In about 2001 or 2002 I read a book called “Beyond Backpacking - Ray Jardine’s Guide to Lightweight Hiking”, which set me on a path to being as light as possible. It came in very handy when I did my first section hike of the PCT, about 7 days, and I vaguely remember a total pack weight of about 25 lbs - with 4 litres of water. I was a broke college student then, so I guess clipping toothbrushes and straps really paid off. I also used a weird mesh hammock thing and I think a tarp of some kind. I have been “ultralight” ever since, even when renting equipment in Patagonia.

I have two first aid kits: one that is in my bag when I go to work, and another when I go hiking. The one in my bag has more stuff in it, but overall the contents are pretty similar. In particular with the hiking kit I am only carrying what is likely to be used, items that cannot be improvised with what I can find, and items that I know how to use. It would be easy to pack my fears and include a tourniquet or triangle bandage or EpiPen, but if I allowed myself to fear that level of risk I would also wear a helmet while walking across crosswalks. The reality is I am much more likely to get blisters, minor cuts, and lots of sore muscles.

My hiking companion and I recently completed the Overland Track in Tasmania, and they posted a picture of our packs on a related group on Facebook. There was an overwhelming response, ranging from good job! to you’re a liar or you surely didn’t have a tent or you must be on a tour and didn’t bring food. I can understand the skepticism. Upon inspecting what people brought, and never used, there is definitely a preference for people to pack their fears. Considering this track seemed to be the first time many people have done a multi-day backpacking trip, there were a lot of things they likely would not pack after gaining a little more experience.

I recently purchased an Echo from Amazon, and we were contemplating how else to better integrate it with our somewhat minimalistic home. I thought it would be interesting to get it to link to a WiFi-enabled power outlet, but unfortunately they are pretty expensive in Australia. Then I stumbled across the Sonoff devices by Itead, and learned that they were somewhat hackable via a custom firmware. Coincidentally I received the two devices on the same day my daughter was off sick, so when she had her nap, I got hacking.

While in Myanmar on a recent trip I did a brief taste comparison of the three main beers available in most supermarkets. Andaman - Not to my taste, perhaps like XXXX, VB, Natural Light, or a light Steel Reserve. Myanmar - Quite refreshing, a bit like similar beers in the region, e.g. Chang, Tiger, or Laos Beer.

Today was an unfortunate day that I should get on the record. Let me start at the beginning. At about 17:15, just as I was leaving work, I received a frantic call: “The sprinklers went off and flooded your apartment.” I jumped on the train home and asked the caller to record the names of anyone present and take photos. My air-quality sensors did not detect a rise in particulate matter, but the CO level clearly rose at 15:50 and fell again around 17:00.

I first used Splunk about 10 years ago after an old colleague installed it on a computer in the corner, and ever since then I have preached about it. If you have log data, of any kind, I’d recommend you give it a go. The Splunk people have a a few pretty good options for trying Splunk out, as you can either use Splunk Storm or Splunk Free. The first option is obviously hosted, and has a generous storage option, but also does not allow long term storage of data. I send system log data to Splunk Storm.

I was talking to a friend about what education levels might look like across Sydney, and a friend challenged me to map it. The map was derived by combining three datasets from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS - a department releasing some great datasets). The first dataset was the spatial data for “SA2” level boundaries, the second the population data for various geographic areas, and the third from the 2011 Census on Non-School Qualification Level of Education (e.g. Certificates, Diplomas, Masters, Doctorates). I aggregated all people with bachelors or higher in an SA2 region, and then divided that number by the total number of people in that region. A different methodology could have been …

EDIT 12-03-2025: I accidentially broke the maps when deleting my AWS account, as the mbtiles were hosted there. Oops. In Sydney Commute Times Mapped Part 1 I took a small step to a bigger goal of mashing together public transport in Sydney, and the Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney to 2031. The question I wanted to answer is this: how aligned is Sydney’s public transport infrastructure and the Metropolitan Strategy’s of a “city of cities”?

YS and I were recently interviewed about self-tracking and Quantified Self by one of the major news channels in Australia. I will reflect on the experience after the show has aired, but it was an overall great experience. We have a new respect for filming what may ultimately be just a two minute segment. Depending on how the editing is done it will either provoke the hosts to contemplate the value of a data-centric macroscopic view of the world, or give them lots of fodder.