Guns Don't Kill People?

What's the difference between a crazy man and a killer?

The latter owns a gun.

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(Note: Printed in the Letters to the Editor section of the April 24, 2007 edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

There's a line members of gun clubs often use to defend gun ownership: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Don't blame the gun, blame the guy pulling the trigger.

So when Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui kills 32 people with a legally-obtained 9mm Glock pistol, don't blame the weapon, or the laws that allow him to buy such weapons, or the lawmakers who drafted these laws in the first place––no, blame the obviously psychotic 23-year old.

The trouble with this logic is that a mentally unstable person wouldn't have been able to take these many lives with a swiss knife, or a machete, or even a chainsaw. The only way one man can kill so many, so quickly, is with a gun. In Cho's case, a Glock he legally purchased last March.

Was this guy given a psychological test before being sold the gun to determine his capacity to use such a dangerous weapon responsibly? The answer is no. In Virginia, if you are over the age of 18––as Cho was––all one has to do is pass a criminal background check before one can buy a pistol.

It shouldn't be that easy. Yes, citizens have a right to protect themselves. But who protects us when these gun owners lose it? When road rage, dementia, or depression pushes them over the edge of reason?

That's a question the students of Virginia Tech––and those in other universities in the US––are asking right now. And it's a question we in the Philippines should be asking ourselves as well.

Have iPod, Will Travel... and Get Run Over

Surgeon General's Warning: iPod use may be dangerous to your health.

Earlier this year, Ilya Kiselev, 20, was run over and killed while crossing Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Kiselev, who lived in Brooklyn, was wearing iPod headphones at the time.

The death of Kiselev and two other New Yorkers who were fatally injured after being run over in New York's streets while listening to their iPods has prompted the introduction of legislation that would "ban people from listening to music players or using electronic devices that would hamper their awareness of their surroundings while crossing the street." NY State Senator Carl Kruger wants pedestrians fined $100 for violating such a ban, and his chief of staff, Jason Joppel, explains why:

“The individuals were tuned into iPods and tuned out to the surroundings around them, and they stepped off the curb into the path of an oncoming bus or truck or car,” he said. “All three were fatally injured. In one case people, were screaming at the person to watch out, but the person couldn’t hear them because iPod [headphones] were in the person’s ears.”

If common sense won't get iPod users in New York to keep the volume of their iPods down while walking around its streets, then maybe the hundred-buck fine might.

Read the original article here.

Coffee and Wi-fi

How soon till coffee shops in Manila offer wi-fi for free? It's already being done in the US, where free wi-fi is a basic service provided by caffeine peddlers. It's a by-product of the intense competition over there, where the constant battle for customers has forced cafes to do what has to be done to fill their seats.

Over here, most coffee shops offer wi-fi through airborne access; for 100 bucks, you can buy a prepaid card that allows you to surf the net for an hour––quite steep. For 200 pesos more, you can buy a prepaid card that gives you five hours of internet access, a better deal, but still more expensive than your friendly neighborhood internet cafe.

Given how expensive these wi-fi prepaid cards can be, and how often I need to connect to the net, I thought it prudent to sign up for a Smart Bro promo that allows its subscribers to have unlimited access to airborne access wi-fi hotspots for 100 pesos a month, which is added to one's Smart Bro bill. It's been a very good investment. I visit a wi-fi hotspot at least once a month (even if I have internet at home), and each time I surf for at least three hours. As I always have my Powerbook with me, a visit to Starbucks usually means I can surf while enjoying my cafe mocha.

(An aside; people sometimes ask, "Don't you every get tired of the internet? You're online at home and at work; why do you have to go online when you go out?" My answer is "no, I never get tired of the internet." There's really no limit to what can be done online these days. My Powerbook is my main communication and information tool, and without the internet, it wouldn't be as powerful a tool.)

Today I was pleasantly surprised to see that Gloria Jean's Megamall, where I get my post-gym caffeine and internet fix, now offers wi-fi for free. They have this big tarp that announces this, and by the look of the place––which was rarely full when I used to drop by––the free wi-fi seems to be attracting its fair share of customers.

There is no doubt in my mind that their profits are going to jump. If there's something I've learned from visiting the online Mac communities, it's that people love free wi-fi. If a hotel, restaurant, or coffee shop offers free wi-fi, you can bet that people attached to their laptops, and consequently, the internet, will visit. When I was looking for a hotel in Legaspi City for me to stay in when I visited last year, my primary consideration was access to the internet; when I want coffee, internet access, not the taste of a cafe's lattes, is my main consideration.

Pretty soon, businesspeople are going to realize that if they want to attract customers, they're going to have to provide free access to the internet, in one form or the other. When that day comes, a lot of laptop-luggers––myself included––are going to be very, very happy.

Upgrade

Google has done some fine stuff with Blogger; it now allows lazy bloggers like me to make wholesale changes to one's blog without much effort. One can now reformat in a jiffy, adding new elements here and there without much of a sweat.

God, thank you so much for technology.