railways – Stilgherrian

03 August 2026

Weekly Wrap 844: Secret productivity, so have another pub

A red brick Australian suburban pub in the bright winter sunlight. On the left, the pub’s front, it’s a semi-circular arrangement with a balcony topped by a series of sculpted pegasuses, and right at the top a lighthouse-like structure — which once was an actual lighthouse! It’s on the other side of the highway from us. On its left is a tall mast for traffic lights. On the right, a pair of wooden utility poles for electricity, telephone, and internet.

Monday 27 July to Sunday 2 August 2026 was a busy week, and I’m very happy with that — although there isn’t much that I can show you right now. So much administrivia! And yet so handy for reducing stress.

10 August 202511 August 2025

Weekly Wrap 793: It began in Mount Victoria…

An Edwardian-era railway signal box photographed late at night. The lower section is brown brick with three arched windows, a flower pot by each. The upper floor is wood, painted cream with maroon trim, and through the windows that run the full length of that floor one can see the brightly-coloured handles of the various levers. On the left a metal staircase leads up to the door., A wooden painted sign reads MOUNT VICTORIA SIGNAL BOX.

My week of Monday 4 to Sunday 10 August 2025 saw the production of a podcast and some work on my websites, as well as quite a bit of sleep. So, an ordinary week. I also made an unexpected trip to Mount Victoria before Monday had even properly begun.

06 February 202208 February 2022

Weekly Wrap 610: I had an editorial meeting and I saw a coal train and I uploaded some videos

My week of Monday 31 January to Sunday 6 February 2022 saw me slowly returning to productivity after that lurgi. Certain circumstances led to the podcast recording being pushed back, but I got plenty of other things done.

25 October 202025 October 2020

Weekly Wrap 543: Generosity, moistness, and cybers

Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October 2020 was a happy one. A successful crowdfunding campaign. Productivity. And the start of a streak of rainy weather. Joy.

17 December 201629 January 2017

Weekly Wrap 341: Cows, Canberra, and the Cyber Kangaroo

My week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 December 2016 was dominatedby my trip to Canberra to take part in the “360Â° Cyber Security Game” being convened by RAND Corporation and the National Security College (NSC) at The Australian National University (ANU).

In the background I did quite a bit of work on the SEKRIT editorial project. I promise to tell you more about that before Christmas.

Articles

The flowering of voice control leads to a crop of security holes, ZDNet Australia, 5 December 2016.
How the Cyber Kangaroo can help defend the Internet of Things, ZDNet Australia, 9 December 2016. This is the piece that came out of the Cyber Security Game.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None.

[Photo: Cows on the Move. Cattle run from the Canberra-Sydney train as it passed at full speed on 9 December 2016.]

21 June 201525 January 2019

The 9pm Planet of Fascist Delusions

Screenshot of Tony Abbott from "A message from the Prime Minister", 20 June 2015

Donald Trump demonstrates some modern thinking. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd submits to a Voight-Kampff test. And Senator Jacqui Lambie lays down the law on renewable energy.

In this podcast, there’s talk of windfarms, wind turbine syndrome, and a lack of science. Also, Tony Abbott, terrorism, George Brandis, poetry, and a little bit about fascism.