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24 December 2017

Mechanical complications

Almost two months ago I burned our lawnmower.  Instead of mowing the lawn I was shredding leaves with it!  At one point it got too loaded and the motor got burnt.  But however I tried I could not open the thing to get to the motor!!  There was no way of reaching the motor.  The only thing possible was to change the blade.  That's it.  The mower was so designed as to prevent any other handling.

I remember distinctly an event many years ago. While in the Provincial house and on one of my many trips to the airport (to pick up or drop off someone - never once did I ever enter the airport!) I saw a taxi driver desperately flagging oncoming vehicles standing beside the road.  I stopped my vehicle ahead of his parked taxi and he came running to my side.  The spot was almost on the airport road itself.  He then pleaded with me if he could have some diesel.  He needed to be at the arrival spot to pick up someone but had run out of fuel.  He wanted just enough for him to pick up the person - would have been about 3 kms.  I did not have any reserve in my jeep but told him he could draw some from the tank itself.  He said none of the other vehicles stopped, even the rare ones who stopped did not want to share.  He was deeply moved when I agreed to his request. I said I have no clue of how to get out diesel from the tank but was absolutely willing to help him, if he could.  He said he knew.  Unfortunately there was no way he could draw out diesel from the tank.  The tank and engine were so built!  He said these modern vehicles are so built that any work on them could be done only by an expert and that too in a garage.  Unlike old vehicles which could be 'tinkered' with by someone with little expertise. However he profusely thanked me for my willingness and then began to flag down someone else.

My uncle a car mechanic, assembled a whole car from the spare parts he gathered over the years of his work.  Even dad could do much of the repair work of the car he was driving.  However, with modern cars there is nothing of this possible.  At the most refuel, top up screen wash or the radiator.  For anything else, however minor it may be, one would have to take the car to the showroom or garage.

Machinery made complicated or so intricate that it was just not possible to do anything other than use it.  And when encountered with a fault or repair, either approach the technician or discard it altogether!

So now I'm left with a lawn mower that I need to take to the recycling centre/dump! The only thing I can save of it is the rear end basket used for collecting the grass clippings - to grow one or two tomato plants this summer. 

1 comment:

  1. :D two concepts, Casa: idiot-proofing and planned obsolescence.

    nothing like the good old days!! :D they didn't dumb you down so much.

    ReplyDelete

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