Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jonathan O'Donnell's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, November 12th, 2009
12:45 pm	A great way to handle privacy Google is a privacy monster. They scarf up private information and don't have great policies for how to deal with it. Their practices have mostly been good, but their policies mostly suck. The difference matters if you were to ever end up in dispute with them. Recently, they released Google Dashboard. Google Dashboard lets you see all of the information that they have associated with your Google account. When you log into your dashboard, it lists all the accounts that you have, your transaction history for each account and your personal data for that account. Well, not all the data. Google Checkout isn't included yet, for example. But still, it is a great way to do things. I think it is a brilliant example of how to handle privacy. Imagine if you could log into gov.au/dashboard and see all the data for the different government departments. Or even yourbank.com.au/dashboard and find out which bit of the bank keeps sending mail to your old address. For dealing with this aspect of privacy, I like it. I still think their policies mostly suck, though. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
9:38 pm	The social side of mobile banking (10 month position, Melbourne) The people that morsla and I work with at RMIT Business have a part time position going about banking on mobile phones. It would be good for someone who cares about how people really use money and knows a bit about technology. ( Lots of info after the cut. ) (Comment on this)
9:33 pm	Policies for on-line cultural collections (part-time, Melbourne) The people that morsla and I work with at RMIT Business have a part time position going at the moment. It's about putting stuff on-line. It would be good for someone who cares about knowledge and knows a bit about the Web. ( More after the cut. ) (Comment on this)
9:09 pm	Social and cultural aspects of the Internet (PhD scholarships, Melbourne) This year, the people that I work with at RMIT will be offering both full time scholarships and top-up scholarships for an Australian Postgraduate Award. You can see what morsla is doing with his time, in his lineofthought journal. ( More info after the cut. ) (Comment on this)
11:45 am	Unfortunately, gifts will not be returned Thank you for all the wonderful gifts. The flowers were lovely. The antiques were beautiful, although I would have appreciated less boot leather and sword hilts. The trees were nice. The farmyard animals were somewhat strange. The hydrogen and other elements were just bizarre, but the thought was appreciated. Unfortunately, Facebook Games and I have now split up. Tragic, I know, but I am ready to move on and do something a little more productive with my time. Traditionally, I would return all the lovely gifts at a time like this. Unfortunately, Facebook Games has them all and doesn't want to give them back. So please accept my sincere apologies. I need a clean break and wrangling all those gifts would complicate matters enormously. C'est la vie. No more click farming for me. Current Mood: relieved (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
10:39 am	Dreaming Dali Dreaming Dali is on! We have quorum. Go team! So come and join me for wander through the surreal world of Salvidor Dali in our pajamas. It's 2 am and all the good boys and girls should be in bed. But we will be drifting through the surreal, dreamlike (nightmarish) artworks of Salvador Dali. In our pj's (did I mention that). Dreams, nightmares, Dali, wandering the NGV in pajamas at 2 am - seems like a natural match to me. BYO teddy bear. Surprisingly enough, this is not an officially sanctioned NGV event. The Gallery will be open for 24 hours, though. Tickets to Dali cost $23 adult & $18 conc. Please note that we will all be changing our clocks at 2 am, for added "melting clock" fun. So this event is at 2 am "now-time", not "soon-it-will-be-summer-time". Image caption: Salvador DALI Spanish 1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48 Galatea of the Spheres 1952 oil on canvas 65.0 x 54.0 cm Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres © Salvador Dali, Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali, VISCOPY, 2009 (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
8:00 pm	Ban the bomb We did a good thing. Not many people noticed, but we did it anyway. On 20 September 2009, we ran a public seminar on nuclear disarmament. The speakers were impressive. Rolf Ekéus, Gareth Evans, Kawasaki Akira of PeaceBoat fame, Tilman Ruff and others. I really liked Kandori Shizuka (Japanese for Peace) who talked about her grandparents at Hiroshima and about teaching Australian kids about Hiroshima. And I could listen to Tessa Morris-Suzuki forever, I think. It was an enormous amount of work (but not enough on publicity, clearly). About 75 people turned up. We got a couple of press articles about it. By the time it arrived I was too exhausted to even spam my friends about it, much less try to push it on forums, social networks, news groups... Thanks to the Australia-Japan Foundation for funding us, and the RMIT Foundation for funding Rolf to come out. In fact, RMIT turned out to be brilliant. Tech support was wonderful (thanks, Danny), the video conferencing was excellent (thanks, Chris) and RMIT Events saved my arse (thanks, Sally). Two more days to go. I love my job, but sometimes it kills me. Current Mood: nuked Current Music: Not my idea - Garbage (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
