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Weekly Wrap 442: Dominated by digital health, plus ducks

18 November 2018 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | No comments

Ducks escorting a convoyMy week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 November 2018 was dominated by digital health. Mostly Australia’s controversial My Health Record, as the list of articles will show, but also two events that had digital health as a focus.

I also did some planning for future podcasts, and some advisory work on someone’s proposal for a future media project.

Articles

All three are about My Health Record. The politics were moving fast, so maybe hit the last one first. It links back to the others anyway.

Podcasts, Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday the Health And Aged Care Press Lunch was held at the always-excellent Bentley Restaurant & Bar in Sydney. Clients of Bass PR picked up the tab: Telsyte, Osana, CQR Consulting, BOARD, Collard Maxwell Architects, and 8×8.
  • On Tuesday I had lunch at Luke Mangan’s magnificent Glass Brasserie at the Hilton Sydney Hotel, paid for by Aura Information Security.
  • On Tuesday evening, CISO Lens covered most of the drinks bill for a meeting they organised.

The Week Ahead

Monday is a writing day for ZDNet. Update 19 November 1930 AEDT: Monday ended up being a day of sleep, which for the moment I’m putting down to Annoying Side Effects from my medication regime.

On Tuesday I’m recording the next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, co-hosted by Nicholas Fryer. It won’t be streamed live, but will be posted the following day.

From Wednesday through Saturday I’ll be back in Sydney for some more cat-sitting. During that time I’ll be writing, starting off with a piece for ZDNet, I hope, and tidying up a bunch of loose ends. Saturday night is likely to include watching the coverage of Victoria’s state election.

Further Ahead

There don’t seem to be any major commitments between now and Christmas, just some single-day or overnight trips to Sydney for media briefings, end-of-year events, and social activities.

There will be at least one episode of The 9pm Edict wth Nicholas Fryer, however, and perhaps one that’s more of a long-form interview.

[Photo: Ducks escorting a convoy. Ducks and other waterfowl at Wentworth Falls Lake, photographed on 18 November 2018.]

Weekly Wrap 431: Spring, beyond the killing season

02 September 2018 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | 1 comment

InterCity train at Wentworth FallsI am so, so glad that my week of Monday 27 August to Sunday 2 September 2018 included the end of winter — as did everyone else’s on this half of the planet — and the end of the latest campaign of carpet-bombing attacks on my intestinal biome. Things are returning to “normal”. I think.

Articles

Podcasts, Media Appearances

None, but I will finally be doing a podcast this week. See below.

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

Monday and Tuesday I’m writing for ZDNet and doing some pre-production for the podcast. Then on Wednesday morning I’m catching the train down to Sydney, and then to Cronulla, because…

The next episode of The 9pm Edict will be recorded in Cronulla this Wednesday 5 September at 2100 AEST. Listen on the livestream or on the Spreaker apps, or listen later on the usual feeds.

I’ve chosen Cronulla because that’s at the heart of our new Prime Minister’s electoral base, and because I want to revisit the episode recorded there four years ago, The 9pm Shire.

Thursday will be spent in Sydney, taking care of some medical and personal matters. The remainder of the week is unplanned.

Further Ahead

I’ve pencilled in:

  • Flying Sydney to Adelaide in a Vans RV-6 light aircraft registration VH-SOL piloted by Mark Newton, Friday 28 or Saturday 29 September. I’ll be recording things for a podcast en route.
  • FireEye Cyber Defense Summit, Washington DC, 1–5 October.
  • Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

Update 3 September: Edited to add the top two items to Further Ahead. Update 5 September: Edited to reflect cancellation of podcast for health reasons.

[Photo: InterCity train at Wentworth Falls. A TrainLink NSW V-Set train emerges from the mists at Wentworth Falls station on 27 August 2018.]

Weekly Wrap 424: The writing plods through winter, hurrah!

15 July 2018 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Sunrise at Wentworth FallsMonday 9 to Sunday 15 July 2018 was a productive week for me, party because I had my computer back, and partly because I’d dealt with certain stresses. Joy.

I’ve kinda fallen out of the habit of discussing the week in more detail. Long gone are actual blog posts like, say, this update on the internet filtering debate from a decade ago, or art reviews, or even collections of tweets. Certainly none of the essays like I came for the gin, I stayed for the social revolution (30 April 2008), or It’s the little details which matter… (27 May 2007), or so many others which were much better than those.

