Tag: stress

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Weekly Wrap 294: Unlocking a great many compartments

Torpedo tube hatch controls on USS PampanitoYou may have noticed that I wrote nothing about my week of Monday 11 to Sunday 17 January 2016. That shall continue to be the case for some time. That was a terrible week. But this week, Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2016, has been much better. So far. And about that…

The key word, ladies and gentlemen, is “compartmentalisation”. And you’re in the wrong compartment. Move on. There’s nothing to see here.

Some of you will be wondering why I haven’t been paying attention to Twitter for a couple of weeks. Well, I’m busy dealing with a great many things, and it’s a lot to process. I don’t need the additional cognitive load of Twitter just now — neither the processing of a fast-moving information stream, nor the performance aspects.

Twitter will probably be added back into the mix a few days from now, once certain things have been dealt with.

Articles

Podcasts

None, but see below.

Media Appearances

None.

5at5

None. But should 5at5 ever reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

On Monday morning, I’ll spend a couple of hours on my tax accounting, the first of many such sessions in the coming weeks I’ve got a production meeting at 1000, and then I’ll be writing for ZDNet. In the afternoon, I’ll make the long commute down to Sydney and back, because errands. En route, I’ll update various client projects.

Tuesday is Australia Day. But despite the public holiday, I plan to spend the afternoon on pre-production for the next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.

On Wednesday, I’ll spend a couple of hours on my tax accounting, the first of many such sessions in the coming weeks, and then write for ZDNet.

The 9pm Edict will be recorded on Thursday night 28 January, streamed live through Spreaker from 2100 AEDT.

On Thursday, I’ll finally finish a column for ZDNet, and then spend a couple of hours on my tax accounting, the first of many such sessions in the coming weeks. After that, I’ll sort out some loose ends on my geek-for-hire projects. Well, it might not be in precisely that order.

On Friday, I’ll head down to Sydney again, for a meeting with my accountant, and to record a Corrupted Nerds podcast with Leslie Nassar, and perhaps some social activities.

The weekend is as yet unplanned.

On Saturday, I’ll be dealing with whatever critical loose ends remain from the working week.

The 9pm Edict will be recorded on Sunday night 31 January, streamed live through Spreaker from 2100 AEDT.

Further Ahead

On 10 to 12 February, I’ll be in Melbourne for the Pause Fest. I’m on a panel on Thursday 11 titled “The security paradox: individual privacy vs digital driftnets”. I’ll be staying in Melbourne until Saturday afternoon. If you’d like to catch up, let me know.

Update 25 January 2016: Edited to reflect schedule changes. Update 27 January 2016: Edited to reflect further schedule changes. Update 28 January 2016: Edited yet again to reflect even more schedule changes.

[Photo: The controls which operate the external torpedo tube hatches in the forward torpedo room of USS Pampanito, San Francisco, photographed on 10 December 2010.]

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Weekly Wrap 285: The millipede of progress marches on

Millipede: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 November 2015 was a complete and utter write-off. Very little productive was done.

Just like last week, there’s no new media objects for you to consume — though that will change fairly quickly over the coming days. I’m hoping my photograph of a rather determined millipede will be an omen of some sort. Or at the very least, a nice photograph of a millipede.

Podcasts

None, but I finished the rough cut and script for my ABC Radio National Future Tense documentary. This episode is now scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday 29 November.

Articles

None this week either. That’s very poor.

Media Appearances

  • On Monday, I spoke about Facebook’s Safety Check tool on ABC 105.7 Darwin. I won’t post that recording, because I don’t think I said anything that amazing.

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Monday is a long-commute day, and potentially quite busy. My trip to Sydney includes a medical appointment at 1130, and a recording session at the ABC at 1500, where I’ll be laying down the narration for my Future Tense episode. That program will be edited on Tuesday. And then on Wednesday, I’ll be finalising an episode of the Corrupted Nerds podcast, as well as making any final changes to Future Tense that might be needed.

