Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Awfully quiet in here...
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 23:46:36 -0500
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Lynn McGuire wrote:
> 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.

In the case of the man whose head was run over by an A&M vehicle, 500k 
was  the limit.  It made quite a stir on campus at the time.

I'm happy to hear that things have improved, to some degree.

William Hyde