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I'm sure they can deal with it.

Looks extreme

There should be Zero Tolerance for the first image. (Cox)

Is the first one Celsius or Fahrenheit, I wonder... Some inert gases should be falling as precipitation.

I live in Baltimore and the Walgreens marquee here says the same thing.

There's a good explanation for the first one: See, the temperature is stored in a 16-bit signed integer, and it was actually 65,340 degrees outside, so it wrapped around.

I blame global warming.

Fahrenheit, I believe.

Cox is a US based company.

Though, I have seen some signs (usually those near the Canadian border) helpfully put up temperatures in both units to satisfy everyone.

I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong with those temperature things though - they're not magic numbers or signs of overflow like other errors...

There has been earlier WTFs related to high temperature forecasts, like this http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/I_Guess_I_0x27_ll_Stay_In.aspx.

I thought they were due to corrupted data, and now they turn out be real?

Worf:

I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong with those temperature things though - they're not magic numbers or signs of overflow like other errors...

Probably damaged hardware. Most digital thermometers work by measuring the resistance of a strip of metal, usually a tiny platinum wire. If the wire inside the temperature probe or the leads connecting the probe to the base station were damaged you could have inaccurate readings.

At 506F any solder used interior to that display is going to melt (well before 500F, in fact) and drip around, causing some exciting short-circuits. It's probably only around 375F, and the data got corrupted by the short.

Fools!

It's clearly the result of someone putting a portable gas stove in the bottom of the equipment rack.

It's clearly because they wanted to have the first and only Walgreens sign that displays temperature in Rankine, but it displays "F" instead of "R" because several pixel LEDs died.

Or so my theory goes.

506 Rankine = 46.33 degrees Fahrenheit

chris:

Worf:

I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong with those temperature things though - they're not magic numbers or signs of overflow like other errors...

Probably damaged hardware. Most digital thermometers work by measuring the resistance of a strip of metal, usually a tiny platinum wire. If the wire inside the temperature probe or the leads connecting the probe to the base station were damaged you could have inaccurate readings.

Even so, that's sloppy code. There are things called "sanity checks" - for instance:

if ( (temp > sensible max) or (temp < sensible min) )

{

    set a diagnostic code

    print alternate message("Have a nice day!")

}

You can even go more detailed than that, for instance, monitor the rate of change of the measured value, look for discontinuities, all that sort of stuff. Input validation isn't that difficult a thing to do, even for a $10 marquee temperature sensor.

I just call it pure laziness if you don't take the time to validate your inputs and behave sensibly when they are wrong.

I think that second photograph must have been taken somewhere near me.

/me wishes he had air conditioning

I believe the 1st one was caused by a typeK thermocouple that got yanked from the meter, displays about -196

The second one clearly says 50.6, just forgot the decimal...

Boring.


As if no one has ever seen a broken temperature sign.

Next up, a lightbulb that won't light.

unklegwar:

Next up, a lightbulb that won't light.

Wait they make those? Where can I get one?

unklegwar:

Boring.


As if no one has ever seen a broken temperature sign.

Next up, a lightbulb that won't light.

Hey, I have a pen that won't write. Should I send in a picture?

The real WTF is that Americans still use Fahrenheit.

Nice. Somewhere I've got a picture of the university marqee surrounded by snow and saying -273°C, but I suspect that was just a prank.

The Walgreen's near me displays the -196F temperature as well.

I'm relieved to hear it's Fahrenheit. -196°F is only -127°C.

Now if it were -196°C, or -321°F, that would be cold.

Sweet! A WTF where I live... That cox sign is in Tulsa, OK... it was saying that on Sunday when I went by.

Worf:

Fahrenheit, I believe.

Cox is a US based company.

Though, I have seen some signs (usually those near the Canadian border) helpfully put up temperatures in both units to satisfy everyone.

Every time-and-temperature sign I've seen does both: if it's a one-line display, it goes "time -> temperature in F -> temperature in C"; if it's a two-line display, the top line always shows the time, and the bottom alternates between degrees F and degrees C.

