I finally got a podcast done, but not some other tasks. C’est la vie.

As we ramp up the medication to deal with the dog of a different colour, my sleep patterns are much disrupted. I’m hit with random waves of fatigue. That means I’m operating at roughly half capacity. In theory, that’ll stop happening after a couple more weeks, but for now I must pace myself.

But enough of that…

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm Let the Fun Begin”, being The 9pm Edict episode 56, was recorded and posted on Sunday night. It’s also on Spreaker.

Articles

None, though I have a few columns for ZDNet in the pipeline.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

The short work week after Easter starts in Lilyfield, in Sydney’s inner west, but ends back in Wentworth Falls. The date of migration back to the Blue Mountains is yet to be confirmed.

Easter Monday has just begun, but apart from this blog post I won’t be doing anything too hectic.

On Wednesday, I’m going to D61+ Live 2016, an event by Data61 (“Data61 = CSIRO Digital Productivity + NICTA = the world’s leading data-focused innovation powerhouse,” they describe themselves) at Australian Technology Park. I’m particularly interested in a panel on cybersecurity. On Wednesday evening, I’ll be having a farewell drink or two with the wonderful Shuna Boyd, who’s retiring from her media relations career.

On Thursday evening, I’m covering a discussion sponsored by the International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia and New Zealand (iappANZ) on Australia’s proposed mandatory data breach notification laws. After that, I’m doing a radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne at 1900 AEDT.

In between, 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 or two.

Further Ahead

The following week will be an extension of the plan just described.

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 in Sydney on 27-28 April for the Amazon Web Services Summit Sydney, then on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: Old and New. A new Meriton apartment development under construction in Lewisham in Sydney’s inner west, with the old flour mill in the background. Photographed on 22 March 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 301: Canberra, with quite a few cybers

The End of Summer: click to embiggenMy 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.

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

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.]

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Weekly Wrap 299: Ale and altitude, kind of

Beer Bubbles: click to embiggenMy 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

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.]

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

Federation Reflections: click to embiggenMy 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

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.]