Tag: spring

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Weekly Wrap 172: Spring, with the Cows of Disruption

Spring, Wednesday edition: click to embiggenSo here’s my week Monday 16 to Sunday 22 September 2013, with just the media stuff listed because this is being posted so late.

Articles

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday I went to a media briefing by Intel about their new range of enterprise technology. It was held at Arras Restaurant in Sydney, and once again the food was excellent.

[Photo: Spring, Wednesday edition, being the start of a glorious spring day photographed at Potts Point, Sydney, on Wednesday 18 September 2013.]

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Weekly Wrap 170: A busy spring’s many, many changes

Sydney Opera House: click to embiggenMy week Monday 2 to Sunday 8 September 2013 was, as predicted, another busy one — with some transformational changes along the way.

The early spring weather has continued. On Wednesday one of the cab drivers in the Upper Blue Mountains and I noted how dry everything seemed. It doesn’t bode well for summer. But the bright, sunny days have certainly helped my mood, so there’s that.

Spring is supposedly a time of new beginnings, and I do feel as if I’m starting so many things after that rather annoying winter gloom.

There’s biggish things, like Corrupted Nerds, and more of that shortly. There’s little things, like the calendar. In between, there’s stuff like my Tokyo trip triggering a little media project, something I’ve been intending to do for ages. And the rather big change of a new government has triggered the resumption of daily blogging, again something I’ve been intending to do for ages.

Articles

Plus I wrote an article for Technology Spectator, to be published later this month.

Podcasts

None, though I did more background work on Corrupted Nerds, and things will appear in the coming few days.

Yes, I know I wrote exactly the same thing last week, but it’s true. This week I recorded three interviews that will be the basis of three episodes, and I’ve all but finished the documentation for the crowdfunding process that I intend to kick off this week.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

It’s a relatively busy one, with stories to write for Technology Spectator, ZDNet Australia and CSO Online. Plus I’ll be launching the crowdfunding campaigns for Corrupted Nerds and the Tokyo project, and I want to finish a podcast episode. But that can be done in whatever order I like over the next four days.

On Friday I’ll be coming to Sydney for a 1000 meeting in North Sydney, plus whatever else I add into the day.

The weekend is currently unplanned, but of my flight to Tokyo on Monday 16 September is an early one, then I’ll probably head down to Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

[Photo: Sydney Opera House, photographed from the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, on 5 September 2013.]

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Weekly Wrap 169: Explaining all the things, in various ways

Sydney Harbour from Potts Point: click to embiggenMy week Monday 26 August to Sunday 1 September 2013 was a full one, and I survived.

Part of me wants to write more than that, particularly after last week’s false start, the thoughts generated by my university lectures on Monday, and the idiocy of being banned by Microsoft — and in that account I really should have emphasised more the defamatory nature of that action.

But it’s already well into Sunday evening, I’ve already written my counterpoint to gripes about the Sunday Telegraph, and it’s a busy week ahead (see below). So on with the facts.

Articles

Podcasts

None, though I did more background work on Corrupted Nerds, and things will appear in the coming few days.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • Also on Monday, I met up with Kim Carter, the PR Manager of the Australian Direct Marketing Association. Oddly enough, they know all about data mining. She paid for the coffee.
  • Also on Monday, I went to the program launch for the Sydney Opera House’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which is on 2 to 4 November. There was food and drink.
  • On Thursday night, I went to Text100’s (in)famous Christmas in August event, where they previewed their clients’ goodies for the holiday buying season. There was food and much, much drink.

The Week Ahead

It’ll be another busy one. Monday is dedicated to a spring clean of various projects, something I’m looking forward to.

Tuesday is a trip to Sydney for a 1000 interview recording in the CBD, and to cover a lunch event by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle featuring Westpac’s chief information officer Clive Whincup. I’m reporting on the latter for Technology Spectator.

Wednesday is a day of interview recordings, research and writing back up in the Blue Mountains.

On Thursday it’s back to Sydney for more interview recordings and a lunch briefing by AVG Technologies, and I’ll probably stay in Sydney over night because on Friday I have an 0800 interview recording in the CBD — after which it’s all a bit unplanned.

[Photo: Sydney Harbour from Potts Point, taken from a room at the DeVere Hotel on Friday 30 August 2013.]