For me the real wtf is a drive through pharmacy? Given how many times I have to repeat my order at a drive-thru restaurant and how loud you have to get, that's got a load of potential to be embarrassing..

"Sorry, could you repeat your order again please?"

"YES, I SAID I'M HERE TO PICK UP SOMETHING TO DEAL WITH MY CRABS"

The real WTF is using Farenheit in the first place.

The real Real WTF(tm) is the damn near unreadable typeface used for the "Center at Perry Hall" bit. Especially on that brick background. Any bets on how many accidents have occurred as a result of people trying to decipher that mess?

if ( (temp > sensible max) or (temp < sensible min) )

{

    set a diagnostic code

    print alternate message("GAK! Run you fools!")

}

Updated message per new requirements.

Shinobu:

The real WTF is that Americans still use Fahrenheit.

For sure. That's a WTF...

Sanitarium: Where Fahrenheit should be

Maybe somebody turned off the air conditioner for the weekend? (ducks!)

Based on how things feel outside my office right now, the second one isn't too far off.

Garp:

For me the real wtf is a drive through pharmacy? Given how many times I have to repeat my order at a drive-thru restaurant and how loud you have to get, that's got a load of potential to be embarrassing..

"Sorry, could you repeat your order again please?"

"YES, I SAID I'M HERE TO PICK UP SOMETHING TO DEAL WITH MY CRABS"

it's for refill pick-ups mostly. you place your refill order over the telephone or on the web site. they have an automated system that actually works quite well.

Mike:

I live in Baltimore...

My condolences!

I agree with an earlier post, it is a hardware problem. The analog input leads are damaged or the calibration is messed up. Although, software could have performed some range checks to calculate a valid "Earth" temperature. If it is that cold (or hot) on Earth, we won't be standing outside reading that sign for sure.

Worf:

Fahrenheit, I believe.

Cox is a US based company.

Though, I have seen some signs (usually those near the Canadian border) helpfully put up temperatures in both units to satisfy everyone.

I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong with those temperature things though - they're not magic numbers or signs of overflow like other errors...

Usually there's a decoder of some kind that gives an 8- or 16-bit value and a formula that turns that into C or F. e.g. one sensor I use uses the formula

degC = t1 / (0.0047 * t2) - 68.09

which when the sensor is disconnected (t1 = t2 = 0xFFFF) gives 144.7 degC. This case is very easy to detect, so if either t1 or t2 is 0xFFFF we just report the sensor as disconnected instead of a temperature.

When the sensor is *almost* disconnected (e.g. because someone has partially, but not completely, crushed or melted the cable, or because there is an electrical noise source in the vicinity), then we get values like 0xFED4/0xEED4 (158 degC, or a relatively common noise bit pattern) which are actually within the operating range of the sensor but nonsense nonetheless.

Noise errors are somewhat more difficult to detect because usually several of the bits of the raw data are valid, so the final temperature results are well within expected ranges. We use multiple sensors placed close together, so we read two sensors at 23 degC and a third reading 18 degC and conclude that one chip is broken.

Some of these sensor chips are quite sophisticated, featuring 1-wire serial interfaces and the like. These can actually be interrogated for more than just temperature, including features like device identification and self-testing, and CRC or checksum-based error correction on the wire protocol. Of course, if your thermometer chip tells you that it's operating correctly, you just have to believe that it really is 158 degC outside... ;-)

Even so, that's sloppy code. There are things called "sanity checks" - for instance:

[code]
if ( (temp > sensible max) or (temp < sensible min) )
{
set a diagnostic code
print alternate message("Have a nice day!")
}
[code]

Even "sensible" heuristics like that can lead to some spectacular WTF's. I heard a story (probably apocryphal, but I think it was in one of Tufte's books) that the hole over the ozone layer went undetected for many years because of similar code in the satellite doing the observation. Once the level of ozone dropped to a level below that considered a "sensible min" when the satellite was launched, it simply stopped transmitting the data.

little slash:

The real WTF is using Farenheit in the first place.

