Andy Byford comes from generations of public transportation workers and worked his way from a London Underground platform supervisor to running multiple British rail lines; then went to Australia where he oversaw Railcorp in NSW; then to Toronto, where he ran a successful five-year initiative that turned the TTC into the American Public Transportation Association's Outstanding Transit System of the Year -- and then he moved to New York City, to turn around the ailing MTA.

Byford is a legend among transit workers; last week in Toronto I had dinner with a friend whose partner drives a TTC subway who spontaneously started singing Byford's praises -- he spent his time out in the system, talking to drivers and passengers, and understood it from top to bottom, which allowed him to intervene in the system in compassionate and effective ways.

But since Byford's arrival in NYC, he's been at loggerheads with Governor Andrew Cuomo, who fancies himself a latter-day Robert Moses, and who did everything in his power to thwart Byford's work. The final straw was redefining Byford's job so that he would only do day-to-day management, with no responsibility for improvements. Cuomo accomplished this by paying the consultancy Alixpartners $4m to produce a report that recommended a sharply constrained role for Byford.

Byford has resigned, as has Pete Tomlin, a trusted and much-sought-after lieutenant whom Byford brought with him from the TTC.

“Out-of-town MTA executive managers always come and go,” says retired Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office administrator and Railway Age opinion columnist Larry Penner.

Read the rest

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Writing in The Journal of Health Economics, three economists claim (Sci Hub mirror) that "a one standard deviation reduction in daily stock market returns is associated with a 0.6% increase in fatal car accidents that happen after the stock market opening" and that this is robust across "a battery of falsification tests."

They examined data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System from 1990-2015, and conclude that this "might just be the tip of the iceberg" because most car accidents are not fatal and thus not reflected in their data-set. Moreover, the correlation between fatal wrecks and stock fluctuations underwent a sudden, persistent increase in the mid-nineties, when 401(k)s exposed millions of households' finances to the stock market for the first time.

They recommend public information campaigns to warn people that they might drive worse after their pensions are wiped out. Though, of course, from a neoliberal perspective, this could just be the incredible serendipity of self-correcting markets: when pensions are wiped out by financial engineering, people fatally wreck their cars, circumventing the future pain of not having any pension savings. Capitalism works!

When the market drives you crazy: Stock market returns and fatal car accidents [Corrado Giulietti, Mirco Tonin and Michael Vlassopoulos/The Journal of Health Economics] (Sci-Hub Mirror)

(via Marginal Revolution)

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/DROJVuebFGQ/solves-retirement-crisis.html

"Proactive credit line increases" (PCLIs) are when your credit card company increases your credit limit without your asking for it; it was very common prior to the 2008 crisis, but the post-crisis rules largely put a stop to it. Now, banks have figured out regulatory loopholes that allow them to throw PCLIs at their most vulnerable customers, leading to record-high national levels of credit-card debt of $880b as of last September, higher than the pre-crisis high.

Credit cards are the most profitable loans that the finance industry originates, and 2019 was the best-ever year for the banks' profits from credit cards, with interest rates soaring to a 20-year peak. The US banks made $179b in credit card fees and interest in 2019, and 2020 is projected to be even better. Credit-card debt is the fastest-growing form of debt in the USA.

Much of this PCLI activity is subprime -- extending credit to people who are already overburdened by debt and who will likely miss payments, leading to high penalties, which are extremely profitable for banks.

The number of people aged 19-29 in the USA who are more than 90 days late on their card payments just reached a ten-year high.

But after the stock slipped in 2017, [Capital One] executives came under pressure to show they could meet growth targets. They eventually tweaked their models to offer increases to more customers, betting on a quirk in human behavior, according to the person with knowledge of the decision, who asked not to be named discussing the talks.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/dunOU1SmPUY/pclis.html

It’s no secret that learning about data analytics is one of the best things you can do for your career in an increasingly data-driven world.

Through five courses and over 70 lessons, the Data Analytics Expert Certification Bundle will give you the skills you need in order to become your company’s go-to numbers guru, and it’s available for just $49.

If you’re new to the field, start with the Introduction to Data Analytics Training Course, which will outfit you with a general understanding of the terminology of the industry along with the basics of using analytical methods to solve problems, creating charts and graphs, identifying upcoming trends, spotting inconsistencies in your data, and more.

