Sunday, February 02, 2020

Bohemian Scandal: In the Race for Cheap Airfare It’s You vs. the Machine

“When I'm old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,' not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe.'”
– Tom Preston-Werner



Sonia Kenin says 'it's a dream come true' to win Australian Open


New Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin said she got her feistiness on court from her Russian heritage.


Under fire: Josephine Cashman stands firm against author Bruce Pascoe


Josephine Cashman says her reputation has been trashed, her family targeted and her sanity questioned.




First coronavirus death recorded outside China, as toll passes 300


The Philippines reported the first death from the virus outside China as the WHO warned other countries to prepare in case the disease spreads among their populations.

How Beijing kept the world in the dark as coronavirus spread

As the virus first began to emerge in late December, Chinese police announced they were investigating eight people for spreading rumours about the outbreak.

Everything you need to know about coronavirus in one place

Here's a rundown of all the facts about coronavirus, and how you can make sure you're protected.


Citing Coronavirus Epidemic, Boston Symphony Cancels Asia Tour


“When officials with the Shanghai Oriental Art Center informed BSO that they were canceling the concert and other events because of the outbreak, BSO followed up with their presenting partners in Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong, and ultimately decided to shelve the tour, the orchestra’s statement said.” – Boston Classical Review 




Firefighter sends goodbye text to his family, thinking he would die

Rhys Outred's text read: "I love you. We’ve been overrun by fire. Truck on fire."

VACY VLAZNA. On Becoming Australian: A Migrant Story, Part 1

 Australia is an unresolved crime scene Continue reading 
By contrast in the 50’s, my mother, then in her 30s, had a Namatjira print on the wall between two imposter ‘aboriginal’ ceramic wall plaques; one a kangaroo and the other a fish. I never asked why, and it’s too late now, why she, a wog, a political refugee from Czechoslovakia, was drawn to Aboriginal culture.
Dr. Vacy Vlazna is Coordinator of Justice for Palestine Matters

VACY VLAZNA. On Becoming Australian: A Migrant Story, Part 2

Co-host of ABC Minefield, Scott Stevens astutely, impeccably summed up the generosity inherent in The Uluru Statement of the Heart. Continue reading 




To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.

The New York Times – Travel providers now use software to re-price their offerings, sometimes dozens of times a day, putting travelers at a big disadvantage. “For business and leisure travelers, the result is a variation of the cat-and-mouse game, where travel companies are almost always the cat. Traditionally, hotels and airlines priced their offerings depending on peak demand periods, past sales data and the number of current reservations. Individual hotel properties could make changes if, for example, their hotel was emptier than usual for an upcoming date and a lower room price would spur demand. Now, changes in travel pricing are being made much more frequently. The practice, called “hyperdynamic pricing,” is poised for significant growth, said Angela Zutavern, a managing director at the technology consulting firm AlixPartners and the author of “The Mathematical Corporation: Where Machine Intelligence and Human Ingenuity Achieve the Impossible.” Hyperdynamic pricing factors in lots of data. Along with historical and seasonal information, the new A.I. systems scan the web for global news events, weather predictions, trending Google searches, social media posts, local event schedules and other factors that could affect demand, Ms. Zutavern said…”

BORIS BYPASSES THE BEEB: Boris Johnson Cuts Out Mainstream Media, Will Address Nation via Social Media for Brexit Day


Alvin Ailey and company
TROVE OF STUNNING DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY NOW ONLINE


“My attachments are all local, purely local.—I have no passion (or have had none since I was in love, and then it was the spurious engendering of poetry & books) to groves and vallies.—The rooms where I was born, the furniture which has been before my eyes all my life, a book case which has followed me about (like a faithful dog, only exceeding him in knowledge) wherever I have moved, old tables, streets, squares, when I have sunned myself, my old school,—these are my mistresses.” My attachments are all local




#DOOM:  Time To Panic? More Chinese Restaurants Handing Out Fortune Cookies That Just Say ‘Death By Coronavirus.’


Leaked Documents Expose the Secretive Market for Your Web Browsing Data Vice. “The documents, from a subsidiary of the antivirus giant Avast called Jumpshot, shine new light on the secretive sale and supply chain of peoples’ internet browsing histories. They show that the Avast antivirus program installed on a person’s computer collects data, and that Jumpshot repackages it into various different products that are then sold to many of the largest companies in the world.”