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When Machines Attack Or Tech Torments

sunsplash1

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Runaway Heavy Machinery ! Not Fortean but Odd all the same

Railway runaway leaves track managers scratching heads
The Australian Rail Track Corporation is investigating how a piece of heavy machinery managed to roll unmanned for seven kilometres along an Adelaide Hills railway track.

The 15-metre long ballast regulator machine was being used by contractors to settle ballast along the railway line.

At around 10:50am the machine got away from its crew.

It rolled for seven kilometres along the track from Mt Lofty, coming to rest 13 minutes later near Bridgewater.

Rail Track Corporation managing director David Marchant has issued a written statement saying the incident is of "obvious concern."

He says it is not clear how the machine got away from its operators.

The incident has been reported to the state rail safety regulator.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1120667.htm

Seeing as how this happened near where I live I though I'd mention it


:)
 
Revolt of the Machines

Traffic Court Computer Causes Traffic Jam at Courthouse

http://www.tennessean.com/government/archives/04/08/56127001.shtml?Element_ID=56127001

Ticketed motorists jam Metro court
Nearly 1,000 ticketed motorists scheduled for the 9:30 a.m. traffic docket yesterday overwhelm Metro court workers.
Thursday, 08/19/04
By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer


Fire officials keep some out in rain to reduce crowding

Nashville -- A scheduling glitch that put nearly 1,000 people on the 9:30 a.m. traffic docket yesterday overwhelmed Metro court workers and left fire inspectors barring people from court because the building was so packed.

Traffic was chaotic, and dozens of people were forced to stand outside in the rain, barred by Metro fire inspectors who would not let anyone inside the building at the MetroCenter complex until someone came out.

The problem was caused by the Metro Police Department, which schedules the docket when officers write traffic citations, police and court officials said yesterday.

The problem is frustrating to court officials because police aren't consistent with the scheduling and will sometimes overwhelm the court on one docket and have another one with few scheduled appearances. For instance, police figures show there were 1,213 tickets issued to people scheduled to go to court yesterday at 9:30 a.m. There are only two people scheduled to show up today at 12:30 p.m.

The incident prompted a phone call from Judge Casey Moreland, the presiding judge in General Sessions, to Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas.

''The chief was very willing to solve the problem,'' he said.

Inconsistent scheduling by police is not a new problem, but it was made worse yesterday because police have been cracking down on traffic violators, the judge said.

''What we want to do is work with the chief and the (police department's) court appearance division to solve the problems, so the citizens and the prosecutors in these cases aren't having to stand out in the rain because the fire marshal's shut the courthouse down,'' Moreland said.

Court officials have spoken to police about the problem in the past, he said, but not at the highest levels of the department.

Yesterday, a top-ranking police official said the department would work to make sure something similar does not happen again.

''I appreciate Judge Moreland bringing it to our attention, and we're going to take care of it,'' Metro Deputy Chief Honey Pike said. Police, she said, have a computer system that is going to track the court cases.
 
Revolt of the Machines Continues: Unmanned 20-ton Steamroller Invades Property of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&e=5&u=/ap/20040820/ap_on_fe_st/rumsfeld_s_fence

20-Ton Machine Mows Down Rumsfeld's Fence
Fri Aug 20, 5:18 PM

TAOS, N.M. - A 20-ton piece of road machinery mowed down a fence and a couple of trees on property belonging to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the brakes apparently slipped and the machine rolled away.



"It was a freak accident," said Michael Trujillo, director of public works for Taos County.


He said the hydraulic brake system gave way on the smooth drum roller, which was being used Tuesday to pack down the surface on a road project near property owned by Rumsfeld.


The machine took out a 10- to 15-foot section of wooden posts and wire fencing and a couple of trees as it plunged 12 feet down the side of the canyon road before getting hung up in heavy brush.


Trujillo called the damage slight, and said county officials had been in touch with Rumsfeld's caretaker to discuss reimbursement for the damage.


The accident site is a considerable distance from the house on the property.


Rumsfeld has several pieces of land in the area. Two of his properties near El Prado have been the scenes of frequent anti-Bush administration and anti-war protests.


Trujillo — a member of a prominent Democratic family in a county with 13 percent Republican Party registration — said he's heard plenty of jokes about the mishap.


"This was not a political statement," he said with a laugh. "Donald Rumsfeld is an OK guy as far as I'm concerned."
 
Greets

(and apologies if there's already a similar themed thread)

Killer hoover attacks Scotsman
By Lester Haines
Published Friday 24th December 2004 12:10 GMT

An Aberdeen man has won more than £10k in compensation from vacuum cleaner outfit Dyson after one of the manufacturer's machines attempted to total the 59-year-old, the Scotsman reports.

Norman Grant told Aberdeen Sheriff Court how on 3 March 2002, as he was trying to tackle "high cobwebs" at his home, the hose extension "suddenly knocked him down his stairs". Grant suffered wrist and head injuries in the incident, exact details of which are not forthcoming.

Grant came face-to-face with the homicidal machine for a second time when he went to court to plead for damages. In the event, he settled for a unnamed sum understood to be in excess of £10,000.

A Dyson spokeswoman noted: "This was a peculiar and isolated incident. Generali, the insurance company, handled the case."

Dyson may believe that this is a "peculiar and isolated" case of spontaneous and murderous machine intelligence, but we at El Reg know better. Readers are advised to keep all electrical domestic appliances under lock and key this Xmas, lest they take advantage of the drunken Yule debauch to launch a concerted and co-ordinated attack on humanity. Be safe out there. ®

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/24/killer_dyson/

mal
 
I saw that story in the Daily Telegraph some months ago.

