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.

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”?

In the next year I plan to make a little video, nothing fancy likely, but something that will require an editor. However, I don’t own a mac (which rules our Final Cut Pro + After Effect and iMovie, which Ian and I both have had too much fun with. Inside joke.) I’m also a die-hard Linux fan, trying to hold out buying a mac for as long as possible. SF to the rescure. There are four editors listed, and in the next year I’ll try them all. Overalll, they look quite promising.