Reading

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Thu, 06/06/2019 - 22:51
DATE: Sunday 25 August 2019 TIME: 4pm VENUE: 2nd Floor Club Burwood, 97 Burwood Road, Burwood NSW AGENDA: President’s Report; Treasurer’s Report; and Election of Office Bearers. Any candidate standing for election as an Office Bearer (President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer) must be a current DWCA member who has held membership for a minimum period of five years, including at least one year immediately prior to the election. Additionally, they should be able to attend regular committee meetings held in Sydney and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the club. To nominate for an Office Bearer position, download the form… Continue reading
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Wed, 05/06/2019 - 23:10
Actor and writer Paul Darrow has sadly passed away at the age of 78 following a short illness. He first appeared in Doctor Who with Third Doctor Jon Pertwee in the 1970 story The Silurians as UNIT soldier Captain Hawkins. He returned as villain Tekker opposite Sixth Doctor Colin Baker in the 1985 story Timelash. Further to this he went on to play the part of Guidance with Eighth Doctor Paul McGann in the audio story The Next Life, as well as Kaston Iago in the Doctor Who spin-off audio series Kaldor City. He was best known however for the… Continue reading
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Wed, 05/06/2019 - 22:16
The DWCA is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming, being held at Sydney Showground from 21-23 June. The DWCA booth will feature a range of merchandise from across the Whoniverse, with DVDs and original audio dramas starring all your favourite characters – including limited edition Blu-ray boxsets featuring select full seasons of the classic era. This is in addition to a huge range of graphic novels, sonic screwdrivers, action figures, Pop! Vinyls, mugs and other collectables. If you’re more interested in the activities of the club itself, you can sign up or… Continue reading
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Tue, 04/06/2019 - 22:47
2019 marks 30 years since the end of the classic series of Doctor Who, and the DWCA Book Club is recognising this significant anniversary by reading the first Seventh Doctor graphic novel from Titan Comics – Operation Volcano. Written by Seventh Doctor veterans Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch, the story sees the Doctor and his companion Ace reunited with Rachel, Allison and Group Captain Gilmore of the Counter-Measures team, last seen on screen in 1988’s Remembrance of the Daleks. The Doctor, Ace and the Counter-Measures team are holed up on the remote plains of the Australian desert. But what is… Continue reading
Created
Mon, 03/06/2019 - 06:31
Ramat Hashofet in 1990. A blurry old night time photo of my friends and I around a fire outside some huts
Another life, in the past

Last night I woke up and finally understood the existential answers to the questions posed by my life. The nature of restlessness and desire to travel. How to avoid hurting those I loved if I selfishly left. I finally figured out what I needed to …

Created
Wed, 29/05/2019 - 12:51
The man who played Omega in the 1972 story The Three Doctors has died. Stephen Thorne, a RADA-trained actor, died on 26 May at the age of 84. He was best-known to the Whovian world for bringing to life three great Doctor adversaries during the early ’70s. His towering presence and deep melodious voice were first came to the world of Who in the 1971 story The Dæmons, where he portrayed Azal, the last living Dæmon on Earth, in a story often cited as one of the most appreciated of the Third Doctor’s era and story emblematic of the close-knit… Continue reading
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Tue, 28/05/2019 - 22:17
Are you passionate about Doctor Who merchandise? Do you enjoy interacting with fellow Doctor Who fans? Do you enjoy working in a team? The Doctor Who Club of Australia is currently seeking applications for the non-office-bearing position of Merchandise Manager on the DWCA committee, which will be vacated in the coming months. As with all roles on the committee, this is a non-remunerated position with a not-for-profit fan club, though membership of the club is free for the duration the position is held. Responsibilities include the following: Correspondence with suppliers and customers Housing and transport of merchandise and related equipment… Continue reading
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Fri, 24/05/2019 - 15:37
No! Sho! Blo! The Judoon are set to charge back into Doctor Who when Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor returns next year. The BBC announced this week that more than twelve years after they first stampeded onto screens to terrorise the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones on the moon in 2007’s Smith and Jones, the rhino-headed intergalactic police are returning. Showrunner Chris Chibnall said they would return for the series, currently being filmed in Gloucester. “No! Sho! Blo! The Judoon are storming back into Doctor Who in full force, and the streets of Gloucester aren’t safe,” Chibnall explained. “If anyone has anything… Continue reading
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Thu, 23/05/2019 - 22:00

This post is co-authored with my colleague, Karen M. Sandler, and is crossposted from Software Freedom Conservancy's website.

