Random newsy bits

[unixronin]

California Assembly Bill 1200 would change California's motorcycle helmet law to allow riders aged 18 and over to choose to ride without a helmet.  Assemblyman John Longville (D-San Bernardino) of California has introduced an amendment to the bill which would make those who choose to ride helmetless automatic organ donors if killed in a crash.

Personally, I don't have too much of an ethical problem with this, as if they receive head injuries in a crash they'll expect medical treatment for their injuries.  You don't want to be an organ donor, wear a frelling helmet.

What's your call?

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Product placement: "Now he says, 'Mom, you named me after a box!' I say, 'Yeah, but it's a good, strong name.' "  Is it just me, or do some of these parents need a good LARTing?  I can't help but wonder how long it'll be before the first lawsuit from Disney for brand dilution.

The Blue Light: Dell and HP have lined up behind the Blu-Ray blue-laser DVD standard, joining Hitachi, LG Electronics, Philips Electronics, Sony and Thomson.  However, the DVD Forum, an alliance of some 220 DVD companies including electronics and media firms, supports the rival technology from Toshiba and NEC.  Well, maybe we'll end up with only two competing blue-laser DVD standards, instead of five for red-laser DVDs... the deciding factor may turn out to be which format Hollywood goes with, as they're expected to support only one.

Small potatoes: And you thought "disk spud" was just geek slang...

Comments

[koyote.livejournal.com]

Why not?

Granted- I'm in favor of universal health care anyway, but if the riders are going to expect medical assistance after refusing the most basic safety precaution, maybe they should also agree to be organ donors as a 'trade'

The idea of riding without a helmet at all is pretty dumb. I suppose it's not my place to say what another person does in general, but this really *does* affect the lives of others- it's like hitting the black clad person darting out across a 50mph highway in the middle of a rainy night- he's dead, and whether it's his fault or not, the driver STILL has to deal with a lifetime of 'I killed someone'.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

That pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject, yes. And my feeling on the whole helmet-law issue -- riding without one is, IMHO, ass-stupid, but I fully support the right of stupid people to select themselves out of the gene pool provided they do so without taking others with them.