A Conversation with Elizabeth
1998
After hours

From:          Elizabeth
To:            mixson1@acm. org
Date:          Thu, 19 Mar 1998 15:20:31 PST
Subject:       After hours
 
I'm still at work because I came in late. Even though I'm salaried and don't punch a clock, I have to work a 40 hour week, so from time to time I make small adjustments in my usual schedule, but nobody needs help right now. Last week I found out that Harvard Law School had launched an online cyber-school program and started their first free course. I found out too late to register, but today I registered for the newsletter from their Internet and Society Center, so I will find out about future courses. The current one is on Privacy in Cyberspace. I'm not particularly leaning to cyber-law, but since the information is relevant to my work here, I can legitimately be engaged in it while here, as opposed to illegitimately, which I supposed classifies this letter. Even if you are not registered for the class, you can access the materials, but are not allowed to join in the discussion. I also found a Cyber-Law journal, and you yourself might find some of the articles interesting. There is an archive of materials. Basically it has been an uneventful work day, although I had some interesting projects. It will probably take me an hour to get home since I will be leaving in the post 5 o'clock traffic. I've been trying to snag an April Wired, as I seem to recall the March issue came out very early in February, but so far it has not been on the stands. I haven't sent in for a subscription yet, but plan to do so very soon. Perhaps I'll do that to break up the drive home.
I was shaken yesterday on the way home from work because a very bad accident happened right in front of me. I had never watched an accident happen. What was so frightening was that the cars reacted just like billiard balls do, except with billiard balls, at least one is stationary. I suppose if the speed, direction, and weight of the cars, etc. were all known, it would be possible to actually predict which way they would "spin" out of control. Both cars were white, and even though I watched it happen, I couldn't tell you which white car ended up where as both spun so drastically out of control. A UPS truck driver was waiting at the redlight, minding his own business, and one of the cars spun and careened right into the front of his truck, smashing it up. Alabama does not have an obligatory Good Samaritan law and since neither driver fortunately appeared hurt, I did not stop. The law is strange (here at least). You can drive by without any legal consequences, but if you do stop, at least in Alabama, legal consequences are created. If I would have stopped, I would have been obligated to stay until "improved" help arrived, up until which time I would have been obligated to render assistance with reasonable prudence. The theory is that a person who stops and is observed by others to have stopped, may then actually PREVENT others from stopping and helping, and those people might actually have been "more qualified" to render assistance, which by your own stopping you "prevented." Anyway, I didn't stop. Which I will do now. Elizabeth

Late Mail