With the basics under your belt, you’ll move on to the Tableau Certification Training Course, which teaches you how to use one of the world’s most popular numbers platforms through training that focuses on data mapping, visualizations, establishing connections between events, and more.

Next up, the Data Science with Python Training Course will introduce you to the limitless power and potential of Python, by teaching you how to use this go-to programming language in order to gain valuable insights from large data sets.

From there, the Business Analytics Certification Training with Excel course will teach you how to use executive-level dashboards along with how to integrate Excel into your Python builds—all through easy-to-follow instruction that uses real-world examples.

Finally, the MongoDB Developer & Administrator Certification Training module will solidify your new knowledge with 17 hours of MongoDB training that teaches you about a variety of in-demand analysis strategies and tools. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/bzFgZpbVxmk/break-into-a-career-in-data-an.html

Anyone who’s ever been fishing can attest to the fact that it can be mind-numbingly boring at times, which is where the intrepid GoFish Cam Wireless Underwater Fishing Camera comes into play.

This WiFi-enabled camera will help you catch more fish and have more fun while you’re doing it, thanks to a 1080p lens that delivers HD footage from underwater directly to your smartphone.

Compatible with both Apple and Android systems, the GoFish Cam sits on your fishing line and captures all of the underwater action while you wait for a bite.

It attaches between your mainline and the leader line so you’ll be able to easily retrieve it without having to worry about it being gobbled up by a fish, and a special night vision feature allows you to keep an eye on the comings and goings of your potential catches even at night.

Introduce a live underwater video feed to your fishing routine with the GoFish Cam Wireless Underwater Fishing Camera—available for just $239.99 today.

Prices are subject to change.

You can't beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/A9vlfXMbsaw/catch-more-fish-with-this-unde.html

A Bothell, Seattle house -- so filled with garbage, water damaged, and hazardous that the real estate agent didn't allow anyone inside -- just sold in a bidding war for more than its $330,000 list price. Only one photo, of the exterior, was provided in the listing. There were 17 offers; the buyer and final price haven't yet been revealed. From the Seattle Times:

Despite the fierce pace of offers on the Bothell home, the sale pales in comparison to the all-out bidding war that ensued in 2016 after a derelict West Seattle home was listed for $200,000.

That home, with five feet of standing water and toxic air not safe to breathe, ultimately sold in 10 days for $427,000, more than double the asking price, after receiving a jaw-dropping 41 offers. It was razed and redeveloped, then sold for $1.19 million in 2017...

The offers (on the newly-sold Bothel property) were almost entirely from investors and home flippers, according to agents familiar with the sale.

Other homes in the same zip code sell for a median $620,700, up nearly 50% since 2015, according to Zillow.

“A whole lot of potential awaits,” the listing promised.

(via Fark) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/RBfA7RCAeN8/bidding-war-for-seattle-home-t.html

While recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois on January 1, it is still illegal under federal law. So just a few weeks back, authorities installed "Cannabis Amnesty Boxes" at Chicago airports for travelers to drop their grass before flying. But last week, someone arriving at Chicago's Midway helped themselves to the stash. From the New York Post:

Police reportedly noticed the marijuana missing from an amnesty box during a check on Wednesday evening at around 8 p.m., according to a source for NBC5. Upon reviewing the surveillance footage, police saw a man — believed to be an incoming passenger — reaching inside and absconding with the marijuana hours earlier.

The marijuana itself was left behind by a separate passenger, who placed it in the amnesty box after being found with it during a security check...

“Cannabis Amnesty Boxes have been placed at Chicago’s airports so travelers have the opportunity to ensure compliance with federal law, as well as the local laws at their destination. Tampering with them, or attempting to remove anything placed inside, is a crime, and detectives are investigating this matter,” said Anthony Guglielmi, the chief communications officer with the Chicago Police. “In the meantime, new, permanent theft prevention boxes are expected to replace the temporary ones in the coming weeks, making them more secure and preventing anyone from further accessing materials dropped inside.”

