For years I've really liked Apple Computers, mainly because they are something quite different, both inside and out.
I first toyed with an Apple II E in 1980, a friend of mine had one. It was amazing, a slanted box with an integrated keyboard and a nice green CRT on top. It booted and ran programs from a single 5¼ Floppy disk. The programs offered no graphics and were more productive than fun, with "Tic Tac Toe" being the only form of entertainment it offered.
In 1985 another friend got an Apple Macintosh on a "Test Drive" scheme, this was a different animal all together. It had an integrated 256 shade gray scale display, a 3½ Floppy drive, a mouse and a graphical user interface aka "GUI". It was astonishing! Like its predecessor it booted from the Floppy disk, had a MacOS GUI and a basic word processing package as well as paint package that allowed one to create digital art. My friend actually bought the Macintosh.
In 1987 I started my career in the IT industry. Although I was in the Mainframe environment I watched the "IBM PC XT" flourish, followed by the 286 16 Bit "AT"; then came the 32 Bit 386 and 486 processors.
The old PCs came with MS DOS, it worked well and they were very productive with the available software at the time like Lotus 1-2-3, Wordperfect and Harvard Graphics.
The PC soon replaced the "dumb terminals" we used to access our mainframes thanks to terminal emulators, TCP-IP, IPX/SPX and of course, Ethernet. We were networking and collaborating over copper wires.
Microsoft released Windows 3.0 and 3.1 and the pointing device we now know as a mouse became a standard item when ordering a PC
More importantly the PC introduced us to games! Yes, we could retire the old Atari and Sega consoles as PCs were fast becoming the gaming platform to have! Some of the pioneering games I recall were Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Space Quest, Tetris and F119 Stealth Fighter. Microsoft's amazingly realistic Flight Simulator 3.0 was also doing its rounds at that time, circa 1989.
As Microsoft Windows 3.x, colour graphics adapters & displays became the standard and the Ad Lib sound card making its appearance, the gaming community brought us Wolfenstien 3D and followed this up with the epic Doom First Player Shooters or "FPS" games.
All of a sudden you could cooperate with or play against your buddies in a digital blood fest!
We then entered the era of the Pentium processor and the CD-ROM which made the PC more attractive to the household. The PC was now appearing on almost every desk and had replaced the typewriter in the corporate world. Slowly but surely the PC was now becoming a common site in the home environment.
Processors were becoming faster and more feature rich with technologies like Intel's MMX and AMD's 3DNow! technologies designed to enhance the gaming and multimedia experience as a whole.
Graphics adapters were becoming more powerful and hard disks were doubling their capacity every 6-12 months.
The DVD ROM secured the PCs crown in being the king of entertainment, we could now watch movies and play interactive 3D games at flicker free frame rates!
Microsoft Windows and Intel processors became (and still remain) the standard in Personal Computing. Those of us who worked in the industry called this "Wintel" technology, and the synergy of x86 and Windows worked very well.
Of course Windows 95 was released and we moved onto Windows NT, 98, Windows 2000 and so forth..
Needless to say, the Internet had a massive influence on the emergence of the PC in the home space. With the introduction of dial up and then ADSL connectivity in most Westernised nations, the home users were now connected to what we then called the "Information Super Highway"
So, what had become of Apple? No one knew and most just didn't care! In 1998 Apple had adopted the IBM PowerPC based iMac G3 which was a strange looking, almost TV like, all in one design, whereas the PC's chassis, or case and monitor were very separate items.
Apple Mac desktops ticked along in the educational arena whilst in the corporate world the iMac was the workhorse used in advertising agencies and print shops running Adobe Premier and other graphic and video editing suites.
All work and no play made Apple products very dull indeed, although they did have a fairly decent following in the North American consumer markets, perhaps by those who grew up with the Apple II and Macintosh series systems?
In 1998 Diamond Multimedia Systems released the Diamond Rio PMP300 MP3 Player. Although the Rio was not the first MP3 player on the market, but the first to be launched by a high profile PC component manufacturer with a media campaign to highlight the product.
The Rio used 32MB of built in Flash memory and could actually use removable Smart Media Cards.
Diamond pioneered the online music revolution with RioPort commercial downloads with backing from all the major record labels.
In 1998 Diamond Multimedia became entangled in a litigious dispute with the RIAA, fortunately the dispute was ruled in the manufacturer's favour and the grassroots MP3 player was back on the market.
Sadly this pioneering product was short lived as Diamond Multimedia were bought out and the new owners didn't quite foresee the long term impact that digital music would have on the marketplace.
At the same time the PC was slowly being transformed into into the home hi-fi, gone were the days of placing vinyl on the turntable and recording your music play lists to hissy 60 or 90 minute tapes for your Sony Walkman. The PC with its optical drive and MP3 connectivity was soon to become the choice for personal music.
A few other manufacturers tried their hand at MP3 players but the MP3 technology seemed destined to live on the Wintel PC as home users digitized their music collections onto hard disk and used their beloved PC to manage and play music.
In 2001 Apple released the iPod, this contained an internal hard disk and came with iTunes suite that enabled PC and Mac users to digitize, manage and upload their music via the USB port that almost every modern PC supported
The iPod was quite innovative, the simple menu and "Click Wheel" navigation made it easy to operate as well as the convenience of the iPod's internal battery being charged by the USB based connection. Suddenly personal stereo was changing and Apple were at the helm! The iPod ticked all the right boxes with the music loving consumer and put the Cupertino based company back on the map. In fact I wonder if the majority of early iPod owners were actually aware that Apple made desktop and portable systems at all?
Going back to the Wintel PC, its Achilles Heel was most certainly the initial ergonomic design. A bulky square box in either beige or black with a rather dull looking front panel adorned with a green LED to let you know it was on and red flashing LED to let you know that the hard disk was working.
