As you can see, I’ve finally implemented a new theme here. Doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be any less slack about posting, but the incorporated Twitter feed will at least change regularly. Now, as you were . . .
Updates
Brief apologies
During a recent bout of spam elimination, I managed to accidentally delete some recent legitimate comments. My apologies — it’s not because I’m in censor mode, I promise!
Happy New Year . . .
and apologies for the slackness in posting, I had a backlog of 20,000 spam comments and needed to master some advanced SQL queries to kill them before I could get anything else done! Will proceed to some updates on various subjects . . .
BRAN #3 reveals depths of consumer ignorance
Episode #3 of BRAN is now available for download for all you podcast-lovin’ types. Highlights include consumer surveys showing that 3G is a dead squib and HDTV is a deader squib, and the reason why the ACMA’s anti-spam software is more trouble than it’s worth. And, of course, the latest from the curious intersection of technology and porn.
A second helping of BRAN
The second episode of BRAN — the only tech podcast you need, featuring the combined talents of Roulla Yiacoumi, Nathan Taylor and yours truly — has now been posted for your listening pleasure. This week, we tackle everything from piracy to Zimbabwe to some “interesting” Microsoft-related domain registrations. More details and downloads at the BRAN site.
Get yourself a dose of BRAN
A new project I’ve been involved with for a while has finally gone live: BRAN, a weekly podcast on technology news with a particular focus on stuff happening in Australia. It’s a three-way discussion between myself and fellow freelance journalists Nathan Taylor and Roulla Yiacoumi. The name stands for Bloody Roulla, Angus and Nathan, though we’re open to sponsorship from Kellogg, or indeed anyone. Schedules and Skype willing, we’ll be posting a new episode each Monday.
You can find out more and download/subscribe to the podcast at www.bran.com.au. Comments welcome (bear in mind it’s the first one!)
Amber ahoy!
Thanks to Gusworld reader Steve Bracy for letting me know that The Onion has finally restored the infamous Amber Richardson to its archives, allowing me to update my tribute page to the ultimate white trash single mom. I’ve also made a few alterations on the Ruth Rendell page.
Rounding up the media
Most of the IT hacks I know are at the Hyatt Coolum (scene of many a drunken rampage for me in the past) for ITJourno/Media Connect’s Kickstart forum, so I’m doing the Epitome roundup of published news while everyone parties on (you can read it here here, though it’s a subscriber-only site). This wouldn’t have been feasible a few years ago, since the roundup includes checking out the daily papers, but these days I can simply download ’em through Newsstand and Bob’s your aunty’s drop-in shag. I may as well also note here that I’ve also updated the front page picture on the main site.
Rendell’s library readers
Did a general tidy up on the Ruth Rendell pages, and noted the news that she is ranked at #20 in the list of most-borrowed authors from UK libraries. In the previous year, Rendell came in at #17, so this a slight (but hardly drastic) decline. I was mildly astounded that she was outranked by both Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton!
Rendell speaks out
Updated the Ruth Rendell section of my site with this interview transcript from a recent appearance on NPR. Rendell has been slogging the promotional trail in the US for Thirteen Steps Down (which came out everywhere else in the world a year or so ago), and will presumably face a similar series of tasks for the next Wexford, End In Tears, when she returns to England. The interview itself doesn’t offer much new information — it’s one of those ‘we’ve got a list of prepared questions and we’re not going to deviate just because you’ve said something interesting’ affairs — though I’m sure that Crown (her US publisher) is grateful for the exposure.