Just got an email from my brother: One of our friends from school days has recently collapsed and died of a heart attack. This guy, Roger, was a heavy smoker when we knew him – a 50/day man. He may have cut down, but we are told he continued to smoke heavily. Dead at 54. It really peeves me to see people die such unnecessary and avoidable deaths.
I can’t help but notice that the flightsim community at large includes a great many heavy smokers, at least at the cons and other social gatherings I’ve attended. I’ve already attended my first smoking-induced flightsimmer funeral. Wonder how many more there will be.
Seems like our whole sense of risk assessment is out of whack. For example, America has a sophisticated air defence system guarding its coastline against incoming aircraft, and yet it got caught with its pants down on 9/11. Similarly, some people spend hundreds of $ on weapons to defend themselves and their property against the 1:~50,000 chance of a burglary, but are utterly complacent regarding the much greater risk of being zapped prematurely by that time bomb ticking away in their chests.