There was the occasional black and silver chassis, but the shapes always remained fairly brick like. The more powerful the PC, the more internal fans were needed to cool it, so there was often a lot of acoustic noise from the high end PCs. There were those that tried their best to beautify their beloved PCs with modded cases that comprised of perspex and alloy, with water cooling to keep them cool and quiet, but inside they'd all contain the same industry standard components which made upgrading the PC a very simple and cost effective task. Sadly the PC still had it's square and brick shaped chassis and case with the size of the case varying, depending on just how much owners wanted to cram into them.
Apple's Mac family of desktops and workstations were quite different in design as they were never made to be opened and have their innards toyed with, they were made to work. A prime example of Apple's brave design approach had to be the 2002 iMac G4 and the iMac G4 advertising campaign showed it was something quite unique indeed. A half moon shaped chassis with a very articulate built in monitor stand.
The Mac Pro workstations were clad in beautifully polished aluminium housings and looked very good when placed upon on or under a desk either in the office or at home. The Mac Pro systems were serious workhorses and were aimed at the media and research markets. They came in multiprocessor versions with the option of gigabytes of RAM. They were like jewelry, shiny and very expensive.
Various generations of PowerPC based iMacs and Mac Pro systems were produced, but they mainly went unnoticed to the home computer enthusiasts who were besotted with their Wintel based PCs.
In 2001 Apple released OSX, codenamed "Cheetah". It was an amazing evolution from its MacOS predecessor and later releases of OSX for Macs have since followed. The OSX interface looked great and it worked very well, but the lack of a right mouse button deterred the Windows generation from ever really getting along with a Mac.
Again these PowerPC based systems were mainly confined to the media and educational institutions, although the new OSX was fast gaining a foothold in the medical and scientific establishments too due to its stability and true 64Bit UNIX based multithread capabilities
In 2003 Apple opened the floodgates of legal online music purchasing with the iTunes Store. Sure they were not the first company to embark on this route, but Apple made it easy to use. The record companies were queuing up to get their current and back catalogs released on the iTunes Store. Even at $0.99 per song there was some serious money to be made
To make it even easier, the iTunes Store was accessed through the iTunes software suite, so now music lovers could download, rip, upload, update and manage their music collection on a unified software suite. This convenience was a key part of the success story.
In 2005 Apple released the Mac Mini which was a small footprint Mac that did not ship with a mouse, monitor or keyboard. It was aimed at the home market and could share your desktop PC's mouse, keyboard and Monitor by means of a KVM (Keyboard, Video Mouse) switch
Aimed at the consumer market, the Mac Mini's low cost and small footprint made it easy to place alongside your desktop PC. The concept worked well because when some owners had (malware or virus) issues with their PCs, they'd switch over to the Mac Mini which they then discovered could do everything that their PC could do and a lot more thanks to the in built Home Theater that would kick in at the push of the button on the supplied remote.
In 2006 Apple released its first Intel based products based on Intel Core2 processors. The shift from the IBM developed PowerPC chip to the "PC centric" x86 processor architecture horrified the Apple purists who saw this as a very bad choice. The migration was the most logical path for Apple due to IBM's lackluster approach to developing the tried and trusted PowerPC processor range. The new Intel processors were faster, consumed less power and ran cooler.
The new x86 based OSX was codenamed "Leopard" and due to this paradigm shift, Apple's new x86 products could also run Microsoft Windows thanks to the introduction of Boot Camp which allowed Apple owners to boot into OSX, Windows or LINUX. Obviously the clear winner here was the consumer. Again the Apple purists were mortified by the mere fact a Mac could boot a Microsoft Operating System.
Note: LINUX Distributions were also available for the PowerPC based Macs.
In 2006 there were rumours that Apple were going to release a mobile phone. The IT periodicals and electronic media was abuzz with speculation about it's design and features and there was even skepticism about whether Apple would enter the mobile communications market at all.
This was a bold step for Apple as they'd never embarked on anything of this nature, after all the mobile phone market was well established and dominated by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Blackberry and many others.
Apple designed this product in collaboration with AT&T and no help or technology from the well established mobile handset manufacturers.
The Apple A4 ARM powered and IOS driven iPhone hit the American market in 2007. It was a 2G device and Apple's reasoning for not supporting 3G was the issue of the iPhone's battery life which would be greatly reduced with 3G support.
The iTunes Store allowed iPhone owners to upload "Apps" via Apple's "App Store". Developers took to the App Store like ducks to water, but Apple vetted all the Apps that were available for download through their App Store. Another great feature was that the iPhone sported true iPod capabilities, alas the iPhone was also a pukka MP3 player with play list support and the option of the lovely album Cover Flow interface.
Another crossover product using the new IOS platform was the iPod Touch which Apple released in 2007, essentially an iPhone without the phone feature, but more importantly an iPod with Wireless LAN support, email and Apps. Apple's new iPod Touch was so much more than just an MP3 player..
The "iPhone classic" was soon replaced by the iPhone 3G, with... yes, you guessed it right, 3G support, an improved display size and resolution. This was superseded by the iPhone 3GS with true multitasking and video capability. The rest is history, but not without controversy.
The "Antennagate" fiasco on the iPhone 4 was exploited by the printed and electronic media and also gave the anti-Apple establishment ammunition to belittle Steve Jobs, the iPhone and the company.
Apple's public fall out with Adobe over the security issues in Flash and their early commitment to HTML 5 as a viable alternative to Flash also had the Prophets of Doom chanting the end of the iPhone. It's quite obvious that the IOS based Apple products have gotten along just fine without Adobe Flash and the Apple customers don't seem to be too hard done by the parting of ways either.
In 2006 Microsoft also released their Zune Media Player as a direct competitor to the iPod and Creative Laboratories' Zen media players.
