Random photos, comics, etc.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

The problem with the FAA is that in most cases the equipment is very old. 15 to 20 years is a very long time for a computer. That was the case with the radar systems, but those have since been upgraded.

[Leo Enticknap]

That's what I remember, too. The FAA screw-up was either because there were insufficient safeguards built into the system, or person responsible failed to use them, to prevent a minor error from taking an entire, nationally mission critical, IT system down. Southwest's was because their system simply had not been designed and built to be able to do what was asked of it: figure out the logistics of having to cancel thousands of flights at once, and move aircraft and their crew to the right places for when the weather enabled operations to restart. It could do that for a few dozen, but not almost their entire operation, which was what that extreme weather event threw at it. In the end, they had no other option but to "push ctrl+alt+delete on the entire airline," as one commentator put it, pick a day in the future to restart, cancel all revenue-earning operations until then, and move specific planes and people to where the timetable needed them at the start of that day.

In some ways the FAA vulnerability is more worrying, because it begs the questions as to what other large IT systems we depend on for everyday life to function could be brought down purely by a junior or mid-career tech not paying 100% attention during a maintenance task. Southwest's was essentially the same thing as the complaints that are thrown at Britain's railways when there is serious snow in London every 4-5 years and the commuter lines are all f****d up: sure, they could invest billions in buying and maintaining snow clearing equipment, but what would the traveling public prefer - paying more for their tickets all the time, or accepting that once every 4-5 years, there will be a few days on which it'll be difficult to get into the office?

[Randy Stankey]

I thought that happened because some idiot was working on a live database without backing up his files, first, and borked the system.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

We know from Southwest's difficulties over Christmas that their IT systems can be a little, shall we say, idiosynchratic!

They likely know where I'm able to sit on the plane because I paid extra for that. I bought the early boarding supplement, because it guarantees that I won't have to gate check my carry-on. When traveling for work, if my checked bag (if I'm going to be OOT long enough to need to bring one) goes missing, then it's an annoyance, but not a tragedy: I can always buy some cheap and nasty clothes from the local Walmart on arrival. They won't get me onto the runway at National Fashion Week, but they would prevent me from being arrested for public nudity. But if I have to gate check the bag containing my laptop and other essentials and that goes missing, I'm dead in the water at my destination. At $25 per leg, a regular Southwest ticket plus that still usually works out significantly cheaper than what I would need to buy from the other airlines to be guaranteed to board early enough not to have to gate check my carry-on.

Don't forget the much larger and nearly complete failure of the FAA computer system which caused problems for nearly every airline. This happened before the Southwest debacle. It happened because some routine maintainance person had left out a tiny bit of code. At least that's what the FAA claimed. Not sure why a technician would be working with the code at all in that sort of system....

[Leo Enticknap]

Interesting also that they know where you'll be able to sit on the plane but do not know how long the trip is.

We know from Southwest's difficulties over Christmas that their IT systems can be a little, shall we say, idiosynchratic!

They likely know where I'm able to sit on the plane because I paid extra for that. I bought the early boarding supplement, because it guarantees that I won't have to gate check my carry-on. When traveling for work, if my checked bag (if I'm going to be OOT long enough to need to bring one) goes missing, then it's an annoyance, but not a tragedy: I can always buy some cheap and nasty clothes from the local Walmart on arrival. They won't get me onto the runway at National Fashion Week, but they would prevent me from being arrested for public nudity. But if I have to gate check the bag containing my laptop and other essentials and that goes missing, I'm dead in the water at my destination. At $25 per leg, a regular Southwest ticket plus that still usually works out significantly cheaper than what I would need to buy from the other airlines to be guaranteed to board early enough not to have to gate check my carry-on.

[Randy Stankey]

176 is one more than 175.

In the same way, bars in Pennsylvania are required to close at or before 2:01 a.m.

[Harold Hallikainen]

I was thinking that perhaps it's a round number in km, but it's not (283 km). An even 300 km would be 186 miles, which is sort of close. Maybe it's an even number of light-years.

Interesting also that they know where you'll be able to sit on the plane but do not know how long the trip is.

[Leo Enticknap]

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I wonder why 176 miles is the threshold above which it is permissible to get yourself wankered at 30,000 feet? Seems like a strange and arbitrary number.

That having been said, it's news to me that Southwest even operates flights that short, unless they are on routes that go over mountains or water for which making the same trip on the ground would take a lot longer, even for allowing for airport formalities. The shortest Southwest flight I've ever taken was from Ontario, CA, to Las Vegas, which is around a 220 mile drive. It's airborne for about 30 minutes. Once you factor in getting to and from airports and the formalities at airports, from home to standing in line for my connection at LAS took slightly longer then driving from home to an address on The Strip (assuming clear traffic). I have a hard time believing that anyone in their right mind would want to fly such a short distance point to point.

[Jim Cassedy]

-- - - - - - New Spy Balloon Spotted Over Kansas - - - - -
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[Frank Cox]

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[Randy Stankey]

The telephone number "555-1212" is for telephone number information. If you're over forty, you'll probably catch that instantly.

The telephone area code "404" is for Atlanta, GA but it's also the HTTP error code for "Not Found." You'll probably only catch that one if you're under forty.

So, if the article is, indeed, real, it's more like 1,500 men ended up talking to a this woman, instead:

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[Leo Enticknap]

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I knew that Atlanta was a somewhat cosmopolitan place ... but bestiality?!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

[Mark Gulbrandsen]