Category Archives: YouTube

SALT Gun

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Last fall I came across a story (and video) about the SALT Gun, a non-lethal home defense weapon. Think of a paint-ball gun except the balls are filled with some combination of chemicals that incapacitates. This video is what persuaded me to order one of these. And I like the idea of a weapon that won’t kill my drunken next door neighbor if he stumbles into the wrong house at 3 a.m.

After reading the operations manual and handling the gun for a bit, I decided to return it. (The company has a 30 day return policy.) Here are a few of the reasons I decided not to keep the gun. First, from the ops manual:

Pressurize the SALT Gun only when it will be immediately used.
At 2:00 a.m., in the dark, with a stranger in the house… will my wife remember this extra step?

Firing the SALT Gun – Eye protection must be worn by the user.
I’m guessing this something they have to put in the operations manual but it raises the question: Is this device save for my wife to use? Must she keep safety glasses with the gun?

I found the Trigger Safety Button hard to operate. Had to push very hard and fiddle with it to move it to either position.

And finally, I found the gun bulky, a bit heavy for a woman and generally unwieldy. This might be the perfect solution for some… but not for us.

Shirt Pocket Video

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The video above runs about 50 seconds and was recorded with my iPhone in my shirt pocket. I got the idea from this from the 2013 Spike Jonze move, Her (Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson).

There are times when I would like to record video … discreetly. Some folks — even in very public places — get all goofy about being recorded. (See Google Glass).

While the iPhone looks quite natural in my shirt pocket, the vertical orientation results in the clueless video the rest of the world thinks is okay. But my new iPhone 6S records 4K which allowed me to crop and wind up with the CORRECT aspect ratio.

Walking results in pretty bad video but once standing still, it’s pretty good. Same for the audio.

Steve Jobs

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What can I say about the new Steve Jobs movie other than I really enjoyed it. I came to the Mac late in life so Jobs never had the god-like status he did/does for many. This movie will seem blasphemous for those folks (like The Last Temptation of Christ).

As Aaron Sorkin has said in almost every interview, this is not a cradle-to-grave biopic. If it’s not the Steve Jobs story, it’s i Steve Jobs story and, in my opinion, a damned good one.

I like the way Aaron Sorkin writes. (And make no mistake, this is a talky movie. Noting but talk) And while he could have tried to bunt and beat it out for a single; or pull one hard to left for a stand-up double; he swung for the fence and — again, in my opinion — knocked it out of the park.

If you think the man walked on water, don’t go see this movie. If you go nuts every time Apple sets a new sales record with a product launch (looking at you Android Boy), I don’t think you’ll like it either.

If you enjoyed West Wing or The Newsroom or Social Network, I think you’ll be entertained.

I’m going to again link to a good interview (of Sorkin) by Steven Levy. If you plan to see the movie, read this first.