Home after a delightful dinner, and now disappearing offline. Happy holidays, folks.
OH: “Those men aren’t lesbians. Why do they have lesbians’ dogs?”
Mobile again. Will it never end?
Errands done. Ish.
Mobile, Errand 2: Enmore Rd; shopping for enough supplies to last the duration; back home again.
Good God that looks hideous.
@ragnarok1971 There shall be mopping, but mopping is not an errand itself.
Mobile, Errand 1: Enmore Rd, King St; buying a mop, amongst other things, back home again to prepare for Errand 2.
Of course they are.
New blog post: “Weekly Wrap 29” http://arseh.at/2y5 #antlers
Fri plan: Tidy desk, tidy plans; pre-holiday errands; cleaning; dinner with @SnarkyPlatypus; disappear off the face of the Earth.
“Porn, cash and the slippery slope to the National Security State” from @jjn1 http://arseh.at/2y2
Sure.
@scbc Sorry, I’m currently being lectured on what I “should” do by another complete stranger. Take a number and wait.
@TiffanyFF Or maybe I should just tell folks I don’t know who write passive-aggressive tweets demanding attention to go fuck themselves.
Naps help. Mostly.
“Beware of processed meats.”
Home. Sweaty. Feverish. Disgruntled.
Those “jokes” are obvious and, really, beneath you. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Prime Minister Gillard announces independent review of Australia’s intelligence community. http://arseh.at/2xp
A “professional blogger”, @deptofinternets? And what professional accreditation organisation would that be, exactly?
They look pretty stupid, and she cackles though her nose and she scoffs her chardonnay.
OH, at the next table in the pub: “Shall we tweet something, Karen?” “Do you know how to tweet?”
@projectgus All I can offer, alas, is my standard “I don’t make paywall decisions” line. I am but a minion.
Me at Crikey: “2010 on the internet: the empire strikes back” http://arseh.at/2xm [Paywall’d, free trial]
OH: “Yeah she’s just all over my arse, man! She took me to dinner last night, all that kinda shit.”
Mobile: Enmore Rd; potentially errands to King St and beyond; intermittent planning work in between those errands.
I see Domain Renewal Group is up to its usual rip-offs, offering to renew .com domains for “best savings” of AUD 45 for one year.
RT @AusLawReform: @stilgherrian Would like to say yes, but sadly no. [Proof of intelligent life at the Australian Law Reform Commission!]
Does @AusLawReform retweeting me mean that I’m now officially government-approved? ;)
Parliamentary Inquiry into role and potential of NBN calls for submissions by 25 Feb. http://arseh.at/2xh
Sorry, @garthk, Warren View’s food has gone to shite. I suggest the Carlisle Castle [but packed!], Newington Inn or perhaps the Salisbury.
Crikey story filed!
Writing. Shoosh.
@franksting Irony, possibly, but there’s more subtley in ESR’s piece than some of the commenters there seem to have picked up.
Julian Assange a member of the MEAA, it seems. http://arseh.at/2x6 #wikileaks #cablegate
ESR’s “Taxonomy of the haterboy [cf fanboy]” http://arseh.at/2x3
Thu plan: Write for Crikey; lunch & local errands; client webby work and pre-Christmas wrap; gym, possibly dinner, w@SnarkyPlatypusypus.
@SnarkyPlatypus 40% lameness isn’t too bad. I mean, have you looked around you when walking through the city lately?
@FixedR6 I’m fairly sure that the fine men and women of the armed forces have duties other than “be shot at”.
Nearly 1 in 4 students too stupid to pass US Army entrance test. God bless America. http://arseh.at/2x2
WSJ: 10 reasons not to buy an iPad for Christmas. Apart from self-respect, that is. http://arseh.at/2x1
Julian Assange interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s “Today”, transcript and audio. http://arseh.at/2x0 #wikileaks #cablegate
@SnarkyPlatypus Bonjour. Je comprends que les blessures ont été subies? J’espère que vous avez causé des douleurs en retour?
What, again? But this time you call it “Thursday”? Jesus wept.
Home.