Microsoft were really hoping to break Apple's domination of the portable media market, the gentlemen in Redmond spent tens of millions of dollars on an aggressive marketing campaign across North America, including roadshows at College campuses to entice the younger generation into Microsoft's "DRM Friendly" Media Player
Sadly for Microsoft the Zune was just not as popular as the iPod or Zen media players despite all the money and media hype thrown at the product.
In 2010 Apple released the iPad. This appliance wasn't intended as a laptop replacement but rather as a crossover device for those who want the combination of portability with a decent resolution touch screen. I recall some of the Forum discussions on how the iPad would fail before it even made it on to the shelves.
It has been a success story and has excelled where the bulky and finicky "Tablet PCs" failed.
In fact the iPad has rekindled (no pun intended) the Tablet market with many established manufacturers now releasing Android based tablets and some embarking on developing their own Tablet based OSes to compete with IOS and Android.
It seems as if the silent partner of yesteryear has reemerged as a pioneering force in personal computing, portable music and mobile communications. Yes, Microsoft Windows will always be the market leader in volume and functionality but even Windows 7's interface subtly resembles OSX 10.6 in many ways.
Take a closer look at many of the new generation Smart Phones, undeniably they also mimic the look and feel of the iPhone's IOS interface, especially those running Android
Of course LINUX will tick along eternally, supported by those who prefer the convenience of a PC without the clutter and cost of Windows.
Love or hate Apple, but they've pulled off some impressive feats over the past decade.
This corporation can be fairly autocratic, but this works for them and most of their customers.
The Apple product range has also sprung many other design and manufacturing companies who make products to compliment the Apple product set, everything from iPod compatible car stereo systems and alarm clocks to headphones and protective cases that all bear the "Designed for iPod" logo.
Sadly Apple products are expensive, but in my opinion they are beautifully made, very functional and worth the money they command.
Apple has turned around in the past decade, go back five or six years and no one really bothered about Apple products outside of the iPod.
Today the company has a much higher profile almost to the point of being in one's face with the Apple Stores, billboards and media advertising. This has also made them a target by those who don't like Apple as a corporation or their products.
I recall Microsoft taking the same sort of flak when Bill Gates was at the helm of the company, irrespective of his charitable and humanitarian nature.
Now that Steve Jobs has taken medical leave many investors are worried about the future of the company. Steve Jobs is only the head of the company, however my core admiration is for the designers at Apple and not Steve Jobs himself.
I admire the engineering foresight that goes into designing the iPod Nano which is the size of a book of matches, has 16GB of memory, a colour touch screen, FM tuner and hours of battery life.
The team that designed the Unibody MacBook Pro with a chassis machined from a solid billet of aluminium and the new iMac with its minimalist design, sleek, elegant and functional.
In my eyes the design engineers are the real geniuses at Apple Inc.
Of course some will see me as an "Apple Fanboi" and who knows? Perhaps I am..
This Blog entry wasn't intended to put Apple on a pedestal, they have their strengths and weaknesses like all manufacturers and products out there but do take a slightly different approach to things by thinking out of the box.
While we're all spoiled for choice when it comes to gadgets and admittedly I do have a few Apple products, but then again I have plenty of non-Apple products too. But not a day goes by that I don't use at least one of my Apple branded products, whether it be a phone, MP3 player or the desktop system I am writing this crap on..
/Ends
Friday, 21 January 2011
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Do Politicians Dream of Electic Cars?
Why base the title of today's entry upon Philip K Dick's epic Sci-Fi novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"? Well as we recall, this was turned into the legendary Sci-Fi cult movie "Blade Runner". The common denominator here is Science Fiction itself.
Dickhead supremo Gordon Brown has unveiled plans to encourage motorists to buy electric or hybrid cars. Yes, the man who puts the "Down" into Downing Street has a "Green Strategy" that will encourage motorists to invest in electrically powered motor vehicles with subsidies of up to £5000 being offered to motorists if they decide to go the hybrid or electrically powered car route. The Brown government have also committed £20,000,000 to invest in charging points for electric cars.
Labour Party business wordmonger Lord Mandelson said: "When people see the electric car - the speed, the lack of noise - they are going to fall in love with it." So, we're being encouraged to look at electric or hybrid powered cars. Well as ambitious as this government's plan is we need to look at the bigger picture first.
There are two main players in the UK hybrid car market. Toyota (who own Lexus) and Honda. Their offerings are petrol powered cars that automatically click over to electric mode when running in a suburban area. Clever stuff indeed, but these are still predominantly petrol (not eco friendlier diesel) powered vehicles that contain a shed load of batteries to power the oh-so-green electric motors at lower speeds. The incredibly ugly Toyota Prius is punted as being the most technologically advanced hybrid on the planet.
The current (3rd generation) Prius is packed with 168 Panasonic Prismatic batteries which weigh just over a kilogram each, or close on 170Kgs of batteries. So what happens when these cars reach the end of their life, whether it be due to an accident or ideally it outlived its use? Now we have 170Kgs of not so eco friendly batteries to dispose of. Even worse, what happens if one of these hybrids should get stolen and burnt by yobs, or perhaps catch on fire in a residential area? Rest assured the acrid and toxic fumes of 168Kgs worth of burning cells aren't going to do the population or environment any good. The car will be doused with water in order to bring the flames under control and all those lovely toxins will be absorbed into the ground to piss mother nature off just a little bit more. Pure electric cars may contain more cells due to the lack of a hybrid design, just making disposal or fire a little more interesting.
