Monday 23 to Sunday 29 December 2019 was a curious Christmas week, and a week of cat-sitting. I went to an actual Christmas Lunch for the first time in 15 or maybe even 20 years. And then there was… well… you’d better read on.
Articles
I’m not sure these count as “articles” as such, but they’re non-podcast media that I made so here they are.
- On Monday I visited every station on Sydney Trains’ Carlingford Line, which closes next week to make way for the Parramatta Light Rail project. I took a bunch of photos, including the feature image above.
- On Friday I saw the movie Cats, which has received less than positive reviews. I posted my own review via Twitter. In brief, one star.
- On Saturday I posted a short video of a Sydney Trains K-Set train arriving at and departing Telopea station, part of Monday’s adventure.
Media Appearances
- On Saturday I was quoted in The Telegraph, New Zealand electrician paid £12,000 compensation after being fired for refusing to submit to face scan. “We are starting to use technology in a way that denies people their humanity — to get three minutes more productivity out of them,” I said. Amongst other things.
- The story also blipped up in French, Un électricien néo-zélandais a payé une indemnité de 12 000 £ après avoir été licencié pour avoir refusé de se soumettre à une analyse faciale. I quite like being described as “L’écrivain vétéran de la cybersécurité Stilgherrian”.
- I’m always intrigued where my work is cited. This week a report blipped up, A matter of security, privacy and trust: A study of the principles and values of encryption in New Zealand (PDF) by Michael Dizon et al at the University of Waikato. They cited my ZDNet story Encrypting data at rest is vital, but it’s just not happening (18 June 2015).
Podcasts, Corporate Largesse
None.
The Week Ahead
I’m keeping it flexible. It’s New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, and then the holiday for New Year’s Day on Wednesday. I was scheduled to return to the Blue Mountains on Monday, but the bushfire risk may well return. I’ll monitor and decide day by day.
Update 30 December 2019: I’ll stay in Sydney until Wednesday, and then review my plans.
Further Ahead
I still haven’t planned anything over the summer, but there’s a few events locked in for later in the New Year. Please let me know if there’s anything I should add. Send airline tickets if it’s outside the Sydney region.
- APNIC 49 / APRICOT 2020, Melbourne, 18–21 February 2020.
- Ethics of data science conference 2020, Sydney, 25–27 March 2020.
- AusCERT 2020 Cyber Security Conference, Gold Coast, 2–5 June 2020 (TBC).
[Photo: K-Set at Clyde. A four-car Sydney Trains K-Set at Clyde station, ready for its run north along the soon-to-close Carlingford Line. Photographed on 23 December 2019.]