There are also marijuana amnesty boxes at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport and the Colorado Springs Airport.

image: Chicago Police Department Read the rest

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From BBC Earth's "Spy in the Wild" series. Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty robot! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Ucna4EKHCn0/watch-a-wild-silverback-gorill.html

Got my daughter a broken Teddy Ruxpin “little bopper” off eBay, fixed it up and wired in a speaker. Unfortunately the only radio station I get good signal on is NPR so my testing just involves teddy ruxpin convulsing to the impeachment testimony pic.twitter.com/FTbwEGJEgX

 Nunzio Vuono (@nvuono) January 22, 2020

And if you don't know...

From Wikipedia:

Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic children's toy in the form of a talking Illiop, which looks like a bear. The creature's mouth and eyes move while "reading" stories played on an audio tape cassette deck built into its back. It was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies,and the first version of the toy was designed by the firm RKS Design. Later versions used a digital cartridge in place of a cassette. At the peak of its popularity, Teddy Ruxpin became the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986, and the 2006 version was awarded the 2006 Animated Interactive Plush Toy of the Year award by Creative Child Magazine. A cartoon based on the characters debuted in 1986.

And from the Muppet Wiki:

Little Boppers were a line of toys made by Worlds of Wonder in 1987. The toys were sound-activated plush dolls that would "dance" to music. The toys featured plush covered plastic "feet" which were articulated at the "hips" and propelled the toys forward and side to side.

Versions of Baby Piggy and Baby Kermit were produced, along with a line of Disney figures (Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy), comical versions of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolf Man, and Worlds of Wonder's own Teddy Ruxpin.

Read the rest

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“It is unclear at the current time whether this outbreak can be contained within China”

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/iqMNMK87roY/each-person-with-wuhan-coronav.html

Rad.

(h/t David Razowsky) Read the rest

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China's President Xi Jinping said the nation faces a “grave situation” as the number of deaths in the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV outbreak jumped to 42 on Saturday.

Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations also began Saturday, and fears of a pandemic have put a pall on celebrations.

President Xi held a politburo meeting on Saturday on ways to fight the “accelerating” outbreak, reported Chinese state television.

From Reuters on Saturday, January 25:

As of 8 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Saturday, the death toll in China had risen to 42, authorities reported. Some 1,372 people in China have been infected with the virus - traced to a seafood market in Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife.

The virus has also been detected in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, and the United States.

And you can now add Canada to that mix.

Patient zero in Canada was just confirmed in Toronto.

Wuhan city is located in Hubei province, and officials there are asking for help obtaining masks and protective suits.

“We are steadily pushing forward the disease control and prevention ... But right now we are facing an extremely severe public health crisis,” Hu Yinghai, deputy director-general of the Civil Affairs Department, told a news briefing.

Previous Boing Boing posts:

First Canada Wuhan virus case confirmed, more than 1,400 people worldwide now infected with 2019-nCoV

IMAGES, TOP, and BELOW courtesy of the Chinese government's Xinhua News.

Peng Zhiyong (C), head of the department of critical care medicine of Zhongnan Hospital, performs diagnosis on a patient with his colleagues in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/vMPDCaSFOPs/china-facing-grave-situation.html

‘I’m the Orlando Easter Bunny, Google it’

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Db4mVfKwxFI/florida-easter-bunny-fight-m.html

On Saturday, the government health ministry of Canada reported the first presumed case in Canada of a patient with the so-called Wuhan virus, officially known as Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

Coronavirus has infected more than 1,400 people worldwide, most in and around Wuhan, China's third-largest city.

Also on Saturday, Australia confirmed its first four cases of the new coronavirus. On Friday, Malaysia confirmed four cases, France reported Europe’s first three.

Health authorities around the world are rushing to prevent a pandemic.

Toronto Public Health received notification of the first presumptive confirmed case of coronavirus in a Canadian resident who just got backfrom Wuhan, China's third-largest city in western Hubei province, which is the epicenter of the viral outbreak.

“The individual is stable and is hospitalized” the statement added.

From Reuters, on Canada's Wuhan virus patient zero:

The individual arrived in Toronto on Jan. 22 and was hospitalized the next day after developing symptoms of respiratory illness.