Another area of the puzzle is the charging time. Hybrids are predominantly fossil fuel powered cars that basically take care of their own cell charging and switch back to fuel should the batteries run low or when they reach faster speeds. The 100% electrically powered cars do have some impressive claimed range per charge. Let's look at the Mini E , which I am quoting as it's the closest all electric offering to a real family car. it is claimed by BMW the manufacturer that the Mini E can do in excess off 150 miles per charge. I have to ask if these claimed figures include the kids and luggage in the back of the car too? I doubt it to be honest. The Mini E has an 8 hour charge time. If the "Eco Family" of four want to go on holiday with the Mini E, they need to undertake an 8 hour stopover en route if the journey exceeds 150 odd miles. Realistically a family of four in a Mini E estate would probably also use a roof box to house the luggage as the Mini E may be the biggest 100% electrically operated car on offer, but it's still a small car by any standard. Would the claimed range of 150 miles per charge be achieved? I doubt it.
So, in Brown's green utopia with electric cars and a whopping £20M worth of charging points scattered across the isle of Britain, I also need to ask if the electricity provided to recharge the "Eco Family's" Mini E is free? Would I be skeptical saying I foresee lines of electric cars awaiting charging at the motorway Services as I do believe that recharging batteries takes more than a little longer than it does to fill a 45-60 litre fuel tank via the nozzle.
Another thing that worries me is the "quiet" credential that hybrid and electric vehicle advocates seem to be pushing. I've almost been hit by a Prius in the B&Q car park because I didn't hear the fucking thing. Rest assured if it was petrol/diesel powered I would have, but these things have what I can only term as "Audio Stealth"
This may appease the owner/driver but I foresee more pets, pedestrians and kids especially, being put at risk by this "quiet technology". Remember most vehicle/pedestrian incidents take place in residential areas where electric and hybrid cars will be running silently. Perhaps they should play an engine sound (in MP3 format) to warn pedestrians?
It seems that New Labour are going to use this new green approach to woe voters over the their leftist box on the Ballot Paper. Sadly the envirocrats and tree huggers will be dazed by this message of hope and greeness and vote for these idiots in the blind belief that we'll make the world a better place. Well Mr Brown you could find a cure for cancer, be the architect behind nuclear disarmament and even turn out to be Christ Himself, I wouldn't vote for you anyway.
As androids dream of electric sheep, it seems that New Labour dream of electric cars, not to save the environment or make commuters less reliant on fossil fuels, but solely to save New Labour's asses by wooing the conscientious voters through the green haze of deception. Those same voters who believe that the appliance white wind farms that ruin our scenic countryside are the answer and also believe that anyone who owns or drives a 4x4 is public enemy no. 1
Conclusion
It's been calculated that the United Kingdom contributes about 2% of the world's carbon emissions, however we are the most highly taxed nation on the planet when it comes to environmental matters. All air tickets are taxed on their "carbon footprint", 4x4 owners are targeted with unreasonable road tax costs and we are forced to recycle and if we do not, the New Labour controlled Councils send spies to look in our dustbins to make sure we're recycling and face a fine if we're not allowing ourselves to be forced into doing this.
Sadly China commissions a coal fueled power station every week, in fact the Chinese government intend on switching on approximately 56 of these power stations in 2009. This is the real issue, the developing nations like China and India are poisoning the planet. Our elected governments say and do nothing about this as we depend on the low cost manufactured goods that these counties produce for the Western World.
The United States and Russia are no angels either, but they're seeing the bigger picture and make serious concessions and efforts in reducing industrial carbon outputs.
Ironically the UK's New Labour government will overlook their trade allies' shoddy records when it comes to pollution and pick on the hard pressed UK taxpayer, while at the exact same time blinding us with the promise of greener cities with the promotion of super quiet and eco friendly battery powered and hybrid cars.
Gordon Brown doesn't think we're all stupid, he knows the majority of us are and he'll take advantage of that.
/rant = over
Dickhead supremo Gordon Brown has unveiled plans to encourage motorists to buy electric or hybrid cars. Yes, the man who puts the "Down" into Downing Street has a "Green Strategy" that will encourage motorists to invest in electrically powered motor vehicles with subsidies of up to £5000 being offered to motorists if they decide to go the hybrid or electrically powered car route. The Brown government have also committed £20,000,000 to invest in charging points for electric cars.
Labour Party business wordmonger Lord Mandelson said: "When people see the electric car - the speed, the lack of noise - they are going to fall in love with it." So, we're being encouraged to look at electric or hybrid powered cars. Well as ambitious as this government's plan is we need to look at the bigger picture first.
There are two main players in the UK hybrid car market. Toyota (who own Lexus) and Honda. Their offerings are petrol powered cars that automatically click over to electric mode when running in a suburban area. Clever stuff indeed, but these are still predominantly petrol (not eco friendlier diesel) powered vehicles that contain a shed load of batteries to power the oh-so-green electric motors at lower speeds. The incredibly ugly Toyota Prius is punted as being the most technologically advanced hybrid on the planet.
The current (3rd generation) Prius is packed with 168 Panasonic Prismatic batteries which weigh just over a kilogram each, or close on 170Kgs of batteries. So what happens when these cars reach the end of their life, whether it be due to an accident or ideally it outlived its use? Now we have 170Kgs of not so eco friendly batteries to dispose of. Even worse, what happens if one of these hybrids should get stolen and burnt by yobs, or perhaps catch on fire in a residential area? Rest assured the acrid and toxic fumes of 168Kgs worth of burning cells aren't going to do the population or environment any good. The car will be doused with water in order to bring the flames under control and all those lovely toxins will be absorbed into the ground to piss mother nature off just a little bit more. Pure electric cars may contain more cells due to the lack of a hybrid design, just making disposal or fire a little more interesting.
