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!
And 2024 begins! Around two decades ago I used to photograph the New Year’s Day sunrise at Bronte Beach in eastern Sydney, or do some other ritual thing. The photo above is from 2005. However my week of Monday 1 to Sunday 7 January 2024 was just a quiet one at home, mostly.
Continue reading “Weekly Wrap 710: A quiet start to 2024, and an old sunrise”
My week of Monday 9 to Sunday 15 May 2016 went pretty much to plan. I think that’s all that needs to be said.
None, but earlier today I made a special announcement.
None.
None, but there’ll be quite a lot next week.
Monday is about bookkeeping and sorting out a billion loose ends.
Tuesday will be a geek-work day, and in the afternoon I’ll be heading to Sydney for a launch event for Huawei’s new Mate 8 smartphone. I’ll be staying in Sydney overnight.
On Wednesday, I’m going to a media lunch with Doron Kempel, founder and global CEO of SimpliVity. While I tense up every time I near their buzzword “hyperconvergence”, Mr Kempel is one of those tech CEOs who can talk intelligently about the industry as a whole without turning everything into a product pitch. The day ends with drinks with a friend.
Thursday will be a writing day. I’ll also be returning to Wentworth Falls.
Friday will be another bookkeeping day, with a medical appointment in Sydney at the end.
The weekend will see me put together an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.
On 24-27 May, I’m covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast. Apart from my usual conference coverage, once more I’ll be on the panel for the event’s closing Speed Debate.
On the afternoon of Saturday 4 June, I’ll be recording The 9pm Edict Public House Forum 3 at a location to be announced. If nothing else, it’s half-way through Australia’s interminable election campaign, so I suspect that may be one of the topics for discussion. Another episode will appear some time around Monday 20 June.
[Update 15 May 2016, 1750 AEST: Edited to reflect changes to “The Week Ahead”.]
[Photo: Red Dawn. Smoke from the hazard-reduction burns in the Blue Mountains National Park may have made the air more difficult to breathe, but it also made for some spectacular dawns. This was the view from Rosella Cottages at Bunjaree Cottages, near Wentworth Falls, on 12 May 2016. Not bad for an iPhone camera in low light.]
My week of Monday 1 to Sunday 7 February 2016 has been very different. Not merely different from a typical Australian’s experience, like last week, but different from even my own smorgasbord of experiences.
It began on Monday with the stress of negotiating certain timelines with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). That was successful, and I was much relieved — although I still have to meet those deadlines in the coming months.
Then Wednesday provided another emotional journey, I’ll call it, with my visit to the Black Dog Institute and the resulting diagnosis.
After all that, I was exhausted.
So even though I achieved two significant milestones right there, when it came to producing the kinds of things I usually list here…
… there were none.
I did kick off another new geek-for-hire project on Thursday, however, so there’s that. I’ll tell you more about that, and the other projects, in due course.
It’s still only Saturday as I post this, but Sunday 7 February will be a lazy day, so let’s get straight into…
It’s going to be a busy one, boys and girls. No, this time it really will be.
On Monday, I’ll be doing the long commute to Sydney for a medical appointment, and to get a haircut. I’ll be dealing with tax documentation and project management en route.
Tuesday will be a quiet one, pottering around the house, and dealing with all manner of loose ends.
The rest of the week is shaped around the Pause Fest in Melbourne.
On Wednesday, I’m catching the 0543 train down to Sydney and then Sydney Airport. At 0900, it’s flight VA824 to Melbourne. Once I’ve checked in to my hotel, I’ll be having lunch with someone. The afternoon is as yet unplanned. The Pause Fest opening party is in the evening, but I need to have an early night. So instead, I’ meeting a friend for drinks, with a break to do a radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne at 1930 AEDT.
On Thursday, I’m up early to do a spot on ABC TV’s News Breakfast. I think it’s at 0810 AEDT. I’m then spending the rest of the day at Pause Fest’s Tech Day, presumably covering it for ZDNet. I’m on the panel at 1730 AEDT, titled “The security paradox: individual privacy vs digital driftnets”, after which I’m having drinks with some people, and then dinner with someone else.
On Friday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, then at 1300 it’s lunch in the Melbourne CBD or thereabouts with Andy Nicholson and anyone else who wants in. The afternoon is as yet unplanned. At 2000 it’s Pause Fest’s Speakers Dinner, for speakers only, so you can’t come.
On Saturday, well, I’m open to suggestions for how to spend the morning, and where to have lunch. I’ll then leave for the airport at 1430, and catch my 1600 flight VA859 to Sydney. I’ll probably then catch the train to Wentworth Falls that night, but we’ll see.
Either way, Sunday will be a day of sloth. A very big sloth.
I suspect that the much-delayed episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will eventually be recorded on Tuesday 16 February, or the day after.
Plans are being hatched for me to return to Melbourne two weeks after that, to cover the APIdays conference on 1-2 March. We shall see. Either way, it’s more than likely that I’ll be in Melbourne 8-11 March for Cisco LIVE!, assuming they’ll have me again.
[Photo: Sunrise at Bronte Beach. For several years, it was my habit to photograph the first sunrise of each new year. Here, the sun rises out of the Pacific Ocean at Bronte Beach, Sydney, on 1 January 2005.]
Why is Facebook so popular? Sunrise presenter Pete Blasina has the explanation: “It’s because of the Internet.” Gotcha, Pete. Note, this man is paid to present this segment on technology. Obviously Channel 7 have scoured teh internetz for only the best of the best. Hat-tip to Cameron Reilly.