Friday, January 21, 2005
GETTING IT WRONG, FIRST TIME
Breakfast with Bwana
JANUARY 21, 2005
GETTING IT WRONG, FIRST TIME
About two years ago, fuming from one of my all too common frustrations about not being able to get things done, that is, not being able to get others to do what they have promised to do, agreed to do, even sworn to do -- and I'm not even saying what they should do -- I made the observation that things have gotten so bad in America that now, if you want anything done right, you have to give the doer, at least two attempts.
But I am an optimistic, jingoistic, sort and then said, "But, I suppose the difference between us and much of the rest of the world is that there, you have to do things at least three times AND bribe someone."
Lately, I have had an accountability moment in all this. I was way too optimistic and misunderestimated the incompetence of the doers. Now, in order to get anything done right, three or four passes seem to be necessary. If the evil-doers can get it right so often on the first try, what is wrong with just plain old doers? I mean, we don't hear of too many failed suicide bombings. Most of them seem to go on the first crack.
My experiences with getting the bumper on my car repaired, having a tire rim changed, getting heating system repairs completed, and, perhaps another ten or fifteen incidents, provide an unwelcome steady stream of recurring sorry examples. We'll get to those, but first, I'll mention that the bumper repair was needed because the manufacturer had misdesigned the car and then recalled the vehicle to prevent damage to millions of bumpers. It goes without saying, that mine had already suffered the predictable damage. Without saying. And this particular manufacturer has another recall because the throttle linkage could get stuck in temperatures below 15º F (minus ~10º C). The temperature in Boston has been below 12º F for the last week, so I'm glad that work was done.
But, truthfully, my brushes with those who eschew competence -- no, I'm suggesting that it is volitional -- pale in comparison to a recent intergalactic gaffe.
The European Space Agency is justifiably proud of the Huygens space probe that just landed on Titan. As part of the mission, University of Idaho Professor David Atkinson, designed an experiment to measure the winds on Saturn's largest moon. Atkinson spent eighteen (18) years designing the experiments and calculated that, all told, his team had invested 80 man years on the project.
On Thursday, Atkinson said that someone failed to turn on a radio receiver, and because of that error, data transmitted by the gear on the Huygens lander was not received by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft for relay to Earth. There is hope that data recovery efforts will allow winds to be calculated, by capturing signals bounced from the probe off the moon, and to Cassini. Significant additional work and adjustments to account for the transmission delays -- 2 seconds from Huygens to Cassini, and 67 minutes from Cassini to earth -- must now be done to get reliable results.
Back to the terrestrial and mundane woes facing Bwana. Why wasn't the car designed properly in the first place? Don't know. The dealer ordered the parts and I kept my appointment. They said the work was finished. I pointed out a gap on both sides of the car. Went back a second time. They said that they were able to fix one side but to fix the other, a part was needed. So, why did the guy install it if he didn't have the part the first time? Don't know. They ordered the part. I went back. Turns out they returned the part because the parts guy couldn't figure out why it came in. One more try. Bumper replaced. Total four visits.
I got a bubble in the left front tire. Went to a warehouse chain and bought two new tires. They installed them and put the new ones on the rear. Two days later, the new tire, now on the left rear, is down. Four days later, it is flat. I pump it up. Back to the tire place. The guy informs me that the rim has a crack and needs to be replaced. I go to the dealer. They say the rim is fine and charge me $30 (the warehouse company charges $10 per tire to mount and rotate). Two days later, same problem. Four days later, same problem. Back to the dealer. "You need a new rim, Sir." I say, "Go ahead and put it on." They say "Sorry, we don't have it in stock." Back after four days to have it installed. I have a new rim. Did I need a new rim? Don't know.
The heating system problems involve burst pipes and radiators from last January's (2004) extremely frigid weather. They show up in November to install the new items. Turns out they need a 42 inch radiator in one area but have a 36 inch piece. Three weeks later, they show up with a 42 inch piece. After four hours of work, the installer tells me that he has a problem because the supply house sent the wrong brand of radiator and he did not notice that until after he installed it.
They came back last Monday and installed the radiator. Part of the deal was to put antifreeze into the system -- I'm leaving out how we had to change the system for that -- so we would avoid another burst pipe. I asked the guy what level of protection we would get. He said down to 20 below zero F (minus 30 Celsius). I asked if he had a way to test it. He said he did not bring the tester (hydrometer?). On further questioning, he said his boss had calculated how much antifreeze would be needed. I mentioned that his boss had never been to the house.
Sure enough, that night, it froze again. We were fortunate and managed to get it thawed and stave off a disaster. They have put in more antifreeze.
I could go on. The guy who towed the plane with a tractor and ripped off the tow hooks on both wings because he missed that the plane was tied down. The DSL installation that took six tries. You've all been through this, just as I have.
There was a time when we had one President for four terms. Now, the maximum they are allowed is two shots to get it right. Given that we have now established that it takes at least four tries, one wonders if we'll ever have a President who gets it right in two.
