September 2009
31 posts
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Benefits of Bicycle Transportation
Bicycle transportation (bike to work and for other utility cycling) has many benefits for society. We can remind public officials and all citizens that it is in their best interest to promote cycling.
Bicycles are almost completely pollution-free vehicles: Free from air, water and noise pollution.
Bicycles enhance security. They use no imported oil.
Bicycles emit no greenhouse...
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How not to wear a suit
@facemark:
@patricksemaan:
@facemark:
god. have we reached the point where business suits must be labelled ‘does not mask body odor’?
should also say “does not make you smart”
yeah. should also say “does not mean your haircut is good”
: what? what??! business people actually think that their suits can be a replacement for some soap ‘n spray?! what is happening?!
“Public altruism is increasingly difficult to institutionally enforce...”
– From the bottom of a notepad I used during a lecture on Islamic Political Thought
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What exactly is social production?
You know that feeling you get when you read something so lucid, so exactly correct, that you get goosebumps? It’s a classic “ah-ha” moment, leaving you smiling in satisfaction over the words that clearly resonate with you, and yet slightly frustrated over the fact that someone else was able to articulate a concept in a way you hadn’t— or couldn’t have —...
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An introduction to a paper I never wrote
Timur Kuran has written extensively on so-called Islamic economies and political Islam. Just as the “five pillars of Islam” are meant to be followed by every practicing Muslim, the “three pillars of Islamic economy” are meant to be followed by every practicing Muslim system of production, distribution and consumption. The first, behaviour norms with regard to economic...
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Law & Order
Law:
Press restrictions, including a ban from producing independent media
Control over religious discourse by restricting independent mosques
Harassment of human rights groups
Prohibition of independent social support
Military courts for civilians accused of terrorism
Prohibition of independent counsel
Illegality of social criticism
Order:
Expansion of the bureaucracy
More civil servants...
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This = True: Infographic for Tea and Coffee...
ilovecharts:
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Baltimore's got murders
As an admirer of data visualization and interactivity, I can respect the effort Baltimoresun.com developer Stephen Mekosh put into developing this handy Google Maps mashup. In one click of a button, users can plot the locations of murders over the last three years atop an interactive Google Map of Baltimore.
Select options from the dropdown lists below and click “Show Results”. The...
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I'm a nice guy!
Tonight I was tipped off to a very nice article in the Guardian written about me by my neighbour, who I just meet a couple weeks ago in the strangest of circumstances. Her retelling of the event is much better than I ever could have mustered, and while I thought it’d be fun me to try anyway, if for no other reason than to present a different perspective, there’s really no point!...
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Real Life Conversations™
Today’s Real Life Conversation is brought to you by the fine drivers of London taxi cabs. This morning I had a not too uncommon encounter with a London taxi. First, let me set up the situation:
Taxi driver fails to see me approaching to his right, and yet, having seen no cars coming from his right side, begins pulling out into the road to make a right turn. Taxi driver sees traffic coming...
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How not to kill a 6-yr-old girl on a scooter
I sprinted my last couple miles on my bicycle this afternoon and was having a really good ride, until I almost killed a 6-yr-old girl on a scooter. Well, “almost” is a slight exaggeration. In fact, there was no contact between us and neither of us broke stride. But it was close enough an encounter that I, and I’m sure the girl’s parents, understood clearly what could have...
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Jakarta Fails To Put Out Smoking On Buses →
dregar:
If only Jakarta had put the same effort in stopping public smoking as it did in cracking down on beggars, then maybe it would be a much healthier city. The article pointed out:
Smoking is continuing on nearly 90 percent of public transportation vehicles in the city, despite a four-year-old bylaw banning lighting up in public places, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation said on...
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London Transport
75% of people on London buses are mean, crazy, or stupid. Typically, passengers sitting on the aisle seat who have chosen to leave the window seat unoccupied will wait to be asked politely by newly boarded travellers whether or not the window seat is free, and, if so, whether or not it would be alright if they could squeeze through to sit down. More often than not, the one sitting on the aisle...
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Of bikes and men(?)
Only one thing angers me more than seeing Charge bicycle being ridden by a 13-yr-old, and that’s seeing a Charge bicycle ridden by a chav of any age. These jokers do not deserve such a fine, sexy riding machine as this:
Why am I writing about this? Because today on my walk to get lunch I saw both. That’s right. On my way to Tesco, I spotted some kid riding down the street on the...
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Personal project: compose a pseudo essay consisting only of George Orwell quotations.
Requirements:
must have a clear purpose
must be easy to read
must be sourced carefully
must avoid inline references (to aid readibility)
Risks:
end result could be lame
why butcher my favourite writer’s prose?
Should I do this?
Subway Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sub
foodinreallife:
(multiple varieties picture)
(pictured on Monterey Cheddar bread, not Italian).
Looks: The meat and cheese aren’t folded inside the egg like in the advertisement, and there isn’t nearly enough sandwich toppings to make the bread fold open like the ad shows. It does fall within the generally-accepted range of how fast food should look compared to the advertised product. 3.5...
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Good to know!
It’s not an offence to be naked in public in England and Wales
Becomes offence if it can be proved the person stripped off with the intention to upset and shock
Complainant has to prove this
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