A Parable

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just install the bloody toilets in every train car? Than every car could be everywhere. After all it's just a toilet with a hole.

Re: A Parable

#6

Post by F_J_H » Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 3:08 PM UTC

sidcool wrote: post #3

I failed to understand the solution :(

Two cars were coupled together correctly (i.e. car with toilet coupled on toilet end to a car without a toilet), and then never decoupled. Each two car couple was then treated as a single unit.

Re: A Parable

#7

Post by shardling » Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 3:09 PM UTC

sidcool wrote: post #3

I failed to understand the solution :(

The solution is to permanently couple pairs of the two car types, such that the restroom is in the middle.

Of course, this is exactly equivalent to just making the cars so that they all have restrooms, but are twice as long...

Re: A Parable

#8

Post by dsr_ » Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 3:12 PM UTC

Hrm. I was annoyed by the cost-savings idea and at each of the partial fixes, and then reasonably pleased by the solution (but I would have been happier if the root cause was fixed.)

So I'm not a manager, and not a programmer... I'm a sysadmin at heart.

Re: A Parable

#9

Post by anonymouz » Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 3:12 PM UTC

sidcool wrote: post #3

I failed to understand the solution :(

You always keep pairs of carriages, connected like this:

  +----------------+ +---------------+
  |               T| |               |
  +----------------+ +---------------+
    O            O     O            O

where 'T' marks a toilet. You build your train from a bunch of those cars, and now it does not matter how you connect them, you'll always have a toilet within a car's range, plus at worst the additional cost of crossing into the next car (since you can't put the toilet between two cars, there's a slight asymmetry).

Re: A Parable

#10

Post by sidcool » Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 3:25 PM UTC

anonymouz wrote: post #9

sidcool wrote: post #3

I failed to understand the solution :(

You always keep pairs of carriages, connected like this: +----------------+ +---------------+ | T| | | +----------------+ +---------------+ O O O O where 'T' marks a toilet. You build your train from a bunch of those cars, and now it does not matter how you connect them, you'll always have a toilet within a car's range, plus at worst the additional cost of crossing into the next car (since you can't put the toilet be…

Perfect, thanks!!