I just don't know.
Cheerz....Bwana
JANUARY 21, 2005
GETTING IT WRONG, FIRST TIME
About two years ago, fuming from one of my all too common frustrations about not being able to get things done, that is, not being able to get others to do what they have promised to do, agreed to do, even sworn to do -- and I'm not even saying what they should do -- I made the observation that things have gotten so bad in America that now, if you want anything done right, you have to give the doer, at least two attempts.
But I am an optimistic, jingoistic, sort and then said, "But, I suppose the difference between us and much of the rest of the world is that there, you have to do things at least three times AND bribe someone."
Lately, I have had an accountability moment in all this. I was way too optimistic and misunderestimated the incompetence of the doers. Now, in order to get anything done right, three or four passes seem to be necessary. If the evil-doers can get it right so often on the first try, what is wrong with just plain old doers? I mean, we don't hear of too many failed suicide bombings. Most of them seem to go on the first crack.
My experiences with getting the bumper on my car repaired, having a tire rim changed, getting heating system repairs completed, and, perhaps another ten or fifteen incidents, provide an unwelcome steady stream of recurring sorry examples. We'll get to those, but first, I'll mention that the bumper repair was needed because the manufacturer had misdesigned the car and then recalled the vehicle to prevent damage to millions of bumpers. It goes without saying, that mine had already suffered the predictable damage. Without saying. And this particular manufacturer has another recall because the throttle linkage could get stuck in temperatures below 15º F (minus ~10º C). The temperature in Boston has been below 12º F for the last week, so I'm glad that work was done.
But, truthfully, my brushes with those who eschew competence -- no, I'm suggesting that it is volitional -- pale in comparison to a recent intergalactic gaffe.
The European Space Agency is justifiably proud of the Huygens space probe that just landed on Titan. As part of the mission, University of Idaho Professor David Atkinson, designed an experiment to measure the winds on Saturn's largest moon. Atkinson spent eighteen (18) years designing the experiments and calculated that, all told, his team had invested 80 man years on the project.
On Thursday, Atkinson said that someone failed to turn on a radio receiver, and because of that error, data transmitted by the gear on the Huygens lander was not received by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft for relay to Earth. There is hope that data recovery efforts will allow winds to be calculated, by capturing signals bounced from the probe off the moon, and to Cassini. Significant additional work and adjustments to account for the transmission delays -- 2 seconds from Huygens to Cassini, and 67 minutes from Cassini to earth -- must now be done to get reliable results.
Back to the terrestrial and mundane woes facing Bwana. Why wasn't the car designed properly in the first place? Don't know. The dealer ordered the parts and I kept my appointment. They said the work was finished. I pointed out a gap on both sides of the car. Went back a second time. They said that they were able to fix one side but to fix the other, a part was needed. So, why did the guy install it if he didn't have the part the first time? Don't know. They ordered the part. I went back. Turns out they returned the part because the parts guy couldn't figure out why it came in. One more try. Bumper replaced. Total four visits.
I got a bubble in the left front tire. Went to a warehouse chain and bought two new tires. They installed them and put the new ones on the rear. Two days later, the new tire, now on the left rear, is down. Four days later, it is flat. I pump it up. Back to the tire place. The guy informs me that the rim has a crack and needs to be replaced. I go to the dealer. They say the rim is fine and charge me $30 (the warehouse company charges $10 per tire to mount and rotate). Two days later, same problem. Four days later, same problem. Back to the dealer. "You need a new rim, Sir." I say, "Go ahead and put it on." They say "Sorry, we don't have it in stock." Back after four days to have it installed. I have a new rim. Did I need a new rim? Don't know.
The heating system problems involve burst pipes and radiators from last January's (2004) extremely frigid weather. They show up in November to install the new items. Turns out they need a 42 inch radiator in one area but have a 36 inch piece. Three weeks later, they show up with a 42 inch piece. After four hours of work, the installer tells me that he has a problem because the supply house sent the wrong brand of radiator and he did not notice that until after he installed it.
They came back last Monday and installed the radiator. Part of the deal was to put antifreeze into the system -- I'm leaving out how we had to change the system for that -- so we would avoid another burst pipe. I asked the guy what level of protection we would get. He said down to 20 below zero F (minus 30 Celsius). I asked if he had a way to test it. He said he did not bring the tester (hydrometer?). On further questioning, he said his boss had calculated how much antifreeze would be needed. I mentioned that his boss had never been to the house.
Sure enough, that night, it froze again. We were fortunate and managed to get it thawed and stave off a disaster. They have put in more antifreeze.
I could go on. The guy who towed the plane with a tractor and ripped off the tow hooks on both wings because he missed that the plane was tied down. The DSL installation that took six tries. You've all been through this, just as I have.
There was a time when we had one President for four terms. Now, the maximum they are allowed is two shots to get it right. Given that we have now established that it takes at least four tries, one wonders if we'll ever have a President who gets it right in two.
I just don't know.
Cheerz....Bwana
