Annabel Crabb is one of the preeminent, (and if not the most popular, certainly listed highly among them), voices in political reporting in Australia. Unlike many of her peers, she has embraced the changes the Internet has wrought in her profession. She not only reports using the new tools, she discusses the changes themselves. Here is one of her speeches on the subject captured in her blog.

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Ada was my second programming language. I had used Basic on CP/M to do many things, pushing my Amstrad CPC 6128 well beyond its comfort zone. I went on to PCs, and finally ended up at Flinders University (the observant reader has noticed The Serval Project is based there, yes, it is a homecoming to be there). At the time, Java was still regarded as ‘new’ (oh, so many years ago). SO we did a modified version of ADA 83 – not even the modern, Object Oriented ADA of today, but an older, and still more simplified version. Verbose as anything, I actually quite LIKED this language. Though i would have preferred Java, to be honest. But it got me curious – ADA is such an odd name. And I discovered, pre Wikipedia, what ADA was named after.

Yes, ADA is an American Defence language, but it is named after the first programmer ever – Lady Ada Augusta Lovelace , only legitimate child of Lord Byron, that cad and poet.

A great and gifted mathematician, she contributed a set of notes containing an algorithm for  Charles Babbage‘s Differential Engine – regarded as the first computer. Should it have been built, these notes would have been run as the first program.

As a woman doing work in an industry i utterly love, that inspires me, and delights me daily, how can i not admire her? Like many of us, a working mother, she managed to combine her passion and her intellect with a family – no easy task at any point, but in her time, almost unheard of! So, i take time out to honour her memory, and be inspired by her, and all the wonderful talented women out there working in our amazing industry, and to hope many more join!

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GASP clothing has defended its position involving a customer dispute, releasing yet another jaw-dropping response.

The statement came after a spat between the retailer and a customer, who was told that their clothes were too exclusive for her, turned into a viral email sensation.

via Customer complaint email and response by GASP clothing goes viral | Herald Sun.

Serval – epic huge meeting – with much work for rest of week. Assigned myself development time, which i really haven’t done for a while (in set times). Now, i am saying thursday & friday is MINE. Coding is as much about headspace as anything – you need that headspace to be focus time, not diverted to business activities. So, tomorrow, many business tasks. Things are really ramping up, and i am having to go back into project mode. Which will make our project manager happy (she doesn’t read this, so i am safe i suspect!)

Quilting – nada. Thought about it. That is something, no?

Kids – play date day for ms 9, she & friend & mr 7 had a blast inside and outside all day. Cubby house, sandpit, inside fort, trampoline, swings, xbox360, wii, and tv. Not a lot of the tv based stuff, but enough for the down moments:) Ms 18 off for a break at her dad’s for the rest of the week – some non noisy family, second part of family (my eldest, ms 24, and their magic dad,aka one of my most valued friends:) ) Ms 16 in a10 days gone into caretaker mode (must nurture family mode). She is a darling one, but they all are:) Naturally, had to watch The Goodies with wee ones before bed was contemplated.

Dad – looking tired, worrying me a lot. The verdict on his radiation treatment for prostate cancer will be in next month. As the interim result wasn’t the best,his ongoing tiredness worries me. I am hoping it means radiation still working, but, well…

Activities – besides all else, some shopping. A surprisingly mammoth task, shopping for a few days when it is just me and wheelchair against the world. Meeting took up a great amount of time and energy, so between the two, plus kidlets – well, bye day. Oh, air yet another colour. Yes, i have low attention span. Aimed for blue black, have black with red purple blue streaks. Really dig it:) Think darkness is mine now, (darkling, i listen….?). Gave Tux the Linux penguin, who had many adventures with me, to Dr Paul’s eldest daughter, a sweet little magic princess. I have been reliably informed that he is being utterly adored – which is good for him, and me to know:)

Status – odd day, was some stuff to deal with at meeting i was dreading. Ended up doing usual coping mechanism, which is not the wisest, but my body deals with stress by getting nauseous. Wish it wouldn’t! At least pain is settled down a lot. Rest days so needed, but the medication is definitely settling into place better. Which makes management better – one restricted day where two or three utter helpless in agony days once were. Hoping i can maintain this trend! Tattoo healing nicely, too.

