Reclining Buddha - Bangkok

Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.This is the important end of the reclining Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok.  Timeless; but for the record this image is dated to 1998 which is when I visited Thailand for the first time since the early 1970s. Wat Po is a fantastic complex...

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McKinsey Report on BIG Data

Recently consulting services firm McKinsey released a report that took a look at what BIG data is and what the potential gains could be from the use of BIG data. The types of benefits that could be realized are quite stunning:MGI studied big data in five domains—health care in the United States, the public sector in Europe, retail in the United States, and manufacturing and personal location data...

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MediaWeek (V4, N39): Robert Harris, Dickens, Cultural Decline (or not), Colm Toibin + More

A life in writing: Robert Harris: 'I've written a piece of fiction that suddenly starts coming true around me. The markets are crashing, people are blaming algorithms' (Guardian):"Orwell has always been a huge influence on me," he says. "He first came to mind regarding this project about 12 years ago when I read a book by Bill Gates in which he said one day the McDonald's headquarters in America would...

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High Up Parking Lot

Haleakala Crater Parking Lot 1991Another weekly image from my archive. Click on it to make it larger.This is a parking lot. Seen in the background is the sweeping vista of central Maui which spreads out over 10,000 feet below where this picture is taken. As the sun rises, you can just about see the shadow cast...

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What makes a good school?

From the economist this week an in-depth look at the changing approaches to education. Very interesting reading for anyone interested in how children will (or won't) be educated in the coming years (Economist):Above all, though, there has been a change in the quality of the debate. In particular, what might...

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