This week of Monday 13 to Sunday 19 April 2026 brought some deep orange sunsets thanks to some large-scale hazard reduction burns to the west of Sydney. I tried to get back into a proper work routine, but in the first half of the week I seemed to be fighting a lurgi and was very, very tired.
I also took a day off to go to the funeral of veteran technology journalist and broadcaster Gary Stark. Sydney’s vast Rockwood Necropolis is always fascinating to visit, although it’s rarely a happy occasion.
I managed to do a little planning for The Great Unboxening, however. There’s some initial information below, and I’ll have more for you tomorrow.
The crowdfunder I launched ten weeks ago, The 9pm Stilgherrian’s Dramatic Decamp to Campsie, is now 96% of the way to its second target. I posted a new update the other day, and I’ll set a third target tomorrow because, well, everything has been more disruptive and expensive that I’d planned for.
There’s still no progress in finding The Lost Module.
Articles
- The Weekly Cybers #113. Social media age assurance tech trial ignored privacy warnings, French government to dump Windows for Linux, Meta to create an artificial Mark Zuckerberg, and much more.
Podcasts, Videos, Photos, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse
None of these. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear and when livestreams are scheduled — the one coming up on Tuesday night.
Some Interesting Links
- Ukraine’s army has reportedly captured an enemy position using robots with no direct infantry support.
- This is a delightful little short film voiced by Michael Spicer: Fan Art. Also, some philosophical and political questions.
- It’s from 2024, but my attention has been drawn to this video tour of China’s Tiangong space station (“Heavenly Palace”) with the Shenzhou-18 crew.
- New from Patrick Boyle: Mark Zuckerberg Spent $88 Billion on a World With No Legs. As usual, some brilliantly dry snark, as well as the fact that adjusted for inflation, the Metaverse has cost more than NASA’s Apollo program.
- You might like to check out my friend Elissa’s new game Dungeons of Freeport.
- I’d missed this, but the Museum of Chinese in Australia (MOCA) is now open in Haymarket, Sydney. I visited it when it had a small preview exhibition and chatted to a couple of the curators. I was impressed.
- This week’s suggested follow: From the National Film and Sound Archive, the NFSA Film Australia channel. “This channel presents titles from the Film Australia Collection (1913 to 2008), a body of government-produced documentaries and programs that capture Australia’s social, cultural and historical life.”
The Week Ahead
Monday will be about the client work I’ve been putting off for a couple of weeks now, plus some important administrivia.
On Tuesday night it’s my livestream The Great Unboxening | 02 at 9pm AEST. In this episode I’ll start talking about some of the 500-odd books I’m shifting, with priority given to people who’ve supported my various projects over the years. I’ll be focusing on the first batch and on six special books for which I’ve set suggested prices, but you’re welcome to browse the full list and start thinking about what you’d be interested in. Feel free to make offers.
The Weekly Cybers newsletter will appear as usual on Friday.
Saturday is Anzac Day. This is Australia, so of course there’s a public holiday on Monday — at least here in NSW — but at this stage I have no plans for this long weekend.
[Update 23 April 2026: Thursday is a catch-up day for tackling many loose ends. Saturday will be devoted to sorting out a bunch of household things.]
Further Ahead
- He Huang’s TEMU Joke Factory, Sydney, 3 May 2026. Long-time readers will know that I’ve been really enjoying her comedy in recent years.
- NEW: CSIRO Conversations: Quantum for Every Business, online, 5 May 2026.
- Takashi Wakasugi’s Wabi-Sabi Comedy, Sydney, 16 May 2026. I saw Takashi’s work-in-progress show back in December, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all comes together.
[Photo: Sunset in Burwood, Sydney, on 18 April 2026. Those hazard reduction burns out west have created some spectacular sunsets.]