The funny thing was, turning the page led to a full-page ad for Dysons!
 
Mal Function said:
Greets

Norman Grant told Aberdeen Sheriff Court how on 3 March 2002, as he was trying to tackle "high cobwebs" at his home, the hose extension "suddenly knocked him down his stairs". Grant suffered wrist and head injuries in the incident, exact details of which are not forthcoming.®

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/24/killer_dyson/

mal
This story keeps you asking for more. :)
How did the hose extension knock him down the stairs? Anyone got more info?
 
May 2, 9:04 PM EDT

Man stuck in machinery uses big toe to call 911

MARY ESTHER, Fla. (AP) -- Even with his arms stuck in a piece of machinery, one northwest Florida man was able to call 911 using his big toe. Police said the unidentified man was at the DRS Technologies building early Thursday morning when he became trapped in a press-like machine that resembles an elevator. The employee was alone.


He shook his cell phone off his belt, kicked off one shoe and used his toe to dial 911. Rescuers used a thick metal bar to pry the machinery off his arms.

He was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital where his condition was not immediately known.

© 2008 The Associated Press.
 
Terror-plunge Qantas jet suffered computer glitch, say investigators
By Richard Shears
Last updated at 9:27 AM on 08th October 2008

A computer glitch may have sent a Qantas jet plunging nose-first thousands of feet seriously injuring passengers, investigators have revealed.

An 'irregularity' has been found in passenger plane's computer equipment, raising speculation that air turbulence was not to blame.
Pilots received a warning on their instruments before the airbus was forced to make an emergency landing in northern Australia.

Twelve passengers were seriously hurt, suffering spinal injuries, broken noses and head trauma when they were smashed against the ceiling of the A330-300 as it suddenly plunged a reported 6,5000ft. :shock:

The director of Australia's Transport Safety Bureau, Julian Walsh, said that the pilots received 'electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system.'

"The aircraft departed normal flight and climbed 300 feet," said Julian Walsh, director of aviation safety with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
"The aircraft did that of its own accord and then, whilst the crew were doing the normal actions in response to that not normal situation, the aircraft then pitched down suddenly and quite rapidly," he said.

Among the British passengers on board as the aircraft flew from Singapore to Perth - before making an emergency landing at Exmouth, 1000 miles north of Perth - were Henry and Doreen Bishop of Oxford.

They described the incident as one of the worst experiences of their lives.

'People were screaming, but they cut off any panic that might have started,' said Mr Bishop, in a reference to the pilot telling everyone to sit down and buckle up.

'I put it down to life,' said Mr Bishop. 'The Titanic hit an iceberg, we hit an air pocket.'

One passenger, Mr Jim Ford, said he thought he was about to die as he watched people being thrown around the cabin.
'It was horrendous, absolutely gruesome, terrible, the worst experience of my life,' he said.

Passenger Ben Cave said that for a few seconds he had feared for his life and had seen 'a bit of a flash before me.'

He said the aircraft had a 'major fall' and another fall shortly after.

'I hit the ceiling but I was OK. I only got a few bruises and
strains. I just remember seeing that the plane was a mess.'

Passengers told of 'mayhem' on board when the plane dropped.

'Children and babies who weren't buckled in hit the ceiling,' said one man.

'The poor little kid next to us, we watched him hit the ceiling and sit there for about three seconds until his dad dragged him back into his seat,' said passenger Mark Bell.

Another passenger, Mike Maxwell said some people had left their seats and were waiting to use the toilets 'so they were the ones who really suffered worse I suppose, and people with young children and so on, babies hitting the ceiling and come down again.'

West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan confirmed today that investigations were continuing into the possibility of 'some sort of systems failure'.

'We're not sure yet. We're still waiting for further information,' he said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... ators.html

Gives a new meaning to 'bouncing babies'....
:shock:
 
For a year and a half tech professionals labored to understand why a Welsh village's entire broadband system failed at 0700 every morning. In the end they discovered it was an old TV set.
An entire village lost its broadband at the same time every day for 18 months. Now we know why

For 18 months, residents of a village in Wales have been mystified as to why their broadband internet crashed every morning.

Now engineers have finally identified the reason: A second-hand television that emitted a signal that interfered with the connection.

A crack team of engineers-turned-detectives have become heroes in the village of Aberhosan after finally finding the source of the problem, according to a press release from Openreach, the company that runs the UK's digital network, published Tuesday.

Staff had visited the village repeatedly and found no fault with the network. They even replaced cables in the area to try and solve the problem, but to no avail.

Then local engineer Michael Jones called in assistance from experts at the Openreach chief engineer team.

After carrying out a plethora of tests, engineers had a theory that the problem could be caused by a phenomenon called single high-level impulse noise (SHINE), in which an appliance emits electrical interference that impacts broadband connectivity.

Engineers used a device called a spectrum analyzer and walked up and down the village "in the torrential rain" at 6 a.m. to see if they could locate an electrical noise, Jones said in a statement.
At 7 a.m. -- "like clockwork" -- the device "picked up a large burst of electrical interference in the village."

"The source of the 'electrical noise' was traced to a property in the village. It turned out that at 7 a.m. every morning the occupant would switch on their old TV which would in-turn knock out broadband for the entire village." ...

FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/uk/old-tv-breaks-broadband-village-scli-intl-gbr/index.html
 
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