Actually, I'm all for using the metric system for most things (though not rabidly for it; the imperial system DOES have benefits), but temperature is one of those things that seems to me like Fahrenheit is at least as good and maybe better than Celsius, at least for day-to-day temperature.

david:

Even "sensible" heuristics like that can lead to some spectacular WTF's.

"Sensible" like the automated gas pump that won't let you charge more than $50 on your credit card for gas.

If you are curious, Perry Hall is a suburb of Baltimore, near where I grew up.

And Baltimore is a wonderful city thank you very much.

newfweiler:

"Sensible" like the automated gas pump that won't let you charge more than $50 on your credit card for gas.

In Germany, you'd get about 7-8 gallons for that. :-|

Landy:

Sweet! A WTF where I live... That cox sign is in Tulsa, OK... it was saying that on Sunday when I went by.

And you didn't think it was good enough for a WTF... obviously you don't know how expectations can be lowered; much like the temperature in your area.

Shame on you.

When I was... I think 12 or 13, I was riding my bike down main street and came to the big bang with a large clock/temperature thing. Well, it was reading 120, and it wasn't over 90. As I watched, every second or two the temperature would increase one degree. I waited around watching to see how high it would go. I think it stopped around 196. Maybe the software assumed everyone melted then.

Tukaro:

When I was... I think 12 or 13, I was riding my bike down main street and came to the big bang with a large clock/temperature thing. Well, it was reading 120, and it wasn't over 90. As I watched, every second or two the temperature would increase one degree. I waited around watching to see how high it would go. I think it stopped around 196. Maybe the software assumed everyone melted then.

when I was a young man, I stared at the sun...

Or perhaps it was because I didn't have a camera handy... :)

Shinobu:

The real WTF is that Americans still use Fahrenheit.

Leela: Night lasts two weeks on the moon.
Moon farmer: Yep, goes down to minus-173 degrees.
Fry: Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Moon farmer: First one, then the other.

You can't just DO it. First you need a discrepancy report, then a detailed failure analysis, then a Change Request, then management approval. (Whip up a Powerpoint presentation and go ask the PHB again.) After allocating available personnel-days, source control, unit testing, coding review, systems integration testing and final customer signoff, it should be fixed by, oh, -7:68, Octember 43.

too_many_usernames:

chris:

Worf:

I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong with those temperature things though - they're not magic numbers or signs of overflow like other errors...

Probably damaged hardware. Most digital thermometers work by measuring the resistance of a strip of metal, usually a tiny platinum wire. If the wire inside the temperature probe or the leads connecting the probe to the base station were damaged you could have inaccurate readings.

Even so, that's sloppy code. There are things called "sanity checks" - for instance:

if ( (temp > sensible max) or (temp < sensible min) )

{

    set a diagnostic code

    print alternate message("Have a nice day!")

}

You can even go more detailed than that, for instance, monitor the rate of change of the measured value, look for discontinuities, all that sort of stuff. Input validation isn't that difficult a thing to do, even for a $10 marquee temperature sensor.

I just call it pure laziness if you don't take the time to validate your inputs and behave sensibly when they are wrong.

Well, you'll probably have to experience something bad first - and then add sanity checking.
I for example had a crystal holder made of teflon (mostly) vaprorised by a heater while measuring the temperature dependency of certain material properties during my diploma thesis work in physics.
First the temerature sensor broke, then the apparent temperature was interpreted as way to low, the the heating kicked in.
Lesson learned: Put some sanity code in, if you neither like your optical experiments being covered with a thin film of, well, ... something nor like to clean up the lab for about two weeks to clean all lenses, lasers, mirrors, beam splitters...

Perhaps the same programmer in both cases, just doesn't know how to format the number with a decimal point?

The true WTF is that horrible font used in "CENTER AT PERRY HALL"!

Are you supposed to be able to read that while driving by?

Granted... they didn't use Comic Sans.