341–350 of 374 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're driving cross-country you're on an interstate. Park under an overpass.
And get hit from behind? No, thanks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seriously. I don't know a lot of people for whom a surprise $50k bill would be "unfortunately" rather than "disastrously".
I assume they are not silly enough to buy a house then right?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When one of my upstairs toilets started leaking in my house in the US, it finally got so bad that I noticed a stain on the garage ceiling. The insurance inspector said that insurance would not cover a "slow leak". I was very nice and polite and pointed out how soaked the subfloor was and that there was no way to know when the leak started (which was true). She wrote her recommendation that it be covered, which the co…
For serious claims, it's better to hire a public adjuster.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly correct. It was my Condo, and if it was an exterior wall, then the Home Owners Association would be charged a "Special Fee" (We had recently dropped $100+K on repairing wall damage from a rain leak) - but ceiling damage would have been on me. To make matters worse, they were renters living in the upstairs unit, and when I contacted the owner, it turned out he was a lawyer, and initially all he said was, "If y…
Lawyer or no, I would be surprised to find that an HOA couldn't force an owner to re-caulk a bathroom. What's the purpose of all those damn inspections if not to discover and fix this sort of problem?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Elemental Mercury isn't especially dangerous though. People freak out over the word "Mercury" but forms like that aren't bioavailable for the most part and are reasonably safe. I wouldn't go breathing the fumes for extended periods of time, but holding a pool in your hand in science class isn't going to kill you. That's why it's a bit frustrating to read stories like this where the cleanup crew goes overboard and rac…
Breathing the fumes for an extended period of time? That's exactly what we would have had without the remediation.
When I was a child, me and my nephews (which are about my own age) used to go to the pharmacy to buy thermometers, and break them for their mercury. With time we accumulated enough to fill up a mid-sized crystal jar, I would say around 200 grams. We played with that mercury a lot. We passed it between our hands, which later held treats we ate. We laid down on the grown, and pour it in our closed eyes, letting it drop…
No harm ever came to us as a result. I think you're probably right, but how do you know? It's very hard to compare yourself to a version of you who didn't have that kind of exposure as a kid.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The requirement by law is fair. If you drive your car into someone else's, you or your insurance company should pay for the damage - the case where the victim gets nothing is thereby avoided. In theory anyway.
In New Zealand there is no mandatory car insurance, and that's how I think it should be. (I do not live in New Zealand). Take your own risks in life. Don't drive a car you can't afford to replace.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, mercury vapors have been documented as toxic for centuries. It was noticed that sailors on ships that transported large amounts of open mercury would get sick from the vapors.
It's also the fact that elemental mercury's toxic side effects are really hard to quantify and see because it fucks up the central nervous system, and is of more psychological detriment. Note that this is elemental mercury, not methylmercury, which only happens from predatory bio-accumulation in fish. Over the years OSHA has consistently been lowering their safe mercury exposure levels (blood tests), and it's fast ap…
Does US$38k to clean up a few cups of mercury seem ridiculous to anybody else? That would be a very dangerous quantity of mercury if it were in a form like dimethylmercury, but it was metallic mercury. Wouldn't it make more sense to dump some powdered metal into it to amalgamate it, sweep it up and put it in a bag, and open the windows to let the house air out for a day or two?
According to the article they had to disassemble floor and wall to get access. So definitely not a simple sweep-up job. I know the family in question. They're both competent and frugal (they save so they can donate heavily to charity). They wouldn't spend $38k without good reason.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In New Zealand there is no mandatory car insurance, and that's how I think it should be. (I do not live in New Zealand). Take your own risks in life. Don't drive a car you can't afford to replace.
Mandatory insurance is for the injury and property damage you cause , not that you incur.
In the "no mandatory insurance" scenario, you're taking the risk that someone else may damage your car. So don't buy a car you can't afford to replace.