Another area of the puzzle is the charging time. Hybrids are predominantly fossil fuel powered cars that basically take care of their own cell charging and switch back to fuel should the batteries run low or when they reach faster speeds. The 100% electrically powered cars do have some impressive claimed range per charge. Let's look at the Mini E , which I am quoting as it's the closest all electric offering to a real family car. it is claimed by BMW the manufacturer that the Mini E can do in excess off 150 miles per charge. I have to ask if these claimed figures include the kids and luggage in the back of the car too? I doubt it to be honest. The Mini E has an 8 hour charge time. If the "Eco Family" of four want to go on holiday with the Mini E, they need to undertake an 8 hour stopover en route if the journey exceeds 150 odd miles. Realistically a family of four in a Mini E estate would probably also use a roof box to house the luggage as the Mini E may be the biggest 100% electrically operated car on offer, but it's still a small car by any standard. Would the claimed range of 150 miles per charge be achieved? I doubt it.
So, in Brown's green utopia with electric cars and a whopping £20M worth of charging points scattered across the isle of Britain, I also need to ask if the electricity provided to recharge the "Eco Family's" Mini E is free? Would I be skeptical saying I foresee lines of electric cars awaiting charging at the motorway Services as I do believe that recharging batteries takes more than a little longer than it does to fill a 45-60 litre fuel tank via the nozzle.
Another thing that worries me is the "quiet" credential that hybrid and electric vehicle advocates seem to be pushing. I've almost been hit by a Prius in the B&Q car park because I didn't hear the fucking thing. Rest assured if it was petrol/diesel powered I would have, but these things have what I can only term as "Audio Stealth"
This may appease the owner/driver but I foresee more pets, pedestrians and kids especially, being put at risk by this "quiet technology". Remember most vehicle/pedestrian incidents take place in residential areas where electric and hybrid cars will be running silently. Perhaps they should play an engine sound (in MP3 format) to warn pedestrians?
It seems that New Labour are going to use this new green approach to woe voters over the their leftist box on the Ballot Paper. Sadly the envirocrats and tree huggers will be dazed by this message of hope and greeness and vote for these idiots in the blind belief that we'll make the world a better place. Well Mr Brown you could find a cure for cancer, be the architect behind nuclear disarmament and even turn out to be Christ Himself, I wouldn't vote for you anyway.
As androids dream of electric sheep, it seems that New Labour dream of electric cars, not to save the environment or make commuters less reliant on fossil fuels, but solely to save New Labour's asses by wooing the conscientious voters through the green haze of deception. Those same voters who believe that the appliance white wind farms that ruin our scenic countryside are the answer and also believe that anyone who owns or drives a 4x4 is public enemy no. 1
Conclusion
It's been calculated that the United Kingdom contributes about 2% of the world's carbon emissions, however we are the most highly taxed nation on the planet when it comes to environmental matters. All air tickets are taxed on their "carbon footprint", 4x4 owners are targeted with unreasonable road tax costs and we are forced to recycle and if we do not, the New Labour controlled Councils send spies to look in our dustbins to make sure we're recycling and face a fine if we're not allowing ourselves to be forced into doing this.
Sadly China commissions a coal fueled power station every week, in fact the Chinese government intend on switching on approximately 56 of these power stations in 2009. This is the real issue, the developing nations like China and India are poisoning the planet. Our elected governments say and do nothing about this as we depend on the low cost manufactured goods that these counties produce for the Western World.
The United States and Russia are no angels either, but they're seeing the bigger picture and make serious concessions and efforts in reducing industrial carbon outputs.
Ironically the UK's New Labour government will overlook their trade allies' shoddy records when it comes to pollution and pick on the hard pressed UK taxpayer, while at the exact same time blinding us with the promise of greener cities with the promotion of super quiet and eco friendly battery powered and hybrid cars.
Gordon Brown doesn't think we're all stupid, he knows the majority of us are and he'll take advantage of that.
/rant = over
Friday, 10 April 2009
Confessions of a pedaler
Someone recently asked me why I cycle so much.
This brings those of you who read my Blog to the conclusion that I own a bicycle. Yes I do, in fact without being too boastful, I own three mountain bikes.
So, why does one cycle? Well it's most certainly not because I am on the lower end of the national average of earnings and need it to commute. In fact, the value of my bikes equals to the same value as decent compact family car.
The reason I originally bought a bike actually differs to the reason I currently ride one. To be bluntly honest I've always liked mountain bikes. They just look cool with almost every component being branded with manufacturers' names screened upon them: Shimano on the derailers, Sunrims on the rims, Panaracer on the tires, Truative on the cranks, WTB on the seatpost and handlebars and the awesome frame geometry painted all bright with 7005 Butted Alloy screened on the tubes. Lastly, the suspension, hydraulic disc brakes and Allen capped bolts all add to the mean, lean riding machine aura that these pedal powered steeds have
I bought my first bike in early 2007. It was pre-owned, but brand spanking new.
Someone I knew pointed me towards it as a friend of his had bought it and just didn't get on with cycling. I recall seeing the ad for the bike placed on an RC Forum, with a link to the manufacturer's site. I read through the specifications and was duly impressed. It had all the right stuff; Shiny, lightweight, branded and expensive when purchased new, with a £1000 price tag, which was not too shabby for a decent spec hardtail mountain bike.
I went and inspected it and yes it was as good as brand new. The soon to be previous owner even threw in a under saddle tool bag, multitool and spare tubes. I bought it for £450. A 55% depreciation in value over a few months.. fuck me, that's got to hurt, a lot.
When spring arrived I made a point of riding the bike and found myself a little road route of +-6 odd miles, or just on 10 kilometers. I rode this route every day after work and was still discovering the secrets of cycling in the mechanical sense. I was up and down the gears all the time, lower gears up the hills and higher gears when going down. This was a discovery of note for me and a humongous improvement on the old 10 speed racing bike I got around with as a kid. The hydraulic disc brakes were impressive too, but the off road tires whined in abundance on the tarmac.
