Many Americans like to see the guy in the saddle, riding herd on a crisis, corralling it into some sort of shape and sense.

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Idealab is designing a headquarters in a hub-and-spoke shape, reminiscent of the sort of structure favoured by evil geniuses in James Bond films.

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The basic unit of shoemaking is the last a sort of mannequin, in the shape of a human foot, upon which the shoe is constructed.

NEWYORKER: Sole Mate

You can see that it goes in, and there's sort of a pyramid or a triangular shape.

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The water is kept clean by being passed through giant versions of the sort of filters and skimmers that keep saltwater aquariums in good shape.

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So the budget gives us a sort of preview of how America's political debate is going to shape up in the coming months.

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