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Weekly Wrap 168: False spring, false summer, false dawn?

The smell of summer: click to embiggenMy week Monday 19 to Sunday 25 August 2013 started strong, but ended weak. It began with two solid days at the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit. But instead of that being followed by solid days of writing, a lack of sleep and a walk without a jacket in sub-zero temperatures were the final straws for my slowly-recovering health.

The second half of the week saw me come down with a bad cold, and the media objects I planned to produce were delayed. One day I’ll learn to pace myself, possibly before retiring age.

Podcasts

None, though I wrote up most of the crowdfunding proposal for Corrupted Nerds.

Articles

None. That’s embarrassing.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday and Tuesday I covered the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit in Sydney. While there, obviously I was fed and watered at Gartner’s expense. And coffeed, orange-juiced and wined. Additional food and alcoholic beverages were provided by Sourcefire, Symantec and TrustSphere. Netbox Blue gave me a USB power socket that fits into a car’s cigarette lighter socket and, when I pointed out that I don’t have a car or even drive one, a combination 2GB USB memory stick, keyring and bottle opener. I explained that the latter would be perfect for carrying the Emergency Porn. They seemed surprised. Sourcefire bought me a light lunch.

The Week Ahead

Monday sees the repeat performance of my guest lecture at the University of Technology Sydney, at 0900 and 1300. There’s a meeting in the afternoon, and then the program launch for the Sydney Opera House’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas in the evening.

(I was on the program for that event last year, on a panel discussion entitled I Share Therefore I Am.)

I’ll stay in Sydney for some meetings on Tuesday, and the rest of the week is mainly about catching up on the writing I’ve got in the pipeline. The current count is one for CSO Online, one for Technology Spectator, two for ZDNet Australia. I’ll also kick off that crowdfunding for Corrupted Nerds.

Also on Thursday night is Text100’s (in)famous Christmas in August event, where they preview their clients’ goodies for the holiday buying season.

The exact order of play is still to be arranged.

[Photo: The smell of summer, taken from the train on Sunday 25 August 2013 as it sped between, I think, St Marys and Mt Druitt, as the smell of burning eucalypt from the pre-summer back-burning permeated the carriage.]

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Weekly Wrap 166: Early spring, with fewer distractions

Railway Parade: click to embiggenMy week Monday 5 to Sunday 11 August 2013 saw the return of productivity. While I didn’t get everything done that I’d planned, I’m very happy with what did appear.

And that’s despite Thursday night being much later than planned, thanks to further train delays and a strange incident with a drunk and potentially violent man, and losing Saturday to a sore throat. But I won’t dwell on that.

Podcasts

  • Corrupted Nerds: Conversations 3, being a wide-ranging conversation with Peter Coffee, vice-president and head of platform research for Salesforce.com. His reasoning being why everything will eventually end up being done in the cloud, and what will unfold from that, are just two of the many highlights.

I’m pleased to say that Corrupted Nerds is now available in Apple’s iTunes Store.

I had hoped to kick off The 9pm Election podcast too, but the sore throat put an end to that plan. To be honest, I’m now thinking that it’d be adding just a little too much to my workload. That, plus the fact that I’m starting to find the obsession with the minutiae of the election campaign to be really, really boring.

Articles

Both these stories generated quite a bit of interest, it seems. I also wrote for Technology Spectator, but that piece has been held over until next week.

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday, I spoke about Vote Compass on ABC 666 Canberra, along with its creator, Cliff van der Linden.
  • I was interviewed by ITJourno for a piece about Corrupted Nerds that’ll appear some time soon.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday, I popped into the Australian Direct Marketing Association’s conference in Sydney, where refreshments were provided.

The Week Ahead

I’m keeping things relatively flexible, but there’ll be quite a few media objects produced. Another episode of Corrupted Nerds is almost ready to post and will likely appear on Tuesday, and I’m committed to writing two pieces for Crikey and one each for ZDNet Australia and Technology Spectator.

I’ll be in Sydney on Friday night for the launch of Dom Knight’s new book, Man vs Child, and may well stay in town overnight.

[Photo: Railway Parade), photographed about 1km east of Wentworth Falls on 5 August 2013. Spring is coming very early this year.]