andyv133

I've used Redmine with the Checklists plugin for this. Each thing that needs to be done is a redmine issue, and each issue can have a checklist. As team members check off items on the list, the issue logs who/what/when and then the user can assign the next person in the chain to the issue. At the time the checklists plugin didn't include templating functionality (not sure if it does now), so I rolled my own using the Redmine REST api and some PHP.

Hardest part was getting managerial support; they really liked paper.

Someone should have taken a step back when they were writing that guide and said "Wait, what? Why is this even necessary?" To think that they're recommending that and some people are accepting that as a real solution makes me think the Reality Distortion Field is alive and well.

Now contrast that to laptops with drain holes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7cvi00OZDM

As someone who has torn down and rebuilt a thinkpad or two, I was appalled when I started looking into his and other videos on MBP repair since I've never owned a MBP. They're clearly designed with entirely different priorities; form over function has been pushed way too far thus sacrificing durability and serviceability. I guess that is okay with some people, but given the cost of the machine, I think its ridiculous. Apple can, and should, do better than this.

To add to this, the FRA regulates track speed based upon condition of the track and some other requirements. Track condition is typically quite good (rail companies really want to avoid derailments), but one of the biggest impediments is grade crossings. The faster the track, the more extensive protection needed to keep trains and cars separate. Table 42 [1] here gives the requirements. Most of the mainline track is Class 4. You'll notice to hit 125 mph every grade crossing needs a full barrier between the car and train. And faster that that, complete grade separation (ie, bridge). US rail was not designed with this in mind and while they close a grade crossing any chance they get, they're still a major hindrance to high speed operation.

[1] https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/xings/com_roaduser/07010/se...

They're working on it, and have been for a while now. The main problem is its just a massive amount of work. They had to develop a fail safe system almost from scratch (Which also has to be interoperable between railroads). And then they have to implement it, and since it requires installing new hardware (antennas, different processors, etc), every couple of miles along the track it is a time consuming process. And then there's all the backoffice infrastructure to manage it, and the railroad-grade hardware to be installed in every locomotive. BNSF alone has 34,000 miles of track, UP a similar amount.

It'll be really neat when its done, and its in operation on some subdivisions, its only a matter of time.

Source: Worked on PTC for BNSF.

And if you've got joe, you can emulate Wordstar with jstar:

https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/

It works well for distraction-free writing.

Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to go through the WWII Museum there. It is huge and extremely well put together, with tons of artifacts (including entire airplanes) and some of the best exhibit design I've ever seen.

Agreed. With traditional tools, I do have a netlist and schematic available for every circuit I work on. I've never reached for the netlist when studying or debugging, it doesn't convey enough information. Sure the netlist technically tells you how it is all connected, but a properly done schematic can give you a deeper understanding of the workings of the device much more quickly due to its layout and utilization of common symbols (instead of part numbers, which are often unhelpful).

All that said, I would love to see this kind of thing as a feature built into a schematic editor.

Depending on the RR, the hot box detector will read out over the radio whether it has found a defect, what axle number it counted it to be on, and the total number of axles counted. It uses a pyrometer to "measure" the temperature of the bearings as they go by, although they aren't particularly accurate and are subject to variances due to environmental conditions. If the detector indicates that it has found a hot bearing, the engineer will stop the train, walk and count back to that axle, hold a special wax crayon on the suspect bearing, and if the wax melts, they have to set out the car. Usually the hot box detector will be associated with a dragger detector as well, and in some places will have other hazard detectors.

Nonetheless, it is what is used on freight lines in the U.S quite successfully, and provides other protections such as broken rail detection.

Detached cars are detected using the FRED/braking system, and secondarily by axle counts given by hot box detectors read over the radio.

Although not all rail systems in all countries use axle counters for presence detection. In the US freight industry we use track circuits - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_circuit

Their metric for determining remoteness is really lacking in my opinion, it doesn't jive at all with what I think many people would consider a remote location. Something along the lines of population density would tend to give a more meaningful idea of remoteness than straight line to the nearest road.

Its not just information age companies, it seems to me that many people in general are ignorant of the concept that a distraction-free work environment is important. I'm at a company that has been around for 50 years, and they still stuff their engineers two at a time into small "offices" (without doors, with concrete floors). I can hear everything.