Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Recklessness...

... well, we're reaping what we sow.. took my parent's car to fix a puncture and it had the unusual feature of shorter Lugs for the spare as the rim was different-- now WHAT asinine manufacturer would dream up THAT and why?? The tyre was damaged beyond repair and as the spare was being mounted, the 'boy' at the Repair Shop proceeded to force in the last Lug-- I began to feel unease as I had changed several wheels in my lifetime and it was a relatively simple procedure- not requiring such Brute force-- I tried half-heartedly to halt the process  and say just leave the lug/nut sticking out the last centimetre or so, but was overruled by the brash confidence of Youth!
Was then unable to reverse the car because the extended lug was jamming the Handbrake/ brake-drum-- all the lugs came out except that last one-- they were scared to air-gun it as they felt it would break in the slot and instead took an hour to work it back and forth! It finally emerged damaged beyond repair, but worryingly-- I am keeping my fingers crossed that the thread of the hole is also not damaged beyond repair!!
I think this highlights the common experience in Guyana and the wider world that perhaps 85% of things can be carried out with little or no training but it's the crucial 15% that requires commonsense and expensive training to know your limits and when to stop.

Interesting letter in today's paper: which graphically illustrates this - http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/opinion/letters/06/15/the-main-reason-for-guyana’s-low-average-growth-rate-is-that-total-factor-productivity-has-been-mostly-negative

- that people will be trapped in third-rate jobs and private-sector will be reduced to reselling goods and not producing- if we're not already there.
* A BBC radio program talking about the emergence of Biomass (composting) fuel noted that regular electricity was a pre-requisite for development and that with an emerging Middle-Class the taxation base is significantly increased so that Government can fund its own road and other programs.

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