10:36 pm	Books I am liking There are a few things in my life that I am not liking at the moment, but I am too shy to talk about them. So instead, here is a couple of books that I am liking: His Dark Materials - Folio Society Edition It arrived just the other day. Three gorgeously bound volumes in one lovely boxed set. Heaven! I've started the Dagger, which I have never read before. It it beautiful. And it was half price because I was (re)joining. If anyone wants to join, give me a yell - they have a 'recommend a friend' system going. It can be an expensive hobby, but I love the books that I have bought from them. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie This is a beautifully written book about a tragic, terrible war. It covers the 1960s, when Nigeria gained independence from Britain and then tore itself apart, creating and destroying Biafra in the process. When I was growing up, the starving children in Biafra were the reason that I had to eat all my veges. Because they had nothing, I had to eat everything, or reasoning to that effect. Now I know what it was all about (only fifty years later). The characters are wonderful, the writing is lyrical. It is a wonderful book. Shattered Anzacs - Marina Larsson Marina Larsson also writes beautifully, but what she writes about is much closer to home for me. 'Shattered Anzacs: Living with the scars of war' talks about all the people who came home wounded from World War I. Mostly, it talks about the effect that it had on their families - their wives, their parents and their kids. I've just finished the chapter on Families and Mental Hospitals. My Dad came home shattered from World War II. He ended up an alcoholic and died in Lakeside asylum, Ballarat when I was a teenager. This helped me to understand a lot more about what was going on in my childhood. It doesn't make it any easier, but it does help me understand. The next chapter is about Tuberculosis: The 'family disease'. Not an easy read. An amazingly good read, but not an easy read. And for mousebane, who wanted to know what people use as bookmarks: Shattered Anzacs - A beautiful Dressed to Rule bookmark from the NGV. Half of a Yellow Sun - Bookmark removed, but probably a receipt or a travel card. The Subtle Knife - A little piece of cardboard that had a couple of earrings attached to it. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
11:47 am	I made a game! Or, to be more precise, I helped with the proto-type of a story-telling animation engine for Ukiyo-e mash-ups. Please play around with it and let me know what you like, what you hate, what is wrong or confusing. Or, if you prefer, here is one I prepared earlier. It is very raw at the moment. For example, I still haven't provided any documentation. But we start user testing with kids in schools soon. So it will get better. Be warned, it is a broadband application - there are lots of things to load. Don't try this at home over dial-up. At the moment, I'm just happy that we have made it this far. Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Emotions (Comment on this)
Monday, May 11th, 2009
1:27 pm	Paint me happy New Platinum Grit! In other news: I set up the ARC Linkage application on the Indigenous Discovery form! Doh! NGV story-telling game is very, very close to being live. It's been a long time coming. Anti-nuclear weapons meeting arrangements progressing relatively smoothly. I love my jobs. And even better: Sophie is writing her introduction, and then she has some footnotes to do, and then it goes to supervisors and then... SUBMISSION! And her walking tour for the Chinese Museum has been shortlisted for a prize by Heritage Victoria. Go, Sophie! Happy paint, here I come! Current Mood: happy Current Music: Party Time (A Womyn's Luv) (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
7:49 pm	Not so goth New York Fashion Institute of Technology. Doing a show called Gothic: Dark Glamour. Which has a Web site. That they submitted for Best of the Web. Good, right? Wrong! This exhibition had some nice pieces. But you wouldn't know it from the Web site. Pedestrian. Stilted. Self-conscious. Dull! What's good about the site? There are some interesting stuff. The slide show is nice, but you can't control it at all. The start of your Flickr set is more interesting than your exhibition site. I found out how to spell Kei Kagami's name from your video transcript. Having video transcripts is good (but they don't link back to the videos). You put a playlist on last.fm. What sucks? Pretty much everything else. The navigation is next... next... next... How could you? Just don't! You don't give me control of the audio. Some of your best content, like your exhibition slide show, is hidden. I didn't even realize I could click the thumbnails at first. Your book list is just that, a list without commentary or analysis. The last page is an 'everything else' page. Your site has a last page. I came to this site via the Museums and the Web Best of the Web 2009 nominations. Museums and the Web is the greatest conference I've never been to and their Best of the Web recipients are generally excellent. Caught and Coloured snagged an honorable mention for Museum Victoria in 2007. Eternal Egypt (from 2005) is still a favorite of mine, even if the multimedia doesn't play now. So if you are going to enter, enter something half-way decent, please. Playing with the big kids now. Up against sites like Women, Power and Politics. You didn't win. I really wanted to like this site, which made me hate it all the more. Current Mood: Grouchy (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
