Rubenerd

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01:00:00 – Join me on a train trip to Sydney to have a coffee, then the train trip back! Random topics include office space, NABERS (?), venture capitalists, spring hay fever, cubicles, Perl, introversion, what could have been, space and perceptions, commutes, squeaky carriages, not travelling between doors, grade separation, New York schist and Sydney sandstone, junk food for vegetarians, chicken salt, Brands Essence of Chicken, apple flavoured Yakult, Starbucks, light rail, Americanos and long blacks, train platforms, losing wallets or phones, Tiles, micro-obsession with Canned Heat, and how to irritate hipsters.

Recorded in Sydney, Australia. Licence for this track: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Attribution: Ruben Schade.

Released October 2015 on The Overnightscape Underground, an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.

Subscribe with iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast or add this feed to your podcast client.

I respect Stilgherrian a great deal. I’m a long time schooner contributer to his 9PM Edict podcast, and revel in his passionate deconstructions of local politics and news. It’s like No Agenda, without the conspiracy theories and guns.

For once though, I find myself at odds with The Stilg, specifically regarding his recent ZDNet piece on FTTN, versus FTTP.

Fibre versus copper is not the issue, people. Get that out of your heads.

The fact that a fully-fibre network is capable of delivering higher speeds than networks with copper in the mix is not in question. It never has been.

Correct. But its not the only question.

These fibre nodes are expensive themselves. They need to be powered, cooled, and maintained as separate infrastructure. It’s additional work, for the perceived benefit that the rest of the hard work (fibre to houses) can be done later. Ah the Lucky Country; so close to being extrodinary, so happy to settle for mediocre.

Seeing how well Telstra has maintained their phone boxes at the end of our steets, we’re also right to have concerns over the long term viability of these FTTN boxes, flush with new copper that numbers in a quanitity that’s immaterial to the actual debate (though you’re only “part of the problem” if you take a specific side).

But here’s where things get interesting.

What we do know is that both approaches we’ve tried so far have ended up costing far more than first claimed. And we know that every time we decide to change approach, it takes a year or more to change gears, delaying everything even further.

Spot on.

So the real issues here are actually about honesty, transparency, and the ability to achieve the stated goals within the stated timeframes.

Seems to me the real issue was already just highlighted above. Had we stayed on FTTP, we wouldn’t have wasted all that time and energy moving to something else slower, flakier, and doesn’t even finish the job.

Stilg’s position on The 9PM Edict has been we should be happy with FTTN, because it’s better than nothing. I guess my growing up overseas and having the real deal renders me less than enthusiastic.

The Overnightscape Central is a fun weekly podcast hosted by the illustrious PQ Ribber. Hosts and listeners of The Overnightscape Underground participate in a topic each week, and you’re welcome to join.

02:19:55 – Thoughts on recording from Frank Edward Nora, Clara Tse, Jimbo, Doc Sleaze, and Rubenerd!! PQ Ribber exhorts you to join the fun, follow up, participate and listen to the awe and wonder that is ONSUG!!

You can view this episode on the Underground, listen to it here, and subscribe with this feed in your podcast client.

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55:27 – Cicadas, overhead planes, show 300 feedback, powers of two, the Airbus A380, Wings, unusual clouds, light patterns, abandoned tennis courts with floodlights, Dave Chappelle as Rick James, couldn't care less about celebrities, Dôme coffee chain in Perth and Singapore, childhood lessons about trusting the media, Chinese whispers, multimedia encyclopaedia CD-ROMs, citing Wikipedia, Apple IIc, squirrels, 1980s GUIs, nonsense about why Windows 9 was skipped, Mac OS 8.6, and my decade-long adventure with a "dead" PowerMac G3!

Recorded in Sydney, Australia. Licence for this track: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Attribution: Ruben Schade.

Released October 2015 on The Overnightscape Underground, an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.

Subscribe with iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast or add this feed to your podcast client.

A Slashdot discussion linked to an article regarding new mock meat. Unsurprisingly, this comment was representative:

[W]hy bother if you are just going to eat stuff that (poorly) imitates what you no longer eat by choice?

I’m often questioned the same way when I drink decaf coffee or non-alcoholic beer. It’s not seen as a personal choice, it’s an illogical affront. We “bother” because we choose to, which means you can choose not to. What a concept!

I know those asking the question are being facetious, but if you’re vegetarian for ethical or environmental reasons, having mock meat that has a lower impact and harm is a good thing. And best of all, you can still eat real meat if you prefer!

By Wyncliffe on Wikimedia Commons. I think I have a new work desktop background.

I keep getting phone calls from this number. I answer, and they hang up. Presumaly this is so you’ll call them back on your own dime, and so they can confirm your number exists.

Different sites (such as Reverse Australia) claim this is Clear Life Insurance trying to sell you stuff, though they initially claim to be from Bupa. They then ask for personal information, which if they were Bupa they’d have on file.

I’m adding this to my blocked number list.

The Christian Science Monitor had an online quiz of 96 questions that can appear on a US citizenship test. From the intro:

In order to become a US citizen, immigrants must pass the Naturalization Test. American citizenship bestows the right to vote, improves the likelihood of family members living in other countries to come and live in the US, gives eligibility for federal jobs, and can be a way to demonstrate loyalty to the US. Applicants must get 6 answers out of 10 in an oral exam to pass the test. According to US Citizenship and Immigration services, 92 percent of applicants pass this test.

You must get 58 or more of these test questions correct in order to pass.

Sure, why not! So I did the test.

You answered 81 of 96 questions correctly for a total score of 85%.

Among the questions I got wrong, I specified “none of the above” under “What is the economic system of the US” instead of “Capitalism”. I also didn't know how many sitting senators and Supreme Court justices there are. But not a bad effort I reckon. Have I done my American friends proud?

Also, I wonder if there’s a Singapore test somewhere?

The Overnightscape Central is a fun weekly podcast hosted by the illustrious PQ Ribber. Hosts and listeners of The Overnightscape Underground participate in a topic each week, and you’re welcome to join.

02:38:31 – The Central takes on ‘Villains’!! Chad!! Doc!! Clara!! Ruben!! Frank!! Another Instant Classic from the Central!! PQ hosts and pours on some Drivelene, reviews the ONSUG Week, and tells you how you can be part of the next transmission, (which you should oughta)!!

You can view this episode on the Underground, listen to it here, and subscribe with this feed in your podcast client.

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53:35 – Celebrating episode 300 with clips and cover art from episode 47, recorded exactly ten years ago! Topics include music at work, nostalgic Rubenerd Show history, lost shows, computers mixing dates, Cairns Highlands Coffee, family trips, being a digital hoarder, past editing paranoia, loud birds, a clip from Singapore’s defunct Channel i, remembering disappeared podcasts (Crap and Stuff, Whole Wheat Radio), a clip from Ammy and Daddy’s Real Life Stuff (a new show you should be listening to), and 2000s nostalgia. Introductory music by Who Ha. Thanks for your listenership all these years.

Recorded in Sydney, Australia. Licence for this track: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Attribution: Ruben Schade.

Released October 2015 on The Overnightscape Underground, an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.

Subscribe with iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast or add this feed to your podcast client.