Reverting to name-calling is no way to present an argument.
Unless you are a three-year-old.
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I wonder if there might actually be some very subtle psychological influence to being surrounded by horrified little faces all the time.
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Je suis H. Christ.
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I believe it was the private Rent-A-Cops that were the initial âTHEREâS A CRIME BEING COMMITED HEREâ claxons that refused to consider reasonable circumstances because they get paid for every person whose hauled in under their watch (quotas and all)
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We arenât post-greed yet.
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So if you were walking along a public sidewalk and came across a public potable water fountain, in the absence of any signage youâd not drink from it because your assumption would be that it wasnât there for public consumption? Really?
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If I come upon something like a pavement or outlet, it might not be clear if itâs private or public for me to use.
I, too, generally assume that things like pavements and sidewalks are all owned by private industry. Thatâs why I walk in the street.
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Especially on Clayton St. 
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At our (older building) library, we have outlets explicitly for patrons to plug in their laptops and smartphones while they are using them. We have forbidden a number of outlets because plugging in your device would potentially strain a circuit, run a cord across an aisle, or cause you to sit in the aisle and block it. We limit the type of devices patrons can plug in because otherwise we have people plugging in almost anything that requires electricity, including coffeemakers and electric can openers (I have seen both). We canât accommodate everyoneâs electrical needs; itâs not ideal, but itâs what we have.
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Depends⌠do I get to be white in this scenario?
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(putting on pedantic hat)
They do no such thing. This is AC - the electrons just jiggle back and forth across the contact patches between the plugs pins and the receptacle.
(putting on yet another pedantic hat)
And there is no positive or negative pin in a 110VAC receptacle - just a âhotâ one (carries the alternating positive and negative voltage) and a âneutralâ one (should be safe to touch at any time, unless your wiring is screwed up).
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The random passer-byâs recharging station. Who knew Clayton Street would be the future shape of heaven-on-earth?
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Have you ever pulled into a metered parking space for a minute while, letâs say, to drop a letter in a mailbox? If you did not place a coin in the meter, are you stealing? I found a quarter a few weeks back on the sidewalk. I picked it up. I did not post any signs, and did absolutely nothing what so ever to try to determine the true owner of the quarter. Am I a thief? I recently paid a fair sum to replace the cement in front of my house. Everyday people walk across it, scratching off miniscule bits, so in 50 years or so it will need to be replaced again. Wheres a cop when you need one?
And yes I will report that 25 cent windfall on my 2015 taxes.
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Some businesses are okay with it.
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/25/taking-a-fullsized-c.html
I once locked my bike to a bike rack in front of a shop on public property, even there was no sign telling me it was OK. True story.
I once parked in a parking spot on private property next to a store, despite no sign saying it was OK. I even used the electrical outlet to plug in my carâs block heater.
I once sat on a bench in front of a store, too.
Iâve even been known to use open and unlocked wi-fi connections in public⌠even those that donât have gateways letting you know they are OK with using their wi-fi so long as you agree to their conditions.
In other words, I am so a three-year old.
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If this business doesnât want anyone to use its private equipment located on public property. Equipment that is widely (Iâd say universal, except youâre being what I can only suspect is purposefully obtuse and trollish) perceived as a public utility, they better put up signage, or lock the damn outlet.
Fershitsake, this is Portland, not Galtâs Gulch. Iâm pretty sure people would get sick of living in Galtâs Gulch anyway, seeing as thereâd be no such thing as public infrastructure, and everyone would be charging everyone else for goddamn sunlight, and air, and rainfall, and the privilege to hear oncoming traffic, since privately owned vehicles are generating the noise.
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Apropos: The Theft of Smell. (There are about a bajillion versions of this folktale)
If only Portland had a wise judge. >.<
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Thereâs one that I donât remember the details of precisely, but it was about a man promising to survive on a mountain for a fortnight without fire, in order to be granted marriage to his lover. The woman climbed up a mountain across the valley and would light a huge bonfire every night, and the guy would be âwarmed at the sight from afarâ
The womanâs father said it was cheating, but the judge ruled in the guyâs favor.
I think it might have been a Buddhist legend?
1 Like
