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I think you're just making things up based on an unfounded and certainly unsubstantiated perception of reality. Do you have any reference for your claim about

by Kranar 4y ago

I think you're just making things up based on an unfounded and certainly unsubstantiated perception of reality. Do you have any reference for your claim about Steve Ballmer? I tried numerous different ways of searching for it and none of them produce any kind of result. I also tried Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and some other rich tech CEOs but nothing comes up. Once again, you may have heard some kind of anecdotes or stories and mixed things up in your mind to create an image of what you think is real, but the actual statistics and facts do not back up your bold assertions. For example, it's not lawsuits that put an end to the chemistry sets of the 1960s, it's the Toxic Substances Control Act together with the The Toy Safety Act that removed the use of lead, poisons, acids and other toxic chemicals from chemistry sets that were marketing towards kids. Had nothing to do with lawsuits but rather due to legislation. If you want actually want to blame something for the decline of the modern chemistry set, it has more to do with policymakers concerns about their use in illegal drug manufacturing than it does with any kind of lawsuit.

HWR_14 4y ago
> it's the Toxic Substances Control Act together with the The Toy Safety Act I think it's good to note in cases like this that both were bipartisan (in passage if not in origination), lest one side or the other think this was an ideological issue.
WalterBright 4y ago
> Do you have any reference for your claim about Steve Ballmer? It was some years ago in the Seattle Times. Sorry I didn't keep a clipping. I was also injured once in a car accident, being hit by a garbage truck. The ambulance people told me I hit the jackpot. People came out of the woodwork recommending personal injury lawyers who could set me up for life. People at work all told me I had the million dollar injury. People were coaching (unasked) me on how to pretend I was much more injured than I was. All I asked for was to pay the medical bills and lost time at work and my car. The opposition lawyer was aghast, and was certainly eager to sign that deal. But I'm just imagining things, right? I could be wrong about the chemistry set emasculation. But just a couple weeks ago on HN there was a long thread about the wussification of school playgrounds.
- Kranar 4y ago
  >It was some years ago in the Seattle Times. Sorry I didn't keep a clipping. The Seattle Times has a searchable archive of all their articles going back 30 years. Searches for "Ballmer lawsuit", "Ballmer painter", "Ballmer ladder" all turn up nothing. It looks like you made this story up; not in an intentionally deceptive manner mind you, but the same way old wives make up stories by mixing together pieces of different stories taken out of context together to fit a narrative. Your anecdote about getting into an accident is tragic, but has nothing to do to support your claim that, and I quote: "it's never the injured person who is at fault, it's always somebody nearby who has money." Finally your point about wussification of school playgrounds is precisely what I wish to avoid. There was basically a conversation on HN where people parroted opinions about how playgrounds are wussified, and just like with this discussion it probably had no facts or evidence to substantiate the claim but you accepted the claims made in that discussion simply on the basis that it appeals to your belief system. Do not believe everything you read on this site. You can be mindful that people on this site have opinions on certain topics, but do not take those opinions and then reassert them as if they are facts. This site is just as full of misinformation and biases as any other, where people pretend to be experts and assert categorical statements on subjects they have no expertise in because it appeals to their beliefs. Yes this place is more civil about spreading misinformation, but misinformation is no more factual just because the people spreading it do so politely.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    > It looks like you made this story up I understand that it is not in the ST archives, and because of that, you do not believe it. That's a perfectly reasonable position for you to take. I did not make it up, though. But I'll still withdraw it pending finding citable evidence. As for playgrounds: https://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/2018/06/lawsuits-take-schools-swing-sets-away-from-kids/ https://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/2018/06/lawsuits-take-sc... https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/09/25/elementary-student-who-was-injured-on-playground-to-receive-200k-settlement https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/09/25/elementary-st...
  - WalterBright 4y ago

by Kranar 4y ago

HWR_14 4y ago

> it's the Toxic Substances Control Act together with the The Toy Safety Act I think it's good to note in cases like this that both were bipartisan (in passage if not in origination), lest one side or the other think this was an ideological issue.

WalterBright 4y ago

> Do you have any reference for your claim about Steve Ballmer? It was some years ago in the Seattle Times. Sorry I didn't keep a clipping. I was also injured once in a car accident, being hit by a garbage truck. The ambulance people told me I hit the jackpot. People came out of the woodwork recommending personal injury lawyers who could set me up for life. People at work all told me I had the million dollar injury. People were coaching (unasked) me on how to pretend I was much more injured than I was. All I asked for was to pay the medical bills and lost time at work and my car. The opposition lawyer was aghast, and was certainly eager to sign that deal. But I'm just imagining things, right? I could be wrong about the chemistry set emasculation. But just a couple weeks ago on HN there was a long thread about the wussification of school playgrounds.

Kranar 4y ago
>It was some years ago in the Seattle Times. Sorry I didn't keep a clipping. The Seattle Times has a searchable archive of all their articles going back 30 years. Searches for "Ballmer lawsuit", "Ballmer painter", "Ballmer ladder" all turn up nothing. It looks like you made this story up; not in an intentionally deceptive manner mind you, but the same way old wives make up stories by mixing together pieces of different stories taken out of context together to fit a narrative. Your anecdote about getting into an accident is tragic, but has nothing to do to support your claim that, and I quote: "it's never the injured person who is at fault, it's always somebody nearby who has money." Finally your point about wussification of school playgrounds is precisely what I wish to avoid. There was basically a conversation on HN where people parroted opinions about how playgrounds are wussified, and just like with this discussion it probably had no facts or evidence to substantiate the claim but you accepted the claims made in that discussion simply on the basis that it appeals to your belief system. Do not believe everything you read on this site. You can be mindful that people on this site have opinions on certain topics, but do not take those opinions and then reassert them as if they are facts. This site is just as full of misinformation and biases as any other, where people pretend to be experts and assert categorical statements on subjects they have no expertise in because it appeals to their beliefs. Yes this place is more civil about spreading misinformation, but misinformation is no more factual just because the people spreading it do so politely.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  > It looks like you made this story up I understand that it is not in the ST archives, and because of that, you do not believe it. That's a perfectly reasonable position for you to take. I did not make it up, though. But I'll still withdraw it pending finding citable evidence. As for playgrounds: https://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/2018/06/lawsuits-take-schools-swing-sets-away-from-kids/ https://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/2018/06/lawsuits-take-sc... https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/09/25/elementary-student-who-was-injured-on-playground-to-receive-200k-settlement https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/09/25/elementary-st...
- WalterBright 4y ago