Brickbat: Size Matters

SNCF, the French national train service, has ordered almost 2,000 new trains. Unfortunately, officials forgot to measure some of their train stations before making the order. The trains are too large for about 1,300 platforms. The train service now plans to spend 50 million euros to fix those stations.

Comments

[Rev-Match]

Unfortunately, officials forgot to measure some of their train stations before making the order.

How many government agencies does it take to screw in a light-bulb?

[pan fried wylie]

Once you ban light bulbs, none!

[Suthenboy]

Nonsense.

The lightbulb screwing agencies won't disappear just because lightbulbs are banned. They will exist in perpetuity.

[An Innocent Man]

They will screw us instead.

[pan fried wylie]

"how many does it take" != "how many will exist", sheesh

[Raven Nation]

Is this kind of incompetence even surprising any more?

[Toki Wartooth]

"Size Matters"

Hey, listen Oliver, it's not the size that counts, it's how you use it.

[nailzer]

Is there a French word for DOH?

[UnCivilServant]

Department of Health? Hrmmm... Odd question. I tried to look it up but couldn't find it.

If you meant 'Annoyed Grunt', I'm not sure they gave it a word, since it's used for full stops or pauses in sentences dealing with anglophones.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Well, according to the Simpsons Wiki, it's "TOH"!, but the Quebecois still opt for "DOH"!

[Almanian!]

D'uh

[Matrix]

"Well, at least it'll create JERBS!" - Krugderp

[UnCivilServant]

Sadly, that is actual commentary from other sites on this issue.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

When I first heard about this story last week on the radio (Montreal suffers from the same type of incompetence when it comes to its Metro), I went around Al Gore's internet to read more on it. One person online justified it by saying, "it's a great idea so it's okay. We all make mistakes."

What blows my mind about such thinking (like the $500 million lost into the Obamacare abyss) is such people would be the first in line to sue someone for losing their money. They have to learn to understand TAX money IS their money.

[UnCivilServant]

They have to learn to understand TAX money IS their money.

Are you sure they pay taxes?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or little.

Touche.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The French minister of transport described the situation as absurd and a "comic drama". He blamed the previous centre-right administration's decision to separate the rail network from the train network.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Obama's Law: Blame the other guy.

Sir Blamealot's influence is deep.

[pan fried wylie]

Don't give Obama credit for inventing Buck-Passing.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No, but he's efficient at it.

[Atanarjuat]

Oops, I have to hire my brother-in-law's company to renovate a bunch of train stations.

In government, nothing succeeds like failure. We fucked up massively, now give us more money to fix it.

OT - Responses to Rachel Carson Google Doodle

[Libertarian]

Thanks for the Carson link -- it's good.

However, to those ranters against the ban on DDT, I'd like to point out that, number one, Rachel Carson didn't ban anything - she didn't have the power to. Governments and the UN banned DDT. Number two, Rachel Carson has been dead a long time - she's not banning anything today (see point number one).

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fucking hack hacks for an audience of fucking hacks:

The "sharing economy" ? typified by companies like Airbnb or Uber, both of which now have market capitalizations in the billions ? is the latest fashion craze among business writers. But in their exuberance over the next big thing, many boosters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on evading regulations and breaking the law.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

From comments:

"I am pro-sharing platforms"

I'm no longer surprised at how superficial and vapid people really are.

[UnCivilServant]

"I like it if we don't call it capitalism."

[Ted S.]

I'm convinced that Charles Oliver simply amasses a collection of Brickbats and releases them one a day, not minding how out of date they may be.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Or how many times they have been in the Mourning Lynx or the PM Links, etc.

[UnCivilServant]

PM links don't count.

[Doctor Whom]

The French should do what progressives keep telling Americans to do, namely, learn from the train systems that those sophisticated Europeans operate. Oh, wait ....

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*Nods, takes notes*

/Jerry Brown

[Rich]

In the worst cases it has discovered two trains can no longer pass each other on adjacent lines.

They're *high-speed* trains, aren't they? Just increase the velocity a bit.

[UnCivilServant]

I think the answer is to sell off the new trains to another interested party whose rails are properly set up and buy skinny trains with the proceeds of that sale.

[db]

I almost sent this.one in the.other day but.figured.there was.little chance of a hat tip, so I didn't.

[Ludatest]

So crazy. How dare they forgot to measure! Unbelievable! Whaterver measure train stand and train railway is such necessary. On the other hand, railway must be through mechanics testing during building.

Concrete Testing