On War
Just seemed like a good week to share this:
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March 25, 2008
March 12, 2008
Gun Play
We spent a lazy, post-daylight-savings-time Sunday morning last weekend at a new park in Sunnyvale -- at least it was new to us. The park has been there for ages. It's a big, beautiful place, filled with tall, mature trees, a huge lawn area, a gigantic play structure in the middle for kids, and even a water feature that's turned on in the summertime.
As we were playing, a boy about Nathan's age ran through the sandbox waving around a big, black toy gun, like a mini M-16. We don't do guns. Until this moment, Nathan had probably never seen one before, even on TV. He'll never own a toy gun as long as we're his parents. I don't own guns -- never have, never will. I'm one of these crazy liberals that think that the world would be a better place if all the guns on earth were launched into outer space and never seen again. Explaining my politics to my toddler son is impossible, of course.
So the kid with the gun runs through the park, and Nathan and he engage in a typical two-year-old stare-down. Only Nathan wasn't looking at the kid, he was looking at the gun. He wanted to reach out and grab it, in a "that's mine" kind of way that two-year-olds do. I stood there, watching, waiting for the gun exchange to happen, and if it did wondering how much of a fuss Nathan would make when I took the gun away. Instead, his curiosity turned to a sort of wariness -- eventually the two turned away and went their separate ways.
I'm pretty sure I had a toy gun or two when I was young. I grew up to not like guns, for no particular reason other than I think they're largely responsible for lots of unnecessary deaths and injuries. So yeah, Nathan's never going to get a toy gun. I wonder about kids that have toy guns, parents who let their kids have them, and yes I think about gun violence even in my usually very safe town. After all, it's my duty to protect this little life that I've brought into the world, even without a gun to protect us.
I wouldn't mind seeing all the toy guns launched into space with the real ones. There was plenty of sand in that park's sandbox, monkey bars to climb on, grass to run around on, and slides to slide down. Why does a two year old need to be swinging around a fake gun at the park?
March 06, 2008
DVR Doh!
The San Jose Sharks are enjoying a great stretch run right now, winners of seven in a row and heading into the playoffs in just a few weeks. It's going to be a great finish to the season, since there are a few teams jockeying for the top seeds.
I've recorded the past two home games, watching them after the boy goes to bed. But what I haven't done is adjusted the stop time on the DVR. I know better than this, and the past two nights/games have come back to haunt me. Last night I missed (by about 30 seconds) Patrick Marleau's game-winner in OT.
Worse, I just missed this incredible goal at the end of what was the most entertaining game of the year against Montreal. This is Brian Campbell, who the Sharks nabbed at the trade deadline from Buffalo. He's a defenseman. Watch the prettiness. Thank goodness for YouTube.:
March 04, 2008
When Product Testing Goes Horribly Wrong
Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board for creators of the Shark Shield anti-shark device. Either that or, if you own one of these, then you really ought to stop paddling.
AN electronic device designed to ward sharks away from surfers failed so spectacularly during a trial off South Africa that it was eaten by a great white.
An inquest heard yesterday the Shark Shield surf model was activated on a float carrying bait when the 3.6m female shark approached. Rather than being deterred by the device, the shark, under the gaze of the Natal Sharks Board, bit into it.
South Australian Deputy State Coroner Tony Schapel yesterday heard of the test failure during the inquest into the death of Jarrod Stehbens, who was taken by a great white shark while diving off Glenelg in South Australia in 2005.
The inquest has turned into a trial of Shark Shield devices, hearing concerns that the electronic fields generated to repel sharks may attract them.
...
Mr Hartley said the failed South African test on the surf unit - which has been held back from release into the marketplace - was due to a problem with the electrode's configuration. The device was now packaged with a large disclaimer warning it would only repel sharks when the surfer was still in the water waiting for a wave.
"The surf product only can be guaranteed to work when it's stationary, not when it's surfing in the wave or paddling," Mr Hartley said.
