'Anti-Stab' Knife On Sale in UK

New Point Knives in the U.K. is offering kitchen knives that are designed to minimize the risk of accidental and fatal stabbings while maintaining more or less their full functionality as food preparation tools. Many blogs and web sites are already overflowing with scornful comments about these products, with phrases like "knives don't kill people; people kill people" and other such rhetoric. Although I am about as pro-weapon and anti-nanny state as it gets, I decided to give this product the benefit of the doubt.
I am a somewhat serious amateur gourmet and am picky about my kitchen knives. They must each go into the proper slot in the cutlery block, be kept razor sharp, and must be washed by hand and put away the moment they are not in use. In spite of my fussiness about knives, I was hard pressed to come up with legitimate criticism for the concept of these new products. There really aren't that many uses for an endlessly long point on some larger types of kitchen knives. The New Point knives that I have seen so far do indeed have points, but the points are protected by a smooth rounded curve that would make it more difficult to thrust the blade deeply into something. Enough of the point is exposed to easily split the skin on fruit and even slice most food items. Granted, this sort of design would be impractical for various tasks such as boning, filleting and paring, but New Point doesn't appear to be offering those kinds of knives.

If the New Point knives are well balanced, sharp, comfortable and of high quality steel, I see no harm in their use and there are a few situations in which they could be quite helpful. For example, when teaching cooking in a home economics class, these knives might slightly reduce the risk of accidental stabbings in a room crowded with uncoordinated students. People with repetitive motion issues and nerve problems might find such a knife comforting as it would be less likely to stake a foot to the floor if it slipped out of a hand.

In short, I think it silly for someone to get angry about these products, especially if the person claims to believe in liberty and personal choice. Although I have no interest in owning one, I see no reason to grumble about them being on the market. To be honest, I think such grumblings just portray the pro-weapon and anti-nanny state people as unreasonable and makes it easier to dismiss their opinions on more serious issues. As long as nobody mandates their usage or tries to ban traditional knives, they aren't hurting anyone and could even be useful in certain situations (if they are of decent quality). I do, however, hope that people are not so foolish as to think that these are magically safe knives that can be treated carelessly or that all knives should use this design. They still have an edge and presumably can remove fingers and open arteries. Nonetheless, they may slightly reduce the frequency of some of the more serious accidental kitchen injuries that are commonly treated by emergency room staff.

TV News Ignores Iranian Election Protests

I’ve been following the Iranian post-election protests and riots via social networking sites like YouTube, Twitter and others. Last night while the streets of Tehran were filled with people chanting “Death to the Dictator!” after a clear case of election tampering, CNN was running a fluff piece about whether or not Obama is more popular than effective. Los Angeles based TV news programs talked about illegal aliens working at a car wash, a newsworthy discovery on par with finding tools in a hardware store. FoxNews ran a story about a peeved Sarah Palin. A continuous scan through all available satellite TV news channels revealed similar drivel, with nothing of substance about Iran.

I find this disconcerting given Iran’s important role in the Middle East, their efforts to become a nuclear power and their influence on international policy. Iran is one of the world’s most powerful theocracies and their government has more or less been an enemy of the United States for decades. When their people protested a rigged election, did battle with police and chanted “We want freedom!” in the streets they were mostly ignored by American news networks. This lack of coverage is even more disappointing now that the Iranian election protests have spilled over into large American and European cities.

I realize that there are logistic difficulties in placing reporters inside of a nation that is hostile to foreign press, but this didn’t entirely stop the BBC. Their reporters managed to capture video footage of the protests and were even briefly arrested while reporting on this story. They managed to get enough footage out of the country that Iran has since been actively jamming the BBC communications satellite.

CNN is a very active user of the Twitter microblogging service and used to seem savvy about social media. They were one of the first Twitter users to achieve over a million followers and at one point had 45 official twitter accounts. Why did they not improve their coverage after being twittered with thousands of requests for this? At the very least they could have put a political analyst in front of the camera to discuss what was happening. For many hours, the 2nd most popular trending topic on Twitter.com was #IranElection and the 3rd most popular was #CNNFail. I am surprised that an event of global significance combined with this much social media outrage wasn’t enough to motivate them to cover the story.

The more that I use the internet, the less use I have for main stream media and entertainment. I found dozens of videos on YouTube covering the Iranian riots while they were actually happening. There were hundreds of photographs of the riots on web sites like Flickr. I even found live clandestine coverage on twitter purportedly from a protesting Iranian student as police assaulted a university. I’m beginning to think that traditional news media outlets no longer have much to offer. They are slow, unwieldy and subject to the bias of advertisers and network executives. Television news networks often worry so much about ratings that they focus on entertainment as often as information. "News" stories about “American Idol”, “24” and Obama going on a date with his wife get nearly as much coverage as events of global significance. Once upon a time they may have cared about facts and integrity, but stories like the Dan Rather incident have shown us that their slowness is not caused by diligent fact checking.

