Heck, I'm starting to feel like disasters follows me around. I was in Las Vegas today for a little R&R, and the entire city came to a halt because of a few inches of rain. 3 inches in one day, when Las Vegas normally gets 4 inches total a year. the brand new hotel had water pouring through leaks in its roof, and the fire alarm was sounding as I left for the airport. But the casino never missed a roll of the dice. Instead of saying people in the north/south/east/west don't know how to handle heat/snow/rain/wind, can we look for some lessons we can learn. [Besides, stay far away from what ever city Sean is visiting this week.] During the east coast heat wave, there were many different incidents. Let me try to summarize a few items. 1. Public Relations/Communication breakdown increased the frustration many customers felt. 2. Planning estimates didn't show the peak demand would go as high as it did. 3. Systems running near/at capacity are under more strain (Duh?), which further reduces your reserve margin because something is going to break. 4. While fixing one problem, other problems can happen. 5. Politicians look at everything as an opportunity. -- Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO Affiliation given for identification not representation