Running Bear's October 2025 Coffee Shop

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Fastest I’ve ever driven myself was about 135 mph on the A8 south east of Stuttgart in a late 1990s Mercedes C180 four banger. It was floored and slightly over the max speed listed on the Fahrzeugbrief. (That’s an official doc from the manufacturer that comes with each car listing its official specs, allowed tire sizes, VIN, etc. it’s kind of like the manufacturers letter that comes with a car here that gets sent to the state for a title when a new car is sold here except on Germany it acts like a title I think and stays with the car. ).

The A8 is the autobahn that includes the stretch between Munich and Stuttgart. Back in 1999 it was mostly two lanes in each direction and had a speed limit of 120kmh. I don’t know what it’s like now. But back then about 30-50 miles outside of Stuttgart it opened up to like 5 or 7 lanes and became speed unrestricted. I was in Germany for a long weekend and was going to Stuttgart to see Yes play at the Beethovenssaal, a large and famous music venue at the time. I was running late and so when I got to the unrestricted area I tried it out. My rental Mercedes that cost me like $40 or $45 for 5 days. I was supposed to have a subcompact with a 900cc or 1l engine like a Ford Ka but by the time I picked up my car at the airport Saturday morning that’s all they had left on the lot. (The concert was Monday night).
 
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chadbag said:
Yeah just start mentioning your politics etc. that’ll usually do it. From one side or the other.
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Funny, when I was selected, I made sure to take a Rush Limbaugh book in with me. I was on the jury with the wife of an attorney. She got DQ'd because the elevator she rode up in on Day three had two of the defense attorneys, and they jabbered not realizing she was on the jury. Ooops.

Being on the jury wasn't a negative experience, but it's not one I want to repeat.
 


Kusojiji said:
Maybe Rush Limbaugh was too extreme? On your part, they saw right through that! LOL
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Back then I was staunchly conservative, so it wasn't acting.

In this case, it was a civil trial. Medical malpractice. The teen girl who died had lived in the same neighborhood as I did at the time. We didn't know the family. That family was one of two or three hundred we shared the neighborhood with.

Unfortunately for the family, I was on the jury.

It came down to two of us in the jury room arguing the final verdict. The rest were in the middle, and willing to go a little to the defendant or a little to the plaintiff.

It hinged on What was the Standard of Care at the time. That was what I focussed on. Did the medical professionals meet that standard.

The plaintiff was trying to argue that the girl died because the standard of care enacted five years later would have prevented her death. (Blood clots in an obese teen girl - Arterial Thrombosis in her lungs post surgery). She wasn't put on the squeezy leg bladders to keep her blood circulating while she recovered.That was the LATER standard of care for people in her age class.

However, the family didn't follow through on post care and get the girl up and walking daily. They let her stay in bed or on the couch. We had sidewalks in the neighborhood. Most in good repair.

The family kept trying to say the squeezy things should have been used due to her size. But the standard of care for teens didn't have that exception listed.

My counterpart in the jury was a woman who insisted, and her words still linger in my brain.... "She died! Someone has to pay!"

No... we have to decide if the medical staff was at fault.

She caved as we went through the facts again, and again, and again.

We had a sit down with the defense attorneys post trial. They bought us pizza and we did a debrief. I learned then that the attorneys will watch the jury and identify those they think are reacting (smirks, grins, frowns) toward their side of the case, and try to increase emphasis to get those jurors on their side.

The attorneys know they'll find one or two on their side, and it's a matter of giving them the right info and case to make in the jury room.
 
troyphoto said:
Back then I was staunchly conservative, so it wasn't acting.

In this case, it was a civil trial. Medical malpractice. The teen girl who died had lived in the same neighborhood as I did at the time. We didn't know the family. That family was one of two or three hundred we shared the neighborhood with.

Unfortunately for the family, I was on the jury.

It came down to two of us in the jury room arguing the final verdict. The rest were in the middle, and willing to go a little to the defendant or a little to the plaintiff.