I blame Twitter.

Articles

The second tranche of the Crikey Prying Eyes series was released, that thing with me as series editor. I had two stories this week.

Plus I wrote a couple of stories about the Australian Signals Directorate for ZDNet.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

It’s all about writing this week, primarily for ZDNet because I’m kinda covering some staff leave.

On Monday I’m talking about the Prying Eyes series on radio Triple R in Melbourne. That’s at 0945 AEST. I’ll keep the rest of the day free, because the opt-out period starts for Australia’s new My Health Record. There’s plenty of privacy concerns, and I’m half expecting the opt-out process to fall over. If so, I’ll be ready to write about it.

Further Ahead

I’ll be in Melbourne for the week of 30 July to 5 August, primarily for the SINET 61 conference on the Tuesday and Wednesday that week. I’ll certainly be doing other things while I’m there, perhaps even recording a podcast or two.

Things I’ve pencilled in:

[Photo: Sunrise at Wentworth Falls. Not from this year, but from last year, 5 July 2017.]

Weekly Wrap 402: When goats were being considered

11 February 2018 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Narrow PlatformMy fortnight from Monday 28 January to Sunday 11 February 2018 is documented here, along with some plans for the future.

Articles

A fourth piece I wrote has yet to appear.

Media Appearances

Podcasts

None. But as you’ll have seen, I’ve launched The 9pm GoatFest Tasmania crowdfunding campaign to finance a podcast from GoatFest Tasmania on Sunday 25 February, and then a Public House Forum on Tuesday 28 February. Stay tuned for updates.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

I’ve avoided locking my goals into specific days of the week, because it just ramps up stress for no real benefit. But this week must have a fixed pattern.

On Monday, I’m shopping in Penrith Katoomba for various personal items, while writing for ZDNet and doing other bits and pieces en route.

On Tuesday, I’m heading to Sydney for the wedding of my ZDNet commissioning editor Chris Duckett during the afternoon and on into the evening. I plan to stay in Sydney overnight, which I consider to be a sensible precaution. I’ve kept Wednesday free of commitments too. On Thursday, there’s a media lunch with CrowdStrike, before a return train back to the Blue Mountains and, that evening, wrapping up the Pozible campaign.

Friday will be a writing day, I suspect.

Further Ahead

If all goes well, I’ll be at GoatFest Tasmania in Launceston on Sun 25 Feb, then recording a Public House Forum podcast in Hobart on Tue 27 Feb.

Looking way further ahead:

  • Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference, Canberra, 10–12 April.
  • Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.

Update 12 February 2018: Edited to reflect a schedule change for Monday.

[Photo: Narrow Platform. A woman walks along Platform 2 at Wentworth Falls station just before a train arrives on 9 February 2018.]

Weekly Wrap 358: Amanita see you about the mould (sorry)

09 April 2017 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Amanita muscaria, or similarMy week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 April 2017 was largely blown away by illness, but there were some good points. Please skip my whining to see the list of achievements below.

Apart from the conference plague, and the “extremely severe” stress and anxiety levels, which I told you about last week, I managed to get a face-full of The Spores.

I was killing some black mould on a ceiling, and I thought I was being clever by using a window-cleaning sponge-and-squeegee to apply The Killing Solution. That worked, yes, but it also meant that I disturbed the mould, and the spores fell straight down on top of me.

I do not recommend this.

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm End of the World, Definitely”, being The 9pm Edict episode 66. This episode is also available on SoundCloud and Spreaker. This was the first episode in two months. I’d you’d like to help make them more frequent, please feel free to contribute.

Articles

None.

Media Appearances

  • On Monday, I spoke about ISPs selling your web browsing data on ABC Adelaide. I may or may not post this audio. Stay tuned, or something.

Corporate Largesse

None, despite what I expected.

The Week Ahead

Monday will be all about communication, planning, and shopping, most of which will be happening in Katoomba.

On Tuesday, it’s the long commute down to Sydney for a couple of meetings and some errands. On the way there and back, and for the rest of the week, it’s all about writing and editing the words.

Friday is, of course, Good Friday and the start of the Easter long weekend, so I’ll be taking the day off. No plans as yet.

