mike carey

My point is that if you are looking for secure communications with someone, then the point to point comms using it are secure. That is the purpose for which it was designed. Where it does not provide protection, and this may be seen as being beyond the scope of what it was intended to do, is where another WhatsApp user sends you something: whether it is someone you have already established communications with, or as this case seems to indicate, someone who can find out your WhatsApp address. The other point to bear in mind is that if something you have sent or received via WhatsApp is still on your phone, the point of failure has become your phone not the app. If someone, be that a bad actor or the authorities, either has your phone, or has electronic access to its data, the fact that you might have received something via WhatsApp or any other secure means is irrelevant. They can read or copy it. If you want to ensure that doesn't happen, delete the data or copy it to somewhere that is safer.

So he's acute-ey?

I heard a discussion of this on a tech show (Download This Show, ABC RN Friday 31 Jan, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/downloadthisshow/the-curious-case-of-jeff-bezos/11909208). Apparently he was sent a piece of malware via WhatsApp and it was able to infect his phone regardless of whether he had even opened the WhatApp message. (It's not clear whether he did or not.) So the privacy of what was sent wasn't compromised, and everything was encrypted from other parties, but that doesn't prevent the app from causing problems. That indicates to me that for the purposes we are discussing, WhatsApp is fine.

Most people have a mind to start with.

Although our prime minister may have started using the gesture with the sort of inane alacrity some associate with 1600 Penn Ave NW, and that may have given some people pause in continuing to use the thumbs up, it absolutely is not the equivalent of a middle finger rampant! (A thumbs down is the opposite, disagreement, unhappiness or dissatisfaction, but it is not a rude gesture, it's simply a neutral 'no'.)

My home town: Tumut Beach-side suburb in Adelaide (and river in SW Victoria): Glenelg

A true gem. I met him at Palm Springs and didn't 'do' anything. I did a quick round of the pool party and said good bye to him, but that was a 2-3 minute deep kiss. Truly memorable. I'll be back if I can.

I have no words.

This is a bit of a concern, although I suspect going home via Hong Kong on CX will be fine. I checked on Qantas' FF page and they had rewards seats from Singapore to NYC on CX, JA and QR in all classes (and China Eastern through Shanghai, but I'm guessing that wouldn't be anyone's first choice in the current circumstances). No other west-bound options though. (They also had seats to BDL through LHR/ORD on combinations of QF/BA/AA, but only in economy, and some first on QF sectors.) I'm guessing AA would have similar options, perhaps more on other One World partners.

There is certainly that. The Australian government has announced that if it is able to mount an evacuation flight from Wuhan, the passengers will be quarantined at the immigration detention centre on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, something that it was fairly quickly noted would not have been proposed if the evacuation flight were coming from, say Aspen.

That's a telling observation. For all the commentary about the coronavirus, it has yet to be established that it is more dangerous than seasonal influenza. It may well prove to be, but we don't know yet.

Epilogue Most of the various cards I had have been replaced now, some costs incurred but not too many, I have taken note of the speed and efficiency of the responses by the various issuers (Amex, as noted earlier, and HSBC were the best). My main bank, for some reason put a stop on my card but didn't reissue it. When I called tonight, they were most obliging and helpful so I'll have a new card to collect at a branch in the town I'll be visiting in a few days. Finally, this evening, the AFP called me (Australian Federal Police are the local police force in Canberra) to tell me that they had recovered my wallet in a stolen car, that the various cards seemed to be intact, and that I could collect it at the local police station. Most of what was in it has been reissued but there were some things that I hadn't thought about that I'll now have back, my US SSN card among them. I hope that I'll be able to use all the lessons I've written about, but you never know how easy it'll be to make some of the same mistakes again!

Thanks, I meant to comment on this earlier. This was my intention. I like to think I'm not the type to cry over spilt milk but it's easy to do so unintentionally, so I'm glad it didn't come over that way. Losing your wallet, or for that matter your mobile phone can be severely discombobulating and it's wise to consider what's in them and what you would need to do if you were to lose one of them.

Of course, the answer to the original question is, 'Shoes and socks'.

... and of the guys in the forum looking at the image.

It seems so, I tried to post a review of a well regarded escort whom I met via other channels. It was a 5 star review but I hadn't contacted him through RM so no dice. I attempted more as an experiment than anything else, and I don't think he needed the review, but it was salutary that I couldn't post it. I had thought of making RM contact first but decided not to.

Beautifully put!

Beautifully put!

Yes it looks that way. I was only aware of the first case, in Melbourne, but I had been watching sport all evening. No indications so far that the authorities here have been considering restrictions on flights, but that could change quickly.

Ok, I commented in a different thread but here goes. Alec Andrews - saw him once, would have gone back time and again if he had not retired. Sweet, sweet man. @peterhung85 - one time so far, hope for more, he's a delight. @tristanbaldwin - one hunk of a man, I've seen him more than once, one hot soldier.

I only met Alec once (so he qualifies as my input to another thread) and didn't meet Ryan. I couldn't manage to get to the US between his announcement and his actual retirement. I absolutely agree with your assessment of Alec. Their case my be illuminating on the subject of this thread and on people's thoughts on the viability of escort-to-escort relationships. There may be more difficulties if one member of a couple is in the business and the other isn't (same with porn actors). The fact that they both retired at the same time would seem to support my theory that one partner working is more a difficulty than both. I'm not an escort so obviously my opinion is pure speculation.

It's been figuring prominently in the news here. Border force and NSW Health have increased surveillance at Sydney airport with closer screening of pax on the three weekly flights from Wuhan (China Eastern). With the lockdown in Wuhan yesterday's will be the last flight for some time. So far the authorities are concerned but not alarmed, there have been no cases here yet and a only a handful of people have been tested for the illness. They are saying that it's not highly contagious but they assess that it has a 14 incubation period so the alert will continue. One major hospital has designated responsibility for handling any cases. The surveillance and checks are so far only precautionary and there's no talk of broader travel restrictions.

I can't speak for Uber (but @Epigonos did) but there is a taxi rank at the front and that's what I used first trip, 12 or so bux, minimal wait and there was a dispatcher there. I rented a car last year but that was mainly because I was driving to Vegas then on to LAX for my flight home.

IIRC they were an item before they took up escorting.

Some banks and card companies understand that they actually depend on the good will of their customers. Some do not.