The victim is a man in his 50s and Ontario health officials said he took private transportation home after getting down at Toronto airport.

Ontario health officials said his family members have been put into self isolation, though the government declined to give the number of people in the family.

Read more at Reuters: Canada identifies first presumptive confirmed case of coronavirus Previously on Boing Boing:

Death toll in China from Wuhan virus now 41, with 1,000+ infected globally, 2 cases in U.S. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/QL67V8u-Uak/canada-wuhan-virus-patient-zer.html

Google's recently announced new redesign of desktop search results would have made ads pretty much look exactly like search results. Google is now backtracking, listening to the criticism, and trying a different visual approach.

Our experimenting will begin today. Over the coming weeks, while we test, some might not see favicons while some might see them in different placements as we look to bring a modern look to desktop….

 Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 24, 2020

“Last week we updated the look of Search on desktop to mirror what’s been on mobile for months. We’ve heard your feedback about the update. We always want to make Search better, so we’re going to experiment with new placements for favicons,” wrote Danny Sullivan, Google’s search liaison, in a statement posted to Twitter.

“Our experimenting will begin today. Over the coming weeks, while we test, some might not see favicons while some might see them in different placements as we look to bring a modern look to desktop.”

Writes Nick Statt at The Verge:

Google made one of the biggest changes to how it displays search results in the company’s history earlier this month, with the changes taking effect over the course of the last week. It involved a visual overhaul that makes it more difficult to differentiate between advertising and organic search results with the removal of color overlays and the introduction of small branded iconography, known on the web as favicons, next to non-ad results.

The company’s stated intention was to align desktop search results with the way they’re presented on mobile, but it became clear this also had the effect of making it harder to distinguish between paid results and non-paid ones.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/WHbGUK30ly8/google-backtracks-on-desktop-s.html

Boxed wines have come a long way since their admittedly subpar debut, and it’s now possible to grab a box of wine that delivers a surprising amount of flavor and body for a price that won’t break the bank.

This Boxxle Premium Wine Dispenser makes it even easier to enjoy your favorite bag-in-box wine by offering a more streamlined and stylish enclosure, and you can grab it right now for 24% off its MSRP.

Ideal for tailgating or entertaining guests at home, this dispenser takes your go-to wine bag and elegantly raises it about your glass—eliminating the need for you to lift, squeeze, or drag the cumbersome and unsightly box to the edge of your countertop.

Made from high-grade ABS plastic and 202 stainless steel, this dispenser also makes for the perfect travel companion thanks to its lightweight build and compact design.

Enjoy your favorite boxed wine without that annoying box that comes with it. The Boxxle Premium Wine Dispenser is on sale for over 20% off MSRP at $74.99.

Prices are subject to change.

You can't beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/lvMZUlUicOY/save-over-20-on-this-premium.html

Mac users are getting hit with Shlayer, a malware that installs an “Any Search” bar on their computer, reports Lifehacker.

It's easy to avoid Shlayer and most other Mac (and Windows) malware - never click on an Adobe Flash updater pop-up notification.

From Lifehacker:

There’s no reason to install, update, or use Flash Player to access online content in 2020, save for very rare exceptions—and no, none of those exceptions include watching illegal streams of sporting events or leaked movies. If you need to download Flash, get it directly from Adobe. Nowhere else.

Image: Microsoft Read the rest

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http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/NylAjJziOkI/gentleman-ticketed-for-driving.html

A massive locust infestation has migrated from Somalia and Ethiopia into Kenya, reports AP News. The insects are devouring crops in a country already afflicted by widespread hunger. The United Nations warns that coming rains could increase the locust populations by a factor of 500. The most effective way to stave of the infestation is through aerial pesticide spraying, which comes with a $70 million price. "Even a small swarm of the insects can consume enough food for 35,000 people in a single day, said Jens Laerke of the U.N. humanitarian office in Geneva," says the article.

(Image: Niv Singer, CC-BY) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/IMkC7mIvFwI/kenya-hit-by-worst-locust-plag.html

According to a commenter in Reddit "This is Otto the Skateboarding Bulldog, he passed recently. This is in Lima, Peru."

My dad's friend saw this dog vibin from r/funny

[via r/funny] Read the rest

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