OH: “The Hare Krishnas? Aren’t they some sort of crystal meth distribution network?” “Oh, if only!”
OH: “… and this is Jeremy. He’s a vegetarian, but we won’t hold that against him.”
Photo: New York at night, 1932. That’s 76 years ago. http://arseh.at/2ws
No, @Nickhodge, that’s not the same thing. http://youtu.be/MODq81_c…
Platypus down, I think.
Sorry, I must correct that. Espolòn tequila. http://arseh.at/2wq
RT @coliwilso: Mexican alcohol is better. [Yes. And Espèlon tequila was the one I was introduced to in the US. It’s very good.]
@Drag0nista Wine and corn chips could work too. But I’ve already ordered the salad.
RT @Nickhodge: A salad is half a taco. [True. The non-sludge half.]
Sorry to offend the fans of Mexican food. Well, actually, I’m not. But for those who care, I had a late lunch so I’ll just grab a salad.
I just saw some self-serving Python wankery pass by in my main Twitter timeline. I won’t link to it because it’s beneath contempt.
Tacos, @GeordieGuy? I think not. For me, Mexican food seems little more than different varieties of sludge in a corn-based container.
Pondering what to do for dinner.
@Matt_Phipps That’s nothing to do with regulation. It’s about licensing deals through Australian distribution companies and broadcasters.
Congratulations to @ApostrophePong for getting his Bangkok-based job with That Evil Organisation. Well done.
Agreed, @badm0f0, I was disgusted that my Telstra bill didn’t explain how they got to that AUD 313. Made-up numbers FTL.
Cost of occasionally using roaming mobile data to check Twitter for a week in SFO: more than AUD 313. Gee, thanks Telstra.
@Matt_Phipps I dunno, I don’t recall anything stopping broadcasters also choosing the license their stuff out onto internet streams as well.
Well, the radio is done anyway. I suppose I could have done it via Skype with my noise-cancelling headset. I’ve done that before.
Bloody Paul Turton on ABC Radio just told his audience that I was joining him live from the pub. There goes my reputation. [sulks]
RT @joannejacobs: FYI, average total revenue per user for phone, broadband, tv & internet in UK is £35 = A$52 [Well exactly.]
The NBN will be how we watch TV, Alan Kohler? The internet already IS how I watch TV. http://arseh.at/2wo
“Merry Xmas, NBN Grinches: here’s your CBA”, says David Braue (@zyzzyvamedia) http://arseh.at/2wn Nice work.
@KCevol Ta for the tips. Then again, it might be education for people to see some of these images. Like AFL players and their dogs.
@KCevol Yep, “every time I open a new tab” pretty much covers it. Especially when I’m in public and the sites are, um, “recreational”. Sigh.
Finally reading Paul Carr’s latest on Wikileaks. I can even put up with visiting TechCrunch to read it. http://arseh.at/2wm
I wish, sometimes, that Safari wouldn’t remind me, graphically, which websites I’ve been visiting most over the past few days.
In about an hour I’ll be on ABC Radio Statewide NSW talking Avatar piracy and Twitter in the courtroom, amongst other things.
@macleanbrendan I have not tried the mash. I must limit my exposure to the pleasures of the potato.
Should anyone care, Kelly’s on King’s upstairs extension is completed and open for business. Um, so I’m told.
Agreed, @julieposetti @mincerti, interesting that Kohler picked up variables that were clearly in NBN Co’s favour. Fresh view FTW!
Finally reading Alan Kohler’s “Now that’s a broadband business plan” http://arseh.at/2wi #nbn
Mobile: Stanmore Rd; Ocean Vietnamese Restaurant; errands on Enmore Rd and perhaps beyond; remainder TBA.
Indeed, @purserj. Anyone who imagines I don’t write anything critical of the Labor government must be blind. Or really, really stupid.
See, I knew there was something wrong about Google Analytics! http://arseh.at/2wg
Me at Crikey: “It’s network neutrality, but it’s neutered” http://arseh.at/2wf #openinternet
@grantshow Lovely. I am an object of ridicule again. Nothing has changed since primary school.
@grantshow That’s just a polite way of saying that I’m mad, isn’t it?
