You’re insane, @kcarruthers! How does a backpack with solar panels get rid of all the heterosexuals?
@philhart YOU’RE ANOTHER ONE??!??!! THIS MADNESS MUST STOP!
Well @ryanmoore3 @peterjblack conservative Liberal SA A-G Trevor Griffin’s son came out at his dad’s Xmas function. I know witnesses.
@ryanmoore3 @peterjblack That of course raises the question of what other important sexual milestones should be live tweeted…
Christ there’s an awful lot of heterosexuals using Twitter.
@franksting At any one time, how many statisticians in Africa are masturbating?
@dannolan Yes, I suppose that complaining that I tweet a lot is like complaining that a Wagner opera went for 3 hours. It is what it is.
@smperris Exactly. Everything is the same as everything else. It’s just so much simpler.
Winning friends and influencing people.
RT @ret56fe: @stilgherrian too many tweets. tl;dr [Then don’t follow me, you stupid ADHD-riddled cunt. That’s OK for Saturday night, right?]
Oh right. The numbers for teachers assaulted come from that totally disinterested party, the NAHT school leaders’ union. Right.
I suppose I should actually read the @RichardFarmer blog post that I just dismissed. Or is that old-fashioned?
Maybe, @RichardFarmer, if we first paid danger money to late-night servo attendants, pizza deliverers and prostitutes you’d have a point. ;)
“Danger money deserved for teachers”, @richardlfarmer? http://arseh.at/6hc Bah! Every service-delivery job has faces disgruntled customers.
Balancing the desire for wine with the need to write an op-ed and a business document tomorrow. Balancing, I said.
According to Twitter, I am similar to @bengrubb, which is a pretty neat trick. At least all my appendages work properly.
@IainDale Looking forward to meeting you at Microsoft Politics & Technology Forum in Canberra on 1 June. http://arseh.at/
@anthonybaxter True, connectivity is the key. Anyway it’s not my gig. I’m just having dinner with some participants.
@anthonybaxter Yes, @R_Chirgwin is just showing me the maps. They might just be on view of Boddington Next G tower most of the route.
@smperris @kcarruthers The real challenge for using Google tools for bushwalk navigation is battery life. Especially up here.
@anthonybaxter Actually Google should enter a team too. Most of you guys look like you could use a bit of sunlight and fresh air.
@anthonybaxter Hey I reckon Google could do live mapping of teams in next year’s #WildEndurance for Wilderness Society. http://arseh.at/6ha
@jessicabrookes I don’t need luck, I’m just eating. A team is staying here at Bunjaree Cottages, started 0400. This is the half-way meal.
WildEndurance teams must complete 100km route thru Blue Mountains in 36 hours. $192k raised for Wilderness Society. http://arseh.at/6ha
About to pop over to Bushwalker BBQ hosted by @R_Chirgwin’s family for @bigyahu and other members of the #WildEndurance charity bushwalk.
@PennySharpemlc Katoomba tonight, eh? Well, stay warm. Just down the road here at Wentworth Falls is ‘ken freezing!
New blog post: “On stage for the Microsoft Politics & Technology Forum”, 1 June in Canberra. http://arseh.at/
New blog post: “Covering the AusCERT 2011 Conference on the Gold Coast” http://arseh.at/6h5
@leslienassar The primary allure of Dopplr is the little coloured graphic at the top of its WordPress widget. The only allure, actually.
Dopplr really has no fucking clue how to handle travelling to more than one city in a single day. Fixing its constant mistakes is a burden.
@SnarkyPlatypus Moo.
Anyway that’s the “Patch Monday” podcast done, apart from the written words that go with it. I am pleased.
@purserj Hah! No, I’m not quite sounding like a 1960s, or is it 1970s, fake Australian accent done by an Englishman. I think. I hope.
For some reason I’m sounding more nasal and Australian on today’s podcast recording. Am I losing my Adelaide private-school RP style?
Spell it out F-A-Q is the quick consensus, thank you @lelak @wolfcat @smperris @jplonie, with @MickGeorge dissenting gloriously.
Should I pronounce “FAQ” as “fack”, or spell it out, do you think?
@R_Chirgwin That explains why the departed at dawn then… now that I piece together my memories of the early morning.
@R_Chirgwin My goodness these bushwalkers are getting a remarkably good deal! Obviously I shall give a hand if required.
@R_Chirgwin A bushwalkers BBQ? They’ve chosen lovely weather for it! I gather we’re invited to join the bedraggled walkers?
