My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 August 2026 was both productive and entertaining. I posted a podcast, I got a bunch of client work done, I saw the wonderful Takashi Wakasugi in an intimate comedy venue, and I ended the week at a delightful retreat in Bowral for the TechLeaders 2026 conference.
This crowdfunder paragraph is the same as last week but with a new total: This was another week when I didn’t really push the new-season crowdfunder, The 9pm Spring Series 2026. Despite that, and thanks to some very generous people, we’re now 46% of the way to the first target. Spring starts very soon, which means so will the pluggage.
As for the sage of The Lost Module, the crate containing one-third of my stuff in storage which went missing, the claim documents have been on the desk of the boss of the storage company for over a week now. I must be patient.
Podcasts
- The 9pm Clacton and On and On with David F Porteous, recorded the previous Friday evening and posted on Monday.
Articles
- The Weekly Cybers #130. Australian government to set up opt-in blocks for gambling adverts, Meta in court again (again), France’s teen social media ban ruled unconstitutional, and much more.
Photos, Videos, Media Appearances
None of these this week. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear and when the occasional livestreams are scheduled.
Corporate Largesse
- TechLeaders is of course a corporate event, run by Influencing, and they covered my accommodation at The Gibralter in Bowral, along with meals, drinks, and transport from Sydney. I know that Adobe is paying for tonight’s dinner. If there’s any further largesse from individual sponsors I’ll let you know next week.
Some Interesting Links
Just a handful this week because I’m a bit busy right now.
- “In 1976, the Bishopbriggs Times interviewed a 17-year-old Doctor Who fan called Peter Capaldi about his favourite programme…”
- Potato News Today is “No-nonsense, no-frills potato news stories from around the world”.
- If you touch computers a living you will recognise what’s happening in this video.
- This week’s suggested follow: There’s some fantastic animal videos on the YouTube channel of Zoos Victoria.
The Week Ahead
I’m starting the week in Bowral for the second day of TechLeaders 2026, returning to Sydney on Monday night.
From Tuesday onwards and through to next Monday I’ll be making daily visits to Ashfield to ensure that two cats are safe and fed. I won’t be staying overnight because I do live in Sydney now, so ideally I won’t be hissed at, but I’ll report on progress.
The Weekly Cybers newsletter will appear on Friday afternoon as usual, and in the evening I’ll be checking out one of the local licensed clubs and, ideally, winning a meat raffle. As for the weekend, well, that still has to be planned.
Further Ahead
- Plateia Festival 2026, Earlwood, 19 September 2026. It’s another of those typical suburban street festivals, and as usual I’m looking forward to the food. If I go. Which I probably will.
I guess I should add a few more things here soon, right?
[Photo: It isn’t an Anti-Moon Cannon, nor a secret Jewish space laser, but rather some sort of ventilation device, probably for a nearby underground high-pressure gas pipeline, photographed in Canterbury, Sydney, on 19 August 2026.]