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!
In this episode, we continue to explore the wonders of Australian democracy as we approach the final week of the federal election campaign, and more.
Continue reading “The 9pm Arch Window of the Unlawful Use of an Egg”
I always enjoy the opportunity to explain some of the subtleties of the politics behind the digital surveillance debate, so I was glad to get the chance to discuss the concept of “metadata” on Melbourne’s 3RRR this week.
This interview with Michelle Bennett on Spoke is from Tuesday 6 May, and we cover much the same ground as in two of my recent pieces for ZDNet Australia, It’s time that ‘metadata’ met an end and Plibersek loses our privacy in a haystack of envelopes, both first published in March.
I was very pleased that the 18-minute conversation wandered through some of the grey areas. It was neither tinfoil-hat “surveillance is bad” nor simplistic “we must fight the terrorists”. Thanks, Michelle.
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The audio is ©2014 Triple R Broadcasters Ltd. Over at their website you can listen to the full program.
My week of Monday 31 March to Sunday 6 April 2014 has definitely seen the beginnings of some sort of return to normality, despite the almost continuous dreary weather.
I won’t go on about that, however because I don’t want to jinx it. I’ll just list the stuff.
I managed to pump one out every weekday this week, which hasn’t happened in a while. I think it’s about time for you to subscribe, if you haven’t already done so.
On Monday I’m presenting an updated version of my guest lecture at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) at 1000, and that means it’s an early start. I’m catching an 0636 train from Wentworth Falls, arriving at Sydney Central at 0817. I could catch a later train, but I want to grab a bite to eat before meeting the course coordinator for coffee at 0900. Plus I want to allow for the possibility of delays. My Twitter stream should be fun that morning, for some value of fun.
If you want to take me to lunch on Monday, or otherwise catch up, now is the time to stake your claim.
I have another morning gig in Sydney on Tuesday, a meeting at 1045, so it looks like I’ll be spending plenty of time on trains over the next couple of days.
Then on Wednesday it’s an 0845 start in Sydney for the Amazon Web Services Sydney Summit. Ideally I’d stay in Sydney overnight from Tuesday, but the early-month cashflows look like they won’t permit that. Stay tunes for updates, however.
[Update 12 April 2014: Those two trips to Sydney didn’t happen — and it’s a good thing they got cancelled, because once the Heartbleed security bug was announced on Wednesday my time, I was flat out on work related to that, Expect plenty of updates over the next 72 hours.]
The rest of the week and the weekend, including what will be written when, has yet to be mapped out. That will depend very much on what I manage to get done in the next 48 hours.
[Photo: Banksia in the Mist, photographed at Bunjaree Cottages on 4 April 2014.]
My week of Monday 25 to Sunday 30 March 2014 has been and gone. It wasn’t very productive, but I’m going to zoom forward quickly for reasons that may become obvious in the next day or two.
I should mention that pretty much everything that last week I said I’d do this week didn’t actually happen. Shoosh.
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Two days, plus a correction. There’s nothing more that needs be said in this section but, because I think it looks ugly when I have so many short paragraphs in a row, I’m going to waffle on here for a few more words so that the right-hand margin is once more established visually. Because I care.
None.
Monday has already happened, and was moderately productive. I did a thing for ZDNet Australia, Plibersek loses our privacy in a haystack of envelopes, amongst other things.
Tuesday is a day of writing and planning here in the misty, rainy Blue Mountains. The near-continual gloom, coming somewhat early this year it seems, hasn’t exactly helped my mood.
On Wednesday I’m heading into Sydney for a media briefing about HP Enterprise Services and their security work — and probably staying overnight. And the rest of the week is only tentatively planned.
I will say that tomorrow, 1 April, sees the start of a new quarter, and I’ve got a few things in mind. Stay tuned. There may be charts. There may even be announcements.
[Photo: Bunjaree Cottages track in the mist, 24 March 2014. Even though the rain screws with my mood, it does look beautiful here at Bunjaree Cottages.]
I didn’t get time to read the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, so my thanks to QueerPenguin for spotting this superb quote from Tanya Plibersek, the federal member for Sydney (ALP):
Howard routinely dismisses arguments because of who makes them: environmentalists; teachers; students; church leaders; unionists — they’re all part of a cultural elite, he says. The constant use of “elite” as a pejorative has become comical from a man who loves the reflected glory of hanging around elite sporting heroes and who governs for big business and rich people while living one of the most privileged existences in the country with his fine mansion on Sydney Harbour, his unprecedented wine bill, his comfy VIP jet and his $170,000, four-day Rome hotel bill. You can’t hide privilege under a tracksuit.
It’s worth reading the entire piece.