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From: Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Awfully quiet in here...
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 19:09:02 -0600
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On 11/11/2024 1:42 PM, William Hyde wrote:
> Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:06:22 -0500, William Hyde
>> <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> D wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, 9 Nov 2024, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 11/9/2024 4:04 PM, D wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, 9 Nov 2024, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So if not having a lot of people around is a good thing, Wyoming 
>>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> probably work.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you think I would be allowed to wear a cowboy hat and walk around
>>>>>> with a gun in Wyoming? That would be a strong incentive!
>>>>>
>>>>> For citizens who meet the other requirements for firearms possession,
>>>>> yes. You don't even need a permit. I'm not sure about green card
>>>>> holders.
>>>>>
>>>>> pt
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hooray! =D Yet another dream that the US would make come true! It truly
>>>> is the land of the free compared with shitty old europe which I
>>>> passionately hate so much!
>>>
>>>
>>> Some years ago Duke University ran a job search for a senior scientist.
>>>
>>> An American scientist resident in Denmark was flown in and gave an
>>> exceptionally good talk.  At dinner the conversation turned to his life
>>> in Denmark, and he seemed very happy with it.
>>>
>>> So told him that, while I was not myself on the search committee, I
>>> thought it was almost certain that he'd be offered the job and asked if
>>> he would take it.
>>>
>>> "Absolutely not!" he said, puzzled that I would even ask.
>>>
>>> So opinions differ.
>>>
>>> Duke is in Durham, NC, possibly too warm for your wife.  And it has lots
>>> of sidewalks to attract liberals, though as I found in an October walk,
>>> ankle-destroying breaks in the sidewalk can be obscured by colourful
>>> autumn leaves.
>>
>> Saves the city from having to fix the sidewalks: out of sight, out of
>> mind.
>>
>> Well, until they get sued, anyway.
> 
> Halifax was the exact opposite.  They fixed sidewalks which were 
> perfectly fine.  The reason being that the city is mildly corrupt, and 
> people wanted those contracts. Still, they were a pleasure to walk on.
> 
> For contrast, sidewalks on the Dalhousie campus in Halifax were a 
> positive danger, but never fixed as the University always had something 
> different to spend its limited cash on.  Like office redecoration for 
> administrators.
> 
> An elderly retired professor died from a fall owing to broken sidewalks 
> at A&M.  The site was taped off, but not repaired in the two years 
> before I left Texas.
> 
> Some years ago there was a competition in Toronto to find the oldest bit 
> of sidewalk.  The winning pavement was dated 1918 and was in perfect 
> shape.  It was, however, under a bridge and thus somewhat sheltered.
> 
>>
>> (The local university once install a road bump that injured five
>> people, one of whom died. The fifth, who didn't die, won a $16M
>> judgement against them. Only then did they remove it and replace it
>> with something less dangerous. Never underestimate the power of a
>> lawsuit payout to change minds.)
> 
> In Texas the payout would have been limited to 500k.
> 
> I wasn't hurt enough to consider suing Durham.  Besides, if one demands 
> low taxes one gets low service, and I can't sue the voters, can I?
> 
> Caveat Pedestrem.
> 
> (Someone correct my Latin, I'm sure that's wrong).
> 
> 
> William Hyde

Texas damage lawsuits are limited to $500K plus actual economic damages. 
  I am not sure how the economic damage of a death would be calculated 
but it could be in the millions for taking care of dependents.

Lynn