My week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 June 2023 wasn’t very productive at all, because I seemed to be fighting a cold or something. And yes the weather has been quite cold too. All the same, I did squeeze out two podcasts. Voomph!
Fox Update
Finally, 59 days after the fox trap was placed, the fox has been seen again. On Thursday morning.
There’s a brief video on Twitter. I must say, he’s looking thinner than he was two months ago. Winter will not serve him well.
I should also mention that the trap is not yet baited or set. The first stage was for him to accept that it’s just part of the landscape, and now that’s done. We’ll organise some bait in the coming week. Once he’s used to it being a potential source of food we’ll set the trap.
Podcasts
- My client Lockstep posted another full episode of their new podcast Making Data Better, titled Data in our digital lives: Many moving parts | 02. It’s the second part of an introductory zoom across the landscape before subsequent episodes dig into specific topics. Do please listen to it, and let me know know what you think.
- The 9pm Death of Political Journalism, a solo episode of the Edict recorded and posted on Saturday.
- Rhymes with Sasquatch | Pilot. As threatened, the pilot episode of potential weekly podcast of news and opinion about Elon Musk, the world’s most annoying billionaire.
I’m currently surveying my podcast listeners to find out what you’d prefer listening to. Please go to The 9pm Quick Survey 2: Whaddyawant? before 30 June 2023.
Articles
- Digital developments from Canberra 40. Serco loses its call centre contract, the RAAF gets 9 Squadron back, Google tries to redirect criticism, and some interesting new legislation hits the table.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.
Media Appearances
- My 2017 ZDNet story Secret F-35, P-8, C-130 data stolen in Australian defence contractor hack was cited in the paper Aviation and the Cybersecurity Threats by Valeriia Filinovych and Zhengbing Hu.
Videos, Photos, Corporate Largesse
None of these things. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear.
Recommendations
As is now usual, here’s a quick update on the most annoying billionaire in the world. This is also the list that informed a certain pilot podcast listed above.
- Elon Musk says Twitter video app for smart TVs is ‘coming’.
- Elon Musk tells remote workers to get off their ‘moral high horse.’ Google tracks ID badge swipes. Employees cry foul.
- Twitter stiffs Google, reports Platformer. “Musk won’t pay his Google Cloud bill — and the company’s trust and safety systems are hanging in the balance.”
- “A Colorado judge has given the order to evict Twitter from its Boulder office due to unpaid rent.”
- Elon Musk’s decision to not pay rent on Twitter’s offices is adding to commercial-mortgage headaches at Goldman Sachs, which I’m sure is heartbreaking news for everyone.
- Twitter Hit With $250M Lawsuit From Music Publishers Over ‘Massive Copyright Infringement’ Claim.
- Elon Musk says Tesla’s market cap is directly tied to whether it solves autonomous driving.
- Elon Musk expects Neuralink to do its first implantation in humans later this year.
And in other news:
- Is There a Future in Politics for Russia’s Wagner Boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin? Given that there’s a bit of a dispute between Prigozhin and Putin these days, this could all become quite interesting.
- This came up after the launch of the new Apple thing: History of VR – Timeline of Events and Tech Development.
- Another good episode of ABC RN’s Rear Vision: On a mission — women in space.
- Secrets to the success of Australian media’s hit-maker Marc Fennell. It’s a lovely profile but it doesn’t include the one secret I really want to understand: How does Marc manage to get so much work done yet still have time for family and friends and an actual life?
The Week Ahead
Monday is a desk and paperwork day, I think, because I’m then spending most of Tuesday through Thursday down in Sydney.
On Tuesday afternoon I’m recording a pilot podcast episode with my good friend the Snarky Platypus, who has recently returned to the socials after a two-year break. If it’s any good I’ll post it Wednesday night.
If you’re a supporter with TRIGGER WORDS or a CONVERSATION TOPIC, please let me know by 2pm AEST this Tuesday 20 June.
Obviously there will be some proper work schedule in around all that.
Further Ahead
- NEW: Cyber impacts on the US/PRC military balance, UTS Australia-China Relations Institute, online, 6 July 2023.
- POTENTIAL NEW DATE: The 9pm Public House Forum 8 livestream and recording, 22 July 2023 at 1pm (TBC). To stay informed you should be on the mailing list, because this date is only tentative at this stage.
- NetThing Internet Governance Forum, Brisbane and online, 28 August 2023 (TBC).
- NEW: APNIC 56, Kyoto and online, 12–14 September 2023. I very much doubt that I’ll be going to Japan., but this is always such a good conference.
[Photo: Winter dusk in Leura, photographed on 15 June 2020. This is from three years ago, but this week has seen similar clear but chilly weather.]