I was offered a Garmin eTrex Legend GPS from a work colleague at a bargain price. I bought it and then got a handlebar mount. All of a sudden I could log my rides.
My riding routes had also varied with me finding about 2KM of dirt in the Three Brookes Nature Reserve. I was also keeping track of my times on a spreadsheet.
Sadly most of my rides were urban and this meant I had to compete with traffic and also inhale the obnoxious fumes that cars emit.
The riding times were improving and I yearned for something better than an urban ride with touch of dirt riding. I then discovered the Bristol to Bath Cycleway along what used to be the old Chiltern railway line.
Now this is 11-13 miles of tarred walkway (22-26 with the return trip) that cyclists play 2nd fiddle to pedestrians on. It's a great ride, lots of tree canopies, fresh air, sunshine, pretty girls, miserable old farts and long hills. I did this ride a few times solo and loved it. There are artworks and sculptures placed along this route as well as a steam train station, pubs and a cafe. Let me not forget to mention the graffiti! The ride starts in Bristol city and ends in Bath along the canal. It took me about an hour plus to weave through the walkers, pass slower riders and feral human offspring running wild along this cycleway
I was always faster on my way down to Bath, but the route back is all uphill. In fact I pushed my bike up the hills the first few times as I was so exhausted.
Later I hooked up with my mate Ray who lives close to the Cycleway. We did the ride a few times together and he often left me standing as he was a regular gym attendee and in good physical shape. But my fitness and times were improving and those hills that used to force me to dismount and push were now beaten fair and square. Ray didn't always ride with me as he's quite unreliable when it comes to meeting commitments in regards to arranged rides.
In early 2008 I rode the path solo from my house and picked up a few punctures which I tried to repair. I ended up riding from Bath to my house with a slow puncture as my bowl of rice piece of shit Chinese manufactured repair kit failed epically. I had to reinflate the rear tire every two miles and it was raining. What should have taken me just on an hour ended up being a 3 hour ride! That was the worst ride to date. An absolute fucking nightmare.
I was also looking for new places to ride as when on a bike, you see so much more. The bug was starting to bite me. I didn't realise this at the time, but looking back those trying and somewhat tiring rides had sewn the seeds. Another thing I had invested in was a Polar heart rate monitor as I wanted to measure my progress even further.
Ray and I had signed up for the Bristol Bike Fest in June, this was a 23 mile event. Not a race, just a good day out on the bikes with thousands of other cyclists.
In April 2008 whilst on a ride with another friend, I flipped my bike and landed awkwardly on my right leg.
I broke the leg in 6 places and was rewarded with 11 screws and a plate in my lower leg. As to whether I would ride again or not was the tale of two Doctors. I was being treated at Frenchay Hospital's Fracture Clinic and there were two consulting Doctors who alternated.
One Doctor said not an issue at all and I'll be up and riding sooner than I think. The other Doctor was a pessimist and told me that at my age I need to seriously reconsider what sporting activities I partake in as my leg would never be the same. I preferred the positive Doc's approach. As for the other Doctor, well he can go fuck himself I thought. I was going to get better. The lightweight, bright pink cast came off after two months and was replaced with a ROM Brace that made me look like Robocop under construction for about a month.
Life is all about meeting people, sometimes losing contact with them then bumping into them unexpectedly, Pete G an old friend who I worked with in S.A. had resettled in England with his wife and daughter. We made contact via Facebook and had spoken via mail and telephone.
On the 27th July 2008, 91 days after breaking my leg, Pete called me and said he needed a good bike ride.
I told Pete I was well up for a scoot down the Bristol-Bath Cycleway. Pete drove up to mine with his "Iron Giant" strapped to the boot of his car. I had just taken my Kona Kula around my block for its first ride in 3 months. In fact the first ride since breaking (and healing) my leg.
We rode the Cycleway together and it turns out Pete G had things on his mind and we discussed these and life in general as we cranked our way along the cycleway. It was a good day for us both, Pete getting issues of his chest, me testing the leg and most importantly, two good friends reunited after a decade with a little more in common now due to the cycling.
We got to Bath and back and my leg held up fine for the 23 odd miles, although as expected, the ankle area did swell quite a bit.
Pete and I rode a lot in the later part of 2008. He's adventurous and loves finding new places to ride. He's led me to some amazing places where mountain bikes just belong. Every ride is a photo opportunity too as there's so much to see in England.
In mid September 2008 I bought myself a limited production full suspension Felt Compulsion 2 SE "Mint Sauce" edition XC bike as a reward for healing up so quick and keeping a positive attitude, plus I knew it wouldn't be wasted. I decided to retain the Kona hardtail bike I had too as it is a great ride and I am also very, very fond of it.
I also "invested" in a Land Rover Discovery Series II 4.0 V8 and a pair of Thule 591 roof bike carriers solely to lug bikes and the relevant biking kit around. It's a top of the range specification too, so it also offers a lot of comfort and luxury which is a godsend after a hard day's riding.
The first ride on the XC bike was with Pete at Reading Copse and it was a nightmare for me. The bike was tall, heavier than the Kona and I was convinced it was trying to fucking kill me too.
It was also fast down the hills, offered grip second to none and brakes so powerful that I had to treat them with a new found respect, however I just didn't have the confidence to ride it properly. I was justifiably paranoid about my leg too with visions of me destroying all the Doctors' hard work in one swift fall. Pete rode his Kona Caldera and left me standing in an area ill suited to his bike and much more suited to mine. My confidence just wasn't there.
The second ride on it was at Swinley Forest in Bracknell, Berkshire where Pete once again left me standing on his Caldera. I recall how I fell off a collapsed wooden bridge. The fall was about two foot and Pete looked quite concerned asking my how my leg was. The leg was fine, the ego was dire need of repair though.
