March 29, 2006

• There is no way in this deal that YOU could be an asshole. The guy that dropped it and didn't come over to inform you and apologize is the asshole! Don't let any time pass, take the camera to him, show him the damage, and ask for $$$!
• That's a sticky situation. I don't think there's any way to avoid some kind of confrontation, unless you want to pay for the repairs yourself. I hope you have a witness?
• You say he is the spouse of a *friend* - might you making accusations and expecting money endanger the friendship? My guess would be yes.
• Ralph- I don't think Canadian-ness is rubbing off on you at all!
• Dropping someone's camera and not telling the owner outweighs asking the breaker to man up and fix it on my asshole meter. I'm going to assume that since the jerk and your friend didn't feel the need to inform you(Hell, he probably didn't tell his spouse, and thinks he's scott free), it'll be hard to resolve this. Did anyone else see him drop it? Maybe they can speak to your friend and explain how they saw jerkspouse drop the camera, and how the next day Mandyman mentioned that her camera was mysteriously broken?
• This is a matter of accepting responsibility for one's actions, not of politeness. What would you teach your children to do in a case like this - ask for justice, or be meek and fearful of confrontation and just swallow the loss? My Canadian rebuttal in two words: Don Cherry.
• Cherry point taken!
• The next day, I went to use the camera and the plastic part of the control panel on the back had separated from the body of the camera Is it possible he didn't realize that he broke it? You should definitely talk to him, but take this into consideration.
• * Did the dropper realize the damage the camera sustained, and didn't inform you? If I crash somebody else's valuable possesion, the decent thing to do is fess up and try to fix things somehow... unless I'm feeling an asshole that day and owner didn't saw me, in that case I'll claim to benone the wiser. Mhh. Witnesses would be needed, of course.
• My Canadian rebuttal in two words: Don Cherry. Ya see, ya get these guys, and they go around droppin' cameras and whatnot, and the guy's probably a European...now don't be sendin' letters and stuff over that,I'm just sayin' is all...and they don't tell nobody, see?, and they think they can get away with that stuff 'cause the ref ain't lookin, right? Anyways, that's why ya gotta send Tie Domi in and set things straight, cause my buddy Tie, he knows how to teach guys like that a lesson, ya see?...
• You; "Hey, I noticed you accidently knocked my camera off a chair at that dinner party last night, and turns out it's broken". *pregnant pause...give him a chance to save face...* Him; "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that! How much to fix it?" Yay! or... You; "Hey, I noticed you accidently knocked my camera off a chair at that dinner party last night, and turns out it's broken". *longer pregnant pause...irresponsible prick...* You; So yeah, I'll get it fixed and give you the receipt for the repairs. So...was that dinner yummy or what? Talk about it in a breezy tone, as a done deal; don't say, "I think maybe..." at any point. You're telling him what you saw, and how he is going to fix it. If that doesn't work, send in Samuel L. Jackson.
• I doubt he realized he had done anything, though it was a loud thud. I really wish had jumped up at that moment to check it and make sure it was ok. I want to tread lightly because this involves classmate I'll be interacting with often for the next few years and she gets on my nerves occasionally as it is.
• Save time. Kill her now.
• moneyjane's solution is exactly how I see it too. Right down to Samuel L. Jackson. Camera! On the motherfucking floor!
• It sounds like a classic Seinfeld premise.
• I can't tell from what you've said if he actually saw what he'd done and just picked it up and put it back on the chair, hoping that nobody had seen him do it? Or did he see that he'd knocked it off but just walked away, hoping that nobody had seen it happen? Or did he not even realize that he'd knocked it off the chair? How I would approach him would depend on which scenario took place (ie. was he being sneaky about it or clueless?).
• It sounds like a classic Seinfeld premise. Exactly ... so just do the opposite of what George would do!
• He picked it up to move it and dropped it, picked it up again and put it somewhere else. It was in a slipcover sorta thing that says Konica Minolta on it. I don't know him that well, but he's always come across as a nice guy. What I'll probably do it take it to the store to see how much the repair will cost and go from there.
• Give us his email address. We'll all email him and shame him into paying up. We can make a webpage on it. Expose him like the dog poop girl.
• Or a variation of moneyjane's scenario: "Hey, remember when you accidentally knocked my camera off the table the other night?" (This makes it so it's already agreed that you both know he did it, rather that the more confrontational, "I saw you do it".) Well, it does need to be fixed, so I'll just take it in and bring you the receipt, ok? (Helpful and nonconfrontational, but at the same time leaves no question as to the fact that he should pay.) If he doesn't take this opportunity to save face, he really is a colossal prick. It would help to make sure someone else saw it happen, in case he claims innocence. At this point you need to decide whether you want to risk a more strained relationship with your classmate.
• Just drop it. hahahahahahahaha ...sorry
• Well, at the very least you can ask politely if you can give him the receipt. If he's an asshole and refuses to pay it, you'll know not to leave anything valuable in their presence -- and it'll bug them knowing that you have one up on 'em. Should they have a dinner party, put a nasty ding in their highly polished china cabinet.
• I gotta chime in and probably tick everybody off, but leaving a camera in the seat of a chair is probably asking for it to be sat on, knocked over or something just like that. I think you have to bear part of the responsibility for this. It could have been put on a table or somewhere where it was more visible and less likely to get knocked down (anybody might have bumped into the chair and sent it falling, too.) If it was in a case with a strap, it could have been hung over the back of the chair, or from a coat peg, or somewhere else less vulnerable. My verdict would be if it's not too expensive, pay yourself. If it's a lot, offer to split it with him using moneyjane's suggestion.