3:09 pm	I'm back at work. I've had a meeting. I have a to-do list. It is nice to have a little structure again. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
9:40 pm	Flags and funny hats I'm a sucker for a funny hat. And I love a good flag. So you can imagine my delight when the good people at Gyeongbokgung (palace) provided me with both. All in one neat changing-of-the-guards, repeated-on-the-hour package. They were there when I came out of the palace especially to see them. And they were there again when I came out of the Palace museum. And again when I re-emerged from the palace complex because I missed half of it the first time. And they had flags: tiger flags and dragon flags and big red flags with single dramatic characters on them. OK, so technically they are banners - they were beautiful and they fluttered in the breeze, which is good enough for me. And they had hats. Dutiful soldier hats. "I'm in charge" hats. Even "I'm the bad guy" hats. Paint me happy. Even better, I got to play 'spot the source material' in the Palace Museum. Here is the original tiger, maybe. Here are some court officials with flags. In other news, karaoke is lots of fun. I picked "Anarchy in the UK" as my first song, trashed my voice and screamed myself hoarse for the rest of the evening. It didn't cover up the fact that I cannot sing a note, but it made it somewhat acceptable. Necking soju helped. I have about one week to look around. I had better work out what I am going to do. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
2:09 am	Robots, spaceships and Watchmen Finally saw Watchman and loved it. I had never realized how much I had wanted to see the Comedian's last stand. It hangs over the whole series, yet you never see it in the comic. Today was a day of robots and star ships. At the Powerhouse I saw Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. The best bits were the interviews with the model makers and the sound designers. They talked about all the major ships and non-human characters. Lots of fun and the models look great close up. Oh, and some good science, too. And as an added bonus I ran into the robot from Lost in Space. I have a soft spot for him. I went to the Powerhouse because they are experimenting with QR codes in a fashion exhibition. Fashion and tech - I'm there! Of course, when I actually got there (Gene Sherman and Issey Miyake - not my two favorite people), I didn't actually have a QR reader on my phone. Idiot! There was some great fashion at the DesignTECH exhibition, which is a bit like our Top Design exhibition, as far as I could make out. For those who are keen, there are pics in my Flickr account. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
9:09 pm	Art in Sydney My sister and I gorged on art. Korean Dreams, paintings and screens of the (late) Joseon Dynasty was a lovely collection of Korean screens and scrolls. We particularly liked the Chaek’kori, a kind of literary "some of my favourite things" picture. There were some lovely examples of calligraphy decorated with patterns and pictures. I'll be interested to see if I can discover anything similar when I finally get there. At the Customs House Library, we discovered six of The Regal Twelve by a local Sydney photographer, Alexia Sinclair. These are enormously rich images based on famous women in history (like Christina of Sweden on the right) and I loved them. We had a lot of fun exploring Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was like being at a fun park: mazes and mirrors, sparkling lights and polka dots. Yayoi Kusama has been doing wonderful things with amazing art since the sixties - more power to here. Today she taught me that cloud-land is probably a maze. The lumpiness of the clouds creates little valleys, probably filled with ankle-deep mist. It is easier to follow the valleys than to clamber over the soft, lumpy clouds. Finally, at the end of the day, we snuck into the State Library of New South Wales for a look at the Moran Prize entries. I think that I preferred the photography. Of the paintings, there was a wonderful image of a guy and his car and a beautiful portrait of a girl playing the flute. But mostly, I would have preferred more time. Maybe I'll get back there. Maybe. Overall, it was a wonderful day. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
4:13 pm	Do you have another passport, sir? I'm in Sydney, on my way to Seoul. Unfortunately, when I rocked up to customs, they kindly pointed out that my passport had expired. Please come over here and talk to this nice man from immigration. No Seoul for you today. Turns out that it will probably take me two working days to get a new passport. Because of flight times, and leaving a healthy margin for error, I will probably get to Seoul late on Thursday night. This will mean that about half of the workshop I'm going for will be over. I knew that I was a pretty slack traveler, but I didn't realize I was an idiot as well. At least I get to spend time with my sister in Sydney and her boys. And I will finally get to see Watchman now. Current Mood: Left behind (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
10:19 pm	That's 2,000+ pages per page I just analysed 12,400 pages of Web content and produced a nine page report: cover, index, six pages of analysis and a one-page appendix listing the content. Too brief? Nah! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
