Link roundup

1. The original Kindle was codenamed Fiona in honor of one of the main characters in Neal Stephenson's outstanding The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.

2. Apparently the research indicating the health benefits of red wine was falsified. Via.

3. From Drew Magary's weekly football preview (which is mostly about why the "Patriot way" failed in Kansas City, and why Gregg Easterbrook's columns are nonsense):

My kid was taking her sweetass time getting ready for school this morning when I looked at the clock and realized she had all of four minutes to get dressed, brush her teeth, put on her shoes and jacket, and get to the bus stop. And so I made like Tom Coughlin and just started laying into the kid. HURRY UP! WE ARE GOING TO MISS THE BUS AND IF THAT HAPPENS WE WILL ALL DIE. So she's dressing as fast as she can and I'm jamming her jacket on and yelling at her to show some hustle, and the tension is building to unfathomable heights. It felt like we were racing to stop a ticking bomb. I get her out the door and we sprint up the hill to the bus and we get there jusssst as the bus is pulling up. SO MUCH ADRENALINE. From now on, we're always gonna be in danger of missing the bus. The rush is intoxicating. For me, THE ACTION IS THE JUICE.

4. Really interesting (and fairly gross) article about cultural differences in Afghanistan.

Blood Rayne Arm Blade W/ Sheath & Adjustable Handle

Blood Rayne Arm Blade W/ Sheath & Adjustable Handle. The first comment at Amazon:

I have been a user of Ninja Forearm Machete Blade Full Tang Knife Swords (NFMBFTKS for short, pron 'nif-mib-fit-kis') for most of my career, and have some that are quite nice. As a professional mercenary and vendor of 'blood diamonds', 'blood coffee beans', 'blood Nike knock offs', and other 'conflict-zone' products, I find myself in need of a good NFMBFTKS regularly.

I was a bit disappointed for several different reasons when this product arrived at my secure compound.

First, this product is sold by a company called 'Martial Arts Land', which is the same name I gave to my home in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I wish the company had done more research into other entities who are also using that name before naming their company. The post office had quite a time, seeing as the shipping label read 'From: Martial Arts Land' and 'To: Martial Arts Land'. I hope they are not the people who have been getting my missing issues of 'Soldier of Fortune' magazine, as the 'help wanted' section is crucial to my ability to earn a living.

Second, when I saw the description of a 'hi-tech' strap in the product description, I was fully expecting something computerized and perhaps operated by hydraulic machinery that would maybe shoot spikes into the arm if someone besides the owner attempted to use it. Imagine my disappointment when it was shipped to Martial Arts Land (my secure compound in DRC, not the original shipping company, see how confusing this is getting?) with a simple Velcro strap. There is no failsafe in the weapon as-shipped to prevent an enemy skilled in the use of ninja weapons from taking this particular NFMBFTKS from you and using it against you.

Thirdly, I did not find the handle to be particularly ergonomic. After using this product as intended for approximately 8 hours a day, I have developed 'repetitive ninjitsu stress disorder' in my rotator cuff caused, I believe at least in part, to the lack of adequate wrist support. I saw an occupational health ninja who agreed with my assessment and suggested I spend hours on end standing under an icy water fall in the middle of the woods in the dead of winter doing ninja poses to help it heal.

All in all, I can see myself using this as a back up ninja forearm machete blade full tang knife sword day-to-day, or maybe on light trips to the grocery store or library, but I will not be replacing my primary ninja forearm machete blade full tang knife sword any time soon.

Pro:
Powerful Ninja Weapon
Machete Blade
Full Tang Knife Sword

Con:
Velcro strap not hi-tech
Lack of good ergonomics
Company name 'Martial Arts Land' is a problem, as I as my home address is also 'Martial Arts Land'

Via.

Link roundup

1. If you're in San Francisco tonight, go see Charmaine Olivia's new show at Shooting Gallery. First 50 people get a cool poster.

2. Computers are totally disrupting the job market:

Because they take out the middle, it is a lot harder to pursue the American dream by working your way up the ladder. Climbing up rung by rung, you will find a machine staring down. And it won’t retire or move up the ladder to make room for you. Once in place, a retirement or promotion is not going to happen, it isn’t going to be opening up a spot.

Via.

3. Air pollution in China is horrendous. The US Embassy in Beijing Tweets air quality reports. Via.

4. Parts list and photo instructions for building a great looking Lego X-Wing. Via.

5. I just installed send to Kindle on my computer. You just install it and sign in to your Kindle account, and then you can right click on pdfs and send them to your Kindle devices. Quick and easy.

Warren Ellis had a great experience with Amazon customer service

Warren Ellis:

At this point, I did not have high hopes, and assumed I’d be buying a new Kindle Keyboard at full price. The device had been out of warranty for well over a year. I pressed the button, and gave them permission to call me to (eventually, hours or days after I’d pressed said happy button) discuss what I assumed would be another hundred-odd quid out of my pocket.

I was surprised at the instant callback. Less surprised at the customer services person who had to ensure I wasn’t an idiot by making me do All The Things again, and then had me describe what you see above. And then she transferred me to another department. Where somehow else had me do All The Things again again.

And then said, “Okay, well, you’re out of warranty, so we’ll send you a new one tomorrow and charge you [a fraction of the price] for it.”

I made her repeat the price again, because I swore I’d misheard it. I hadn’t. The new Kindle is dispatched, being tracked, and will arrive in the morning. The whole process took less than five minutes from pressing the button on amazon.co.uk.

Suddenly in the mood to buy a Kindle?