[geeks] What desk toy or "tchotchke" says "geek" to you?

[Chris Petrov]

On 27/03/2006, at 2:21 PM, Phil Stracchino wrote:

> Chris Petrov wrote:
>> I've no probs with guns... like using them, had many different types
>> etc. but,
>>
>> Every two years more Americans die from firearm injuries than the
>> total number of American soldiers killed during the 8-year Vietnam
>> War. In 2003, the total number of people killed by guns in the United
>> States was 30,136.
>> - Based on data from CDC National Center for Health Statistics
>> WISQARS online data collection system, 2006.
>
> While true, what it doesn't go out of its way to mention is that the
> last time I looked at the detailed numbers, that 30,000 broke down
> something like this:
>    18,000-20,000 suicides
>    6,000-8,000 criminal shootings
>    2,000 lawful shootings of felons or assailants by armed citizens
>    1,000 police shootings
>    750 accidents
> Of those 6,000-8,000 criminal shootings, the vast majority turn out to
> be gang members offing each other, something which I have to admit I'm
> all in favor of as long as they don't kill too many innocent  
> bystanders
> in the process.  The gangsta culture is stunningly, mindlessly  
> violent,
> and I would not weep in the least to see it gone by self-imposed  
> extinction.
> As for the 18,000-20,000 suicides, well, honestly, the harsh and  
> brutal
> truth is that most people sufficiently determined to die that they
> commit suicide by a means as certain and final as a gunshot to the  
> head
> usually is, will find another means if a gun isn't available.  And
> sometimes the alternate method will end up taking other people with  
> them
> who didn't want on the ride.
>
> Oh, and that number of accidental shootings has fallen monotonically
> year by year since about 1935.
>
>
> -- 
>  Phil Stracchino                     Landline: 603-886-3518
>  phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net         Mobile: 603-216-7037
>  Renaissance Man, Unix generalist, Perl hacker, Free Stater

In 2003 (the most recent year for which data is available), there  
were 30,136 gun deaths in the U.S:

     * 16,907 suicides (56% of all U.S gun deaths),
     * 11,920 homicides (40% of all U.S gun deaths),
     * 730 unintentional shootings (2% of all U.S gun deaths),
     * 347 from legal intervention and 232 from undetermined intent  
(2% of all U.S gun deaths combined).

-Numbers obtained from CDC National Center for Health Statistics  
mortality report online, 2006.


Can't say that I disagree in general apart from the fact it seems to  
be an awful lot of people (certainly compared to other industrialized  
countries) and that the suicide stat seems particularly alarming  
given that it's generally accepted that someone who does is of  
unsound mind.

Given the suicide and homicide stats I guess it's of little concern  
as it appears to  be self regulating.

Cheerio
cp