“Favourite Twitter-er of the year”, @grantshow? Really? Why for would that be? Curious minds…
RT @bradsprigg: People complaining about cost seem to keep missing the point that the #NBN retail cost includes line rental. [I agree.]
I should mention that those antlers were constructed three years ago, commissioned by @SnarkyPlatypus who continues to use them.
What is this “dignity” of which you speak, @thetowncrier? Is it a species of duck, perhaps? An additive for cheese?
Are your reindeer antlers as impressive as mine, @thetowncrier? http://arseh.at/2w7
“NBN is too expensive at $80 retail average”, says @phildobbie’s “Twisted Wire” podcast.
Crikey story filed!
@MadLid Thanks, but it’s a different document I’m after. I have it now. One just has to be patient.
Hah! US FCC’s website is currently overloaded and can’t serve out a certain PDF document. I wonder why…?
The thing I’m writing for Crikey today? That’s changed. I’m now writing a different thing for Crikey today. We must all get used to Change.
@mpesce You’re running an hour early there, Sir. Your UTC to AEDT calculations are full of eels.
I am now being glared at for applying insufficient effort in the head-scratching department.
Writing mode. Quiet please. I already have pants on. Apollo needs to sit on my lap as I write. Pants make this both comfortable and non-AFL.
Dear Australians, do remember that Summer Solstice is at 1038 AEDT today. I for one will be taking a moment to reflect.
@jasonlangenauer Erm, that is, that I’m saying that there should be NO plan of any kind. Arsehats anyway.
@jasonlangenauer Most commenters seem incapable of understanding nuance. They think I’m saying there should be a plan of any kind. Arsehats.
@jasonlangenauer That’s the thrust of my piece, yes. @GreenJ did the headline: “It’s the NBN Corporate Plan, not a crystal ball”.
I started to read the comments on my ABC piece from yesterday, but I think I’ll need something stronger than coffee. http://arseh.at/2vr
Wed plan: Write for Crikey; lunch & local errands; an afternoon of many desk-related things; clean the office; quiet evening, in theory.
@SnarkyPlatypus Il est une référence littéraire. Je crois que ce qui a trait aux aéroglisseurs.
@SnarkyPlatypus Bonjour. Il se pourrait bien que la Solstice est plein des anguilles. Je ne comprends pas du tout confiance. Et vous?
Ah um erm, Wednesday.
Well, that’s all that code re-written then. Nothing too difficult, but it was a pain to have to do it twice.
@i386 Version control is already on the agenda for the next production meeting.
@jonoabroad Wayback Machine doesn’t show anything more recent that six months, to qualify as an archive and avoid copyright hassles.
@jonoabroad I just found my sticking point: I was editing the CSS file on the staging server but the page was referencing production. Doh!
@jonoabroad Confirmed. It’s not in the cache at all. Searched for a comment string in the CSS file, no hits.
@jonoabroad I don’t think it’ll be in the cache. The CSS file has been changed plenty of times recently. We need one from arounf mid-Nov.
@jonoabroad Good thinking. But how the fuck do I pull a CSS file out of Google’s cache? I mean, site:example.com obviously, but…
Since the Full Moon will keep me awake anyway, I might as well re-do this CSS work that was accidentally trashed.
Home.
Summer solstice is indeed tomorrow 22 December at 1038 AEDT. Thanks all.
Is today the Solstice? What time is it, exactly?
Mobile: Enmore Rd; King St; gym, yes, the gym; dinner, I presume, but I do not have total control over these things. Attention limited.
@jplonie @jeamland No, there’s no SLA for this client’s website. I merely bill by the hour to do things. It’s not management. It’s support.
OK, a temporary fix is in place. I’ve estimated the amount of work that needs to be re-done. The client has been notified. ‘Tis enough!
Oh no. Just making multiple copies of those backups caused the account to go over its storage quote. I’m sure that didn’t break anything.
Oh this is a nice “improvement”. I can’t log into this client’s account via SFTP. This gets moar betteror by the moment!
Documenting for the client exactly how much work will need to be re-done. Not too much, thankfully.
