Sooo true!!!

Money pollutes purity of purpose.

Let's take a look at a (simplified) hypothetical situation... You start doing some charity work out of the goodness of your heart. Someone notices the work that you're doing and gives you some money which helps you to continue or expand that good work. On the surface of it, this seems like a positive situation.

However, if you want to continue doing that work then you'll probably want more money - and the easiest place to look for it is from people or organisations that have donated previously. The trouble is that they'll only continue to donate whilst they're 100% behind what you're doing. If you deviate from that, they'll stop.

Whilst it may seem like it is for the greater good to spend some time appeasing their needs so you can continue to do their good work, you're now beholden to them in some way. I think there is an alternative...

Anonymous donations only.

If you only ever accepted anonymous donations, then you wouldn't (couldn't) ever be beholden to anyone. This may seem completely naive, but the reality is that the balance of power  has completely shifted. It may seem inappropriate to talk about power in this situation. However, it is more about a shift from doing what the money dictates to doing what is truly needed. In principle, this has to be a good thing.

What do you think?

Could this ever work? Have you any experience or knowledge of working with people/organisations in this way? Let us know in the comments.

 

I'm so unimpressed with Linux.

Let's set the context. I'm a geek. I've worked in IT for years. I programmed in basic on my ZX 81 and progressed through the ranks. I was never a developer, but I can build some useful apps in Visual Basic and can hand code HTML, XML, CSS etc. I'm also happy in DOS.

Despite all that, Linus always looked complicated.

However, I have an old laptop and I'd been led to believe that Linux would run much better than the big, bad, bloated Windows - so I thought I'd give it a go. And installation wasn't too difficult. Getting WiFi to work was very bloody difficult. And then, just grabbing some new software and installing it proved to be such a pain, I decided to switch back to Windows.

Linux did look pretty good and it was pretty quick with my limited system resources. And, I can imaging that if you were given a working version and didn't want to do anything too much with it (as a non-technical user), you'd be pretty happy.

But, the barrier to entry is just too high. When you download a program, as a user (even a technical user), you just want to be able to double-click it and sit back. Even reading the support forums is upsetting with all that complex (until you know it - but why should you have to bother) code.

No, when Linux works, I'm sure it's great - but if they want wider adoption (and I'm not sure they do), then it needs to be made so much more friendly. Trying to re-learn an OS and find new software to do all the things you used to do quite happily on Windows or Apple is too much of an ask. Who'd got the time or inclination?

Linux is not for me.

I'm sure there's a myriad of people that disagree with me, so let's hear it for (and against) Linux in the comments.

As my girlfriend's mum knows little about cars or negotiating with salesmen I said I'd help her to buy a new car. It was a beautiful sunny day and it took all day. Aside from doing someone a favour, I felt the day had been wasted - that was until I looked back at what I'd learned about life.

Lesson 1 - Patience

The salesman we dealt with was absolutely fantastic - I've never met anyone so patient, and certainly not in a sales environment. His manner was simply brilliant. He later told us that his son is autistic and that he'd learned his patience from his son. For anyone who, like myself, occasionally rushes through life and snaps at anyone and anything that gets in the way, we'd do well to learn from Anthony. Apart from making the whole process more enjoyable for both himself and us, Anthony now has a customer for life. My girlfriend's mum is so comfortable with him in an environment that normally makes her squirm, she'll happily pay well over the odds just to deal with someone who makes her feel relaxed instead of nervous and incompetent.

Lesson 2 - The Power of a Brand 

My girlfriend's mum had always driven Ford Fiesta and wanted another - this is despite the fact that her car is 15 years old and shares nothing in common with the new version aside from the badge. In her mind, it was something familiar that she could rely on. All credit to her, she allowed me to show her a couple of other options, but as soon as she sat in that Fiesta, it was the car she was having - despite it being out of her price range. Some people don't like choice, they know what they want and they'll be completely satisfied when they have it. The fact that, on paper at least, there are better options for them doesn't matter one bit. Sometimes I wish I could be more like this - every decision I make is based on logic and analysis of the options. Many times this leads me to something that is 'as right as it can be'. But the process is stressful and there is evidence which says that people who look that deeply into a purchase tend to be less satisfied overall.

