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codhead

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Posts posted by codhead

  1. Received a D-18 directly from Martin on Thu. The box showed up with this big bite taken out

    of the side. My comment to the driver was "Nice hole! Pteryodactyl?" After opening the box to

    make sure the case was undamaged, the UPS driver said "They didn't put enough packing

    material inside the box". I could only hope for a large foot to appear, and stomp this ignoramus

    as he walked back to his truck.

    post-17678-13819283702472_thumb.jpg

  2. I'd have to say that it's pretty hard to determine just what kind of a deal this was, as the cosmetic condition

    of these speakers is not really known.

    I have a hard time reaching a conclusion from a stock photo, and a description that says "These items may

    have some cosmetic imperfections".

    That being said, I'd probably find myself in the "What are these people thinking??" crowd. After all, one

    would have to wonder why a pair of Heresy II's were returned to the factory in the first place.

  3. Stupid lawsuits...

    http://www.power-of-attorneys.com/stupid_lawsuit_collection.asp?wacky=0

    There's some good ones here...

    "A Little Too Much Booty

    Meredith

    Berkman, seeking $50 million, filed one of the first anti-fat lawsuits

    against the manufacturer of a snack food named Pirate's Booty. It looks like eating too much Pirate's Booty had added too much booty to Ms. Berkman's booty.

    In December, 2001, the Good

    Housekeeping Institute tested Pirate's Booty, which is basically

    flavored puffed rice, and found that it contained 147 calories and 8.5

    grams of fat, while its label said it contained only 120 calories and

    2.5 grams of fat.

    The manufacturer, Robert's

    American Gourmet Foods (a subsidiary of Keystone Foods), blamed the

    problem on a change in its manufacturing process and immediately

    recalled the product from store shelves.

    Nearly four months after the

    recall, Berkman filed a $50 million class-action lawsuit against

    Robert's Foods, claiming "emotional distress" and "weight gain...mental

    anguish, outrage and indignation." The complaint claims to represent

    all consumers who ruined their diets and had to spend more time at the

    gym because they ate mislabeled Pirate's Booty."

  4. "Well, come on, now. I like to read these things neutrally and without

    too much reaction. Vegetarians would just "puke and gag" before they

    ate meat. That's the way they are. So, we shouldn't sneak meat in

    their foods. If it's there, we tell them.

    What if you liked a

    particular brand of jerky so much, and then you learned it was made of

    dog? I would be a little freaked for the long-term... maybe."

    *****

    Well, this assumes that McDonalds was required to tell them. At the

    time, I don't believe this was the case. After being pressured to make

    healthier fries, they decided to change the frying medium. After they

    tasted the results, they decided against it. But because they once said

    they'd go with something healthier, people were "injured"? What a crock

    (wasn't that the McDonalds founder's name?).

    As to your jerky argument, sure I'd be upset if I had been snacking on

    Shit-Tsu. But that would actually be against the law (dog meat does not

    happen to be USDA approved for human consumption).

    *****

    Hey, I just thought of one to pad your retirement fund. I read an

    article where a news organization did a DNA analysis on hamburger from

    several supermarket chains. Almost all of it contained some percentage

    of pork (almost 10% on the high end).

    All you've gotta do is to analyze the hamburger from a store where

    people shop whose beliefs prohibit eating pork. Seems like eternity at

    Fire Lake [6] would be worth some serious "emotional pain and

    suffering". [;)]

  5. "In Chicago, another woman said she was shocked when a neighbor told
    her that McDonald's said on its website that wheat was an ingrediant in
    its french fries. The woman and her two children both suffer from
    celiac disease.


    McDonald's
    acknowledged that a flavoring agent in the cooking oil used to make
    fries is derived from wheat and dairy ingredients, which are off-limits
    to those with food allergies.


    The wheat and dairy disclosure was
    a consequence of a new labeling rule by the Food and Drug
    Administration that went into effect in January.


    People
    with allergies have been trying to find out more information, enough so
    that the lawsuit brought by Pakenas' Chicago firm is apt to find plenty
    of interested candidates who are allergic to wheat to qualify for
    class-action in Illinois."





    ***** Looks like it took less than a month for the lawsuits to start. *****




    "It's not the first time McDonald's forthrightness has been called into question concerning what's in its famous fries.





    The company paid $10 million in 2002 to settle a lawsuit by vegetarian
    groups after it was disclosed that its fries were cooked in
    beef-flavored oil despite the company's insistence in 1990 that it was
    abandoning beef tallow for pure vegetable oil.




    Last February, it paid $8.5 million to settle a suit by a
    nonprofit advocacy group accusing the company of misleading consumers
    by announcing plans in September 2002 to change its cooking oil but
    then delaying the switch indefinitely within months. Reluctant to
    change the taste of a top-selling item, McDonald's has continued to
    maintain for the past three years that testing continues."





    ***** Simply insane! *****


  6. Never heard of it. Okay.... What's the full, un-biased synopsis? I

    don't believe it was a simple as "drunk dude drives off hillside and

    rakes in millions from Ford."

