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Meanwhile California is ripping out all of the call boxes along the roads even in areas with poor cell service. It can’t really cost us that much
by dawnerd 1y ago
Meanwhile California is ripping out all of the call boxes along the roads even in areas with poor cell service. It can’t really cost us that much
- mtgentry 1y agoThere’s probably a vast difference btwn what the state says it costs the maintain them, and what it costs this guy. Really wish there were more opportunities for the public to do stuff like this. There’s been a light out in the alley near me for years and the city won’t fix it. I’d happily do it myself if it was allowed.
- pinkmuffinere 1y agoIs it literally just the lightbulb? Is it accessible? You should just do it, they likely won’t notice, and even if they do they’re not going to arrest you. If you’re within 30 min of Escondido CA I’ll even come do it for you.
- rezonant 1y agoGuerilla Public Service. If you've not heard of Richard Ankrom who fixed an exit sign on the 110 freeway, check it out. He made a documentary about it (and there are countless other videos on YouTube covering the story). https://youtu.be/Clgl63CWOkM?si=CZQEzUsY9gWjWbLU https://youtu.be/Clgl63CWOkM?si=CZQEzUsY9gWjWbLU He did it so well, the modification stayed in place for years. If you can do it right, I say go for it.
- Timwi 1y agoUnfortunately you left out the fact that despite his good intentions, it's illegal, and he would have been arrested if caught.
- pinkmuffinere 1y agoHere’s a short list of other illegal things: - lemonade stands without a business license - posting fliers on traffic light posts, yard sale signs, etc - turning over a solid double yellow line to get into a plaza There are lots of “illegal” things we do every day, because they are better for society than strictly following the law.
- Timwi 1y agoOK so if I understand you right, you're implying that it's only “technically” illegal but it won't be enforced?
- pinkmuffinere 1y agoYa, it's a fair question, my claim isn't very clear in my comment. I think there are two elements that I care about: 1. Exactly what you said, it's illegal but is seldom enforced 2. I would rather break the law to improve the world, than to follow the law and watch it fall into chaos.
- Timwi 1y agoI'm with you on #2, but even more than that, I'd rather live in a world in which detrimental laws are easier to change/fix...
- pinkmuffinere 1y agoYa, that's fair, and very noble of you. I think this sort of thing is often the divide between engineering and politics. Engineers want to do the thing. Politicians want to make it easier to do the thing. I realize those are loose definitions, and I'm just some internet guy, but I like my definitions. As you get promoted, you move away from engineering, and further into politics. Personally I don't have the patience for much politics, even though i recognize that it is good and important. All that to say -- I think you should be promoted :)
- vasco 1y agoOf course it's allowed. How far have things come that you think you'll get in trouble for replacing a bulb somewhere in the street?
- Timwi 1y agoWow, this is terrible and dangerous advice. There are multiple laws that prohibit this, some of which are in place to protect people from danger (such as the high voltages involved or the possible risk of injury to yourself or others) while others are about certification. The desire to help is absolutely laudable, and I wish it were easier for volunteers to get permission to go and do it, but to go on an Internet forum to wrongly claim that it's already allowed is irresponsible.
- pixxel 1y ago[dead]
- mtgentry 1y agoI usually agree, but it's fairly high up, the bulb is probably non standard, and it's not clear how to get the top off. Just slightly more work than I'm willing to put in.
- teaearlgraycold 1y agoYou need to understand that there's The Law and then there's "what people get in trouble for". Practice anarchy in your daily life. Take control of your surroundings. Just make sure you only do good. And if you suspect you'll get into a "no good deed goes unpunished" scenario, make a game of it and do it under cover of night.
- juliangmp 1y agoYou should also consider a bat suit.
- cookie_monsta 1y agoOr a high visibility vest and a clipboard. Really, who is going to catch you in this scenario?
- Animats 1y agoThe one time, years ago, I tried to use one of those, it was non-functional because someone hadn't paid the cell phone bill.
- dawnerd 1y agoThat’s actually pretty hilariously ironic.
- gamblor956 1y agoIt cost about $1.7 million in LA alone during the Hahn administration.
- rezonant 1y agoIn LA "alone"? The city of Los Angeles has a population of 3.8 million people and in 2025 a budget of about $14 billion. That would be something like 0.01% of LA's budget. https://cao.lacity.gov/budget25-26/Budget_Summary/2025-26Budget_Summary.pdf https://cao.lacity.gov/budget25-26/Budget_Summary/2025-26Bud... That's like saying "At Google alone they spent X dollars" as if it was indicative of companies in general. To be fair if you mean Kenneth Hahn, and are referring to when he was LA County Chair in 1978, obviously that would be a much larger sum relatively. But it's the largest city in CA now and it was then too.
- gamblor956 1y agoNot sure I understand the point you're making. You were talking about the entire state of CA. I was pointing out that it's not as cheap as you think it is.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 1y agoThat's not an issue of cost, but the issue of anonymity. Terrorists, child traffickers, illegal immigrants could use them without authorities knowing who is calling.
- bluealienpie 1y agoYou could get a tourist SIM and do the same? Cellphones don't have some perfect identification system.
- ruined 1y agowho are you?
- bee_rider 1y agoYour good buddy, Eva 5I7bHFq9mnYK
- mrweasel 1y agoSome countries are even removing land lines. Denmark has removed the first bits of the copper infrastructure. Even if we wanted to have payphones back, they'd need to be cell-phone based.
- socalgal2 1y agoIn LA people remove land lines as theft for the copper https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-police-task-force-cracks-down-rise-copper-wire-thefts/16408022/ https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-police-task-force-cracks-d...
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]