My week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 April 2020 revealed to me how the COVID-19 lockdown is making depression more likely — but also how a long walk in the sun can help with that. And Australia’s COVID-19 contact tracing app became a hot topic.
I should also mention that I’ve been trying to limit my conversations about the pandemic. Two brief podcasts each weekday to catch up on the relevant news, and a small amount of Twitter chat trying to focus on expert opinion rather than uninformed ranting. It seems to be making a difference.
Articles, Podcasts
None published, but I’m in the middle of writing a piece about what’s happening in Australia’s cyber diplomacy, and that will appear at ZDNet on Monday. I also took a break from the weekly podcast pattern to take a long walk in the sun. Recommended.
That said, on Sunday I tweeted three long threads about that damned COVID-19 contact tracing app, one before it was released, one as people began discussing it, and one later in the day. Please note that these are only rough thoughts at this stage.
Media Appearances
- I spoke about COVID-19 contact tracing apps again, this time on ABC Adelaide on Friday evening.
- My involvement in a stupid attempt to calculate the speed of the Bald Eagle in the logo of the US Postal Service was reported at Interesting Engineering.
- Updating last week’s Wrap, the story resulting from that interview with the Telegraph in the UK eventually turned up online via the Herald on Sunday in New Zealand, Tracing app may be forced on Aussies.
Corporate Largesse
None, but thanks as always to the new and returning supporters who hit the tip jar. You’re more than welcome to do the same.
The Week Ahead
The isolation continues at Bunjaree Cottages at Wentworth Falls.
Now that Australia’s COVID-19 contact tracing app COVIDSafe has been released along with its authorising ministerial Determination, the catchily-titled Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Emergency Requirements—Public Health Contact Information) Determination 2020, I’m expecting to do a few more media spots.
Indeed, already booked in are:
- ABC Canberra on Monday at 0710 AEST
- FIVEaa Adelaide on Monday at 0705 ACST / 0735 AEST.
On Tuesday I’ll do another podcast in the “His Plague Diary” series, unless an emerging news story pushes it back a day or two.
Some relevant online events are starting to appear in my schedule. On Wednesday I’ll drop into an online consultation by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. And on Friday I’ll be watching the final oral presentation by a Ph.D student who I’d helped with her research.
Further Ahead
There’s nothing much scheduled for the next three weeks. This is our world now.
All these events are slowly being pushed into the future, as you might expect.
- AusCERT 2020 Cyber Security Conference, Gold Coast, 15–18 September 2020, except they’re now saying it will be a “virtual conference”.
- Australian Cyber Conference, Melbourne, 27-29 October 2020 (TBC).
- Australian Cyber Conference, Canberra, 14–16 March 2021 (TBC). OK, so they had actually updated the website. I didn’t see the new dates.
[Photo: Wentworth Falls Lake. The park at Wentworth Falls Lake is normally crowded on a sunny Saturday, but not during the COVID-19 lockdown. Photographed on 25 April 2020.]