Monday 2 to Sunday 8 November 2020 was one of the strangest months in my life, not because of what I did but because of what went down in America.
I’ve said almost everything I’ve wanted to say about the Trump defeat in the podcast and on Twitter, so I won’t repeat that here. What I will say, though, is that my thoughts will continue to evolve over the coming weeks, because the story isn’t over until the fat man, etc. Expect more commentary.
As for everything else, finally filing that paper after having succeeded in the Pozible campaign was a huge stress reduction. I hadn’t realised how much it was affecting me.
Anyway, on with business…
Podcasts
- “The 9pm Overturned Turtle Taliban with John Birmingham”, recorded on Friday. Listen to it before all the comments about Donald Trump are out of date. Also, I’m really quite pleased with the title.
The 9pm Edict is supported by the generosity of its listeners. Please subscribe for special benefits or throw a few coins into the tip jar. Please consider.
Articles
None, but I finally filed the first draft of the update to my 2019 Carnegie Endowment paper, The Encryption Debate in Australia. It still has to go through peer review and redrafting, so it won’t be out until mid-January.
Media Appearances
- My bland reaction to a tweet by Donald Trump Jr was quoted by the Huffington Post, The Intellectualist, whatever that is, and Báo Phụ Nữ.
- One of my food photos, that of a bowl of chicken laksa, was used to illustrate スパイシー＆ã¾ã‚ã‚„ã‹ã§ç¾Žå‘³ï¼ã‚·ãƒ³ã‚¬ãƒãƒ¼ãƒ«å物ラクサã®å店４é¸, which by Google’s translation means “Spicy & mellow and delicious! 4 famous restaurants in Singapore’s famous Laksa”. Which is amusing, because the photo was taken in Sydney.
Corporate Largesse
None. It’s been so long I can hardly even remember what it’s like to scoff five-star food on someone else’s expense account.
Recommendations
- Darling Harbour over the years, a lovely photo feature from Sydney Living Museums, with links to more of them.
- Why the Alt-Right’s Most Famous Woman Disappeared, a story about Lauren Southern who has now washed up in Australia to become a Sky News Australia commentator. Because of course she has.
- An ancient force is influencing the election, explains this fascinating thread from Latif Nassar, and it goes back millions of years.
- If you have yet to watch Armando Iannunni’s film The Personal History of David Copperfield then it’s time you did. It’s on Apple TV in Australia, and probably other places too. Also see Why Dev Patel in Dickens could change film for ever.
The Week Ahead
It’s week 34 of the Quarantimes at Bunjaree Cottages at Wentworth Falls. It’s also Risk and Cyber Week from AISA and RMIA, though I don’t know how much of that I’ll be enjoying. They haven’t gotten back to me about a media pass.
On Thursday evening I’ll record a podcast with Cam Smith aka @sexenheimer. It’s part of the End of Spring Series 2020 and it’ll contain quite a bit about conspiracy theories. The finished product will appear on Friday.
I’m also recording a podcast with Upulie Divisekera at some point, but that one will appear next week.
Ah yeah, Wednesday is Remembrance Day. This year has gone so quickly.
Further Ahead
- Trolling in Chinese and English – Research Findings, Information Innovation @ UTS, online, 27 November 2020.
- TimeGhostTV Pearl Harbor Minute-by-Minute, online, 8 December 2020. This six-hour livestream starts at 3am AEDT in my part of the world, but I’ll definitely be watching it.
- Linux.conf.au 2021, online, 23–25 January 2021 (TBC).
- Australian Cyber Conference, Canberra, 14–16 March 2021 (TBC).
[Photo: A moth at Bunjaree Cottages photographed through a wine glass while sitting on a 5mm grid — the moth not me — on 8 November 2020. I haven’t identified the species yet.]