Oh it’s not a corrupt file in that sense, @thepatus. It’s a version control error that wasn’t spotted before it was dutifully backed up.
And the relevant files in the monthly backup of 9/12 [WTF?] are broken too. There are no further backups. Frustrated pondering begins.
And the relevant files in the weekly backup of 17/12 are broken. Starting to copy the monthly backup from NAS. Strongly considering whiskey.
RT @jeamland: Is whiskey a documented part of your business continuity plan? [It’s not “documented” as such…]
Nope, the relevant files in last night’s daily backup are broken. Starting to copy the weekly backup from the NAS. Considering whiskey.
You know the day is ending on a sour note when you’ve got the tar man page open in one window and last night’s server backups in another.
@zerogeewhiz I think you’re in la-la land. ADSL requires you to pay for a landline as well (or pay higher naked ADSL costs). NBN TCO FTW.
Me at ABC The Drum: “It’s the NBN Corporate Plan, not a crystal ball” http://arseh.at/2vr
Retail ISPs have to pay for marketing, support, billing, backhaul and international links, @zerogeewhiz, as well as NBN wholesale.
Story 1 filed! And Story 2 has been renegotiated to a later deadline. Take that, Full Moon!
OK, I’m now working on the first article, which requires me having some vague understanding of these NBN documents. Shoosh, you lot.
Tue plan, in theory: Write for both ABC and Crikey; lunch; catch up on the comms backlog; gym and whatever with @SnarkyPlatypus.
My office looks like it’s been the venue for some sort of explosion. Some cleaning must be done some time.
@SnarkyPlatypus Je ne suis pas loin d’être assez humide pour une marée roi. Pas encore, de toute façon.
Pondering how I’m going to get two articles written before midday. Methinks I’ll have to re-work something here.
@SnarkyPlatypus Bonjour. Je pense que les influences de la Pleine Lune sont déjà avec nous. Attendez, vous verrez. Et vous?
Hang on, a Tuesday now? What is the meaning of this?
@AndySHastings True, looking at that chart it seems the eclipse will be mostly done for us east coasters. Ah well.
It’s true. In most parts of Australia, tomorrow night’s Full Moon rises in Eclipse. http://arseh.at/2ue
Goodness me. Paul Barry joins Crikey. Also contains Crikey audience numbers. http://arseh.at/2ud
Home. Sweaty.
Researching whydidyoubuymethat.com and discovering this wonderful piece of work. http://arseh.at/2u8 Ping @firstdogonmoon
No, @jasonlangenauer, http://arseh.at/2u6 was not the cause of my bafflement. Thankfully. Mine was just certain people in the street.
Baffled. Disgruntled.
Mobile.
Mon plan, non-interim edition: lunch on Enmore Rd; local errands; home to read and digest all these NBN documents; quiet evening.
I know, @expectproblems, I’m a hopeless romantic. Or something. Probably a something.
It’d be nice if some of the journalists asking questions about the NBN actually knew something about the structure of the ISP industry.
All the NBN documents being cited in this media conference have just been posted at http://www.dbcde.gov.au/… under “Latest news”.
Perhaps we should save up to buy the parliamentary broadcast people some nice new music licenses.
Senator Conroy’s NBN media conference starts soon, with added Ranga, streamed from http://arseh.at/2tw
Extended “Patch Monday” podcast: “2010: IT’s year of domination” with @liubinskas @paulwallbank @jdub http://arseh.at/2tv
“My vernacular is sausage”, says this comment spam. I’d never really thought of it that way before.
“Patch Monday” podcast filed! Whew!
Apollo, please don’t eat the antenna off the wireless access point, there’s a good chap.
Mon plan, interim edition: Wake up properly; complete “Patch Monday” podcast; produce Mon plan non-interim edition.
NBN Co’s Corporate Plan is being released at midday. Media lockup from 1030. Document itself on NBN Co website “later today”.
“How WikiLeaks is morphing into WMD 2.0”, notes @jjn1 http://arseh.at/2tm
@SnarkyPlatypus Bonjour. Je ne suis pas sûr aujourd’hui. Je pense qu’il ya quelque chose de mal avec le monde. Et vous?
