Padded lampposts to protect texters?

In yet another one of those, "Why are they doing this?" moments, somewhere in London, England, lampposts are being padded to PROTECT PEOPLE WHO ARE WALKING AND TEXTING USING THEIR CELLPHONES. Here is the article from ITN:

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Padding to protect pedestrians

People who have been injured while walking and texting on their cell phones may be in luck.

A London street is experimenting with padded lampposts to protect those not paying attention from banging into them, ITN reports.

A study conducted by 118 118, a phone directory service, found that one in 10 people has been hurt while focusing on their cell phone instead of where they were walking, ITN reports.

The test lampposts will be given a trial run in London’s East End on Brick Lane. If the trial is successful it will be rolled out in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

The survey found that almost two thirds of respondents lost peripheral vision while texting, and more than a quarter wanted lines on the pavement to create routes for texters to walk while using their phones.

The study claims that 68,000 people were injured in the U.K. last year while chatting or texting on their cell phone, Infomatics reports.

118 118 will provide the padding, and in return will be allowed to advertise on them.
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OK... Here's my take on it... Stupid people should not text and walk at the same time. Sit down and send your message!

The Danger of iPods and other MP3 players

I saw this on another site a few minutes ago. The New South Wales Police Dept (Yes, in Australia) has embarked on an interesting campaign to remind people to be aware when listening to music on headphones. I especially like the body outline.

Post CES: Lots of great stuff...

... and a sore knee to finish it off.

I got a lot of cool swag at the show. The usual promo stuff, pens and the like. A lot of USB drives, including a few 1GB models. Tshirts (not many, these appear to be out of fashion now). Some product, including WeatherDirect, a cellular emergency power system, a cellular extender, a speaker for MP3's, headphones (3 different types), and a Jawbone (it is a Bluetooth headset given out to ANYONE presenting and abandoning their old BT headset to the folk handing it out). Pics to be taken soon, and I will post them at that time.

My knee on the other hand may have been aggravated by the 9+ hour ride home (My bad for wanting my Jeep in Las Vegas). Dunno, but it started getting seriously sore on Wednesday during the show. Sore enough that by the time I left a party Wed night, I seriously considered dipping into a more potent painkiller that I brought for my elbow (Which did surprisingly well, probably because I didn't carry anything with my left hand for long.). By Thursday night, I was in a lot of pain. Ice packs and pain meds got me through the night, and I was able to drive home yesterday. Again, by the end of the trip, I hurt BAD. I am still sitting here taking it easy today, going through the swag. Tomorrow will also be a "take it easy" day.

A little history: I had a problem with knee pain as a teenager and young adult. Had knee arthroscopy in 1986, which showed my knee in good shape. The lateral collateral ligament on the outside of the knee was WAY too short, and it was lengthened in that surgery. My knee has been in good shape until last Wed... overuse? Underexercise? Dunno... but I have to get it feeling better ASAP.

CES was a blast, however! I love going every year... even if I end up hurting.

Addendum: After speaking with several people at my work, it appears a bug might have been the culprit for my knee pain. When I got sick earlier in the week, it may have been the start of a virus that finished out nailing my knee. On the 15th, it was fine again, like nothing had happened.