If traditional media networks do not find a way to more effectively leverage emerging internet technologies they will soon find themselves without viewers and sponsors.

UPDATE:
CNN's coverage has improved today and they even acknowledged the criticism they have been receiving from the internet/Twitter. Ironically, #CNNFail is still in the top ten list of trending topics on Twitter, and comments there indicate twitterers are either too busy watching the internet to notice CNN's improved coverage or are still angry that it took them so long to start covering this issue.

Student Uses Gun to Stop Robbery and Rapes

Another great self defense story. Click on the title link and see the full story, complete with a video clip of the news story. Here's an excerpt:

Bailey said he thought it was the end of his life and the lives of the 10 people inside his apartment for a birthday party after two masked men with guns burst in through a patio door.“They just came in and separated the men from the women and said, ‘Give me your wallets and cell phones,’”

If you read further and watch the video, you will learn that the student pulled out a gun, shot and killed one of the attackers and then kicked down the door to the room where the women were being held and opened fire on another attacker who was trying to rape his girlfriend.

Although one student was admittedly shot in the exchange of gunfire, they are expected to fully recover. Even with this mishap, this is a great outcome as it prevented one or more of the women from being raped or worse. It's great that this student had both a gun and the courage to use it in defense of others.

CA Band Girl Beats Off Two Muggers

I love stories with quotes like this one:

one got a punch in the nose and the other a kick to the groin. Rust says the girl then beat both of them with her band baton

It sounds like this young lady knew exactly what she was doing, and may have had some training. Going after vulnerable spots, delivering a few extra hits to make sure her attackers aren't able to pursue and then running to safety is exactly what is called for in this type of situation. It just goes to show that with the right mindset, the smaller/younger/"weaker"/out numbered person need not be a victim. I hope this young woman left a lasting impression on her attackers and inspires others to react to crime in the same manner.

Click on the title link for the full story.

Only You Can Stop Gun Crime

For those worried about the possibility that guns may cause violence and crime, the title link goes to a site made just for you. There is a web cam showing an evil firearm for you to carefully monitor. Watch closely, for you never know when it might wreak havoc.

Be sure to leave a comment here if you see it causing any trouble.

Enjoying My Amazon Kindle

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I got an Amazon Kindle about 8 months ago and I love it as much now as I did then. I can't believe how many books I read now (5+ novels per months plus various other things). I keep it within reach nearly all day long. The built in memory holds roughly 200 books so no matter what mood I'm in I always have something on hand that suits me. The e-ink technology is MUCH easier on the eyes than a computer screen (no flicker and no back light), and the adjustable font size is great for when you are desperately trying to finish an engrossing chapter at 2AM while you can barely keep your burning eyes open.

Although it costs around $350, it has already more than paid for itself. Here's how: There are countless multitudes of free legal ebooks readily available on the internet. I'm not talking about stealing, file sharing or piracy, but legitimate honest to goodness free books. Since ebooks are quite small (roughly 1MB each), they can be downloaded almost instantly and transfered to the Kindle via USB. Sites like ManyBooks.net actually let you download free books in Kindle format. Other sites such as Baen Free Library give away legal free ebooks from popular science fiction authors. Some popular current authors such as Cory Doctorow give away ebooks free in hopes that it will gain them a larger following and thus a larger customer base. I quite literally have THOUSANDS of free books that will take me forever to read, which means I'm now spending much less money feeding my reading habit. If you want current books and don't mind spending around $10 for them, you can use the built in free EVDO wireless internet connection to download them from Amazon directly to the Kindle device without any need for a computer. The original purchase prices comes with unlimited free EVDO internet access so you can download books and surf the web nearly anywhere in the U.S. where you can receive a cell phone signal. The e-ink is a bit slow to refresh and the browser is primative, but sites like Amazon.com and WikiPedia look pretty good. I've used my Kindle to read and post to Twitter.com, access Google Maps to find my approximate location on a map and find nearby restaurants and businesses. I admit, the web browser leaves a lot to be desired but you can use it as much as you like for free, something that's pretty nice as a side benefit to a full featured ebook reader. Here are some of my favorite things about the kindle:

