Tag: sydney-harbour-bridge

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Crikey Conversations episode 1 with Mark Pesce and me

Screenshot from Crikey Conversations with Mark Pesce and Stilgherrian

The first episode of Crikey‘s new video series Crikey Conversations is now online, with me interviewing inventor and futurist Mark Pesce.

The series, sponsored by Microsoft, features various folks talking about the world of 2020 — which is only 11 years away. Gosh.

While some of Mark and my regular viewers and readers may well be sick of the material we discuss by now — hey, it’s what we do! — it’s aimed at a non-geek audience. So if you do pass it on to someone, I’d love some feedback.

As you can also see, Microsoft must’ve paid Crikey the extra fee for me to put pants on before the shoot.

I’m not sure whether there’s a credit in the video, but I’d personally like to thank Advanced BusinessLink (Australia) for the use of their boardroom and its spectacular view, and Adam Bateson for making the connection.

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The Storm Approaches

Photograph of storm clouds over the Sydney Opera House, taken from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney’s in for a major storm tonight. A short time ago I took this photo from the train while crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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The Stairway to Freedom!

Photo of stairs descending to the deserted platform at Gordon StationAs much as one stairway can symbolise imprisonment, another one at Gordon railway station (pictured) is a symbol of Freedom. It’s deserted, but I know there’ll soon be a late-night train taking me somewhere that dinner can be found. Huzzah!

Yes, I really was trapped alone in an office building, with deadlocking doors at the top and the bottom of the stairwell. One of the tenants is Westpac bank, so everything is solid. And I’d already phoned the client’s people but bounced to voicemail each time. I was looking forward to a long night on the stairs. Not.

And yes, I really did post to my website from The Stairway of Imprisonment.

My PowerBook has a battery. It talks Bluetooth to my Nokia N80 phone, and uses the phone’s 3G data link through Vodafone to teh Internetz. I used the N80’s camera to take the photo, and Bluetooth’d it back to the PowerBook for a quick and dirty bit of Photoshop. The photo transfer happened without disturbing the data link too! Impressed.

Luckily, while I was doing all that one of the client’s staff phoned back. I could take the call while still online, too. Hi, Loraine! She only lives 15 minutes of late-night driving from the office, so I was freed soon enough. And right now I’m on a train back to the City. Indeed, I’m posting this story precisely as I cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge!