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!
While I was in Washington DC recently, I recorded an interview with attorney and author Mike Godwin, he of Godwin’s Law fame.
We spoke about Godwin’s Law, of course, as well as nationalism, concentration camps, human rights, privacy, the fragility of democracy, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, libertarianism, Australia’s My Health Record, and more.
Continue reading “The 9pm Probe: Mike Godwin, attorney and author”
After two weeks of travel, my week of Monday 15 to Sunday 21 October 2018 was less hectic. My main focus for writing was legislation making its way through the Australian parliament.
Oh, and finally getting to the podcast production. That’s a good thing, right?
None.
I’m spending the week in Sydney covering SWIFT’s Sibos global financial services conference on Monday to Thursday, then doing some writing and dealing with a medical appointment on Friday.
On the weekend I’ll post another podcast, based on the long interview I recorded with the remarkable Mike Godwin in Washington DC. And then I’ll collapse.
The following week I’m covering the McAfee MPOWER Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, as well as a little more podcast production.
There’s nothing specific pencilled in right through to the end of the year, so I should probably do something about that. Suggestions are more than welcome.
[Photo: Waratah at Bunjaree Cottages. Despite the heavy rain, this Waratah at Bunjaree Cottages is flowering again this year. I am pleased. Photographed on 21 October 2018.]
The highlight of my week of Monday 24 to Sunday 30 September 2018 was obviously being flown from Sydney to (nearly) Adelaide by Mark Newton in his Van’s RV-6 VH-SOL. That’s it in the photo. Obviously.
A podcast will result from that trip, “The 9pm Sierra Oscar Lima (Or Llama)”, in about four weeks from now, once I’ve finished travelling. Meanwhile, you can read the tweets and look at the blurry photos.
A second highlight was running a successful Pozible crowdfunding campaign, The 9pm Flying Visits, to record some podcast segments in Adelaide, Washington DC, and Melbourne. I’m visiting those cities for work, but thanks to 50 generous supporters contributed $2138 to cover extra accommodation and the like. See below for how that will all work.
None published, but I’ve recorded a long conversation with Nicholas Fryer, who does The Arch Window segments in The 9pm Edict. That will appear some time in the coming week.
As I post this on Sunday afternoon, I’m at Adelaide Airport for flights via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi to Washington DC. I’ll arrive there on Monday evening local time.
I’m spending the week in DC covering the FireEye Cyber Defense Summit from Tuesday to Thursday, then enjoying my first visit to the city and recording more podcasts bits. I’m very pleased that one of those bits will be an interview with the remarkable Mike Godwin, creator of Godwin’s Law amongst many other things.
On Sunday night I fly out via Abu Dhabi to Melbourne.
The following week I’m in Melbourne, arriving on Tuesday evening local time to cover the Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, on 9–11 October. I’m staying in Melbourne to write, and record yet more podcast bits, before flying up to Sydney on Sunday night.
Beyond that:
[Photo: Refuelling at Swan Hill. Mark Newton’s Van’s RV-6 VH-SOL about to be refuelled at Swan Hill Aerodrome, as the signage described it, on 28 September 2018.]
The highlights of my week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 September 2018 included seeing a tiger quoll at very close range as it ambled part the house. That’s it in the photo.
I also managed — finally! — to extrude a podcast. And I launched a Pozible crowdfunding campaign to record some podcast segments in Adelaide, Washington DC, and Melbourne over the coming weeks. I’m visiting those cities for work.
Please consider pledging your support to The 9pm Flying Visits.
None, but this will change a lot in the next few weeks, at least as far as Corporate Largesse goes.
I’m kicking off a few weeks that have already been mapped out. Monday is about planning, logistics, story pitches, some geekery, and shopping. Tuesday and Wednesday are about writing and data wrangling, ideally.
On Thursday, I’m heading down to Sydney for an interview at 1100, plus a few other bits and pieces, before wrapping up The 9pm Flying Visits at 2100 AEST. You have until then to pledge your support. Please consider.
On Friday, I’m flying from Sydney’s Bankstown airport to Wagga Wagga to Swan Hill to Goolwa in a Vans RV-6 light aircraft registration VH-SOL piloted by Mark Newton. We hope to start the engine at 0830 AEST. En route I’ll record things for a subsequent podcast and tweet some observations. So far the weather forecast looks reasonable, but there’s always the chance of delays.
Saturday and Sunday will be spent in Adelaide, and I’ll record a podcast bit or two. I fly out at 1805 ACST on Sunday, travelling via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi to Washington DC.
I’m spending the week in DC covering the FireEye Cyber Defense Summit on 1–4 October, then enjoying my first visit to the city and recording more podcasts bits before flying out Sunday night to Abu Dhabi and Melbourne.
The following week I’m in Melbourne, arriving on Tuesday local time to cover the Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, on 9–11 October. I’m staying in Melbourne to write, and record yet more podcast bits, before flying up to Sydney on Sunday night.
Beyond that:
[Photo: Tiger Quoll. A tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tail dasyure, or the tiger cat, spotted at Bunjaree Cottages near Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains on 19 September 2018.]
I don’t know what to make of my week from Monday 3 to Sunday 9 September 2018. It felt like I was quite busy, but there isn’t as much visible output to show for it. Oh well.
I wrote a third piece for ZDNet that should appear on Monday.
None. I am very embarrassed not to have done the podcast on Wednesday as promised. I did make the journey to Cronulla the recording session, as foreshadowed last week, but it turned out that I wasn’t quite recovered from illness, and needed to rest. But see below.
It’s a Sydney-centric week. I’ll head down the hill on Monday morning for least one meeting that afternoon.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I’m covering the AI & Machine Learning Summit. Thursday and Friday will be therefore about writing.
The next episode of The 9pm Edict will now be recorded on Tuesday 18 September at 2100 AEST, because that week looks less hectic. Listen on the livestream or on Spreaker apps, or listen later on the usual feeds.
Beyond that:
[Photo: The Right to Strike. Trade union members leading a protest march through Pitt Street, Sydney on 6 September 2018. It was a big event, with the column stretching for maybe two kilometres, yet it received little media coverage. As for this photo, I wish I’d had a wider angle lens and been able to bet in closer.]
I am so, so glad that my week of Monday 27 August to Sunday 2 September 2018 included the end of winter — as did everyone else’s on this half of the planet — and the end of the latest campaign of carpet-bombing attacks on my intestinal biome. Things are returning to “normal”. I think.
None, but I will finally be doing a podcast this week. See below.
Monday and Tuesday I’m writing for ZDNet and doing some pre-production for the podcast. Then on Wednesday morning I’m catching the train down to Sydney, and then to Cronulla, because…
The next episode of The 9pm Edict will be recorded in Cronulla this Wednesday 5 September at 2100 AEST. Listen on the livestream or on the Spreaker apps, or listen later on the usual feeds.
I’ve chosen Cronulla because that’s at the heart of our new Prime Minister’s electoral base, and because I want to revisit the episode recorded there four years ago, The 9pm Shire.
Thursday will be spent in Sydney, taking care of some medical and personal matters. The remainder of the week is unplanned.
I’ve pencilled in:
Update 3 September: Edited to add the top two items to Further Ahead. Update 5 September: Edited to reflect cancellation of podcast for health reasons.
[Photo: InterCity train at Wentworth Falls. A TrainLink NSW V-Set train emerges from the mists at Wentworth Falls station on 27 August 2018.]