Tuesday 01-01-13

Colombian bulletproof clothing designer launches new CHILDREN'S line of vests and backpacks in wake of Sandy Hook massacre
A Colombian company that makes stylish bulletproof clothing has launched a new line of child-sized vests and backpacks in the wake of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
Miguel Caballero says his firm will begin making bulletproof clothing for children in the next two weeks.
The garments are lightweight and look like normal clothing, but they are capable of stopping a bullet from a pistol or submachine gun.

Pint-size: Miguel Caballero shows off his company's newest addition - child-size bulletproof clothing

Incognito: The backpacks and vests are meant to blend in and not look like body armor. They come in colors for boys and colors for girls

Twenty first graders were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 - leaving some parents to search for answers about how to make their children safer at school.
Some groups have advocated arming teachers and principals. Others, including the National Rifle Association, have said armed guards need to be placed at every school in the nation.

Caballero says his bulletproof clothing, which costs several thousand dollars apiece, could be one answer.
The Bogota businessman, who is famous for shooting his employees at close range to demonstrate the effectiveness of his products, hopes to capitalize on the new-found fear some students and parents have about their safety at schools.
It's unknown whether he has gotten interest from families in Newtown.

Demonstration: Mr Caballero is famous for shooting his employees at close range to demonstrate that the design works

Options: This $500 child-sized tactical vest comes in a variety of colors and promises to be lightweight protection for children

Amendment II, a Salt Lake City, Utah, company, offers more conspicuous child-sized bulletproof vests for $500 and bulletproof backpacks for $300.
None of the bulletproof protection, though, is rated to stop .223-caliber rifle bullets - the rounds fired by the gunman using his mother's AR-15 assault rifle.
The coroner said every young child was shot several times - up to 11 bullets.

Options: This $500 child-sized tactical vest comes in a variety of colors and promises to be lightweight protection for children

Mr Caballero says his designer bulletproof clothing has adorned heads of state and businessmen and women around the world.
The garments are especially popular in Mexico and other Latin American nations where drug violence is prevalent.
The clothing stops bullets because workers sew sheets of flexible nylon blend that slows down, and will ultimately stop, a bullet.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255064/Sandy-Hook-shooting-Colombian-company-makes-child-size-bulletproof-vests.html#ixzz2GeOyX8Cq

There is a lot more to this site then just this, it is very interesting.

Pedal powered farms and factories: the forgotten future of the stationary bicycle

If we boost the research on pedal powered technology - trying to make up for seven decades of lost opportunities - and steer it in the right direction, pedals and cranks could make an important contribution to running a post-carbon society that maintains many of the comforts of a modern life. The possibilities of pedal power largely exceed the use of the bicycle.

 

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/05/pedal-powered-farms-and-factories.html

 

 

Oh yea,  Happy New Year