The day I accidentally killed a little boy • Hacker News Board

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#681

Post by icc97 » Mon, Jan 15, 2018, 9:18 AM UTC

soperj wrote: post #680

icc97 wrote: post #645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally think there is a significant difference. The birthday messages I get on FB are worthless, but if someone sends me an email or a card that is worth something. The connection via Facebook is so trivial and transient but it is better than no connection to people I'd have no contact with otherwise. The people I email photos too will probably look at them a few times and may want to print them and will send a…

I actually enjoy all the birthday messages I get on FB. Not because they say happy birthday, but because I actually respond to every single one of them, and catch up with people who actually made the slightest effort to wish me a happy birthday.

Fair point, I enjoy them too. But the amount of thought it takes to say Happy Birthday via Facebook is so trivial. FB reminds you, puts it at the top of your feed and reminds you the day after.

For me to send a birthday card to my friends I have a reminder that goes off a week before their birthday so that I find the time to go out get a relevant card. Then writing something of purpose inside the card and sending it with enough time to get there. So it's a week's worth of remembering their birthday vs the 30s that occurs in FB before reading all the other news.

So not worthless, but certainly worth less, to almost zero.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#682

Post by petters » Tue, Jan 16, 2018, 4:32 PM UTC

petters wrote: post #309

samch wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect to your comment about time spent with your child, I was in a similar boat a couple of years ago: I was weighing the implications of taking a new job that came with a significant salary increase, but aslo had the massive downside of having to be in the office and away from my family most days / evenings (60hrs per 5-day workweek). I vividly recall a conversation I had with my father who said something to…

Of course no one says that on their deathbed. Many people on their deathbeds have been retired for more than 20 years. People in their 20s often care about their career. People in their 80s often do not. Who's right? It's often a trade-off. The goal is not to be happy on your deathbed; it's to be happy throughout life.

OK, fine. 30s and 40s, then.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#683

Post by wffurr » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

bargl wrote: post #557

wffurr wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Chasing a frisbee" should never put one at risk of death. The fault isn't with you; it's with the driver (going too fast to stop for a running child) and the traffic engineer (built an unsafe street next to housing / parks / etc.).

I respectfully disagree. There is a reasonable requirement that as you're passing someone on the street if they aren't in front of you it's not your fault. You as a human have a blind spot at which point you can't be reasonable expected to stop. They should have definitely stopped after hitting someone. Fault could be the drivers if they were speeding, the person was standing in the road (not entering at a perpendicu…

The driver is always the one operating the heavy, dangerous vehicle around vulnerable people. That puts the standard of care directly on the driver, as the one choosing to put everyone around them in danger for their convenience.