doge – Stilgherrian

02 March 202509 March 2025

Weekly Wrap 770: Stress, little productivity, and a photo from two years ago

The view from the left-hand window of an airliner over the eastern beaches of Sydney. About two-thirds of the way up the view is Sydney Harbour in all its crinkly glory. Along the lower parts of the image are the beaches, with Bondi uppermost. Near the top of the image a bank of white fluffy clouds obscure the North Shore. And at the very top right, the aircraft’s wing.

Oh dear. My week of Monday 24 February to Sunday 2 March 2025 was another unproductive week, making February overall an unproductive month. Remedial action will be needed. For a start, I’m now declaring March to be part of summer.

23 February 202523 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 769: Wrangling the data ruined my mind

Seen from low down by the ground, an asphalt road runs away from the viewer up a hill, eventually turning to the left and out of sight. The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy white clouds, although little sky can be seen because either side of the road are trees and thickly-growing shrubs. In the immediate foreground, on the road, two white-painted squares are arranged diagonally, joined at their corners. In yellow paint is the number 3011.

I lost three days in the middle of my week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 February 2025 to annoying geekery: rebuilding my whole data backup system. Always make sure your backups are in good order, Gentle Reader, with at least one copy of everything in a different physical location.

16 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 768: The view from St Vincent’s Private Hospital was a highlight of my Sydney day

A view from the 13th floor across Darlinghurst to the north-west. On the left are the towers of the northern end of the Sydney CBD. In the middle, in the distance, one can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and on the right the view is dominated by Harry Seidler’s Horizon Apartments, a white modernist tower with an grid-based structure. The day is bright and sunny with a few fluffy white clouds.

My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 February 2025 was dominated by a long day trip to Sydney on Wednesday and the Cabramatta Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday. But next week will be a big podcast week.

10 February 202512 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 767: Pondering trains instead of productivity

A NSW TrainLink Xplorer three-car DMU stands at Sydney Central station. A single deck train in silver with a light blue stripe along the window line, dark blue nose with a bright yellow highlight around the front window and upper lights, and dirt all over. It’s numbered 2504. On the platform sit some cleaning products, clearly only used on the inside of the trains, and passengers sit waiting for the cleaning to be finished.

My week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 February 2025 was relatively unproductive, but I did spend some time pondering once again what a disappointment the trains are between Sydney and Canberra. But I got plenty of planning done.

03 February 202507 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 766: Apartments supplement a medical theme

Seen across the roof of a suburban railway station are two modern apartment buildings their facades decorated with hexagonal shapes in matt gold with white trim.

My week of Monday 27 January to Sunday 2 February 2025 was relatively routine. I produced a podcast, amusing with a medical theme, because soon thereafter I had some medical scans done. I’ll let you know the results as soon as they’ve been checked out.

27 January 202530 January 2025

Weekly Wrap 765: Feed me, said the magpie

Close-up of the head and chest of a juvenile Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), still in its lighter grey feathers rather than black, its orange eyes staring straight into the camera. In the background, way out of focus, sunlit scrubland.

My week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 January 2025 was both productive and enjoyable, because I’m a hero. Yes, the music podcast thing is starting to happen. And the younger magpies are starting to get quite insistent.