Leaning Tower of Dallas

A wee bit of drama in Dallas, Texas this
week after a less-than-textbook demolition 

The locals are having a blast...

Here's my favourite story:

"As the infamous wrecking ball continues to tap away at the Leaning Tower of Dallas, Jerrel Sustaita is there to paint its progress. Since last week, the Dallas artist has stood before his easel outside the slanting building, painting acrylic impressions of the scene... When the tower finally falls, Sustaita will move on to another project, but he said he hopes his miniature art exhibition will find its way into a museum gallery. Although he’ll be printing copies of the paintings for sale, he said he wants the original pieces to remain together as a testament to the historic Leaning Tower of Dallas. “I’m not really interested in a situation where people buy it and take it off the wall,” he said. “I’d like it to stay up for a little while just for people to reminisce.”..." [read the full story on dmagazine].

Not your best demolition company ad...

Qui tacet consentit

Sir Thomas More (1527) by Hans Holbein the Younger

Qui tacet consentit

Ah, Latin.... This was the email signature from an inquiry to a For Sale ad I'd posted on Craigslist, and I was curious. Ot course, I turned to Wikipedia...

In a nutshell: Consensus is assumed when there's no evidence of disagreement.

Qui tacet consentire videtur, ubi loqui debuit ac potuit (He who is silent, when he ought to have spoken and was able to, is taken to agree) — Latin proverb

AKA if you disagree, the onus is on you to say so.

The maxim is "Qui tacet consentit": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented. — Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) in A Man for All Seasons

I actually found all this on a resource page for Wikipedia edits, who apparently go mad with both editing and silence about their edits. I found the following of particular interest:

Warnock's dilemma, named for its originator Bryan Warnock, is the problem of interpreting a lack of response to a posting in a virtual community. The term originally referred to mailing list discussions, but has been applied to Usenet posts, blogs, Web forums, and online content in general. The dilemma arises because a lack of response does not necessarily imply that no one is interested in the topic, but could also mean for example that readers find the content to be exceptionally good (leaving nothing for commenters to add). [more here]

Dancer on my rooftop

CFAX pic

So, all this went down where I live. She may well have danced over my rooftop. Definitely heard the "explosion" bang.

"A woman is in custody after an incident which began with a break and enter in the 1300-block of Broad Street this morning. On Thursday, February 6th, 2020, shortly after 1:00 a.m., Patrol officers were called to the 1300-block of Broad Street for a report of an alarm at a business. Officers arrived on scene within minutes and observed the woman suspect, who had broken into a business at that location. The woman fled the scene via rooftop. A K9 unit was deployed to assist in locating the suspect. The woman then broke into two separate suites in a nearby multi-unit residential building in the 1300-block of Douglas Street. The woman barricaded herself inside the second suite. During the incident, the woman discharged a fire extinguisher and pulled the fire alarm. Many building residents were evacuated. The Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) attended the scene. Negotiation attempts were unsuccessful, and GVERT officers took the woman into custody approximately four hours after the initial call for service. A loud distraction device was used during the arrest, which has led to reports of an explosion in the area. ..." [continue reading VIC PD's story].

Great speedy and effective response by Vic PD and the K9 team. Still feel safe living in my hood.

02-02-2020