I’ve often thought that I seem to cycle between busy weeks and quiet weeks. My week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 April 2021 was certainly a quiet one, or at least a non-productive one, although to be fair it was the short work week following Easter. And next week will be a busy one.
This time last year, it was three weeks into my personal Quarantines, but it was the first week when I really noticed. On Good Friday 2020 I took a trip down to Sydney for a medical appointment and some shopping. Public transport is usually quiet on Good Friday, sure, but this time the trains were almost completely deserted.
Articles, Podcasts, Media Appearances, Videos, Corporate Largesse
None of any of these things. However you can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to get a compilation of new stories by email each Sunday morning, if there are any. As for podcasts, well, you know where to find them.
Recommendations
- Recent climate news reminded me of the the-part James Burke documentary from 1989, After the Warming. Its premise is that it’s a program from 2050 looking back at how humans coped climate change. There’s dodgy 480p copies on YouTube, part 1 and part 2. Three decades after it was written some of the details seem quaint — such as Japan being the global hegemony — but most of it hasn’t changed at all.
- Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. “This work-in-progress is a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of science fiction.”
- The priceless racism of the Duke of Edinburgh. I’ve mostly avoided saying anything in public bout the death of Prince Philip, the tributes, and the criticisms. However it’s worth reading this Al Jazeera piece from August 2017, written to mark the prince’s retirement from public duties.
- According to Dr Alice Gorman, who’s been a podcast guest, “To celebrate 60 years since the first human went into space, watch First Orbit. This extraordinary film uses original footage combined with video taken by @astro_paolo from the ISS to recreate what Yuri saw as he flew around Earth.”
- And according to John Birmingham, who’s also been a podcast guest, “This old Roger Angell piece on martinis in the @NewYorker is perfect.” It’s from 2002.
The Week Ahead
This needs to be a solid work week, without causing too much stress. Let’s see how I go.
On Tuesday evening I’m recording an episode of The 9pm Edict with blockchain and crypotocurrency realist David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain and Libra Shrugged: How Facebook Tried to Take Over the Money. That’ll be posted on Friday.
On Thursday night it’s The 8pm Quiz S02 E03. Please be ready to play another episode of this silly quiz at 8pm AEST. If you haven’t played before, you can still watch previous episodes.
The 9pm Edict and The 8pm Quiz are supported by the generosity of their listeners. You can subscribe for special benefits or throw a few coins into the tip jar. Please consider.
On Friday morning I’ll try to catch Google News Initiative Live: Investigations and Pinpoint Australia, an introduction to some of Google’s document analysis tools.
Two ZDNet stories will have to fit in around all that, and a third one is already in the queue for the following week. There’s a lot going on!
Further Ahead
- Aaron Chen’s Sorry Forever, The Comedy Store, Sydney, 22 April 2021. There are also shows on 23 and 24 April.
- Google News Initiative Live: Visualisation and Mapping Australia, being an introduction to some more of Google’s tools, 23 April 2021.
- AusCERT 2021, Gold Coast and online, 11–13 May 2021 (TBC).
- The 8pm Quiz S02 E04, 20 May 2021.
- Australian Cyber Conference, Melbourne, 15–17 November 2021 (TBC).
[Photo: A year ago, on Good Friday, 10 April 2020, Sydney Central station was virtually deserted as the first of the city’s COVID-19 lockdowns bites deep.]