Sat plan: Enjoy the quiet rain; “Patch Monday” podcast editing; remainder TBA, although it must include the hunting of food.
There were kookaburras. Loud kookaburras. They woke me. Then I feel asleep again. Then I woke again. And here I am. Memory is just great.
Pondering.
@BeauGiles To confirm, yes, the editor has seen my Twitter stream and has already emailed me about my insecurities. But the story is OK.
@smperris Thank you. I shall reveal the publication in due course. I don’t want to jinx things.
@smperris Yes, a new masthead for me, with an editor I’ve never worked for before. It takes a while to get a feel for the wanted style.
@BeauGiles Yes, the editor knows my Twitter stream well, commissioned this story from what I said here in fact. And they’re watching today.
@quietdiscourse @wolfcat I have worked as an editor. Maybe that’s why I’m having such trouble.
I hate filing my first story for a new editor. Every sense of doubt in one’s own ability re-emerges. Insecurity, thy name is writer.
@charispalmer There are several reasons I don’t like working in a proper office, and that’s one of them.
@NewtonMark Change of environment has put a few things into perspective but temporary homes are frustrating. I have a blog post coming.
@Gin_ev_ra The scrubland outside the window, bathed in recent raindrops, is rather calming actually. That’s not the same as focus though.
Writing. And pacing. And looking out the window. More of the latter two than the first, which is the problem.
Just have some more. You’ll feel a lot better.
Indeed, @nzlemming, “a Gladwellian thud of wily reductionism and indolent thinking” as the lead-in put-down of her book is glorious.
RT @badm0f0: Paul Carr also wrote a piece on gamification a few weeks ago http://arseh.at/6gd [Yes, I already have it as grist in my mill.]
“Jane McGonigal’s Mind is Broken”, says another not-fan of gamification. http://arseh.at/62e /c@nzlemmingng
Thanks heaps @nzlemming. Although http://slate.me/lbVh5e wasn’t it, that triggered a memory. It was another review of Jane McGonigal’s book.
Someone tweeted me a link to a critique of gamification a few weeks back. I don’t suppose you can remember who you are?
@jamezpolley Thanks, but I think we need more bigger words in you apology there, tho. I’m not up to thinking of them tho. Deadlines, too.
@jamezpolley Yes I know that. My point was that “leverage” is so often used when “use” IS the meaning.
RT @Warlach: Is this like how I prefer to call it Profilling rather than Stalking? [Yes.]
Dear Everyone in Business, there’s no need to say “leverage” when you mean “use”. It’s not like you’re being paid by the syllable.
Crikey story filed.
@trib It’s a registerwall rather than a paywall.
Is the Australian government seeking greater regulation of internet “content”? Seems so. http://arseh.at/6g2
@j_hutch @garystark @csimps0n He rented out his secure parking spot, and hired a sports car one weekend a month.
@j_hutch @garystark @csimps0n For one friend, years, ago, it was cheaper to ditch his car, use cabs, hire cars or trucks when needed.
@j_hutch @garystark @csimps0n I’m not saying it’s the same for everyone, just pointing to the assumptions people make.
@j_hutch You don’t “need your car”. You “need transport”. I could be cheaper to use car shares when needed, for example. /cc @j_hutch
@csimps0n Yes, it has other uses, but you should still factor in a proportion of capital costs. Start from if you had no car at all.
@csimps0n In your “car is cheaper than train” calculation, I suspect you’ve forgot to include the capital cost of the car.
XmediaLab in Sydney on 10-11 June? Ta for that, @carolineshawyer, and yes please keep me in the loop. http://arseh.at/6fz
And the answer du jour seems to be “Yes, we feel great about X.” Which is good, as it goes, but feelings can be deluded.
The jargon du jour question from analysts is “Can you provide some colour on…?” They seem to want colour more than facts. Arsehats.
Why are corporate heads always “excited” about every product of financial announcement? Surely clear-minded focus would be better?
Fri plan: Write for Crikey; more writing; “Patch Monday” podcast stuff; food in Wentworth Falls?; catch up on much comms backlog many lots.
The Microsoft quarterly earnings call is in 15 minutes, such a perfect way to start the day. http://arseh.at/6fw
@sylmobile No, I won’t miss the wedding at all.
Friday, apparently. And a busy one.
@NanoPunk Yes train wrecks are always amusing.