• Not much bigger than a mass market paperback yet it can hold hundreds of books and offers access to the internet
• Battery lasts a long time (more than a week when I have the EVDO modem turned off)
• Great for traveling as I no longer have to fill my carryon luggage with heavy bulky books
• All content on the device is searchable, which makes it easy to look up facts and find favorite passages
• You can use the built in keyboard to take notes and mark up your favorite texts
• It's a great way to read popular fiction without filling your real book shelves with one-time reads that don't add particular value or distinction to your home library
  

Here are my few complaints about the kindle:

• Would like a higher contrast screen. Current screen is good, but white background is not pristine white and is a more like the off-white paper used for newspapers
  
• It should really come with a better case that offers a bit more protection and security
• Would like a smaller "next page" button so that it is not as easy to accidentally advance to the next page
• Would like a more robust web browser (I know, it's an ebook reader and not an iPhone, but I think with a minimal effort they could have made the browser much better)

Other features that people might like to know about:

• It has a head phone jack and volume controls for listening to mp3 files or even audio books
• It has an email address that only accepts mail from addresses you designate, so you can send txt files, word docs, pdfs and kindle files directly to your device

I know this probably will just look like an ad to most folks, as I am admittedly an Amazon.com affiliate. Nevertheless I thought I share this review with everyone in the hope that others will enjoy it much as I do and find themselves reading more. In this media saturated world where everyone has multiple TV's, computers, iPods and other forms of entertainment, it's all too easy to give up reading. This device makes it so convenient that people who own will find themselves reading more, which means that they will get more mental stimulation than most other forms of passive entertainment.

Krav Maga

Given the current legal and social climate, carrying a firearm isn’t a viable option for most people much of the time. Many employers have so called “anti-violence” policies that include bans against possessing a weapon in the workplace or even in your vehicle if it is parked on company property. Some countries/states/counties/cities make it virtually impossible to legally carry a gun for personal protection. If you are like me, and are plagued with such restrictions, consider signing up for Krav Maga lessons.

Krav Maga is the fighting system of the Israeli military and has recently been making its way into numerous U.S. law enforcement agencies. It was designed from the ground up to be something that everyone can use, including people of greatly varying size and strength. Military service in Israel is compulsory for both men and women, and Krav Maga is designed to simultaneously teach people of both sexes how to fight for their lives and survive dangerous situations.

Krav Maga is all about self defense. It is not a ritualized art and it most definitely is not a sport. It emphasizes brutally effective moves that some would consider “dirty” or “dishonorable”. Groin kicks are a staple of this system, as is attacking throats, eyes, knees and anything else that can quickly neutralize an attacker. It is all is about doing whatever it takes to give you the best chance of making it home safe and sound after an attack.

I recently became a student of Krav Maga, and have been extremely impressed with this fighting system. I like how they always try to prepare students for the worst. It is always assumed that that an attacker will have an advantage, such as superior size, superior numbers, weapons, the element of surprise and possibly all of the above. In my very first day of class I was taught to throw a basic punch and kick, and then told to close my eyes and stand in a relaxed casual position. A training partner would then run at me from a random direction and slam into me with a pad, partially knocking me off balance. I then had to immediately open my eyes, face the pad and throw a series of punches and/or kicks at it. Since then, I have often been required to stand in a casual position (i.e. not in a fighting stance) when learning to defend and counterattack against various moves. The idea is to change the shock reflex so that rather than freezing up during a startling attack students immediately launch an overwhelming counterattack.

Much of the training is done full force against one or more pad wielding partners. This conditions the striker to hit hard and use the proper technique. It also teaches the person with the pad to recognize what it looks like when someone is attacking them and to not be intimidated by it. Tell tale indicators such as a slight twist of the hips or shoulders, tensing of muscles, etc., can all be safely studied so that the pad holder learns exactly what an attack looks like when it is first initiated. Holding the pad against strong attacks also strengthens core muscle groups as they tense to absorb the blows.

Krav Maga also gives you a really good workout. When I first started the class, the intensive warm up routines had my heart hammering and my lungs heaving and was nearly more than I could handle. This cardio workout is then followed by stretching and then vigorous combative training. The intense beginning serves both to get students in better physical condition and to tire them out so that when they are practicing they will get used to fighting while tired. After all, muggers and other attackers aren’t likely to give you a pass just because you happen to feel fatigued on the day that you encounter them.

If you’d like to get in better shape, lose some extra weight and/or would like to learn how to protect yourself, seriously consider taking up Krav Maga. My physical condition has improved noticeably in just half a dozen weeks, and I am told that after only a few months of training I likely will be better trained for hand to hand combat than most ordinary police officers. Given how much I have improved already, I’m inclined to believe it.