"Sociology is concerned with facts..."

...or so I'm told.

Bollocks.

Had a lecture yesterday, jam-packed with factual errors, linguistic errors, bad statistics...

For instance, did you know that widows used to be called "spinsters"? No, neither did I. Funny, that, here I was thinking a spinster was an unmarried woman as opposed to one who had been married but whose husband had popped his clogs. Not that misinterpreting "spinster" in sociological data as "widow" could possibly skew the data, oh no....

And would this data be at all useful?


1970s:
less than 10% of men of working age were economically inactive
40% of married women were economically inactive

1979:
1.4 million men economically inactive
5.6 million women economically inactive

1997:
2.8 million men economically inactive
4.6 million women economically inactive


No, I didn't think so. The actual population isn't given in the last two examples, so they can't be compared to each other, and neither can be compared to the first because of the different criteria. So the whole thing's bollocks.

Or how about these definitions:



Sex:
biological differences between male and female bodies

Gender:
socially constructed categories of masculine and feminine and the socially imposed
attributes and behaviours that are assigned to them’

Could that be any more smug and verbose?

Or how about a newspaper cutting with certain bits underlined? She can't just trust the students to spot the things she wants us to spot, she underlines them and then asks us if anything stands out. And she takes

Latest statistics show that nearly half of all rape victims have been drinking heavily before they are attacked.

to mean that the writer's trying to blame the women rather than the rapist. Am I the only one who, instead, reads it as "being drunk is stupid because it makes you easier to rape"?

Why did I get into this bloody stupid non-subject?


Oh, and I'm starving. Got a blood test later today, so I haven't been allowed to eat since dinner on Sunday. Must... have... food....

Deep Drops Of Profound Profundity

Unilquadium, equilibrium, tetradotoxin...ium...

Look at the ingredient list of just about any haircare product or washing powder you'd care to name, and you'll notice catchy pseudo-Latin names.



Interesting, isn't it, that when a scientific labcoat character says things ending in "um" it sounds clever, while a public speaker ending with "um" sounds a bit thick?

The Violent Crime Reduction Bill

The Violent Crime Reduction Bill will - if it's passed - do a lot of good. It'll aim to reduce excessive drinking, reduce violence, reduce football hooliganism and so on.

But it will also effectively kill the legitimate and safe sport of airsoft. Sections 30-33 prohibit the manufacture, sale and import of "realistic imitation firearms", which includes airsoft weapons. Okay, so it won't stop people playing airsoft, and it won't make our current weapons illegal, but not being able to buy the guns will in effect prohibit new players from taking part. It also means that old players won't be allowed to buy new guns, and will have to make do with their old guns as they age and deteriorate (and the guns, too).

One thing's for sure: if it looks like the bill is going to be passed unamended, a lot of players in Britain will be placing very large bulk orders from Hong Kong - certainly I will.

The main hope is that the Secretary Of State will grant an exemption for airsoft. So write to your MPs, emphasise that airsoft is a safe and well-organised sport played by responsible adults in controlled areas with all precautions taken to avoid injury to players or the public.

The full text of the bill is here.

We don't like idiot market traders selling cheap springers to teenagers either. Airsoft guns should be restricted to those who know how to use them responsibly and safely.
Oh, and before anyone suggests painting them orange... imagine wearing camo and trying hide in a bush while carrying an orange gun. Besides, then you'll get criminals painting real guns orange, as has happened in the States. That gets cops killed, because they hesitate when criminals point the gun at them.

I and a fair few other airsofters support some form of licensing scheme; not necessarily for individual guns, because that would be impractical given the number of guns that many airsofters own and the lack of proper serial numbers on most airsoft weapons, but for owners. Nothing spectacular, just a licence stating that the person has completed a course on the safe and responsible use, maintenance and storage of airsoft guns and is licenced to purchase and keep them. This could then be shown when buying or importing airsoft kit, and unscrupulous traders selling cheap guns indiscriminately can be hunted down and prosecuted.

Oh, and don't listen to Mothers Against Guns, they don't check their facts. An airsoft gun cannot, under any circumstances, be converted to fire live ammunition. You'd have to switch everything... well, switch the whole gun, in fact, for a real one.

I suppose you could keep the sling swivel.