@michaelneale Yes, there does seem to be a certain topic that I’m in demand for. There’s a couple I had to turn down too.
Oh that’s right, I’m on this week’s OzSpot podcast at GameSpot. Amusing, given I’m not a gamer as such. http://arseh.at/6fb
RT @leslienassar: @stilgherrian Will you be staying in NetSuites suite at NetSuite SuiteWorld (eating NetSuite Sweets)? [No. Thank God.]
Shit. Only 11 days until I leave for NetSuite’s SuiteWorld in San Francisco. Not enough days to do stuff that needs to be done before then.
Heading West. On a Train.
@abctech The PSN interview you seek is at http://arseh.at/6e8 should no-one have told you yet.
@ninefold Yes, a narwhal. Specifically, the Dispproving Narwhal. It’s on the internet. /cc @JohnDobbin @iain_chalmers
In terms of, say, preventing you being rained upon, the temporary canopy at Newtown station is… how shall we put this? Shit.
@gavincostello I shall bear than in mind for future events, but I must admit I wasn’t particularly desperate.
RT @dekrazee1: Got crabs? http://instagr.am/p/Dn68… [This is rather classy, don’t you think?]
Now you’re just getting silly. All of you. @quietdiscourse @garystark @NicholasMerry
RT @bernietb: Vodka? [Well that’s the most sensible suggestion I’ve seen all day!]
Trying to get exciting about something. Anything. Preferably something with a K in it.
@iBleeter We are all in the past…
@Stacey0 Ta for the generous offer, but of course rather than talk about your iPhone I’d prefer sticking pins in my eyes. Nothing personal.
@iBleeter I’m not 20 minutes into the future, that’s for sure.
Mobile: Town Hall station; Newtown station; Enmore Rd; King St; unexplained bit; eventually back to Sydney CBD before heading West.
Anyone want to take me to lunch for business purposes, so last night’s accommodation is tax deductible? Or a quick world domination meeting?
RT @nphair: It’s the US, a class action is therefore de rigueur… #Sony [And you’ve got to be in it to win it.] /cc @darrenpauli
@glengyron Oh I didn’t bother looking at the videos before retweeting. Fact-checking is for heritage media. #trollday
@glengyron Ah if #trollday is a “be part of the cool kids crew at school” thing then that explains why I wasn’t in the loop. Ta.
Thanks @quietdiscourse @glengyron for the #trollday explanatory videos http://t.co/uPqS4ax http://youtu.be/H_X7mMU6…
The whole #trollday thing seemed to kick off when I was otherwise engaged. Can someone point me to a very brief explanation?
Alas this particular bit of ambient intimacy isn’t paying the rent. I am now behind schedule for the morning.
@feneleyandco Indeed, I’d file it under “continuing dialog about how a medium is used”. Even if it felt like it began as a bit of an attack.
@Jen_Bennett @feneleyandco I don’t have my head around the #trollday meme but “ambient intimacy” is a bit 2007. Is there a better term now?
@feneleyandco Oh are we bickering? I just thought you were registering a complaint. Can bicker if you prefer. /cc @Skigod @Jen_Bennett
@feneleyandco Indeed, I was going to say earlier that you should perhaps not follow me, because it’s not what you may have expected.
@feneleyandco Thanks, glad you like my work. But my Twitter feed has never been about my work, but precisely a minutiae of day thing.
@feneleyandco I think most people wouldn’t care about most things I tweet. It continually amazes me that I have more than 50 followers.
@feneleyandco Well thank you for pigeonholing me. I’m not impervious to feedback. But I think we have very different views of Twitter.
@feneleyandco Yes, I use Twitter to keep friends and colleagues in the loop about the progress of my day. Ambient intimacy.
@feneleyandco I appreciate the feedback but I probably won’t lose sleep over it. People choose whether to follow me or not.
@feneleyandco Maybe it’s the time you look it? The recent phase when I dropped back to mostly just routine “I did/wrote this” stuff? Dunno.
@darrenpauli I did not see the phishing attack on Xbox, no. Is it worth my time reading up on it? Anything remarkable?
@phildobbie Oi! I did all my radio in Adelaide. Indeed, I worked with those two 1395FIVEaa presenters when we were all at the ABC.
@phildobbie One does feel a bit of a goose when you discover that you’ve been talking to a dead phone for a while.
@feneleyandco Well clearly I do, as scrolling back would show. But it’s a personal Twitter account. The balance is to my worldview.
