Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder2.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Awfully quiet in here...
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 23:01:48 -0600
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 122
Message-ID: <vgunfr$1dl89$3@dont-email.me>
References: <lp3qduFb8jqU1@mid.individual.net>
 <vgie4b$7ao$1@reader1.panix.com> <vgjtqn$2tiki$1@dont-email.me>
 <1efd1717-3e51-3fc4-1408-a5296f06b1ef@example.net>
 <a5fsijdr59oguq1r9lla3qe1c8l5o0oeet@4ax.com>
 <5f1024bb-1145-580f-2f01-b62a2b7736eb@example.net>
 <qn4vijhitfrl6avr3ha4p99rhsccjtaech@4ax.com>
 <e49add2f-f06b-a5b2-db19-23b5ddbb0a5b@example.net>
 <vgp0ja$1lb8$5@dont-email.me>
 <1df82b2a-efb7-54cd-bf34-795a47929cc7@example.net>
 <vgr3ok$hqub$1@dont-email.me> <5ha4jj19ria2jt50om4ln34b69j5ojg4gk@4ax.com>
 <vgtmmp$152oe$1@dont-email.me> <vgu9re$18a6d$6@dont-email.me>
 <vgumja$1eds6$2@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 06:01:48 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="e65e33b4f0c03cfa18bf3263781018f9";
	logging-data="1496329"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+hNKU22bpuuOJpCL3adrXlzDyILL4nob0="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:9OsLvEPGYaFdHcJ0zUtTlUJjxv8=
In-Reply-To: <vgumja$1eds6$2@dont-email.me>
Content-Language: en-US
Bytes: 5866

On 11/11/2024 10:46 PM, William Hyde wrote:
> 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

His lawyer was terrible.

Lynn