Thursday is another long-commute, with briefings by Deloitte (maybe) (definitely) and AVG (definitely), followed by another medical appointment, though I don’t expect it to be too intense a day.

Some time this week I’ll also be writing for ZDNet, and perhaps even producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, but I won’t be making those decisions until Tuesday or Wednesday. That’s because I also have to commit some geekery for money.

Update: Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded live next Tuesday 1 December, with the tentative title “The 9pm Garden of Hate”.

I’m planning another episode of The 9pm Public House Forum, similar to the first one, tentatively scheduled to be recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 19 December — or should it be a week earlier?

I’ll also produce “2015 Wrap” episode of the Edict some time between Christmas and New Year.

There will also be a “2015 Wrap” episode of Corrupted Nerds, to be recorded some time in the week beginning Monday 14 December.

Update 15 November 2015: Edited to reflect a change of schedule, and to add the “Further Ahead” section.

[Photo: Millipede. A Sunday morning visitor visiblly cringes, if that’s not too anthropomorphic a word, as I block its path to take its photo on 22 November 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 284: Busy, with a bit of Law

Stilgherrian speaking at the Law via Internet Conference 2015Monday 9 to Sunday 15 November 2015 was a busy week. But apart from speaking briefly at a conference, and taking part in a couple of media briefings, it was mostly about things being done in the background.

In fact, this Weekly Wrap is so late, and there’s no new media objects for you to consume — apparently that’s how alleged adults speak these days — so unless you’re some kinda of weirdo, you can probably stop reading now.

Podcasts

None, but I did a lot of pre-production for my Future Tense documentary, so there’s that. This episode is now scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 29 November.

Articles

None. That’s a bit poor.

Media Appearances

5at5

Should 5at5 eventually reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Wednesday, I went to a briefing by Raytheon|Websense over a well-catered morning tea at the rather noice Black by Ezard at The Star.
  • Also on Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by Kaspersky Lab at the Hilton Sydney. In the Kaspersky Lab goodie bag was: a Kaspersky Internet Security Multi-Device license; a Fitbit Charge activity tracker (which I’ve started using, and about which I’ll write at another time); a Kaspersky 8GB OTG USB drive; a Kaspersky-branded folding Bluetooth keyboard; Kaspersky-branded stationery, including a Moleskine Squared Notebook 9 x 14cm, business card holder, and pens; and two small packets of mints.

[Photo: Stilgherrian speaking at the Law via Internet Conference 2015 at the University of New South Wales, 10 November 2015. Also pictured (left to right): Paul Chadwick, journalist and director of Guardian Australia; Lesley Hitchens, Dean of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS); and Martin Felsky, chair of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Photo by Jesse Taylor.]

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Weekly Wrap 279: The transition, the imminent busy times

Crossing the Nepean, with boats: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October 2015 was a strange pause, a transition between weeks of pain and discomfort, and what appear to be some very busy weeks indeed.

I shall let the facts speak for themselves…

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm We Are Above All That Stuff”, being The 9pm Edict episode 51, 11 October 2015. The first half-hour of this was actually recorded a week ago.

Articles

None, but research is under way for a ZDNet column to be published early on Monday.

Media Appearances

5at5

There were no editions of 5at5 at all this week either, and that’s terrible. Why not subscribe so you’ll get all the future ones?

Corporate Largesse

  • On Friday, I went to a briefing by Alcatel-Lucent over lunch at Gowings Bar and Grill.
  • The travel and accommodation you’ll see listed for next week is being covered by Tanium.

The Week Ahead

The last few weeks have been rather unstructured. Not so the week ahead. It’s both busy and tightly scheduled.

On Monday, I’ll finish a column for ZDNet, deal with an errand to Penrith, conduct some audio equipment tests, and prepare myself for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday, I catch the 0636 train to Sydney, and then VA830 to Melbourne, sneaking in a quick work session at Meanjin in the afternoon, before a reception kicks off the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference. I’m covering that event for ZDNet, as well as recording material for my own Corrupted Nerds podcast, through until Thursday.