    I still remember a quote from an article at the time. Since he was

    considered to be "a beloved sports figure", they settled - out of fear

    that a jury would take pity on him, and award record damages.

    I don't know this to be the case, but if I were to think like a lawyer,

    I'd probably key in on the fact that this guy was driving a short

    wheelbase SUV with a high center of gravity. Not that his choice of

    vehicle would have kept him from driving off a hillside while drunk,

    but a Sedan de Ville might have simply slid down the hill like a 5000

    pound toboggan.

    I'd have a hard time buying that argument as a juror, as I have zero

    sympathy for a drunk that drives his car off the road. If the accident

    was caused by a design defect that resulted in the catastrophic failure

    of a steering component, I'd side with the plaintiff in a hot second -

    regardless of his state of sobriety.

    Don't discount the pity factor. If you were going to sue a physician in

    a cerebral-palsy case, wouldn't you prefer a client with a live child

    over a dead one? A certain unsuccessful vice presidential candidate

    used to specialize in this very litigation. He was highly successful,

    but seldom did he represent a family whose child had passed away.

    Having a tiny victim to parade before the jury is a powerful courtroom

    tool.

  7. "The Crashworthiness Factor"

    Remember this ...

    After racing Willie Shoemaker's

    life would take a tragic turn when he broke his neck, and became a quadriplegic

    in 1991, when the Ford Bronco he was driving veered off a freeway in suburban

    Los Angeles, tumbled down an embankment and rolled. He had been drinking

    after playing golf and police said his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal

    limit. He sued Ford Motor Co. and won a multimillion-dollar settlement.

  8. Man, Jeff. You're still up? I'm lucky - I don't have to work tomorrow today.

    I think that no matter how much we debate cases like the iPod, it's still a crap shoot when it goes to trial. No such thing as a slam dunk, even when you sure think it should be. I'm still recovering from that eminent domain decision. If that's not the raison d etre of a legal system gone horribly awry, nothing is.

  9. I'll have to re-read it, but I thought it was another employee that told the guy what the tire size was.

    I dunno. I would think a guy that worked in a tire shop for a while might have a clue as to what size tires went on what vehicles. Would also think he might notice a smaller diameter tire was kind on difficult to get on a larger rim. And I'd really think he'd notice that the bead was not seated properly as he was filling it with air (i.e. the rim was riding up on the sidewall at this point).

    I guess this begs the question as to just how "foolproof" a manufacturer has to make a product. One would think that if a person of average intelligence could safely follow directions, that would suffice. Or do the instructions have to apply to a moron? How about an imbecile? Or a dolt?

    There are enough variables here to make your head swim. [:)]

  10. Johnny ignored the "Beware of Dog" sign, jumped over the neighbor's fence, and kicked the Rottweiler in the face.

    The Rottweiler bit Johnny.

    The law says "All reasonable efforts should be taken to construct a secure fence around Rottweilers".

    The plaintiff's lawyer says "The neighbor is wealthy, so he should have built an 8 foot fence instead of a 4 foot fence."

    The paid "expert" says an 8 foot fence would have kept Johnny out of the neighbor's yard.

    Johnny's family is poor, and he needs an expensive operation to fix his chewed-up face.

    Johnny lives in a depressed area.

    Johnny wins his lawsuit.

  11. Well, we know that the tire had dangerous propensities if it was installed on the wrong rim. Kind of like saying that a gun has dangerous propensities if it is discharged while pointing at someone (why can't I write that without thinking about a guy named Dick?). [:)]

    As far as jury instructions are concerned, I'd have to know exactly what was said and how it was said. I really do believe that these instructions can be used to hedge a decision (but we would hope that this would be caught at the appellate level). Of course, it's hard to determine inflection from a transcript.

    I'd also like to know the demographics of this trial. Ever hear of venue shopping? Not that this was the case here, but there certainly are areas of the country known for sympathetic juries.

    When a decision seems to belie common sense, one has to wonder about all of the influences that came into play.

  12. That's an interesting document.

    The problem with these cases seems to be the weight given to technicalities over common sense. I think this is why folks look unfavorably upon many court decisions.

    Someone ignored warnings (complete with illustrations) and was injured. The case ends up being decided on engineering technicalities - which were only applicable had someone chosen to ignore said warnings and proper safety procedures.

    Once again, this looks llike another "deep pockets" case. The little guy is injured after doing something stupid. The employer (shallow pockets here) did not provide the proper safety equipment. But those greedy corporations. Ah, yes! There's the cash cow.

    Does anyone really think that if the facts of this case were laid out for 100 people to decide (no jury "instructions" - just the facts) that most rationally thinking people would say that the employee caused his own injuries?

  13. Hey, I'm not trying to take away from the famous rockers (or blues players). I've got my favorites there too.

    You just don't see many artists that can pretty much reinvent guitar

    playing, and make it sound like a whole new instrument. Guess it's all

    in how you define "great".

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