Lesson 3 - Familiarity and Simplicity

In one of the more basic cars we tested my girlfriend's mum sat in the back and commented on the manual window winders. The salesman quickly pointed out that they were electric in the front. Little did he know that she was actually pleased that they weren't electric and he was actually helping to put her off the car! You see, she still has views from 15 years ago where 'mechanical = good/control' and 'electric gadgets = unreliability/confusion'. So powerful is this feeling she has that she nearly didn't buy the Fiesta she wanted so badly because she couldn't get to grips with the electric door mirror control on the test car. My personal feeling is that she'd have benefited from things like an auto gearbox and parking sensors - and that eventually she'd have got used to them and come to like them. But that didn't matter, she wanted something she immediately felt comfortable with that fitted with her view of new gadgetry being unreliable, complicated and to be avoided. There's certainly a market out there to be served with products that my generation believe should be consigned to the scrap heap.

Lesson 4 - Peace of Mind

Yes, I was only going to do 3 lessons, but this one is quite important too. Normally I'm no fan of finance and debt. However, due to the bonus scheme we could get £500 discount on the car if we took out finance, and the cost of finance (i.e. interest) was only £300 - so we'd have been £200 better off paying for the car in 2 lump sums rather than in one go. Despite having already stretched her budget way past what she originally set out to spend, my girlfriend's mum wanted to pay an extra £200 so that she didn't have to 'worry' about making another payment. And this also fitted with her view of 'finance = bad'. People don't always want the cheapest deal - sometimes they'll pay more for something that they value more highly, in this case, peace of mind (or closure).

The Twitter Style Lessons

If you're selling to someone (or, as I prefer, someone is buying from you), listen to what they want and what they value - it may not be what you expect. By meeting their desires in a manner that makes them feel comfortable and 'equal' you'll have a happy customer and more profit than you perhaps anticipated when you first thought when you were trying to work out how to screw them. What Anthony did went way beyond the normal 'building obligation by sitting you down with a coffee' and as such, I'll be putting as much business his way as I possibly can.

My review of the A2B Metro electric bicycle is very much based on my own personal circumstances and requirements, which are:

• capable of a 40 mile round trip commute on battery power alone
• can be propelled by human pedal power alone should there be a desire!
• very comfortable for the duration of the commuting time/distance

I borrowed the A2B Metro from the Electric Transport Shop who have branches in London, Cambridge and Oxford. I spoke to staff at a couple of branches and all were very helpful and knowledgeable. After much research I had a shortlist of 3 bicycles, the UltraMotor A2B Metro, the GoCycle and the Wisper 905se City. I was told that the GoCycle wasn't really designed for my longer distance needs so that left the A2B Metro and the Wisper 905se City. Given that I already have a mountain bike for normal use, I thought I'd opt for the A2B Metro which is also faster than the Wisper when using the 'boost' button (which I don't think you can do legally on European roads).

Make no mistake, the A2B is a beast. At something like 35kg it is heavy, though cycled easily enough with pedalling alone due to the gearing - though this becomes a problem at quicker speeds (which I'll talk about later). I also happen to think it is pretty funky! So why was I so disappointed by it?

Well, to begin with, I wasn't. I thought it was a hoot. Cycle along, use the twist-grip (see the picture) and woohoo, extra power. But then the niggles quickly revealed themselves...

Firstly the saddle. Yes, yes, changing a saddle is easy. But really - this bike has a supremely comfortable ride, yet the saddle is just awful. And I was saddled with it on my hire bike for the next 16 miles home. My bum still hurts a few days later! It is a big padded affair, but it just isn't nice and it digs in all the wrong places and to top it all, it isn't conducive to pedalling. I know this is an electric bicycle, but it isn't unreasonable to want to pedal.

Next problem - the 'high' speed wobble. I don't know what was causing it, but between 15 and 20mph, there was a very noticeable wobble that was almost a little disconcerting. Maybe, like the saddle problem this can be fixed. Given the sheer hugeness of the wheels and tyres, maybe something was out of balance?