Further Ahead

I’m covering the AusCERT Information Security Conference on the Gold Coast from 23 to 26 May; the 5th International Conference on Cybercrime and Computer Forensics (ICCCF) on the Gold Coast from 16 to 18 July, or at least I hope; and the national conference of the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) in Sydney on 10 to 12 October.

[Photo: Amanita muscaria, or similar. A mushroom of one Amanita species or another, photographed near Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains on 22 March 2017.]

Weekly Wrap 330: More spring, more cybers, less pain

25 September 2016 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Ascent: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September 2016 was the first in more than three weeks where I spent a day without any painkillers. Four days, in fact.

Whether it was that, some of the other medical activities, the continuing springing of Spring, certain other factors, or some combination thereof, it was also more productive that recent weeks — despite the stress continuing much as usual.

The week also way the beginnings of Certain Plans being made, but those details are for another time.

Articles

Podcasts

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday, I covered the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit, so obviously there was food and drink.

The Week Ahead

I’m back in Sydney’s inner west again, where I’ll probably be based for a few weeks.

On Monday, I’m writing for ZDNet, bringing my geek-for-hire projects up to date, and negotiating my next moves with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). That stuff continues into Tuesday.

On Tuesday Wednesday, I’m recording and streaming an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. That’s scheduled for 2100 AEST, but before that I’ll be launching a new crowdfunding campaign. I also have a number of meetings in the city.

Thursday is about bookkeeping and medical appointments. Friday is about writing and the like. And then it’s the Labour Day long weekend.

Further Ahead

I’m going to the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, the iappANZ Trust In Privacy Annual Summit in Sydney on 14 November.

I plan to record the next Public House Forum episode of the Edict on Saturday 15 October somewhere in or near Sydney.

Update 27 September 2016: Edited to reflect schedule changes.

[Photo: Ascent, being a photograph of the railway overpass on Blaxland Road, Wentworth Falls, taken on 20 September 2016. It’s a bit muddy, so maybe I should try to improve that image.]

Weekly Wrap 326: To the Mountains for Spring, and pain

29 August 2016 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Sydney Central Station on a spring morning: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 August 2016 began well, but ended in pain.

Monday and Tuesday went to plan, but after that the fatigue set in right through until Saturday. The cat’s humans returned on Saturday evening, rather than Sunday as I’d expected, and that night became a bit… rowdy.

I awoke Sunday morning in pain, thanks to falling onto the edge of a coffee table, and copping the hard corner in the ribs. Do not trust coffee tables. That made the return to Wentworth Falls… interesting. But hey, here I am.

Articles and Podcasts

None, but I’ve gathered plenty of material for writing over the next few weeks.

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday, I recorded another five videos with Chris Duckett for the ZDNet Security TV series. They will appear over the coming weeks.

Corporate Largesse

The Week Ahead

It’s my first week back in the Blue Mountains for three months, and it’s the start of Spring. I’m looking forward to it.

On Monday I’m keeping quiet to rest my back, then staying in to watch an episode of ABC TV’s Four Corners on Cyber War. On Tuesday I’m doing an early-morning interview, reviewing Four Corners for Crikey, and in the afternoon running errands in Katoomba.

On Wednesday, it’s the long commute down to Sydney for a briefing by Nokia’s Fixed Networks division that morning, then writing for ZDNet. I may or may not stay in Sydney overnight. Then on Thursday I’ll be at the Trend Micro CLOUDSEC conference.

There’s a chance all that might be reshuffled or even cancelled if the pain lingers too long.

It most certainly was reshuffled. It turns out that while I haven’t broken any ribs or damaged my kidneys, it’ll take two to four weeks for the injury to settle down. Resting is a more sensible idea than long train commutes. I’ll do some writing and suchlike from where I am.

I reckon Friday will see some more writing for ZDNet, and then the weekend is unplanned.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed on Tuesday 6 September.

I’m going to the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, and an event in Melbourne I can’t tell you about yet on 17 November.

Update 30 August 2016: Edited to reflect pain-related schedule changes.

[Photo: Sydney Central Station on a spring morning, photographed not this year but on 15 August 2012.]

Weekly Wrap 311: A week that went to plan, mostly

15 May 2016 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Red Dawn: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 9 to Sunday 15 May 2016 went pretty much to plan. I think that’s all that needs to be said.

Articles

Podcasts

None, but earlier today I made a special announcement.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

None, but there’ll be quite a lot next week.

The Week Ahead

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.