On Thursday evening, I’ll be wrapping up the Pozible campaign Send Stilgherrian To Ruxcon 2015, which closes at 2230 AEDT. As I write this, it stands at 34% funded.

On Friday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet before flying back to Sydney on VA879 that evening. Whether I continue through to the Blue Mountains, or stay in Sydney overnight, has yet to be decided.

Further Ahead

On Monday 19 October, I’m wrapping up another episode of The 9pm Edict, as well as appearing on Mark Pesce’s podcast TWISTA – This Week in Startups Australia. The middle part of the week has yet to be mapped out, but if things go to plan, on Friday I’ll be heading back to Melbourne for Ruxcon.

[Photo: Crossing the Nepean, with boats, photographed on 9 October 2015.]

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Weekly Wrap 278: Reducing the pain, increasing the pace

Waratah in bloom at Bunjaree Cottages: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October 2015 was another pain-ridden ocean of chaos, but nevertheless there were a few solid achievements.

I launched Send Stilgherrian to Ruxcon 2015, a Pozible crowdfunding campaign with an obvious aim. As I write this, it’s already reached 29% of its initial target, which is promising.

On the health front, the broken tooth was repaired again. As for my shoulder, the X-rays and ultrasound imagery taken last week showed no permanent damage or signs of specific problems. It’s “just” strained muscles and tendons, and all that’s needed is rest. It does seem to be getting better, albeit very slowly.

Articles

Podcasts

I got most of an episode of The 9pm Edict recorded, but was too tired to complete it on Sunday night. Stand by.

Media Appearances

  • On Wednesday, I spoke about Facebook hoaxes on ABC 105.7 Darwin, but I didn’t record it.
  • Also on Wednesday, I spoke about Bitcoin and tractor square dancing on ABC 774 Melbourne and stations around Victoria, but I didn’t record that either.
  • On Thursday, I spoke about my crowdfunding efforts on ABC Radio National’s Media Report.

5at5

There were no editions of 5at5 at all, and that’s terrible. Why not subscribe so you’ll get all the future ones?

Geekery

Having migrated the final batch of a long-standing client’s websites to new virtualised infrastructure, I finally shut down my remaining hard-iron Linux server, a leased machine somewhere in a rack in San Francisco. Typing halt for the last time also ended my business relationship with ServePath, which later became GoGrid, and which was recently acquired by and absorbed into Datapipe. I’ll miss the excellent support their engineers have provided over the years.

Meanwhile, I’ve picked up a quick little job: building what is in essence a paywall for the website of the literary magazine Meanjin, so they can start selling digital subscriptions.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

Once more, most of this week is over. It’s already the end of Thursday! But there’s still plenty of things to do…

On Friday, it’s the long train commute to Sydney for a lunchtime briefing on smart cities and the Internet of Things with Alcatel-Lucent’s expert on such things, Marc Jadoul. I’ll knock off some errands while I’m down there, and certain SEKRIT planning on the train.

On the weekend — note that I’m not predicting a specific day for each item — I’ll finish that episode of The 9pm Edict, finish the video of my UTS lecture, do some audio equipment tests, and do the preparatory work for Meanjin.

Further Ahead

The week beginning Monday 12 October will be a hectic one. Monday is the calm before the storm, when I’ll collect my thoughts and prepare myself.

On Tuesday, I fly to Melbourne, sneaking in a quick work session at Meanjin in the afternoon, before a reception kicks off the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference. I’m covering that for ZDNet, as well as recording material for my own Corrupted Nerds podcast. My thanks got to security vendor Tanium for covering my costs.

On Friday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet before flying back to Sydney. Some time on the weekend, I’ll produce another episode of The 9pm Edict.

The week starting… no, I’ll tell you about that next time.

[Photo: Waratah in bloom at Bunjaree Cottages, photographed on 8 October 2015. This waratah flower is slightly past its peak, but the intensity of its colour still manages to dominate the camera’s sensors.]

