4 ms·

I don't understand how he takes no meaning out of this. The meaning is clearly that there shouldn't be a gaping hole on the top of a 5 story building that peopl

I don't understand how he takes no meaning out of this. The meaning is clearly that there shouldn't be a gaping hole on the top of a 5 story building that people can access. Or at least that you shouldn't walk around a building you're not familiar with at night. Anyone who thinks there's no meaning to take from these kind of events is wasting a huge opportunity to learn that small things like a gap in a roof can mean life or death And he goes back at the end! He feels the fear like he should, looks at the gap and is more concerned that he'll learn the wrong lesson than learning no lesson!

rootusrootus 6y ago
> The meaning is clearly that there shouldn't be a gaping hole on the top of a 5 story building that people can access. Or at least that you shouldn't walk around a building you're not familiar with at night. Looking at the pictures, I'd vote for another option. The roof of that building isn't designed for casual use. The wall around the edge of the building is calf-height with no railing. What they're doing is likely trespassing, and they chose to accept the risks. The meaning to take from this experience is that you should be extra careful when you go places that are clearly not meant for you to be.
- DoingIsLearning 6y ago
  > The wall around the edge of the building is calf-height with no railing It doesn't matter how fit you are, all it takes is a strong wind gust, so many people underestimate this. That kind of roof access is meant for maintenance work only.
  - anotheryou 6y ago
    To add to that: don't ever sit or stand on any covers, you might fall down a chimney
- TwoBit 6y ago
  How do you know it's calf height? Did I miss that in this classically drawn out prose? There's a picture with him leaning over a ~4 foot high ledge. That ledge wasn't it?
  - QuantumYeti 6y ago
    I think this is the ledge being referred to: https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.188%2C$multiply_1.3545%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/a2384ced56a2846deb61832d3647e2414443838e https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.188%2C$multiply_1.3545%...
  - rootusrootus 6y ago
    There is a picture with him sitting down on the ledge next to where he fell. The top of the wall is below his knees. https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.221%2C$multiply_2.7195%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_40/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/142e3e7242bf03838b3f9e44371abfdfb78f89fd https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.221%2C$multiply_2.7195%...
ramraj07 6y ago
This is thoughtful but stupid because it goes in the wrong direction - new York is already at being close to the pinnacle of protecting people from their own stupidity so to speak - does this person take zero responsibility for ambling in the dark on an unknown terrace without looking _while_ drunk? When do we tell people they are just clumsy and need to own up to it? Many new york rooftops are closed for this reason because their insurance premium goes up, thanks to people like this author. We definitely lived through times when not everyone was attached to a safety harness when going to a protection less terrace. I understand the absolute need for employee protection in a work environment, but as long as precautions are taken so that truly vulnerable populations (kids) can't be harmed even when they are paying attention, communities need to grow up and not coddle everyone's laziness to pay attention to their surroundings like this. See for example rules done right in this regard - Amsterdam doesn't mandate helmets for bikers.
- _-___________-_ 6y ago
  > Amsterdam doesn't mandate helmets for bikers The whole Netherlands, in fact. I was under the impression that very few countries mandate helmets for cyclists. Australia, NZ, anywhere else?
  - sgerenser 6y ago
    In the U.S. most states have a helmet law but only for children: https://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm https://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm
- barbs 6y ago
  Also in Amsterdam - canals mostly have no railings along their canals to prevent people from falling in. I heard a story that dead bodies of men kept getting found in the canals with alcohol in their blood and their flies undone. As you can probably guess, intoxicated men were attempting to urinate in the canals and ended up falling in and drowning. Rather than building railings, they built more public urinals.
- yownie 6y ago
  He's just an idiot as far as I'm concerned.

rootusrootus 6y ago

> The meaning is clearly that there shouldn't be a gaping hole on the top of a 5 story building that people can access. Or at least that you shouldn't walk around a building you're not familiar with at night. Looking at the pictures, I'd vote for another option. The roof of that building isn't designed for casual use. The wall around the edge of the building is calf-height with no railing. What they're doing is likely trespassing, and they chose to accept the risks. The meaning to take from this experience is that you should be extra careful when you go places that are clearly not meant for you to be.

DoingIsLearning 6y ago
> The wall around the edge of the building is calf-height with no railing It doesn't matter how fit you are, all it takes is a strong wind gust, so many people underestimate this. That kind of roof access is meant for maintenance work only.
- anotheryou 6y ago
  To add to that: don't ever sit or stand on any covers, you might fall down a chimney
TwoBit 6y ago
How do you know it's calf height? Did I miss that in this classically drawn out prose? There's a picture with him leaning over a ~4 foot high ledge. That ledge wasn't it?
- QuantumYeti 6y ago
  I think this is the ledge being referred to: https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.188%2C$multiply_1.3545%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/a2384ced56a2846deb61832d3647e2414443838e https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.188%2C$multiply_1.3545%...
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  There is a picture with him sitting down on the ledge next to where he fell. The top of the wall is below his knees. https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.221%2C$multiply_2.7195%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_40/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/142e3e7242bf03838b3f9e44371abfdfb78f89fd https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.221%2C$multiply_2.7195%...

ramraj07 6y ago

This is thoughtful but stupid because it goes in the wrong direction - new York is already at being close to the pinnacle of protecting people from their own stupidity so to speak - does this person take zero responsibility for ambling in the dark on an unknown terrace without looking _while_ drunk? When do we tell people they are just clumsy and need to own up to it? Many new york rooftops are closed for this reason because their insurance premium goes up, thanks to people like this author. We definitely lived through times when not everyone was attached to a safety harness when going to a protection less terrace. I understand the absolute need for employee protection in a work environment, but as long as precautions are taken so that truly vulnerable populations (kids) can't be harmed even when they are paying attention, communities need to grow up and not coddle everyone's laziness to pay attention to their surroundings like this. See for example rules done right in this regard - Amsterdam doesn't mandate helmets for bikers.

_-___________-_ 6y ago
> Amsterdam doesn't mandate helmets for bikers The whole Netherlands, in fact. I was under the impression that very few countries mandate helmets for cyclists. Australia, NZ, anywhere else?
- sgerenser 6y ago
  In the U.S. most states have a helmet law but only for children: https://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm https://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm
barbs 6y ago
Also in Amsterdam - canals mostly have no railings along their canals to prevent people from falling in. I heard a story that dead bodies of men kept getting found in the canals with alcohol in their blood and their flies undone. As you can probably guess, intoxicated men were attempting to urinate in the canals and ended up falling in and drowning. Rather than building railings, they built more public urinals.
yownie 6y ago
He's just an idiot as far as I'm concerned.