Now to the bigger problems that I don't see a fix for...

You see from the picture how the throttle is a twist grip affair, but only the inner inch of the handlebar grip (next to the battery indicator lights)? Well try turning that and holding it in place between thumb and forefinger for 90 minutes. It just isn't at all comfortable. I say this as someone who rides a motorbike, so I'm very used to twist grips, but where you can twist and hold with your whole hand. Forefinger and thumb just doesn't work for this length of time.

That brings us to the next issue - the boost button (which is the grey one to the left of the battery indicator lights). It is nigh on impossible to operate with a thumb that is already trying it's best to hold the twisty throttle in place and at full throttle is probably somewhere on the underside of the handlebar. I don't have huge hands, but I still can't see how it would work logistically. I had lots of time and many miles to try and get it right and I couldn't. To show the extent of the problem, I ended up operating it with my left hand!!! Yes, I was holding the right-hand side of the handlebars with both hands, one operating the throttle and the other operating the boost button. Now that can't be safe?!

And finally, the last problem(s)... The bike will propel itself on battery power to 20mph (assuming you can operate the boost button). On an incline of any description this is great, especially over longer distances. However, part of the fun of cycling (for me at least) is to pedal like hell down a hill and reach speeds much greater than this - and on the A2B Metro, you just can't as the gearing is all wrong. That means that everyone you overtook going up hill is going to pass you again going down. Going slowly down a hill is soooo frustrating! I used to do a 22 mile round trip commute and could average around 14mph. I wasn't fit enough to do it 5 days a week, but I don't reckon I'd be any quicker on the A2B. I'm certainly not fit enough to do a 40 mile commute, but I'd rather do it on a scooter than the A2B. Perhaps the Wisper is worth a try (combining the battery for distance and incline assistance together with normal bicycle characteristics)? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

So as you can see, for me at least, the A2B just didn't fit the bill. Sort out the saddle, wobble, throttle and 'boost' action as well as the gearing and you have one helluva machine - but until then, it just doesn't cut it, and that's a great shame.

Have you got any experience of electric bicycles? Share them in the comments...

Societies make their own rules. Who am I to decide whether murder or incest is wrong? The society I live in has 'agreed' laws which say that it is (I happen to agree). And, pretty much everyone in that society abides by those laws  - it allows us to live side-by-side in relative harmony. Of course there are people who don't agree with the rules of their society but, by definition, they tend to be in a minority (otherwise the laws would eventually change), so on the whole they go along with the majority. That's a good thing because it means in a society that has decided that they don't want murder or incest, it doesn't happen as much as in a society where it is permissible. In the past, if you had a particular perversion then chances are you'd be on your own and wouldn't be brave enough to act on it - to act against the rules of your society.

Now we have the internet which allows us to easily find like-minded individuals. If you have a penchant for some weird chocolate flavour, you have a good chance of finding someone else in the world that does too and together you can share and indulge in your weird chocolate flavour fantasies. No harm done. But, in the same way, societies' outcasts - terrorists, murderers, rapists - can also find like-minded individuals through the internet. Many of them. This is very worrying because it could lead to them feeling that their perversion is acceptable. Worse still, it could lead to them acting on their perversion due to increased bravery from not feeling alone in their opinion (or even from encouragement).

The internet and social media are great tools. Many wonderful things are accomplished with them. Like all tools though, there's no real control of who can use them. You can't un-invent tools either. And, as always, the problem is people. There are always people who will use those tools for, what our society at least says is, evil.

I've deliberately written this to be controversial. It's likely you have some pretty strong views on the subject so why not have your say in the comments...

On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.  For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking.  How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"

So God agreed...... 

On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh.  For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."

The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years?  That's a pretty long time to perform.  How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"

And God agreed......

On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family.  For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years.  How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"

And God agreed again......

On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life.  For this, I'll give you twenty years."

But the human said, "Only twenty years?  Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God.  "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.  For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family.  For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.  And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.