Monday 30 December 2019 to Sunday 5 January 2020 saw a relatively quiet start to the new year that included quite a bit of gin, and way too much bushfire smoke — though there were no direct threats to me from the fires.
The constantly smoky air was tiring, though, so I didn’t get much done. I have plenty of sympathy for anyone caught in areas with worse air quality, or with any kind of respiratory vulnerability — as well as those who’ve lost family or homes, of course.
And the fires continue.
Articles, Podcasts, Corporate Largesse
None.
Media Appearances
- On Tuesday my comments from that Telegraph story on facial recognition technology ended up on the Finnish site TiVi under thew headline Sähkömies ei halunnut käyttää kasvontunnistusta ja sai potkut – työnantaja joutui maksamaan korvauksia, and then on MicroBitti as Työntekijä ei suostunut käyttämään kasvontunnistusta ja sai potkut – työnantaja joutui maksamaan korvauksia.
- On Thursday one of my tweets was quoted in a Fox Sports (!) story, Scott Morrison slammed for insensitive comments about Australian bushfires. The story also ran in a few NewsCorp mastheads.
- Also on Thursday, one of my photos was used by New Matilda in Coal-Loving Morrison Continues His Nervous Fiddling While Australia Burns.
The Week Ahead
This week will see my determined effort to get back to work for 2020, though I don’t have anything specific locked in yet. Email and planning on Monday and Tuesday, I guess, and I’ll play it by ear after that.
The only thing on the calendar is a dinner party down on Sydney on Saturday, and the start of a week of cat-sitting on Sunday.
Further Ahead
A few events have been locked in. Please let me know if there’s anything I should add. Send airline tickets if it’s outside the Sydney region.
- The year ahead, Lowy Institute, Sydney, 29 January 2020
- 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: Huntsman spider, photographed on 27 November 2019. Not from this week, obviously, but this same spider ran across my arm while I was sleeping last night, and is currently sitting high on the wall above my bed.]