Later in the year, Pete also bought himself a full suspension trial bike, a lovely Giant Trance. This made me keeping up with him even harder work. I also bought another mountain bike, my 3rd. It was a bargain from the local on-line classifieds. This was purchased with the intention of turning it into a commuter and I am pleased to say I have done this successfully.
Pete and I also did some riding at the New Forest which was great stamina training due to the long sweeping hills within the forest. We rode from Lyndhurst to Brockenhurst via the forest. The great thing about the New Forest is the serenity of the area. Also the wild ponies are something we are just not used to, as in Africa without doubt, these ponies would most certainly be eaten by the starving locals. I did some of the New Forest rides on the Felt Compulsion 2 SE XC bike which isn't best suited to this environment as it's hardtail country but the hard work helps make one fitter.
Winter kicked in and riding sadly ground to an abrupt halt due to the poor weather. I joined the local gym to keep myself in trim but as my 6 week holiday in the sun inched ever closer, my motivation to attend gym waned and my weight gained..
2009 arrived and I came back from vacation weighing 108Kgs (230LBS for those Imperialists) and decided to shed weight as a matter of priority. I returned to the local gym and set my plans in motion. I would make myself fit to ride and for no other reason. I was working on the cross trainer to burn fat and undertaking circuit training to rebuild my upper body strength. I recall watching the RedBull Rampage DVD set and one of the Downhill riders stated the best armour is muscle.
The waistline was declining but the weight wasn't coming down as anticipated. I had also changed my diet and was (and still am) calorie counting. So, what was I doing wrong? I had no idea until I put on a casual shirt and noticed how it was tighter on my biceps. Fuck me, I realised I am rebuilding muscle which weighs more than the fat I burn.
Pete and I rode in Swinley Forest in early March 2009. I was riding better than I ever had before. We went for a rip down an area appropriately named "The Labyrinth" by the locals. This is a fast downhill rutted track with switchbacks and berms galore. This is adrenaline riding at it's best and what the Felt XC bike was made for, however one mistake and you will be hurt as the trail is lined with trees galore with only inches to spare on either side.
In 2008 The Labyrinth scared the living fuck out of me and I tackled the descent under constant braking and was 3 minutes slower than Pete on this route.
In March 2009 we did it a few times, each time I improved and was only 30 odd seconds behind Pete who was riding his Giant Trance Trial bike. I also clambered up hills and flew down hills with a new found confidence brought on by the combination of healing, weight loss, muscle gain and diet.
I've now decided to go exploring by myself and have recently discovered the Forest of Dean which is between 30 minutes and an hour from my house, 3o minutes if you want to line the French's pockets with £5.4o for using the old Severn toll bridge, or an hour to go around the long way. I've done both and decided the £5.40 is a lot more economical than the fuel my V8 powered Land Rover consumes going the long way round. Yes, paying the French any amount of money leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I digress.
The first outing at the Forest of Dean was with my buddy Ray, who had loaned my Kona while I decided to do this on the Felt XC bike.
We did 9.4 miles or 15KMS. This entailed a 6 odd mile climb that had me waiting for Ray quite a few times. The reward was just under 4 miles of downhill with me reaching speeds in excess of 30MPH or 49KMH! Fuck me I am a dumb ass, I logged those speeds on my Garmin GPS, so they're fairly accurate but I wasn't wearing any pads or a helmet.
The tables have certainly turned as far as fitness levels go, I have improved, sadly Ray's been a little slack and slowed down substantially.
I last went alone and covered 22.7 miles or 36KMS and loved it. In fact I cycled over 45.5 miles or 73 odd Kilometers that weekend
At the time of writing this Blog entry, I weigh 97 Kilograms, have a rested heart rate of 65-68BPM and feel on top of the world physically and mentally. Healthy body certainly does equal a healthy mind.
I ride my commuter mountain bike to gym, to the shops or wherever and whenever I can and am committed to cycling opposed to driving. The fun is not just in owning a bike, but actually using it.
So, why do I ride? Is the great camaraderie between mountain bikers? Perhaps it's the lure of the great outdoors and fresh air? Maybe it's just the machinery itself, great bikes bristling with the technology of lightweight, space program type alloys and carbon fibre, plus let's not forget the kit, helmets, gloves, shoes and the brightly coloured attire.
To be honest I don't know why I ride so much, one thing I can say is that when I ride it's like Novocaine for the soul. I think it could be that the mind needs to take a break and let the body do the harder work in order to meet the balance one often seeks subconsciously
Conclusion:
My name is Raymond and I love riding bikes, but strangely I still don't really know why....
This brings those of you who read my Blog to the conclusion that I own a bicycle. Yes I do, in fact without being too boastful, I own three mountain bikes.
So, why does one cycle? Well it's most certainly not because I am on the lower end of the national average of earnings and need it to commute. In fact, the value of my bikes equals to the same value as decent compact family car.
The reason I originally bought a bike actually differs to the reason I currently ride one. To be bluntly honest I've always liked mountain bikes. They just look cool with almost every component being branded with manufacturers' names screened upon them: Shimano on the derailers, Sunrims on the rims, Panaracer on the tires, Truative on the cranks, WTB on the seatpost and handlebars and the awesome frame geometry painted all bright with 7005 Butted Alloy screened on the tubes. Lastly, the suspension, hydraulic disc brakes and Allen capped bolts all add to the mean, lean riding machine aura that these pedal powered steeds have
I bought my first bike in early 2007. It was pre-owned, but brand spanking new.
Someone I knew pointed me towards it as a friend of his had bought it and just didn't get on with cycling. I recall seeing the ad for the bike placed on an RC Forum, with a link to the manufacturer's site. I read through the specifications and was duly impressed. It had all the right stuff; Shiny, lightweight, branded and expensive when purchased new, with a £1000 price tag, which was not too shabby for a decent spec hardtail mountain bike.
