My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 January 2022 continued to see me ramp up into work mode, what with a podcast, an article, and a whole bunch of other things that I won’t be telling you about. But the pandemic continues, and fun is still recommended against.
Podcasts
- The 9pm Hot Buttered Cuttlefish of the Plague Times with Upulie Divisekera and Dr Trent Yarwood. Recorded last Saturday, posted this Saturday, and it was all a lot of fun.
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Articles
- Commercial surveillance the more immediate problem for citizens: Home Affairs chief, ZDNet, 21 January 2022. My first ZDNet story for the new year.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.
Photos
- I’ve updated my Waratah sequence 2021 for another week, having returned from Sydney mid-week. This takes us up to day 145.
Media Appearances
- My idle tweet about a poster at a light rail stop triggered an online discussion, sure, but was it worth a news story? Happy Media thought so. NSW’s new ‘Transport Yourself’ ad is sparking debate online.
Videos, Corporate Largesse
None. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for when new videos appear.
Recommendations
- From last weekend’s Linux.conf.au conference, ABC Election analyst Antony Green explains Election Night Analysis: Art or Science. Very maths, very nerd.
- Of more general interest is Justin Warren’s How To Annoy The Government With FOI Requests. He’s also posted the slides including his script (PDF). I reckon this might finally inspire me to do some freedom of information work.
- I’ve been getting into another British game show, Jimmy Carr’s I Literally Just Told You. If you’re in the UK it’s on Channel 4. Elsewhere, well, here’s a YouTube playlist.
- Aussie pub culture was a mystery for migrants like my family.
- “The French title of March of the Penguins was March of the Emperor, which led to perhaps my favorite commercial of all time. If you’ve never seen it, I am begging you: do yourself the kindness of watching this glorious piece of advertising.” Yes, watch it.
The Week Ahead
[Update 24 January 2022: I’ve edited this section a little to reflect having taken a brain break on Monday morning.]
Tuesday and Thursday will be about the geek-work that I’m being way too tardy in finishing.
Wednesday is the public holiday for Australia Day. I’ll probably watch all the @OzKitsch Coldest 100 videos, their parody of Triple J’s Hottest 100.
I haven’t set the date yet, but the next episode of The 9pm Edict will be with Dr Space Junk aka Dr Alice Gorman and perhaps a colleague about the International Space Station Archaeological Project — the first archaeology to be done somewhere other than Planet Earth.
If you’re a podcast supporter with a TRIGGER WORD or a CONVERSATION TOPIC for that episode, then please get them to me by the end of Wednesday 26 January.
Friday will include some social interaction in Sydney before what I hope will be a pleasant weekend. I hope all weekends will be pleasant.
Further Ahead
I’ve decided to list entertainment events I’m going to, not just work things. This is a desperate attempt to prove to myself that my life is in balance.
- APRICOT 2022 / APNIC 53, 28 February to 3 March 2022.
- Aaron Chen at the Enmore Theatre, 5 May 2022. I’ve become quite the fan of Mr Chen, in a reserved and adult fashion. Check his brief set from the 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala. Such a great version of his apple crumble bit.
- Nigel Ng’s The Haiyaa World Tour, Enmore Theatre, 9 June 2022. He’s most famous for his character Uncle Roger, of course, but I’m hoping most of the show is him as himself. See the last two of his YouTube playlists.
[Photo: “Funland is temporarily unavailable”, a sign photographed in Ashfield Mall, Sydney, around a year ago on 17 January 2021 but still apt today.]