@feneleyandco What sort of response would you like to that question?
@darrenpauli I haven’t seen anything saying Sony has failed PCI DSS, but the lawsuit would force Sony to prove they’re compliant, I guess.
Hmmm… On my radio spots this week I’ve been introduced as a “security expert”, which is flattering but not exactly true.
On hold for radio 1395FIVEaa Adelaide to talk Playstation Network hack. Audio stream at http://5aa.com.au/
The great thing about doing radio spots is the lack of pants.
Thu plan: Clear the desk backlog; errands to Enmore & Newtown; lunch; return to Wentworth Falls and freeze; a whole bunch of writing.
I find it disturbing that you and your relatives believe they have special powers, @jasonlangenauer @stufromoz
I’m on radio 1395FIVEaa Adelaide at 0905 AEST / 0835 ACST talking Playstation Network hack. Audio stream at http://5aa.com.au/
It’s raining. Did I ask for this?
@richardtuffin Cool, looking forward to meeting you and, I daresay, quite a few others. #poltech
@richardtuffin The ticket code is listed in the blog post I linked to, last paragraph: “dale” http://arseh.at/63r #poltech
@franksting Yeah that sounds about right, After all, I am from Adelaide originally. Can’t get much more Puritan.
I’m in Canberra on 1 June for the Microsoft Politics & Technology Forum with other suspects http://arseh.at/
@franksting No you shouldn’t tell me that. And you shouldn’t tell ms3 that she will burn in hell for that sort of disrespect.
@JustinBarrie I’ll be in Canberra on 31/5 and 1/6, so the Asahis are on you then? ;)
Hunting Asahi. Because it’s that kind of evening.
Oh FFS you’re a Pisces! What did you expect to happen?
Wedding? What wedding?
Adequate bus-borne RI.
Mobile: Bus down Parramatta Rd to Camperdown to retrieve my suitcase, then another bus back to the Sydney CBD. Glamorous.
[Standard catch-up thank-you for all the comments, advice and compliments I’ve received today but was too busy or rude to respond to.]
@carolduncan Nah, I can’t live up there permanently. The colder, cloudier weather is triggering SAD, and I struggle enough as it is.
@carolduncan My sojourn in the Blue Mountains is while I’m “between houses”. I will return to Sydney in due course. I still visit weekly.
@carolduncan Mind you, I will happily consult - that is, give my opinion - on anything if people have a budget. ;)
@carolduncan Heh it’s cool. I should give you a new bio line too, I’m not really doing IT consulting any more, just journalism / commentary.
@carolduncan I’m not sure that linking to my Twitter stream is the best way to introduce me to the ABC’s audience.
Audio of me and @trib talking PlayStation Network hack on ABC Radio @1233newcastle is at http://arseh.at/6e8
I did rearrange my plans. I will be staying in Sydney another night. I simply couldn’t face the Blue Mountains cold today. I am a wimp.
I would respond to all of your complaints, suggestions and sympathy about lousy bandwidth if, like, the internet was working.
Becoming frustrated with the lousy network performance of Telstra Next G in Haymarket.
Meanwhile I shan’t be on the television this evening after all, for various reasons. I’ll explain them in my Weekly Wrap post on Sunday.
I’ve just been interviewed for the GameSpot podcast. This is particularly amusing because I am not a gamer. I’ll post linkage when it’s up.
@jonoabroad I’m reliably informed that some online accounts can be opened by quoting passport numbers etc.
@jdub Oh sorry, I wasn’t watching Twitter while talking on the radio, I was reading websites. Thanks for that info.
What is this godawful shite music on ABC Radio @1233newcastle?
Pro tip: Pouring orange juice on your MacBook Pro’s trackpad at breakfast time does not improve its pointery performance at lunchtime.
Aparently @trib and I are on ABC Radio @1233newcastle talking Playstation security breach. Stream at http://arseh.at/6dy
It’s amazing how much planning you can do in a 30-min meeting, even with jokes included, eh @engochick @bhaverty?
I suppose I had better do some research. In the meeting?
I probably shouldn’t say which TV program yet ‘cos if I decide not to do it then the person they get will know they’re the second choice.
Speaking of railways and urinals, I’m on a train now. Heading to my 1200 meeting. The fact that it’s already 1215 is entirely coincidental.
No @jeamland, Wynyard is not a Playstation, it’s a urinal. I have told you this before, I am sure.
Now, do I want to stay in Sydney tonight so I can be on the television? That’s the bigger question.