It hinged on What was the Standard of Care at the time. That was what I focussed on. Did the medical professionals meet that standard.

The plaintiff was trying to argue that the girl died because the standard of care enacted five years later would have prevented her death. (Blood clots in an obese teen girl - Arterial Thrombosis in her lungs post surgery). She wasn't put on the squeezy leg bladders to keep her blood circulating while she recovered.That was the LATER standard of care for people in her age class.

However, the family didn't follow through on post care and get the girl up and walking daily. They let her stay in bed or on the couch. We had sidewalks in the neighborhood. Most in good repair.

The family kept trying to say the squeezy things should have been used due to her size. But the standard of care for teens didn't have that exception listed.

My counterpart in the jury was a woman who insisted, and her words still linger in my brain.... "She died! Someone has to pay!"

No... we have to decide if the medical staff was at fault.

She caved as we went through the facts again, and again, and again.

We had a sit down with the defense attorneys post trial. They bought us pizza and we did a debrief. I learned then that the attorneys will watch the jury and identify those they think are reacting (smirks, grins, frowns) toward their side of the case, and try to increase emphasis to get those jurors on their side.

The attorneys know they'll find one or two on their side, and it's a matter of giving them the right info and case to make in the jury room.
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Man, that had to suck. The emotions high and all.

My buddy and I talked this morning about his kid having an accident and hitting an old lady in a cross walk, and without his driver's license. They had their meeting with the police, who had completed their report. They took the 16 year old into a room without them and spoke to him directly. He came out fine. I asked if lawyers were there and they were not. So, no games were played, kid and parents are feeling good.

They didn't follow through on the after care...
When I was in the hospital, my nurse was super pissed at me and read me the riot act as I was killing over in pain, and then again the next morning. He said I should not have gotten to that threshold, but it came so suddenly that I didn't pass start and collect my $200. Military. they made me get up and do things. and yell at me for f-ing up.
 
Good morning all!

A cold Northern Illinois morning. Currently its 33F heading up to a high of 54F. With the wind it feels like 19F. Time to get
Don't know if we did end up getting frost this morning. Its still way too dark to tell Time to get the snow blower out this
weekend and get it ready. We have seen accumulating snow hee as early as Halloween.

Other than some household chores not much going on today.

Volleyball game is away tonight, dinner on the road. Last game of the season, so it will be good to get that done.

Have a safe day everyone!
 
Made a run to the big box hardware and picked up:

Tumbleweed Firestarters - gotta Smoke a pork roast today.
A 1x4 to make my new display board edging with. Figured it would be easier to build a new one than expand the old one.
A bag of ice melt to start the season with. I'll need at least one more bag.
Trash Bags

Today will be garage and patio work day, and smoking the small pork roast the wife has left over from carving off hunk to make pork stir fry. Looks like the roast is only 1.6 lbs. She was going to crock it, and I said nope! Smoke that butt! Even if it is small with almost no fat cap.
 
Morning all,

Worked until 8:00p last night trying to diagnose a virtual machine with a vendor. Still not working, so that's been pushed into today along with the Fiber network issue that still isn't resolved. We do have an idea as to what's happening with the fiber, we just need to figure out how best to implement the change.

Jury Duty: I usually get called up when it's the least convenient. I usually show up and find the case is been settled or continued to a later time. I did get into the courtroom once and the defense attorney went into what the case was about, 2 friends drinking and partying, one said something that upset the other and got stabbed by the friend. I was asked directly what I thought about it and replied that being drunk doesn't negate the responsibility for your actions. Lawyer immediately said "I want this juror dismissed"
 


I received an email from Walther's yesterday about a flash sale. I've never purchased one of their Proto engines, but they had the correct period (mid 1960's) Southern Pacific GP35, for $189....DCC & sound. That was just too good of a deal to pass up and I had a coupon for $15 that paid for the shipping.

My fingers are crossed that it looks as good and runs as well as the BLI version.

Also looks like we're going to get our first serious fall storm. The atmospheric river is going to be upon us Friday evening - Sunday.
 
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