Comments for MinimalState

Comment on Will GetUp!’s satire GetIt! in trouble? by Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:08:58 +0000

Excellent post, Heath. I think it's a problematic area. Prima facie, satire is an exception, but as this post by a friend indicates, it's a little more complicated.

Comment on Will GetUp!’s satire GetIt! in trouble? by skepticlawyer » This ‘n’ that

skepticlawyer » This ‘n’ that — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:55:34 +0000

[...] HeathG at Minimal State wonders if GetUp! will get into trouble with copyright law as a result of its political satire video (which lends from various Hollywood blockbusters). I hope not, the video is rather funny, but my lawyer side thinks they might be skating near the edge. [...]

Comment on Hetero sex scandal? by HeathG

HeathG — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:21:50 +0000

Rob – my point was that it wasn’t labelled as a “heterosexual sex scandal”.. just a sex scandal. His sexuality wasn’t made part of the issue and headlines, unless you consider his (alleged) preference for BDSM part of his sexual identity.

By contrast, Campbell’s sexuality was made part of the story with the “gay sex scandal” type of headlines.

Mosley’s case, like Campbell’s, also raises questions around media and privacy of public figures. But thats a topic for another post perhaps.

Comment on Hetero sex scandal? by Robert

Robert — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:41:14 +0000

> After all, when was the last time the mainstream media headlined with “hetero sex scandal” ?

Ask Max Mosely about that.

Comment on We are one, but who are we? by The State of the Population

The State of the Population — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:08:27 +0000

[...] agenda as PM, and now she’s opened the can, let’s see how quickly, and in how many ways our underlying national racism can worm its way [...]

Comment on Losing the filter without losing face by skepticlawyer » Call to new PM on net censorship

skepticlawyer » Call to new PM on net censorship — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:50:46 +0000

[...] Gibson reminded me in a post this morning that we have a renewed opportunity to persuade the Labor party to drop its ridiculous bid to impose [...]

Comment on NBN not mandatory for ‘smart grids’ by HeathG

HeathG — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:29:14 +0000

Phil.

Re ‘smart grids’ v ‘smart metering’. ‘Smart grids’ are obviously made up of more than just ‘smart meters’ at the end user premises.

Re: ubiquity. Yes, the NBN will be ubiquitous. But there is more than one way to achieve that. As the current deployments in NSW and Vic show, the NBN isn’t a mandatory requirement for smart grids (or smart meters specifically) because energy companies are already finding alternatives that will enable them to get these initiatives going ahead of the NBN.

There’s also a couple of other points that may be worth considering.

1)Connection of the ‘smart meter’ to the NBN. My understanding of the solution in Victoria is that it involves a self contained wireless metering unit being retrofitted in to the existing meter box. i.e. it does not require access to the customers premises (typically) and requires no connection/integration in to another network. Will the method of connecting the smart meter (presumably still in the meter box) to the NBN be as simple?

2) Security – I also wonder whether there are any security or resiliency benefits in having the electricity monitoring and metering on an independent network. That’s an area outside my expertise so I’d be interested in whether there eare any differences from that point of view.

At the end of the day – yes, the NBN could be used as an enabler. But it’s not mandatory and given the alternatives, the marginal value from the NBN in this area may be low.

Comment on NBN not mandatory for ‘smart grids’ by Phil Collins

Phil Collins — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:34:57 +0000

I think you are confusing “smart grids” with “smart metering.”
The important thing about NBN is that it creates ubiquity of access, which is what the power companies need to do as you suggest and deploy more applications for power management, and create new applications for controlling power and appliances remotely.

Comment on In CI – better answers start with better questions by NBN Study: Were the right question asked? at Catallaxy Files

NBN Study: Were the right question asked? at Catallaxy Files — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:45:16 +0000

[...] If you’re engaging expensive consultants like McKinsey and KPMG, you want to make sure you’re getting value for money. As I’ve argued in the case of engaging competitive intelligence specialists, “To get the most value out of CI, the decision you’re engaging CI to help answer should be one that is still to be made, and not something that’s already been decided. (MinimalState 01/04/2010) [...]

Comment on In CI – better answers start with better questions by NBN Study: Were the right question asked?

NBN Study: Were the right question asked? — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:31:29 +0000