Mindset – relieved meeting went off okay eventually Feeling really excited about the project. Also feeling cautiously optimistic as more data to confirm feeling pain is getting better managed. The higher dosage + lesser interval seems key, side effects still a bitch, but that management, while tricky, seems to be working too. Restrictive, but hey, not as much as pain is!

Score – today we have a 7. Was climbing post meeting, of course, but rest is settling it. Tired after sleep issues, but they were based on me worrying about meeting.

For anyone interested, pain is rated on a scale of 1-10. 1 is pretty well 0, for these purposes, 10 is utterly crippling, and have only been there a few times. Ended up being carted away in an ambulance the last occasion, when back had epic sudden deterioration, and i went from limping and occasional walking stick,t o needing a wheelchair overnight. So, 9 is pretty well it, 9.5 means i am crying and waiting for uber drugs to kick in, but the .5 at this end of pain scale is quantum scale, as opposed to the .5 between a 1 and 1.5, say….every tiny increment over 7 is really noticed. I haven’t been below a five in the last year, (since that last incident), and rarely am below 6, as that would require a few days of immobility and massive medication, so ain’t gonna happen, peeps (unless i have no choice, i have learnt any other attitude is bravado…).

Is anyone reading these, btw? I had complaints not enough personal info, is this too much? Am i just using my blog as a chance to life sample? And who gives a pair of fetid dingoes kidneys for anyone’s opinion on my blog, anyway?:)

“This series of website layouts use percentage widths and relative positioning, and they work with all the common web browsers including Safari on the iPhone and iPod touch. They’re also ‘stackable’ so you can use multiple column types on the one page. This makes the number of possible layouts endless!”

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iPhone & iPod Touch

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Mac

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The HTML in this layout validates as XHTML 1.0 strict.

A couple of quick posts to start our Monday – blogging resources, anyone?

Five Best Blogging Platforms (I ADORE WordPress, personally)

Find That Particular Font You Love With WhatTheFont.

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A wilful child, love, best thing is just to get on with it, like life, and see where it does or doesn’t go. However, the constant touchstone of my life, i always love my beloved family, my dearest friends, and my children – well, they are my literal raison d’etre. My wayward heart does its own thing beyond those absolutes.

Eb (Evil Back) is my most faithful companion, and all efforts to persuade him to be otherwise are to no avail. This is discouraging but am attempting further ways to persuade him that he is not what i want in a devoted lover, thank you. Attempting hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, and accupuncture in upcoming weeks, may keep you posted, or not as i do or don’t think of it. I don’t tend to do much of that here, why would that interest you? It doesn’t do much for me either!

However, for Facebook refugees bemoaning that i no longer am there, and somehow failing to be able to live in a  world where simple hi how are you works into increasingly busy lives, i made rash promises to the effect of updating here occasionally. Consider it an occasion.

I try to post things of interest. I have too many interests, and too much that is demanding of my time. I have taken to the step of rebelling against that strange sense of obligation to finish reading all my feeds (like unwanted vegetables to children at dinner), even if Feedly makes it so nice an experience, and to post to social networks regularly, (i remain a solitary monster who reaches out in bits and pieces. Mostly pieces, though some are quite pretty held up in the light). Finiding posting time is hard enough, and takes a combination of Zemanta, Shareaholic, WordPress tools, and Evernote. Oh, and strange feeling that this looks interesting finds that seem to call a theme together enough to make me post.

I am addicted to podcasts, but also gleefully decide this week they will be marked as watched despite not having been. Oh the anarchy. I tend not to miss Boxcutters ever, and they mentioned me very nicely this week, and i got a warm chocolate fudge gooey kind of aww moment from that – thanks guys.

Trying to squeeze in half an hour a day for guitar practice is a battle i do not always win but i do try so hard, for i love Fergus the wonder guitar. I am fascinating by the strange numb blistery feeling on my left hand fingers, where i hold the strings for chords. Having played the violin, i think i have finally persuaded my wrist to settle down and just let my fingers decide placement, don’t be so damn rigid. Feels still a tad anarchic. I use a few really good apps, such as Guitar Toolkit and Chords on the iPhone.