9:45 pm	Who am I and where have I been? Hi Virginia Thanks for your phone call. It was fantastic to hear from you again! I think that it was enormously brave, too - we haven't talked for probably 10 years, and probably haven't actually seen one another since about 1985 or so. A long time between drinks, so to speak. I wanted to find a way to tell you more about who I am now. But when I thought about it, I realized that I needed to remember who I was back then, otherwise it mightn't make much sense. Then, I had failed computer science for the third year in a row. Even I could take a hint. I still can't program to save myself. And I still hate sitting on the sidelines and watching people code. But I found my niche with the Internet. I loved it! I thought that it was like all the great science fiction novels I had read when I was a kid. When the Web was invented, I realized that I could help people to use it. It had been hard for me, so I could make it a little bit easier for them. Effectively, I'm still doing that. I failed computer science (and about 20 other subjects) because I didn't know what university was for, and because I was playing way too much pinball and Dungeons and Dragons. I'm still a role-player, and a bit of a computer gamer. That hasn't changed. I have a bit more of a clue what universities are supposed to be about, but that is only because I have been working at RMIT for most of my working life. These days, I work a bit harder. Or maybe I just know a bit more about what I am doing, I don't know. Certainly, I fail less now. I invest myself too much in my work, I think. Certainly being retrenched a couple of time has made me realize just how much my self image is based on my work. Cultural constructions, right? I don't drive towards the centre of things so much anymore. I can remember making a conscious decision that it was more fun to be involved than to watch from the sidelines. That idea drove me to act in student theatre, rather than watch it, to rip the letters M I L I T A R Y from the front of Duntroon, and to end up exhausted and lost in the bush during Inward Bound. It led me to the Classics Society, too, I guess, because they seemed like some of the most interesting people on campus. I think that I am more comfortable now, and don't need to drive for recognition and for friends. I'm more content to watch than to lead now, and I think I'm probably a bit sad about it. I only just realized, so I'm still working it out. I still crave approval. Knowing that doesn't actually change anything, so it would seem. It does make public speaking a joy, though. I love showing off in front of a crowd (some things never change). Talking to women is still easier than talking to men. That hasn't changed. I still flirt, but I know a bit more about what I am doing now. I know when to stop, which was a hard lesson to learn. It is just a game now, though, because of Sophie. I'm in love, and that makes the world a lot simpler, somehow. She is smart, she is beautiful and she loves me. We have a great life together. It is that simple. Remember when we became members of the National Gallery of Australia and went to that new members evening? I still love a good gallery. I worked at the National Gallery of Victoria for a while, and that really reinforced the feeling. The job was a nightmare, but I loved being able to walk through the empty gallery spaces before anyone else came in. Luxury! I still do some work for them, which is great. The combination of cultural collections and Web work has led me in some interesting directions. I spend some time with a group called the Australia New Zealand Digital Encyclopedia Group. For me, these guys are like the Classics people at ANU. Interesting, friendly and smart. There are little things, too. I listen to different music now. No Captain Beefheart, no Modern Lovers. Still a little bit of Alan Parsons Project. But mostly beautiful women with ethereal voices. And I probably look different, too. There is a lot more, but that is enough for now. Thanks for calling. Talk soon. Jonathan (Comment on this)
Friday, February 6th, 2009
11:54 am	OK, Commuter One of my workmates from the NGV, Leon Van de Graff, has a new exhibition that links robots with mobile phones. Called "OK, Commuter", it is running until 26 February 2009 in the Flinders Street subway space. The robots are of the old-school, built-in-the-backyard-with-bits-from-the-kitchen style. They respond to SMS messages. You get to SMS a pile of junk, and it will do your bidding. The possibilities are limitless. Actually, the possibilities are limited to the SMS commands they will recognise, but you get the idea. So if you get a chance during February, take the underground link from Flinders Street to Degraves Street. And have your mobile phone handy. Art and technology, gotta love it. Current Mood: arty (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
3:05 pm	Movie double passes for 18-25 year olds In other news, I have a movie double pass for you if you are: Between 18 - 25 years old. Willing to be interviewed for 60 - 90 minutes about how you decide to buy things, online and offline. Living somewhere that I can get to, or where you can get to me, without requiring flight or hours of driving. It turns out that our research team doesn't know anyone aged between 18 and 25 years old. Then again, who does? We are interested in talking to people about how they buy stuff. More specifically how they decide what to buy online and what to buy offline. Turns out its complicated (just like relationships on FaceBook). I have much more information that I can send you, if you are interested. The bottom line is that we would need to get together for about an hour (or an hour and a half, depending on how focused I am), somewhere quiet, where I ask you to tell me about things that you have purchased recently, and I record you. If this sounds thrilling to you, let me know. Current Mood: old (Comment on this)