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Weekly Wrap 277: Pain, pain reduction, fire, and teeth

Sydney Central station on fireMy week of Monday 21 to Sunday 27 September continued to be painful. Literally. In pain. Again. Which rather detracted from the joy of being in Sydney. And then Central station caught fire, and my front tooth broke again.

I did get some productive work done, as listed below, but if you’ll allow me to have a personal whinge for a moment…

The shoulder pain I mentioned last week hasn’t been fading, so I saw a doctor. His referral for imagery, both ultrasound and X-ray, has a clinical note written on it: “??rotator cuff tear ??bursistis”. This does not sound wonderful. I’ll know more next week.

And the broken front-tooth filling that was repaired a few weeks back? Yes, it broke again today. I’m rather stressed by this right now, because I know it will now need a more expensive repair option, and this sort of unexpected expense at the end of the month is, well, difficult to deal with.

Articles

Both of the ZDNet columns that I wrote this week were reflections on the Malcolm Turnbull-led Australian government. Yes, the regime change was yet another significant force that shaped my week.

Podcasts

None, but a new episode of The 9pm Edict is expected to appear very, very soon. I’m also thinking of ways to resurrect Corrupted Nerds.

Media Appearances

None. Well, that’s not quite true. On Wednesday, I was interviewed by ABC Radio National’s Media Report about my crowdfunding efforts, and that will be heard this coming Thursday 1 October at 1730, Friday 2 October at 0530, and on the program website.

I also stumbled across Matthew da Silva’s profile of me from earlier this month. People you should know … Stilgherrian. Why anyone would start a new series of blog posts with me is anyone’s guess.

5at5

The were four editions of 5at5, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Why not subscribe so you’ll get all the future ones?

Geekery

I usually don’t mention the geekery that I do for the clients of my legacy business Prussia.Net and elsewhere. However, this week I’ve been migrating a client’s internet presence to new infrastructure, some 13 domains in all, and I’ve also been planning out some future work.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday evening, Sapphire Communications introduced us to some of their clients over drinks at Gowings Bar and Grill.

The Week Ahead

I’ll be in Sydney for another week, it seems. It’ll be a busy one, at least to begin with. And it’ll also continue to be painful, at least to begin with. Sigh. This entire section was rewritten on Monday evening to reflect a rapidly-changing reality, and again on Thursday morning.

On Monday, I was approved to start on a SEKRIT project. I also went to the dentist in the early afternoon to re-do the tooth fix. The rest of the day was a write-off, because the codeine for my shoulder pain played very well with the Ativan for reducing the anxiety of having things in my mouth. I found writing to be a bit difficult after that.

On Tuesday, I’ll be writing a column for ZDNet, discussing another SEKRIT project, and tackling finishing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, projects. Tuesday was overrun by pain, some in the form of email, some in the form of neural signals.

On Wednesday morning, I’m shutting down that Prussia.Net client’s old server and tidying things up. In the afternoon, I’m getting the medical imagery done. At 1650 AEST, I’m doing a spot on ABC 105.7 Darwin. Then at 1930 AEST, I’ll be talking about various tech things on ABC 774 Melbourne and local stations around Victoria.

Thursday is 1 October. A new quarter, bringing with it a certain amount of adminstrivia. I’ll also visit the new VMware Briefing Centre in Sydney. I should write something for ZDNet in there too. In the morning, I’ll be working on plans for two trips to Melbourne later in the month. Then at 1500 I’ll re-visit the doctor to look at the medical imagery and decide what happens next.

Friday is bound to be about tying up the week’s loose ends before the long weekend, with the Labour Day public holiday on Monday 5 October. Nothing specific has been planned for that yet. Needless to say, I am stressed by the chaos levels.

Update 1 October: Edited to reflect the much-changed plan for the week.

[Photo: Sydney Central station on fire, photographed on 26 September 2015. This photo was also used by Radio New Zealand in their story Fire at Sydney’s Central Station extinguished.]