Saffron: You're a good man. Mal: You clearly haven't been talking to anyone else on this boat.

'Our Mrs. Reynolds'


Natter .38 Special  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Topic!Cindy - Sep 21, 2005 12:06:35 pm PDT #9676 of 10002
What is even happening?

As for the bad mood question: most tort cases involve defendants who *didn't* foresee the harm they caused (that's why it's a tort and not a crime), but they should have. Perhaps in this case they hectored and goaded her mercilessly; perhaps it was obvious that she was mentally unstable. So it could be reasonably foreseeable that a mentally unstable woman would commit suicide if forced to do a horrible thing.
Is this the glass skull thing? Wait, that's for assault (or battery, I always get those confused) which is a crime, so I guess not. What I meant by that though, is that you punch ita in the head, having no idea she has some weird medical condition, that makes her skull crack like a glass, and it kills her, even though you only meant to whack her around a little.

This is barely coherent. So never mind, unless I have managed to reference something other than ragtime, in which case I'm glad to read whatever you've got.


Jessica - Sep 21, 2005 12:07:48 pm PDT #9677 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

I'm betting that with the Mustang or the Corvette, the sheer fact of own one provides so much satisfaction, that as long as the car doesn't explode regularly, or cost the price of a whole other car every year or so in maintenance, you're going to give it high marks.

And the Mini squeaks by on sheer adorability.


Rick - Sep 21, 2005 12:08:10 pm PDT #9678 of 10002

Is it common for an individual or group to be sued over someone's suicide? I was thinking the defense would argue along lines like, "How do you know what the reason was for someone's suicide" - do lawsuits like this succeed?

It's pretty common for psychiatrists and psychologists to be sued over this. Even when therapists show excellent professional judgment, they are likely to lose, because there is no perfect prediction of suicide and the sympathy factor is so high that juries think that someone must be held responsible. It's one reason why academics like me no longer see patients part-time. The malpractice insurance just costs too much.


dw - Sep 21, 2005 12:10:39 pm PDT #9679 of 10002
Silence means security silence means approval

More on Rita:

Pressure is now 914mb, and the pace is now 6mb/hour. That means it should pass Katrina's low pressure in three hours, and if the pace were maintained it would reach Gilbert's all-time record of 888 late tonight. (No, it won't.)

Winds are 165, gusts to 185. And it's just getting stronger, and the eye isn't signalling a replacement cycle any time soon.

In effect, we could be looking at the biggest, baddest hurricane ever seen in the Atlantic basin by the time the West Coast gets Letterman. When the name "Gilbert" is being bantered around, it's time to get waaaay the heck inland ASAP.


DavidS - Sep 21, 2005 12:12:38 pm PDT #9680 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

In effect, we could be looking at the biggest, baddest hurricane ever seen in the Atlantic basin by the time the West Coast gets Letterman. When the name "Gilbert" is being bantered around, it's time to get waaaay the heck inland ASAP.

There's a disturbance in the forc.....No wait, that's Dana's blood pressure.


Susan W. - Sep 21, 2005 12:13:29 pm PDT #9681 of 10002
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights

Going by the satellite pictures, it has that same unusual stadium-shaped eye (with tiers) that Katrina had.


Emily - Sep 21, 2005 12:13:31 pm PDT #9682 of 10002
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola

I'm pretty sure there was at least one lawsuit that came out of "Fear Factor".


Gudanov - Sep 21, 2005 12:14:11 pm PDT #9683 of 10002
Coding and Sleeping

I'm betting that with the Mustang or the Corvette, the sheer fact of own one provides so much satisfaction, that as long as the car doesn't explode regularly, or cost the price of a whole other car every year or so in maintenance, you're going to give it high marks.

And the Mini squeaks by on sheer adorability.

The list for durability is somewhat different than for love:

[link]


Jessica - Sep 21, 2005 12:18:16 pm PDT #9684 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Wikipedia + Google Maps = Placeopedia


Theodosia - Sep 21, 2005 12:18:27 pm PDT #9685 of 10002
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"

Is it true that Rita is aimed straight at Crawford? It would be sweetest irony if it were.