Further Ahead

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.]

Weekly Wrap 307: Cockatoos and cybers, more or less

24 April 2016 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos at Wentworth Falls: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 18 to Sunday 24 April 2016 went pretty much to plan, with productivity when it was needed, and some relaxation when that was needed.

Articles

Podcasts

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by Nuix, and they provided food and drink.

The Week Ahead

I’ll be spending another whole week in Sydney, staying at my usual SEKRIT cave in Lilyfield.

[Update 26 April 2016: I’ve had to rearrange my week, because my decision to eat all the leftovers on Monday was a poor choice, and because I didn’t allow quite enough time for moving my data to the loaner MacBook Pro. Update 27 April 2016: More schedule changes. This is not a low-entropy week.]

Monday is Anzac Day, but instead of enjoying the public holiday, I’ll be catching up on some geek-for-hire work, and finishing the script for an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. I’ll also be collecting a loaner MacBook Pro, for use while mine goes in for repair some time in the following days, and loading it with data.

On Tuesday, I’ll be writing for Crikey, getting a briefing from Verizon on their new Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), probably writing for ZDNet, and recording that podcast catching up on some geek-for-hire work, finishing the script for an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, and at 1900 AEST doing a radio spot for ABC 774 Melbourne.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be going to some of the Amazon Web Services Summit Sydney. On Wednesday evening, I’ll be recording that podcast.

On Wednesday, I’m posting the audio from Tuesday night, working on the much-delayed geek-for-hire projects, and proposing some topics for Thursday night’s videos. I’ll also be battling considerable nausea. The geek-for-hire work continues on Thursday morning.

On Thursday afternoon I’m dealing with the computer repairs repairs (if I haven’t already done so), then in the evening recording some videos for ZDNet.

On Friday, I’ll finally be recording that podcast.

Somewhere in there I’m doing some writing for ZDNet.

Further Ahead

On 3 May, I’m covering the inaugural National Fintech Cyber Security Summit in Sydney. Then on 24-27 May, I’m covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast.

[Photo: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos at Wentworth Falls. Wentworth Falls is home to a clan of sulphur-crested cockatoos numbering about 50. I managed to capture some of them in flight while waiting for a train on 20 April 2016.]

Weekly Wrap 291: Ready for a year of change

03 January 2016 in Weekly Wrap by Stilgherrian | Permalink

Sydney Sunrise from Lilyfield: click to embiggenMonday 28 December 2015 to Sunday 3 January 2016 was spent in the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield and Lilyfield, where the quiet week following Christmas heralded a new year that should see many, many changes.

I hope so, anyway, because I’ve got plenty of things to sort out. I’ll tell you more in due course.

Podcasts

  • “The 9pm Topsy Turnbull Land”, being the rather brief The 9pm Edict episode 55, was recorded and posted on New Year’s Eve. It’s also on SoundCloud and Spreaker.

Articles

None.

Media Appearances

None.

5at5

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

Corporate Largesse

  • I arrived back at Bunjaree Cottages tonight to find a Christmas gift from Kaspersky Lab: a bottle of Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2013.

The Week Ahead

I’ve got plenty to do in the coming week, but I won’t be able to schedule everything until I make some calls on Monday. I do know that most of it will be spent at Wentworth Falls, however.

That said, the week’s tasks include designing a website and a matching email template for a client; booking some medical appointments in Sydney; writing for ZDNet; scriptwriting for the next episode of The 9pm Edict; planning my coverage of Linux.conf.au; updating some of the stuff I use to explain what it is that I actually do; starting to tie up the loose ends from my crowdfunding projects; thinking about my future accommodation needs; and starting to bring my bookkeeping up to date so I can file five years of outstanding tax returns.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict will be recorded on Thursday 14 January 2015, streamed live starting at 2100 AEDT.

The next episode of The 9pm Edict’s Public House Forum is likely to be recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 23 January. I’m thinking this should be a monthly thing.

In theory, in the first week of February I’ll be in Geelong to cover Linux.conf.au. And then on 10 to 12 February, I’ll be in Melbourne to speak at the Pause Fest.

Update 2000 AEDT: Edited to add the wine. Update 6 January 2015: Edited to reflect dropping plans to go to Linux.conf.au.

[Photo: Sydney Sunrise from Lilyfield, photographed on 2 January 2016.]

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