Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 08:08 am:
My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by until today I read his obituary. Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance. For Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations.
Obituary
Common Sense
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentions but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a class mate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 09:07 am:
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Did you know that the woman in question earned second degree burns from the coffee that was proven to be hotter than any other place that was measured?
Did you know that all the woman wanted was a couples thousand dollars to cover her medical bills?
Common sense left the window when McDonald's decided to fight the claim. Common sense was gone when the jury decided to award the victim one day's worth of revenue from coffee, not knowing how much it amounted to, and disregarding the fact that it did amount to far more than the maximum award allowed for this particular case.
Common sense is funny - a lot of times, it's not where you'd expect it.
And I promise it's doing alive and well, at least as well as it ever has. There have always been stupid people.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 09:39 am:
Good point XL. I recently read the whole story about that, Wikipedia I believe, for what's it's worth. But it's amazing how many times she would have settled for much less but the lawyers thought they could get out for nothing.
I don't really think it's so much as the death of common sense as it is the rise of laziness and apathy.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 10:51 am:
common sense can also be in 2 places at the same time doing the exact opposite things to help and hurt you. point one
you meet a girl at a bar and you realize that she wants sex with you and you the same with her.(common sense tells you to get it on and soon). the next morning you wake up by you cel ringing with your girlfriend on the other line asking why didn't u come home last night(now that's the same common sense form last night that made you forget about her for a couple of hours and now your toast)
this actually happened to a work buddy about 4 months ago. the girl at the bar was so hot he actually forgot he had a girlfriend for the last 6 months. his girlfriend(also very hot) was working at hooters at the time during nursing school.
now they are married.
common sense-the devil and angel at the same time.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 02:31 pm:
Seattle , home of the coffee craze. Did you know that said woman, had a standard transmission in a Ford Explorer, with out any cupholders? So she puts a hot cup of coffee between her legs, pushes in the clutch and pulls out. I challenge anyone to do that move and not spill on them. If it were my case.... I would have deducted from her judgement, the cost of an automatic transmission, cost of cup holders, covered her medical bills and bounced her and her lawyers out of my court. (which is probably why I dont practice law) Hot coffee is Hot, Duh. Her case is why Wendy's will no longer serve hot drinks through their drive thru
Common sense has been dead long ago, I vaguely remember it, see it even less.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 02:52 pm:
On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered a 49ยข cup of coffee from the drive-through window of a local McDonald's restaurant. Liebeck was in the passenger's seat of her Ford Probe, and her grandson Chris parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee. She placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap.[7]
Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin as she sat in the puddle of hot liquid for over 90 seconds, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin.[8] Liebeck was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns on six percent of her skin and lesser burns over sixteen percent.[9] She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. Two years of treatment followed.
...I probably couldn't shift gears, but this I could do. Also something the media doesn't tell you is that a judge lowered the damages to just under half a mil. I believe was the number. Heck it's been 16 years ago.
(Message edited by Kyrocket on September 04, 2008)
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 04:35 pm:
I am one of those people that believe that the woman should have been awarded NOTHING. If you order coffee, you should expect it to be hot. If you place a cup of hot coffee between your legs, then try to remove the lid, you should expect to get burned. I do not see how this woman can blame anyone but herself for what happened.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 05:33 pm:
A person has a reasonable expectation to not be harmed by the products they purchase. When injured not only is it the legal responsibility of the manufacturer but also a moral obligation to fairly compensate the injured party.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 06:12 pm:
Ferris, You break your back operating your Buell. BMC needs to "reasonably compensate" you?
You accept the risk, and probably mitigate it with gear, but the risk is still there. Same with other products. Even coffee. Negligence is the key word. If you don't inform your customers of the risk ("Caution, the beverage you are about to enjoy is extremely hot")and design to manage the risk (good lids, temperatures that won't cause third degree burns), you can be held liable.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 06:15 pm:
A person has a reasonable expectation to not be harmed by the products they purchase. When injured not only is it the legal responsibility of the manufacturer but also a moral obligation to fairly compensate the injured party.
And you ride a bike. So are you going to sue Buell when you lowside? How bout a gun?
Thoughts like that are ruining this country. If you do something stupid and get hurt then it's your OWN DAMN FAULT!!! Why should you get compensated for being STUPID???
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 06:18 pm:
"Caution the beverage you are about to enjoy is HOT"
WARNING ! Motorcycles are different from other vehicles. They operate, steer, handle and brake differently. Unskilled or improper use could result in loss of control, death or serious injury.
Brought to you by the team of Duh. Its safe on your couch, stay there, stay.
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 06:24 pm:
I'm sorry, my comments weren't exactly clear. Obviously, we can be harmed by riding a motorcycle but that's not the same as BEING hurt by the motorcycle, such as a failure of a weld or negligence of design, etc. I didnt mean to suggest a person should be able to sue Buell because they wreck their bike.
(Message edited by ferris_von_bueller on September 04, 2008)
Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 08:44 pm:
But it's coffee! It should be really hot. The water should be just below boiling when it passes over those ground up beans who gave their lives for my beverage. If I spill it I expect to be burned. My mommy taught me those things as a child.
Now if I got burned by a cup of iced tea I would sue their a$$ off
"Caution the beverage you are about to enjoy is HOT"
WARNING ! Motorcycles are different from other vehicles. They operate, steer, handle and brake differently. Unskilled or improper use could result in loss of control, death or serious injury.
Brought to you by the team of Duh. Its safe on your couch, stay there, stay.
I remember when the oem sent us warning stickers to add to the waverunners.
Did you know that you could drown while using one? Shocking revelation, I could drown in the water.
Buckets, trash bags.... warnings on them.
I thought it was hysterical when I read my 900rr owners manual in 94 and started to see...."failure to observe these suggestions could lead to severe injury or DEATH. In bold and everything.
Just glanced my zx10r manual. Tons of warnings.
"Gasoline is extremely flammable and can be explosive under certain conditions....." really??
I wonder if yamaha has added a warning to the R6. "warning, even a mild lowside will cause this bike to burst into flames..."
this one is a little harder than a lowside but it's happened a bunch.
Ha ha ha... front inside cover of 10r manual, "This product has been manufactured for use in a reasonable and prudent manner by a qualified operator and as a vehicle only."
And another favorite, came with a pool pump and I had to keep it after I stopped laughing.