x – Page 2 – Stilgherrian

23 February 202523 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 769: Wrangling the data ruined my mind

Seen from low down by the ground, an asphalt road runs away from the viewer up a hill, eventually turning to the left and out of sight. The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy white clouds, although little sky can be seen because either side of the road are trees and thickly-growing shrubs. In the immediate foreground, on the road, two white-painted squares are arranged diagonally, joined at their corners. In yellow paint is the number 3011.

I lost three days in the middle of my week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 February 2025 to annoying geekery: rebuilding my whole data backup system. Always make sure your backups are in good order, Gentle Reader, with at least one copy of everything in a different physical location.

16 February 2025

Weekly Wrap 768: The view from St Vincent’s Private Hospital was a highlight of my Sydney day

A view from the 13th floor across Darlinghurst to the north-west. On the left are the towers of the northern end of the Sydney CBD. In the middle, in the distance, one can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and on the right the view is dominated by Harry Seidler’s Horizon Apartments, a white modernist tower with an grid-based structure. The day is bright and sunny with a few fluffy white clouds.

My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 February 2025 was dominated by a long day trip to Sydney on Wednesday and the Cabramatta Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday. But next week will be a big podcast week.

22 December 202430 December 2024

Weekly Wrap 760: Two podcasts, and for some reason a pub

A view across a city intersection on a rainy day. In the centre of the frame is the Great Southern Hotel, Sydney, a five-storey red-brick Art Deco construction nestled between an modern glass office building and a narrow Victorian-era four-storey business building. Two tram tracks run from behind the viewer through the intersection and to the right.

During my week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 December 2024 I managed to knock off two podcast episodes, a newsletter, and a bunch of planning, despite suffering from a mild cold. I’m so pleased with myself that I’m posting a photo of a pub from five years ago.

01 December 202405 December 2024

Weekly Wrap 757: Welcome the Parrots of Productivity

Two tree stumps. On the left one, the taller of the two, are two Australian king parrots. The male has a bright red head and belly with back and wings in various shades of green. The female is a paler green with olive sections, and a red belly, although overall she is more drab.

My week of Monday 25 November to Sunday 1 December 2024 was finally a bit more productive. There’s yet another podcast. There were billable hours. And most importantly, we’re in the final stages of this season’s crowdfunder.

24 November 202424 November 2024

Weekly Wrap 756: Productivity with memories of bushfires

Looking from the concourse end of Sydney Central terminal down the tracks between two platforms. Sitting at the right-hand platform is a V-Set train, with its fluted stainless steel body and bright yellow and red nose. On the centre stabling track is another. There’s nothing at the left-hand platform. Overhead, it’s a sunny sky smudged with the brown of bushfire smoke.

My week of Monday 18 to Sunday 24 November 2024 began with a burst of productivity, including a bunch of podcast work, but the weekend brought fatigue. It also brought some random reflection on the bushfires of five years ago. Time no longer has any meaning.

18 November 202424 November 2024

Weekly Wrap 755: Watch out for the podcasts!

Nighttime, looking from a city footpath up towards a pair of surveillance cameras in their black domes under white bodies. Across the street are the upper floors of an art deco brick office building, in front of which is another surveillance camera, this one steerable.

My week of Monday 11 to Sunday 17 November 2024 included the making of podcasts and the launching of a crowdfunding campaign. Not much client work, but some much-needed socialising. It’s all about balance, right? And talking smut with Mark Humphries is always fun.