What a good idea

I’d like to say that I didn’t blog yesterday in some sort of protest against the passing of the first stages of the Protection of Information Bill in Parliament, but it was actually something far more immediate than that – I didn’t have any time or any inclination. I’ve said before than when these conditions meet in a perfect storm of business and “meh”, it’s best not to fight the system. And in using that term, I’m continuing to avoid passing comment on the POIB.

Many individuals think that the POIB is a bad idea. And, if you believe what you read in the (entirely objective) media, you would certainly think the same. But the grading of gooditude or baddity for ideas is all relative. Even the heinous POIB pales into insignificance next to this idea:

Shark Attack Experiment: LIVE will beam from some of the world’s most shark-infested waters off the coast of South Africa. Here, a team of free-divers and conservationists put their safety on the line to separate shark attack myths from realities. Also, on location will be shark attack victims to tell their stories and enter the water for the first time since their traumatic encounters. This is no stunt; the goal is to dispel negative myths about sharks and raise public awareness that some shark species are being driven to extinction by overfishing.Shark Attack Experiment: LIVE caps Nat Geo WILD’s “Sharkathon”—nine hours of blue chip shark programs shot in locations around the world.

Yep. You read it right. It’s like shark cage diving. But without the cage. It’s driving with no seatbelt on. The wrong way down the N1. With your eyes closed.

the goal is to dispel negative myths about sharks

Jawellnofine. But it’s not the negative myths that bother me so much. It’s more the negative realities about sharks. The bit where they eat people or eat bits of people. Om nom nom.

Another interesting part of this experiment will be the bit when they see if sharks are more attracted to bare skin than to neoprene, by sending a lass in a bikini down into shark infested waters and – presumably – seeing how much of her resurfaces.  Quite what their grading criteria on this particular part of the investigation will be remains unclear to me, as ideally, to get a meaningful result either bikini girl or wetsuit boy will have to be eaten.

Ah! So he only took a leg off the guy in the wetsuit, but he’s left nothing of the chick in the two piece. So that’s a preliminary yes – sharks prefer bare skin. Right. Load up the next victim… er… I mean “experimental subject” – and let’s try smearing her with strawberry jam this time.

I won’t be watching this weekend – I’m not going to be near a TV. But I am looking forward to next week’s LIVE experiment where Nat Geo gathers a bunch of experts and attempts to dispel the negative myths about gravity by jumping from a very tall thing, with no parachute.