• That's what I was thinking: how much is the fix gonna cost? Maybe the case needs just to be closed tightly with a satisfying SNAP! or, like so much consumer electronics today, the repair is as expensive as a new one. And in case Jackson is not available, consider commisioning MoneyJane to collect payment. Or Medusa. I her she's good at flogging...
• It's a shame you didn't get a photo of him dropping your. . . oh, sorry. snark
• No satisfying snap, no duct tape maneuver for that matter will fix it. Something plastic has broken inside, I presume. The chair was tucked away in a corner, hence my reason for putting my shit on it. Extra people arrived later in the evening, the chair was needed. The rest follows as already described. There is enough grey area in all of this that I posted here because I was unsure about what to do. Given my options at the time, it seemed like the best out of the way place, but that doesn't really matter at this point.
• It was an accident. It was a mistake. The guy may believe that nothing broke, and not be a jerk. Give him a chance. These things happen.
• Mandyman, I'm sorry. I didn't realise anything broke when I dropped it. I'll be happy to fix it for you.
• wow... tough spot, mandyman. here's my armchair verdict: dude is 90-95% negligent mandyman is 5-10%, you know, just because compensatory damages should be paid accordingly. obviously, no one did anything "wrong", per se. these things happen, right? really, though, the tricky part imho is actually asking for the money. unless you're, like, a vegas bookie or something. but i'm confident mandyman's diplomatic skills are up to the task. good luck!
• Just let it go. You said the dude seemed to be "a nice guy". If he hasn't volunteered to pay it, bringing it up just makes for embarrasment for all. So i would eat the cost and just be more careful in the future. AND THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING CANADIAN! CHRIST! *stomps off*
• Camera transporter is negligent. He chose to pick it up and move it elsewhere. The problem wasn't where it was, it was just fine there, the problem occurred in transit. That said, why are people so casual about the placement of their expensive and fragile goodies? My old roommate kept putting his first cellphone in impossibly precarious places. When questioned about this, no I scolded him, he assured me that the manufacturers would know people would be dropping them all the time so surely his cellphone would be perfectly fine. It was designed to take such harsh handling of course! A couple months later he was naturally heading out to go shopping for his second cellphone. I was right. And I was also right when I had earlier reminded him that replacement cellphone without new contracts were expensive. He figured since the first one was free the replacement couldn't cost more than fifty bucks. Now, back to the camera... Likely it's not just in need of a fix. It may just need a replacement. Modern cameras, and most small electronics, are often cheaper to replace than repair. Cameras are such a jumbled mess of tightly packed bits inside that there's no practical way for someone to open it up and do much anything to it. A friend cracked her view screen and I figured it couldn't be too bad. But the exploded diagram showed there'd be about a zillion steps to getting at it, and the replacement screen would have been nearly $100. An insane price for the screen on a $300 camera. But that's what it'd have taken from the one source I could find it at. So good luck. With getting compensated and having it be a reasonable amount and therefore easier to get recouped for.
• Oil and water -- Canadians and cameras, clearly.
• Cameras are our implacable enemy. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in Winnipeg, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air with our vast Canadian Goose Airforce eager to shit mercilessly on your golf courses, we shall defend our vast northern empire, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this vast northern empire or a large part of it were subjugated and out of beer, then our Empire beyond the southern border, armed with virtually all the absurdist wit in Hollywood, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the Smarties-craving talent behind much of your primetime animated sarcasm, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and rags you relentlessly at any and all occasions.
• Keep in mind the behavioural tendencies that come into play in a situation like this. In my experience, when people are confronted after the fact, rather than in the moment, they are much more likely to act defensively or in denial. (Perhaps it's because they've had more time to rationalize the blame in their mind.) This doesn't change the moral logic of the situation one iota, but it does make it more likely to blow up into a confrontation. You're going to have to judge whether this is someone likely to be overly defensive, or deny culpability. If so, is this someone with whom such a confrontation is more trouble than it's worth. (i.e. some close friend of your family with whom an argument will cause all sorts of family tension of greater cost than the value of the camera to yourself) MoneyJane sounds right on the money if you decide to pursue it. Now you have to decide whether to pursue it.
• So -- what happened?
• we shall fight in Winnipeg *grabs hot cup of Tim Horton's, assumes kiba-dachi*
• I see your kiba-dachi... And i raise you a gedan-barai! And a box of Tim-bits!
• I interrupt this thread with some much-needed translation for our English-speaking friends who do not speak Canadian. 1. The late Tim Horton, a hockey player, started a donut and coffee shop franchise about 30 years ago that is unbelievably popular in Canada today. Ironically, it is now owned by Americans (Wendys). 2. Tim Bits are donut holes and are what you bring to work in the morning if you were a real asshat to fellow employees the previous day. 3. Don Cherrry defies description. 4. Storeybored's approach, unbelievably, is the norm here. You can actually make a left turn in Canada, oncoming drivers see your turn signal and stop, they want you to have a nice day. I love this fucking place.
• *applies shuto-uchi to rim of coffee cup, wins an SUV*
• I'd feel awkward having Tim's Bits for breakfast. Uh.
• But they stay crunchy in milk! And Koko, that was my coffee cup! Gimme my SUV!
• lawsuit!
• They just call them donut holes over here, you fancy-shmancy french froggy friggits.
• Where I come from, dey wuz called Munchkins.
• ♫♪ we are the munchkins and we're mad on jaffa cakes ♪♫♪ it was never clear to me whether it was, in fact, the jaffa cakes that were responsible for the munchkins's insanity. and jaffa cakes taste ever so slightly of sick