From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Metro Accident
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:07:51 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

"Michael Walsh" <mjw at press.jhu.edu> wrote:
> "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> Since it appears that most subscribers won't bother to reply

> But if they were one of the dead, they wouldn't be.

The idea is for the living to reply.  But from the response, are we
to conclude that 40 of the 44 people on this list -- everyone except
you, Tamar, Stan, and myself -- were among the 9 people killed?

It's easier just to list those nine, so I did so.

> Out of curiosity, if you were one of the dead, would your body be
> identified?  Or listed as "unknown due to lack of identification"?

My fingerprints are on file.  Plus, I have a thumb drive on my
keyring, which is always in my pocket.  It contains *all* my email,
incoming and outgoing, dating back 35 years, plus millions (!) of
saved newsgroup messages, web pages, and blog postings, the complete
archives of this list, PRSFS's list, and the old SF-LOVERS list, a
complete backup of the WSFA website as of late 2005, work-related
material, recreational math and programming, my complete spam filters
and procmail logs, my own website and its hits log, and much, much
more.  And it's never more than a week behind.

Do you think most Metro riders carry ID?  Why?  Many of them didn't
drive to get to the station.  Most of them aren't on their way to or
from a trip overseas, or even a trip to a military base.

One good thing about this disaster is that many people are avoiding
the front car of each train, so it's usually possible to get a seat
there.  I'm not worried about the risk.  Twelve passenger fatalities
in over thirty years, with more than half a million trips per day is
pretty good odds.  Each Metro trip costs me less than one second of
life expectancy on average.

Odd factoid:  Per passenger mile rather than per trip, the safest
vehicle ever is the Space Shuttle.