Appropriate Technology? - Angry Heat Engines

Today's appropriate technology post has a huge question mark on it.

The reason why will shock you!

OK, OK, enough memetic trolling.

This post is devoted to Angry Heat Engines or AHE. Click the link if you prefer to find out in visual form what I am talking about.

For the other two of us, an angry heat engine is a specialized type of internal combustion piston engine that does not operate in a cycle, but comes apart (by design) during its expansion process.

The piston is flung away from the rest of the engine at considerable and dangerous velocities. More details here.

I find it extremely useful at times to separate my discussion of concepts from the often fraught baggage carried by terms and phrases in more common usage.

It might help if I were to say that angry heat engines are protected by one of the pieces of the Bill of Rights, after the 1st and before the 3rd.

Oh my.

Notice your own emotional reaction at the point where you figured this out!

I am not interested (here) in discussing the politics of angry heat engines. I am confining myself to two technological discussions.

Technology discussion #1: how people feel about angry heat engines

I loaded my dice by selecting the term 'angry' to describe them. That's a deliberate tactic.

I am much more interested in having you notice how you feel, rather than discussing any particular feeling. They run the gamut, based on education, training, life experience, exposure to mass media and entertainment (if you can tell the two apart, let me know!) ... but my goal is just to get you to notice.

Technology discussion #2: what angry heat engines are good for.

This is a much more interesting discussion, but I'm going to link to someone else instead.

My friends over at Backwoods Home ("practical ideas for self reliant living") have been digging in the spot marked 'appropriate technology' for over twenty years now. Here's their long version.

Same thoughts, summarized in visual form:



At a much more interesting level, remembering that Appropriate Technology must always be USEFUL:

• small caliber angry heat engines are useful for pest control, including small animals when appropriate and legal
  
• larger angry heat engines can be useful for self defense, which is a complex subject in any remote area
  
• the longer ranged ones can be used for hunting
  

Three significant uses, two of which apply more to rural areas and one that applies anywhere two legged predators can be found. Note that crime is at an all time low but that is cold comfort if you join the statistics. (Note: neither sport nor target practice are technological uses in this sense. Hang gliding is a fun means of transportation, not a terribly useful one.) However, angry heat engines are a complex and dangerous tool, and as such pose certain serious safety hazards:

• Negligent discharges can be prevented by STRICT adherence to four safety rules. They are: 1. All AHE are always loaded. 2. Never point a AHE at anything you are not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. 4. Be sure of your target.
  
• Suicide with an AHE is a risk that can be minimized through realistic education.
  
• Violent crimes committed with an AHE ... including domestic violence ... are best prevented by not living with abusive people. The presence of an AHE is a significant risk factor for homicide. My personal opinion is that you should separate others from the dangerous person (you know, where the bars are open all night), but if you are stuck with a dangerous person, you need to keep them from laying hands on an AHE.
  
• Safe storage of AHEs can prevent many harms, including theft when you are not home (a main way in which criminals obtain AHEs) and use against you by an intruder when you are home. This also reduces the potential misuse of AHEs by children. Specific technology includes cable locks (which can be obtained free!), locking cabinets and safes.
  

Wow, that's a lot of risks. Each can be reduced by training and technology.

Hopefully, my use of the AHE language has made this subject more accessible to those who have a visceral reaction to the term Golf Uniform November. (phonetic)

Now you know why my Appropriate Technology header had a big fat Question Mark ? next to it.

This is a decision that everyone has to make for themselves.

There are times when the AHE is the absolutely right technology for the situation.

There are times when you really, really don't want an AHE present. Even if you are the one carrying it.

Be safe out there. Because even where they are totally illegal, AHEs are a technology that is here to stay.