Take a look at it (update: the original image is gone so we are hosting it meanwhile.) It's basically a screenshot of a city simulator with an error message. Simulations allow us to explore different scenarios within a safe environment. The can be used for fun, they can be used as predictive tools. Sometimes the scenarios are totally crazy, sometimes they bear some resemblance to reality.

This screenshot seems to be being emailed around (thanks Jo Eldoen) probably not because it is funny -I do not think it is- but rather because it is one of those "reality beats fiction" events. Simulators are at the core of today's US crisis: not because they failed to predict the outcome of the hurricane but because they did but the government ignored them. This is not one of those "if Bush had a Playstation" moments. It's one of those "Bush had a Playstation but was rather playing Cowboys and Indians in Iraq instead of Sim City" moments. Simulators can be good to predict the future but also to understand the past. Games can be educational, designers can do a pretty good job at it. But if the player is incompetent, well, there is not much that can be done.