The Round-Up #2

Welcome to the Round-Up. Throughout the week, I will be posting links to the most interesting, funny, and/or unique articles I read on DWG's Twitter feed, downwithgt. Then, on the weekend, I will post links to the 3(ish) most interesting, funny, and/or unique articles I tweeted. Here, ladies and gentleman, is the Round-Up #2:




Link 1 (On guilty pleasures and calories:what do we lose if we lose enjoyment and pleasure from eating and drinking?everything): Here's the thing: Americans obsess over their health. Dieting, counting calories, Atkins. The list goes on and will continue to grow for some time. Here's the other thing: America is not an exceptionally healthy nation. Really, the thing is, obsessing over health makes us less healthy. Enjoyment of life is the missing ingredient so indulge yourself sometimes.

Link 2 (Having Congress ratify treaties is unwieldy. so lets get the president to avoid congress): Some countries have the head of their legislature negotiate treaties while some make legislative approval a mere formality. But when the US comes to the table, you know you have to negotiate a treaty with the President, then wait for the President to negotiate with the legislature. James Rubin wants to change this and will tell you how.

Link 3 (Tim Berners-Lee's (credited w/ creating the internet) fascinating article on modern dangers to the web & net neutrality): The Web we take for granted is once again in danger. But this time, instead of coming under the control of AOL, it is coming under the control of a variety of companies like Google and Apple. These companies could section the Web into a number of exclusive clubs, thereby ending the once endless era of free and open exchange. And that's not all...

Link 4 (article and discussion on how to use data to improve daily life ie find commute times from properties and list them): There is a lot of data out there and a lot of potential for data gathering. It's time for us to stop relying on subjective perceptions and rely even more on data to improve our lives. Let's start by calculating commute times from properties that are on the market and move on to having individuals analyze what makes them happy. Article complete with continuing reader discussion on various ways we can use data to improve our lives.