Local commentary on Rome airport/train snafu

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I emailed a business colleague in Rome last night, asking for more information about the snafu reported yesterday about the Rome airport running out of jet fuel, caused by a problem at the Rome train station. Here is the answer I got this morning:

"Dear Ed,

"the problem of the gas at the airport and the problem at the station of the train are not related. They unfortunately happened in the same day and this gave perhaps the impression that there was a connection between the two events.

"The problem of the airport seems to be a serious and irresponsible problem of disorganization. The Government just opened an inquiry.

"The problem at the station didn't happened for a case, but it was planned a stop of 24 hours of the station for changing the system of controll of the trains traffic with the goal to better manage it in the future. The new system of controll did not work well because many sensors displaced on the railroad didn't work. Therefore it was not just a 24 hours stop and we still have difficulties. (I am afraid still disorganization!)"

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), October 13, 1999

Answers

Thanks, Ed. Sooner or later we'll have to figure out the difference between temporal and causal relationships.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), October 13, 1999.


See what happens when THEY actually try and fix the problem. Can't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S WHY nothing is getting done. Heard on the radio last night that utility companies in the States are not doing anything, cause they don't even know where to start. See!!!! Wake up Pollies. The system is broken.

Lurk

-- lurk (just@lurking.com), October 13, 1999.


Thanks Ed.

Further confirmation...

Real Reason Rome Airport was without fuel

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001ZKX



-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 13, 1999.


BTW, It IS an example of simultaneous Y2K-like problems and their inter-related synergies contributing to a far larger "whole" problem.

Lessons anyone?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 13, 1999.


Relax - the local squirrels reminded me that that these systems haven't been shutdown for 72 hours yet, so we're still in the "bump in the road" "minor glitch" "local problems" scenario.

Reminds me of the Gary Larson cartoon showing one police-uniformed impala telling the rest of the herd "Just keep move along folks, nothing to see here, just keep moving along...."

... while the lions are feeding on the the "localized impala" who had a "minor evolutionary glitch in his road to impala heaven."

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), October 13, 1999.



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