What’s a “Playstation” anyway? Is it something for a model railway layout?
Rearranging my day on the fly.
Yes @MatthewBevan @carolduncan I can chat to you about the Playstation network breach on @1233newcastle at 1315 this afternoon.
Biting the hand that feeds me, while at the same time eating salad. Today is just weird.
OH: “I only went out for a couple quiet drinks and I ended up at the fuckin’ Sly Fox until 4am.”
Gender reassignment techniques have improved out of sight in the decades since that one was done. A real Royston Vasey job.
Mobile: Missenden Rd; King St; Enmore Rd; King St; Newtown station; Town Hall station; then it gets vague. That’ll all take about 2 hours.
Actually @jeamland @Warlach I did a whole bunch of work on the weekend, so it wasn’t really a 5-day thingo for me.
Wed plan: Check out; errands to Enmore & Newtown; meeting at ZDNet?; return to Wentworth Falls; a little writing. I think that’s it.
I think you’re right, @jeamland, but there’s clearly no pleasant word for the combination of Monday and Wednesday.
Across the weekend I wrote a bunch of blog posts over at http://stilgherrian.com but I can’t be arsed linking to them all now.
I have reason to believe that it is Wednesday, which is a bit weird. Nevertheless I shall switch into work mode.
New blog post: “Priority Club: so far, a frustrating loyalty scheme” http://arseh.at/6d6
New blog post: “Livestream’s depressing obsession with celebrity” http://arseh.at/6d5
RT me: I’m not really paying much attention to anything online this weekend. There’ll be long delays before I reply, if I do at all.
New blog post: “50 to 50 #9A: The Real Space Age” http://arseh.at/6bx
I’m not really paying much attention to anything online this weekend. There’ll be long delays before I reply, if I do at all.
New blog post: “50 to 50 #9: The Space Age” http://arseh.at/6bs
New blog post: “Fowler’s Assange biography is failing to impress”, to put it mildly. http://arseh.at/6bj #wikileaks
OH: “Anzac Day? No, I’m not going to Dawn Service. It’s not me. It’s so hard to find a park. I don’t watch ‘Sunrise’ any more either.”
6pm. COB.
@tomjsenior Art is about intent not medium. Only a fuckwit would imagine that “interactivity” would somehow prohibit artistic intent.
@tomjsenior Pah! N00bz.
@JuliusFlywheel The frame should be, IMO, “What can be done with New Medium Y?” irrespective of what models may have gone before.
@JuliusFlywheel That’s not my point. As long as you try to imagine Old Medium X jammed into New Medium Y you’re limiting your thinking.
I no more want an “internet newspaper” than I want a “radio encyclopedia”. The entire “internet newspaper” frame is WRONG. Stop now.
Nov 2010: “Lack of Flash Gives MacBook Air Two Extra Hours of Battery Life” http://arseh.at/6aw HT @peter_tonoli [Useful info, thanks.]
RT @meadea: David Gyngell said “over my dead body” will the ABC do the Kerry Packer story. http://bit.ly/fqPfQl [One can only hope…]
@sboiling It shows how desperate Microsoft must be getting these days. I’ll have to buy some shoes now. Dunlop Volleys won’t cut it.
Apparently so-called “Senator” @KateLundy and “MP” @JoeHockey are too. Whoever they are. http://arseh.at/63r #poltech
Did I mention that I’m on the panel for the Microsoft Politics & Technology Forum in Canberra on 1 June? http://arseh.at/
Anyway that’s more than enough about computer specs. Christ it’s boring stuff! I’m glad I only have to think about it every three years.
@jonoabroad Yep, I carry a spare fully-charged battery. It’s been vital for covering conferences etc when no power outlets supplied.
You folks should get the internet, apparently you can then look shit up for yourselves.
Um @peter_tonoli @BrynAU din’t ask me anything else about Apple’s battery tests, I have quoted the one line. “Browsing 25 popular websites.”
I’m just judging battery life while checking models, @smperris @skaye. Changing platforms is an expensive and time-consuming thing.
Apple has a handy guide to organising your life around their batteries’ needs, as opposed to vice versa. http://arseh.at/6av
Fine print on Apple website says the 7 hours is for “web browsing on wireless”, with the display at 50% brightness. Cheating, I’d call that.
RT @DDsD: Apple batteries are totally swappable… you just take your machine in to the Apple store and they swap it for a new machine.