Being a book addict, audiobooks (thanks Audible.com ) are a constant companion, i try for two a week. Used to read a book a day, still do if i decide i am allowing myself a hide form the world (despite it knocking urgently at my door and emailing and ringing and messaging) day when the kids are not around. This is increasingly hard to find.

I have made two gift quilts for baby and toddler, and have two play mat/snuggle rugs for small ones, and two baby ones to make as gifts. I have made an intensely bright tye died rainbow fleece winter coat that just needs lining and buttons, and hurts your eyes like sunshine on a bright day, and is very warm,therefore perfect. I started my quilt (design below), and am starting to make pet beds with the So So Sisters, (my partners in crime and dear sisters of the heart and material), as local pet shelters are in need for these colder days.Also two double, one queen to king sized quilts of various bizarre designs for three eldest daughters, five or six knitting projects, made fleecy pjs for two smallest, and and am hand stitching in bed (i do spend a large amount of time stuck here or in a wheelchair with EB after all), a hex pieced bag for me to carry my iPad (love it still)  and iPhone (love it too!) and other general stuff around in. Must be mad. I keep promising to resurrect the photos of collected works we had up on Facebook, i will get there. Maybe on weekend if someone reminds me. I am using my IPad a lot oddly in quilting, and Dropbox, and running EQ7 (via Parallels) on my Macbook Pro, so technology seems to be my thing no matter what I do.

Timelady Quilt

Also working on several webdev projects for work, and one for a not for profit i shall be talking a lot about very soon, as soon as i get the content finished for the site – i have written in my todo list by weekend, so it must be done by then. It is amazing, and has huge potential to save AND enhance lives, so am very very excited to be a part of it.

I have had one thing mostly distracting my thoughts the last few months, i am hoping i have reached a resolution, a place of rest and peace and a point to start growing and evolving with it, rather than struggling with it, but time will tell, it always does. It is still background noise, but hopefully the playlist has hit more of an upbeat but ambient vibe, suitable for joy and acceptance and potential, less for worry and fear and pain.

In short, like all of us, i have a lot on the surface, and far more brewing underneath. The brave face is necessary to function. I am not that good at it in my writing, hence these updates are irregular. I am too honest in my writing, and have found it hard enough to not be more detailed and open. However, tis is not a bare my soul blog. It is whatever it feels like it is at the time. It feels like i have said enough:)

Once people had a fear there was ‘a red under every bed‘. A 1950′s ocmmunist fear that led to the Anti Communist trials of Joe McCarthy in Hollywood, those despicable equivalents of the Salem witch trials.

Now, it seems we have been right all along, but didn’t know it. Th fear the faceless communist masses would swallow us up and we would lose our precious freedoms were dismissed as nonsense. However, Stephen Conroy has done all but declare his allegience to Chairman Mao.

I have previously mocked our great Senator *coughing fit at use of word great* here. He seems determined to move from mere laughing stock to full threat to democracy. Man obviously is ambitious….

First a few articles from ZDNET AU

Inside Australia’s data retention proposal “Telecommunications industry sources have called the claims by Attorney-General media relations that web browsing history would not be recorded in a controversial data retention proposal “a bit cute” and a question of terminology and semantics.”

Yet it gets better : Govt wants ISPs to record browsing history “Companies who provide customers with a connection to the internet may soon have to retain subscriber’s private web browsing history for law enforcement to examine when requested, a move which has been widely criticised by industry insiders.“

Now TIME has noticed the great debat…debacle.

Far be it for me to accuse Senator Stephen Conroy of being a dangerous communist lunatic who hates freedom and is probably a secret bed wetter with strange sexual fetishes involving dairy products. That isn’t my style. However, noone has satisfactorily explained either the amount of cheese delivered to his office, or his bizarre behaviour on this subject.

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10 Resources to Help You Create a Killer WordPress Options Page

5 Excellent New Features in Safari 5

This is to test my new blogging tool – Blogpress, versus the WordPress option. While free, the WordPress option had draft issues that bugged me* – let us see if this does the same.

* losing changes i had made to a lengthy post in draft format. Irksome.

- posted from K9, my companion iPad

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