Lists

Condensed Knowledge – July 19, 2009

This is a summary of articles I read and found interesting during this past week. The list is shared from among my feed subscriptions:

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How different dogs attack

This video from the National Geographic shows different breeds of modern dogs and how they attack their prey. Heavier dogs use their own body weight to bring you down, and lighter dogs build up momentum by running and jumping at you. The video also talks about bite strength and how head size affects it.

Takeaway lesson: do your best not to get bitten by a dog while it’s coming at you. Make it slow down or if possible, only bite you when it’s stationary. Or at the very least, avoid getting bitten by a mastiff. Those puppies pack a massive 500 lbs. bite. If one of them bites your hand, it will crush your bones and quite possibly sever a finger or two.


Dog Attack Styles from the National Geographic

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Tightrope walker ad for The Economist

Brilliant ad for The Economist magazine, featuring a tightrope walker that begins his ascent from the sidewalk, and, by walking across interconnecting red ropes, reaches a place high above the city. The tagline is “Let your mind wander.” All I can say is it’s wonderfully done. Does anyone know who the rope walker is?


The Economist Red Wires ad

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Read the Bill, Congress!

The US Congress recently passed the Cap and Trade Bill without reading through the over 1200-page document, which more than likely contained more pork than a Louisiana farmer’s pantry. It was a bill drafted by lobbyists and edited in closed door committees, paving the way for tons of very lucrative government contracts and taxes that will surely pad many insiders’ pockets for decades to come.

Now they’re getting ready to fast-track the House Health Care Bill, another over 1000-page document, introduced as H.R. 3200, which no one will likely read, except the lobbyists drafting it and the few congressmen whose larder needs refilling as the way for the bill is greased through the inner workings of our illustrious Congress.

What’s to be done about this? At the very least, Congress should bother to read the bills before they vote and sign them. Pretty simple, right?

That’s why the Sunlight Foundation came up with ReadtheBill.org, a website which proposes a simple rule: post all bills online for 72 hours before they are debated. This was introduced as H. Res. 554 — a change to the House resolutions — and is slowly making its way through the approval process thanks to people like you and me, who are bugging our representatives to vote for it. The 72 hour delay would give constituents a decent amount of time during which to read through the proposed bills and see if they need to act.

I endorse the 72 Hour Rule

Let’s not forget President Obama promised his own 5-day delay on signing any new bills during his campaign, but has almost never respected that promise. So we’ve got a Congress and a President that don’t really bother to read all the bills they’re signing, and don’t even want to pretend like they’re doing it — at least not yet. It’s a grand example they’re setting for the rest of the world, isn’t it? They’re passing bills they haven’t read, and they’re telling us everything is on the up and up, and we have nothing to worry about, because they’re hard at work on fixing America. Whoopee!

Please tell your friends about ReadtheBill.org. Go there, sign the online petition, and bug your Representatives to pass the 72-hour rule.

Read The Bill from Sunlight Foundation on Vimeo.

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Luna by Malajube

Cool music video that involves synchronized swimming and hallucinations induced by a near-drowning experience. I’m making it sound weird, but it’s very nicely done. The band is Malajube, and the song is called “Luna”. With Nicolina Tokic and the Synchronized Swimming Club of MontrĂ©al-Nord, Aquana.

Malajube || Luna from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

You can download the full HD video if you click through. And there’s also a “making of” video.

Malajube || Dans les coulisses du vidéoclip de Luna from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

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