Cash for Clunkers

[KB2WIG]

Ya shuda gone and sueed him if the boat sank..... 

You can't enjoy the money very much if yer drowned. 

                              Safety is our motto.

[k4kyv]

The old work-around of having a signed waiver releasing the "owner/authority" from liability doesn't work well anymore either.  Now, you are likely to have to prove that the person signing the waiver had full understanding of all of the risks associated with "dumpster diving" and if you cannot then you have a big problem.  Although in specific cases this makes sense it doesn't make good overall policy.  If one of us went by a lemonade stand operated by a 7 year old and offered to give the kid one of our 30's style open construction transmitters in lieu of a quarter obviously that would be a ridiculously dangerous act even though the danger was explained.  But in our society a 30 year old who got tetanus from a scratch while dump harvesting would have nearly the same odds of winning a court case as the lemonade stand kid's parents, VERY SAD!

...We all pay a significant price for idiots and their "right to sue, not despite their stupidity but actually because of their stupidity". In addition to the general increase in product prices to cover liability exposure we also lose access to useful products since the risk exposure is too high for the company to engage in production and marketing. 

I spent some time in Germany in 1994 and attended a Landesgartenschau and in one section they blindfolded the visitors so you could experience the aroma, feel, and sound of the garden show without being distracted by sight.  While crawling over landscape boulders and avoiding hitting trees and falling into a pond I realized if this were in the U.S. this would be a target rich environment for the ambulance chasing subset of attorneys.

I have often wondered how piercing and tattoo studios, which in recent years have proliferated all over the country like dandelions, stay in business without tons of liability issues.  They photograph the customer's ID and have him/her sign a release form, but there is such a high risk of infection or something else going wrong, based largely on how diligently the customer performs the recommended after-care, that I am surprised anyone would touch that profession with a 10-ft pole.

[WQ9E]

I have often wondered how piercing and tattoo studios, which in recent years have proliferated all over the country like dandelions, stay in business without tons of liability issues.  They photograph the customer's ID and have him/her sign a release form, but there is such a high risk of infection or something else going wrong, based largely on how diligently the customer performs the recommended after-care, that I am surprised anyone would touch that profession with a 10-ft pole.

Don,

I have never been inside one but from the looks of the ones I have seen you probably wouldn't get much out of any legal action against one.  One of my current students works for one and I will have to see what information she has about it.  She seems very intelligent and is quite pleasant and hard working but given the obvious tattoos and piercings she isn't going to make it very far with most corporate recruiters. 

Rodger WQ9E

[WB2YGF]

This security & liability thing hit our David Sarnoff Radio Club.

For years and years we have met at the Sarnoff Corp. campus. Then, the day before the January monthly meeting, I got this in an email:

"Due to security and insurance concerns Sarnoff will no longer allow us to meet on their premises."

We had to cancel the January meeting and scramble for another meeting venue.  We still need to find a new field day site.  Other organization such as IEEE were kicked out as well.  A sad state of affairs. 

[K5MO]

As I recall, I signed a ton of waivers/release of liability forms when I got a tat. That having been said, there's not a lot to get if one were to sue. OTOH, I've had licensed physicians who were less careful than the guy that worked on me at the Rt 66 Fine Line shop in Albuquerque.

[k4kyv]

This security & liability thing hit our David Sarnoff Radio Club.

For years and years we have met at the Sarnoff Corp. campus. Then, the day before the January monthly meeting, I got this in an email:

"Due to security and insurance concerns Sarnoff will no longer allow us to meet on their premises."

We had to cancel the January meeting and scramble for another meeting venue.  We still need to find a new field day site.  Other organization such as IEEE were kicked out as well.  A sad state of affairs. 

Just this year the annual county rabies clinic was cancelled.  For decades they have held it in the parking lot at the local elementary school.  They gave rabies shots to dogs and cats on a drop-in basis at a small fraction of the price the vets normally charged, and hundreds of people would come every March to have their pets vaccinated.  The idea was that this was a public safety measure, since many people with a yard full of dogs or a house full of cats would forego rabies vaccinations because they didn't want to pay the regular fee.

This year, the school board decided they couldn't use their facilities unless the vet who gave the shots had some kind of special liability insurance.  That insurance must have been expensive, because the vets (who serve voluntarily on a rotating basis) all said no dice.  So, just because someone in the school system suddenly became overly paranoid about the extreme unlikelihood of liability resulting from the public using the parking lot, some kid in the county may risk dying of rabies because the vaccination clinic was cancelled.

I suspect those who are pushing this shit is another example of the people in charge having their own unions.  It's not mere coincidence that those in authority in 5-land and here in 4-land suddenly had the exact same paranoia attack at the same time.  Just as it's not coincidence that developments in CA and ME suddenly come out with the exact same HOA antenna restrictions.  These unions go by such names as the National League of Cities, National Conference of State Legislatures, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Council of State Governments, National Association of Counties, International Municipal Lawyers Association, International City/County Management Association, etc.

Isn't it somehow unconstitutional that local jurisdictions across the country have their own organisations for the purpose of conspiring to limit the rights of their subjects?

[Ed/KB1HYS]

you can blame the so-called law makers who see to it that anyone can sue anyone for just about anything, keeping their buddies still in practice in the money.

Damn near destroyed the small aircraft industry in the US. Manufactureres were being sued for deaths and injuries in an aircraft they build 50 years ago because they were unsafe by TODAYS standards.
Can you imagine if my wife tried to sue EFJohnson because I zapped myself on my Valiant?

to paraphrase the old african saying,   when people sue, it's the lawyers that win...

The chain of liability is the chain to the deepest pockets, regardless of responsiblity, which we all end up paying for in the long run.

Maybe someone should sue the Bar Association, for economic hardship caused by greed and malfeasance or something 

[K6JEK]

Clunkers Shlunkers.  Look at this video.  I promise you'll like it.

http://growingbolder.com/media/technology/vehicles/romancing-the-road-259598.html

[W1RKW]

What an awesome story.  Thanks!

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Caliente!

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Wow. 
she knows her car really well.
she actually MAINTAINs it!

Of course living in Socal (or somewhere sunny) helps. Out here the salt eat's cars so fast...

though I think I'll be trying that roofing tar trick mentioned somewhere... can't hurt. Just wish I could have done that to my old Ranger...

[WA1GFZ]

The roofing tar in the truck wheel wells looks great. Now to get up the ambition to do the rest of the underside and two other cars...It is a dirty job but well worth it. I don't hink it will go through a sprayer unless it is thinned out a lot. Anybody have any ideas on a good way to thin tar. Drain oil ph is too low. I would love to spray it rather than using a bush. Some tight areas like under wheel well lips need a brush but most of it could be sprayed. I have an old sears gun that could be pressed into service.

[ka3zlr]

Clunkers Shlunkers.  Look at this video.  I promise you'll like it.

http://growingbolder.com/media/technology/vehicles/romancing-the-road-259598.html

I Liked the Video and the Lady in charge personal defense First...atta Girl...

73
Jack.

 

[W1RKW]

I would love to spray it rather than using a bush.

Well Frank, There's your problem. You're using a bush ;-)