Various companies and trade associations have now launched their own tweak on answers to the question of “FOSS sustainability”. We commented in March on Linux Foundation's Community Bridge, and Bradley's talk at SCALE 2019 focused on this issue (video). Assuring that developers are funded to continue to maintain and improve FOSS is the focus of many organizations in our community, including charities like ourselves, the Free Software Foundation, the GNOME Foundation, Software in the Public Interest, and others.

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Thu, 23/05/2019 - 14:14
The Doctor Who virtual universe is set to expand, with a new cinematic feature-length Doctor Who VR video game due for release in September. The new “mission”, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, follows hot on the heels of the recently released The Runaway – a short animated VR experience. Published by PlayStack and developed by immersive entertainment studio Maze Theory, Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time will allow fans to embark on a brand-new and fully-interactive adventure, inspired by the show’s 55-year history and starring the Doctor’s current incarnation, played by Jodie Whittaker. BBC Studios Digital Entertainment and Games… Continue reading
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Fri, 10/05/2019 - 23:45

We create, develop, document and collaborate as users of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) from around the globe, usually by working remotely on the Internet. However, human beings have many millennia of evolution that makes us predisposed to communicate most effectively via in-person interaction. We don't just rely on the content of communication, but its manner of expression, the body language of the communicator, and thousands of different non-verbal cues and subtle communication mechanisms. In fact, I believe something that's quite radical for a software freedom activist to believe: meeting in person to discuss something is always better than some form of online communication. And this belief is why I attend so many FOSS events, and encourage (and work in my day job to support) programs and policies that financially assist others in FOSS to attend such events.

Created
Mon, 06/05/2019 - 17:48
Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s design won the 1957 competition for the Sydney Opera House. In July, he set foot in Australia for the first time, accompanied by his business partner, Swedish architect Erik Andersson. When they first saw the Bennelong Point site they were accompanied by Gavin Souter, features writer for the Sydney Morning Herald: […]
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Thu, 02/05/2019 - 22:01
Second Doctor lost story The Macra Terror was finally released on DVD and Blu-ray last month, almost 52 years after its original broadcast and five months after it was announced that surviving audio recordings of the serial would be combined with brand new animation. But while it may not feature the Daleks (like The Power of the Daleks) or be written by Douglas Adams (like Shada), there’s still plenty to love about this long-awaited release of an underrated gem. The dystopian plot The Macra Terror was originally broadcast as part of Doctor Who’s fourth season – an unusual and often… Continue reading
Created
Wed, 24/04/2019 - 13:51
With much of Australia’s ‘mainstream’ media at war with its critics on ‘social’ media, it’s worth reflecting on an observation from a journalist who was at the vanguard of breaking down the distinction between the two. In ‘Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now’, Alan Rusbridger […]
Created
Tue, 16/04/2019 - 14:29

I used to occaisonally run along the grassy lane after school. I ran to create warmth against the winter sleet and rain. I ran to avoid the drudgery of walking. I was in a hurry to get home to be warm, to eat and to watch television. As soon as …

Created
Mon, 15/04/2019 - 06:30

On Friday I finished an essay for Uni. It was a routine piece of rigmarole. I submitted the file to the University system without a reread. I have no pride. My weekend was free. That was a joke. My weekend is never free. There is a cost for everything.

We …

Created
Mon, 04/03/2019 - 01:15

Ask me any sport related question. I could not give a toss about it. Invite me to hit, kick or throw a ball and you’ll regret it. Despite my tragic failure to care about any sports I do love people who do.

I discovered a Gabriel Garcia Marquez article …