“Monday”? NOW? Was this your fucking idea?
Thud.
And that’s dinner done and the panel discussion edited. Time for an early one before a busy morning tomorrow. Well, soon anyway.
Indeed, @kcarruthers, the men in “Patch Monday” are @jdub @paulwallbank @liubinskas and it should all work out fine. Posted tomorrow.
@kcarruthers It’s quite OK, I made do with men. /cc @jonoabroad
“Patch Monday” main discussion recorded. And I think it went reasonably well. Now to back up the files, then to figure out dinner.
About to start recording for the “Patch Monday” podcast. As soon as @paulwallbank’s technology behaves itself.
Hail in Yass, @jdub? Well, a rainfront just this moment hit Enmore too. We should be fine. I’m a big fan of ambient sound.
It’s amazing how many uses one can find for dental floss when the need arises.
One hour until we record the “Patch Monday” panel. I suppose a glass or two of wine would be appropriate.
@SnarkyPlatypus I worked out how to cope with the giant mutant seagulls. I know this cocktail bar.
@SnarkyPlatypus It’s not only a noble seagull, it’s about twice the mass of ours.
New blog post: “Weekly Wrap 28”. A slow week, but there’s a photo of a seagull. http://arseh.at/2ta
Got a fighter jet handy? Go sledding! http://youtu.be/85FxLsHU…
Mobile: Somewhere nearby for lunch; Enmore Rd errands; back home to potter through the afternoon.
If you haven’t been watching the ABC drama “Rake” then you’re a burden to society. It’s on iView starting at http://arseh.at/1bc
@SnarkyPlatypus Ces lapins sont très étrange. Je ne suis pas sûr d’utiliser des herbes.
@SnarkyPlatypus Bonjour. Je suis bien sortir des lapins de chapeaux. Il s’agit d’un grand chapeau. Et ils sont fringants lapins. Et vous?
@jodiem I know. Kate would have been perfect, especially since I wanted to avoid the panel being a sausage-fest.
@jodiem Alas we’re recording in 7 hours. She’s asleep now, and I’d need to confirm well before then.
Oh I should have said, @jodiem, yes: I need @kcarruthers’ skill at conversing across the gamut of Big Picture IT issues and society.
Hmmm. I need someone like @kcarruthers who isn’t @kcarruthers ‘cos @kcarruthers is doing things in Europe today.
@jasonlangenauer My guess is The Great Shit Peak of 1725 is an artefact of what Google Books has digitised so far.
How industrial age publishing denied how people really speak: Carlin’s 7 Words from 1650. http://arseh.at/2t3 HT @jdub
RT @ExtraHermit: Prioritise/Discard/Appreciate. Habits/People/Possessions. [Agreed. Since I have to move house soon, the time is perfect.]
Bother. Patch Monday podcast from Dreamforce on “Service goes social” STILL isn’t in iTunes / RSS but it’s at http://arseh.at/2ot #df10
@jdub You have a DM about that thing today. I thought I’d better tell you since you don’t notice DMs.
@GeordieGuy @seanpryor Well, yes, the photo could be of any memorable body part. The face isn’t essential, then.
I know. My life is truly screwed up. But what can you do?
I do wish people would put photos on their LinkedIn profiles. I’d remember a face, names less so. Who the fuck ARE you people?
Dear Apollo, please stop licking the dribbly bits from the top of the seasoning sauce bottle.
@Chesty48 I don’t think I’d ever use such stilted language as “use case”. It represents the ugliness of so much corporate management jargon.
Sun plan, no particular order: Explore LinkedIn; relaxed writing and research; shopping; 1800 “Patch Monday” panel recording, then editing.
Agreed that LinkedIn has clear uses, @davekerridge. For a media worker like me, being able to find experts quickly is an obvious one.
Irritating LinkedIn interface #2: If you use the link to adjust Twitter settings before sending a status update: it loses what you typed.
Irritating LinkedIn interface #1: JavaScript pop-up to send email to inviter, send, takes you to inbox rather than leave you in invite list.