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> Yeah, it's wild that it's now treated as an authoritative source, especially by some news organizations. > It's as good as asking a neighbor what happened wi

> Yeah, it's wild that it's now treated as an authoritative source, especially by some news organizations. > It's as good as asking a neighbor what happened with a loud noise down the street. Sometimes you'll get something good, sometimes it'll be completely wrong. Asking my neighbors if they know what some loud noise was or about some local disturbance has been extremely reliable in my experience. The one time someone gave me an explanation about something which wasn't mostly right they qualified it with something like "So-and-so said it might be such-and-such but I don't know if it's true".

Arainach 3y ago
You must have an exceptional neighborhood. Everywhere I lived, here's a handy map of "actual cause" :: "what the neighbors said it was" Car exhaust :: gunshot Appliance delivery truck liftgate :: gunshot Transformer explosion :: gunshot Garbage truck :: gunshot 787 at 25000ft :: complete ruining of peace and quiet Any police activity :: probably someone robbed a bank For the record, my city has (statistically indistinguishable from 0) homicides and bank robberies and, by American standards (I know, I know) no particular issues with gun crime.
- rimunroe 3y ago
  I can imagine it being different in a city. I'm in a fairly quiet suburban area. One time I heard a loud boom. A few hours later I saw a neighbor outside and asked if he'd heard it and if he knew what it was. He told me a house a few neighborhoods over had exploded. I was a bit skeptical of it but he turned out to be right.
  - sterlind 3y ago
    exploded? the house... exploded? like, a gas leak or something?
    - Arainach 3y ago
      Drug lab is more probable than a gas leak. Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/942043/laboratory-incidents-methamphetamine-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/942043/laboratory-incide... - meth lab incidents are down to about 900/yr and have been far higher in the past (presumably because the labs have moved to things besides meth) https://rpgaspiping.com/blog/critical-safety-tips/gas-safety-natural-gas-explosions-are-too-common/ https://rpgaspiping.com/blog/critical-safety-tips/gas-safety... (286 natural gas incidents per year) - I've tried to find a more credible source for this number but keep seeing it cited in various places and have no better source, higher or lower.
      - rimunroe 3y ago
        > Drug lab is more probable than a gas leak. I can’t tell if you’re trying to demonstrate the problem you have with your neighbors ;) It was a gas leak, not a drug lab. The utility failed to fix things in a neighborhood where there’d been reports of leaks for years: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/17/eversource-fine-gas-explosion-massachusetts https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/17/eversource-fine-gas-exp...
    - rimunroe 3y ago
      Yep. The utility had gotten reports of gas leaks on that street previously and didn’t fix it.

Arainach 3y ago

You must have an exceptional neighborhood. Everywhere I lived, here's a handy map of "actual cause" :: "what the neighbors said it was" Car exhaust :: gunshot Appliance delivery truck liftgate :: gunshot Transformer explosion :: gunshot Garbage truck :: gunshot 787 at 25000ft :: complete ruining of peace and quiet Any police activity :: probably someone robbed a bank For the record, my city has (statistically indistinguishable from 0) homicides and bank robberies and, by American standards (I know, I know) no particular issues with gun crime.

rimunroe 3y ago
I can imagine it being different in a city. I'm in a fairly quiet suburban area. One time I heard a loud boom. A few hours later I saw a neighbor outside and asked if he'd heard it and if he knew what it was. He told me a house a few neighborhoods over had exploded. I was a bit skeptical of it but he turned out to be right.
- sterlind 3y ago
  exploded? the house... exploded? like, a gas leak or something?
  - Arainach 3y ago
    Drug lab is more probable than a gas leak. Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/942043/laboratory-incidents-methamphetamine-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/942043/laboratory-incide... - meth lab incidents are down to about 900/yr and have been far higher in the past (presumably because the labs have moved to things besides meth) https://rpgaspiping.com/blog/critical-safety-tips/gas-safety-natural-gas-explosions-are-too-common/ https://rpgaspiping.com/blog/critical-safety-tips/gas-safety... (286 natural gas incidents per year) - I've tried to find a more credible source for this number but keep seeing it cited in various places and have no better source, higher or lower.
    - rimunroe 3y ago
      > Drug lab is more probable than a gas leak. I can’t tell if you’re trying to demonstrate the problem you have with your neighbors ;) It was a gas leak, not a drug lab. The utility failed to fix things in a neighborhood where there’d been reports of leaks for years: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/17/eversource-fine-gas-explosion-massachusetts https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/17/eversource-fine-gas-exp...
  - rimunroe 3y ago
    Yep. The utility had gotten reports of gas leaks on that street previously and didn’t fix it.