Update: CSX train derailment

Sun Jul 22 14:45:03 UTC 2001

On Sat, 21 Jul 2001, Jamie Bowden wrote:

> On Sat, 21 Jul 2001 up at 3.am wrote:
> 
> > > On Sat, 21 Jul 2001, Roeland Meyer wrote:
> 
> > > :Have you checked available rights of way lately? They haven't changed much
> > > :for quite a while. Telecom has not really any ability to build dedicated
> > > :bridges for telcom fibre. It uses existing facilities wherever possible.
> > > :Following the paths of least cost/resistance, this pretty much determines
> > > :that rivers and bridges become choke-points. The only real alternatives are
> > > :microwave towers (a cost/benefit argument I won't touch, even with your
> > > :ten-foot pole).
> 
> > I would think that if fiber can be run across oceans without using tunnels
> > or bridges, that it could be run across some rivers much the same way, no?
> 
> Hey, genius, I got a question for you.  How were planning to get to that
> [river|stream|lake|etc]shore?  The rights of way lead to existing bridges
> and tunnels.  Buying a contiguous right of way in America is exorbitantly
> expensive, if it's even possible, which I highly doubt.  If you're already
> at a bridge, tunnel, whatever, (because hey, that's where the existing
> right of way you're using takes you) why wouldn't you use it?  

I didn't think we were discussing right-of-way issues, so much as diverse
redundancy issues at "choke points" (see above).  If everybody's fiber
goes through the same tunnel, and the tunnel has a bad fire, that can
lead to nasty outages...wait, it just *did* that, didn't it (not that
this situation was even a river, but I digress)?  Anyway, it would seem
that unless you bury it fairly deeply under the riverbed, it ain't such a
great idea.  There goes my Mensa application...

> Your .sig lists you as CEO, yet you seem to lack the basic knowledge that
> corporate officers are beholden to their shareholders, doing what's cheap
> right now vs. what makes sense over time.  The forces driving major
> telcos are many, and long range planning at the expense of today's stock
> price is not one of them.

It also lists me as Janitor, are you going to now attack my dusting
technique?  I'll have you know that I can empty a trash can with the best
of them!

It might also clue you in as to how many "shareholders" I'm beholden to.

James Smallacombe		      PlantageNet, Inc. CEO and Janitor
up at 3.am							    http://3.am
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