The Tennis Ball on a Stick
Once upon a time in Oakland, I noticed an interesting thing about the meter readers employed by Pacific Gas and Electric. In addition to all of the other arcane tools attached at belt level for sensing, sniffing, and adjusting anything to do with gas or electricity, was one tool whose purpose I really couldn’t guess. It was always a stick, painted in the PG&E’s corporate color of sky blue, and topped with a tennis ball. More often than not the tennis ball was colored fluorescent yellow, but not always. And there was always one close to hand on the meter reader’s belt–it was obviously not one of those infrequently used tools that could be left in the utility truck.
Finally, on a day when a meter reader came to the office, I stopped him and inquired about the tennis ball on a stick.
“It’s for dogs,” was the reply.
Well, of course. The average meter reader, whose job requirements include entering people’s backyards, climbing in and out of basements, and peeking through fences, face their share of loose dogs who are really invested in defending the very patch of real estate in which a meter might be located. While there are any number of high-tech solutions for repelling dogs–including whistles, tasers, and even a doggy edition of Mace©–the most effective dog repellent is one any child could construct in about ten minutes, and use immediately.
The stick keeps the dog a safe distance away, while the tennis-ball tip alternately offers the dog a non-human appendage to gnaw on, or safely pushes it away without injury. It’s all about proven technology.
In India many technology decisions follow this pattern–if something is cheap, involves few or no moving parts, and is easy to use, that’s the technology in use. “Western” solutions involving complicated mechanisms, expensive electronics, or extensive training just don’t make the cut.
Recently the Delhi city government decided they wanted all bus drivers to keep to a certain speed limit. That in turn meant putting some kind of governor on the buses. In the States, the solution might involve some kind of electronic Black Box under the bus’ hood, ready to throttle down the engine as soon as it gets close to the limit, and record any attempt at circumvention. The Indian solution?
A block of metal under the accelerator pedal.
Effective, easy to implement, and any traffic cop can inspect it for tampering. A metal block is either in place doing its job, or it’s not. Simple, no? Similarly, the power is out in Rewalsar as I write this. Very little other than the town cyber cafes are shutting down. Most wallahs keep their money in a box or drawer; cooking is done using a propane stovetop; and it’s daytime, so no need to break out the candles. The local chai wallah crushing spices for the next batch of masala chai uses a convenient chunk of cement, rather than a fancy grinder.
Recently Lena discovered a good source of wool and roving for us to spin up. Joy was able to purchase a bag of raw fleece for a hundred rupees or so (about $US2). Somebody in the village owns and runs a carding machine, so we took the fleece down there to be processed. Alas, the carding machine was down, and waiting for a replacement part to come from Mandi, “maybe Monday.” Which Monday never really got specified; the carded was obviously down until further notice. Time to break out the handcards…
