Tag: fatigue

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Weekly Wrap 318: Post-election madness, and fatigue, and…

Nom Chomsky, the cat I'm feeding at AshfieldLast week I said that I was emerging from the mysterious illness. Alas, it didn’t last. My week of Monday 27 June to Sunday 3 July 2016 was far less productive than I’d hoped.

That said, I made progress on the much-delayed geek-work, and on the seemingly never-ending tax compliance work, although there’s little to show outwardly. My stress levels were much reduced, but I’m aware that there’s still a lot to go.

Meanwhile, as you’ll read below, there’s been a disturbing development…

Podcasts, Articles, and Media Appearances

None, sadly.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime media briefing by VMware, which took place at est. Obviously, there was excellent food and drink.

The Week Ahead

It’ll be another week in Ashfield, Sydney’s inner west.

Monday begins with another batch of tax compliance work. I’m then spending the rest of the day with an old friend and his offspring, who are visiting Sydney.

The rest of the week is another mix of geek-work and more tax compliance work, depending on my mood at the time.

And the disturbing development?

A Special Podcast Episode?

There’s talk of me doing a special post-election episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, consisting of nothing but me downing Bundaberg Rum and reading the full policy agenda of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

I mean, after Saturday’s election she’ll be in the Senate — and the policies aren’t just racist, they’re a mashup of of almost every paranoid conspiracy out there.

Reading all of these policies would take more than two hours. But there’s a groundswell of support for making it happen — including at least five financial contributions so far. It could actually work, if it were streamed live, and people could read along at home and chat amongst themselves.

I will make an announcement about this, one way or another, before 2100 AEST tomorrow night, Monday 4 July 2016. Probably well before that, actually.

If you’d like to make a persuasive contribution before then, do feel free to give me a tip. If your tip is specifically for this project, I’m happy to refund it if this special episode doesn’t go ahead.

Further Ahead

While the following few weeks are still be be organised, I can say that I’ll be going to theGartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney on 22-23 August, and the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October.

[Photo: Nom Chomsky, the cat who I am duty-bound to feed while at Ashfield, photographed on 2 July 2016.]

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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 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.]

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Weekly Wrap 297: Melbourne, with yabby and fatigue

Yabby House: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 February 2016 is well gone now. It mostly went to plan, except for me being somewhat more tired than I’d hoped — which let me to skip most of the social events.

I’ll tell you more in the next Weekly Wrap. For now, just the facts…

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • Pause Fest paid for my flights to Melbourne and one night of hotel accommodation, as well as some food and drink. This doesn’t really count as largesse, though, because I was speaking at their event, and I wasn’t paid for that.

[Photo: Yabby House. I’d never expected to find an eating house named after Australia’s freshwater crustacean, but I found one in Melbourne on 10 February 2016.]

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Weekly Wrap 247: Attacked by car, leech, and diarrhoea

Attack of the Killer Leech: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 23 February to Sunday 1 March 2015 began with fatigue and ended with drama, and then more fatigue.

The fatigue was inevitable, given that last weekend saw the production of two podcasts, as well as the first day of Tech Leaders Forum, which continued into Monday.

What I wasn’t expecting was being run down by a car on Thursday night. I wasn’t hurt, really, but nevertheless it was annoying — and I’ll tell you about that in The 9pm Edict. I wasn’t expecting to be attacked by a leech on Friday. And I wasn’t expecting Saturday to be wiped out by a gut problem. Sigh.

But enough of that…

Articles

Podcasts

None. The will be an episode The 9pm Edict on Tuesday 3 March, once I’ve gotten a feature written for ZDNet Australia.

5at5

There were three editions of 5at5 this week, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You might want to subscribe so you receive them all as they’re released.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday, we wrapped up this year’s Tech Leaders Forum at the Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains. Apart from one night’s accommodation and plenty of food and drink, some vendors gave out various bits and pieces. Bitdefender gave me a branded TSA-approved travel lock and a Gecko dashboard pad thingy. Emerson Network Power, a novelty branded USB stick with their PR material. LogRhythm, a branded pen. Oakton, a USB stick with their PR material. From Simplivity, a branded pen.

The Week Ahead

Here’s the plan. Monday, a feature for ZDNet Australia. Tuesday, an episode of The 9pm Edict. Wednesday, probably a day trip to Sydney — and if it happens, it might include a bit of television. Thursday, a column for ZDNet Australia. Friday, updating that ebook, finally, and getting it to people.

The weekend isn’t locked in yet, but one option is heading down to Albion Park, where a Boeing 747 will land at the tiny Albion Park Airport, before it becomes a permanent museum piece at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). Or I might not. It depends on many factors.

Updated 16 March 2015: Added the largesse from Simplivity, which I just found.

[Photo: Attack of the Killer Leech, the one which I had to remove from my foot, photographed on 27 February 2015.]