I went and inspected it and yes it was as good as brand new. The soon to be previous owner even threw in a under saddle tool bag, multitool and spare tubes. I bought it for £450. A 55% depreciation in value over a few months.. fuck me, that's got to hurt, a lot.
When spring arrived I made a point of riding the bike and found myself a little road route of +-6 odd miles, or just on 10 kilometers. I rode this route every day after work and was still discovering the secrets of cycling in the mechanical sense. I was up and down the gears all the time, lower gears up the hills and higher gears when going down. This was a discovery of note for me and a humongous improvement on the old 10 speed racing bike I got around with as a kid. The hydraulic disc brakes were impressive too, but the off road tires whined in abundance on the tarmac.
I was offered a Garmin eTrex Legend GPS from a work colleague at a bargain price. I bought it and then got a handlebar mount. All of a sudden I could log my rides.
My riding routes had also varied with me finding about 2KM of dirt in the Three Brookes Nature Reserve. I was also keeping track of my times on a spreadsheet.
Sadly most of my rides were urban and this meant I had to compete with traffic and also inhale the obnoxious fumes that cars emit.
The riding times were improving and I yearned for something better than an urban ride with touch of dirt riding. I then discovered the Bristol to Bath Cycleway along what used to be the old Chiltern railway line.
Now this is 11-13 miles of tarred walkway (22-26 with the return trip) that cyclists play 2nd fiddle to pedestrians on. It's a great ride, lots of tree canopies, fresh air, sunshine, pretty girls, miserable old farts and long hills. I did this ride a few times solo and loved it. There are artworks and sculptures placed along this route as well as a steam train station, pubs and a cafe. Let me not forget to mention the graffiti! The ride starts in Bristol city and ends in Bath along the canal. It took me about an hour plus to weave through the walkers, pass slower riders and feral human offspring running wild along this cycleway
I was always faster on my way down to Bath, but the route back is all uphill. In fact I pushed my bike up the hills the first few times as I was so exhausted.
Later I hooked up with my mate Ray who lives close to the Cycleway. We did the ride a few times together and he often left me standing as he was a regular gym attendee and in good physical shape. But my fitness and times were improving and those hills that used to force me to dismount and push were now beaten fair and square. Ray didn't always ride with me as he's quite unreliable when it comes to meeting commitments in regards to arranged rides.
In early 2008 I rode the path solo from my house and picked up a few punctures which I tried to repair. I ended up riding from Bath to my house with a slow puncture as my bowl of rice piece of shit Chinese manufactured repair kit failed epically. I had to reinflate the rear tire every two miles and it was raining. What should have taken me just on an hour ended up being a 3 hour ride! That was the worst ride to date. An absolute fucking nightmare.
I was also looking for new places to ride as when on a bike, you see so much more. The bug was starting to bite me. I didn't realise this at the time, but looking back those trying and somewhat tiring rides had sewn the seeds. Another thing I had invested in was a Polar heart rate monitor as I wanted to measure my progress even further.
Ray and I had signed up for the Bristol Bike Fest in June, this was a 23 mile event. Not a race, just a good day out on the bikes with thousands of other cyclists.
In April 2008 whilst on a ride with another friend, I flipped my bike and landed awkwardly on my right leg.
I broke the leg in 6 places and was rewarded with 11 screws and a plate in my lower leg. As to whether I would ride again or not was the tale of two Doctors. I was being treated at Frenchay Hospital's Fracture Clinic and there were two consulting Doctors who alternated.
One Doctor said not an issue at all and I'll be up and riding sooner than I think. The other Doctor was a pessimist and told me that at my age I need to seriously reconsider what sporting activities I partake in as my leg would never be the same. I preferred the positive Doc's approach. As for the other Doctor, well he can go fuck himself I thought. I was going to get better. The lightweight, bright pink cast came off after two months and was replaced with a ROM Brace that made me look like Robocop under construction for about a month.
Life is all about meeting people, sometimes losing contact with them then bumping into them unexpectedly, Pete G an old friend who I worked with in S.A. had resettled in England with his wife and daughter. We made contact via Facebook and had spoken via mail and telephone.
On the 27th July 2008, 91 days after breaking my leg, Pete called me and said he needed a good bike ride.
I told Pete I was well up for a scoot down the Bristol-Bath Cycleway. Pete drove up to mine with his "Iron Giant" strapped to the boot of his car. I had just taken my Kona Kula around my block for its first ride in 3 months. In fact the first ride since breaking (and healing) my leg.
We rode the Cycleway together and it turns out Pete G had things on his mind and we discussed these and life in general as we cranked our way along the cycleway. It was a good day for us both, Pete getting issues of his chest, me testing the leg and most importantly, two good friends reunited after a decade with a little more in common now due to the cycling.
We got to Bath and back and my leg held up fine for the 23 odd miles, although as expected, the ankle area did swell quite a bit.
Pete and I rode a lot in the later part of 2008. He's adventurous and loves finding new places to ride. He's led me to some amazing places where mountain bikes just belong. Every ride is a photo opportunity too as there's so much to see in England.
In mid September 2008 I bought myself a limited production full suspension Felt Compulsion 2 SE "Mint Sauce" edition XC bike as a reward for healing up so quick and keeping a positive attitude, plus I knew it wouldn't be wasted. I decided to retain the Kona hardtail bike I had too as it is a great ride and I am also very, very fond of it.
I also "invested" in a Land Rover Discovery Series II 4.0 V8 and a pair of Thule 591 roof bike carriers solely to lug bikes and the relevant biking kit around. It's a top of the range specification too, so it also offers a lot of comfort and luxury which is a godsend after a hard day's riding.
The first ride on the XC bike was with Pete at Reading Copse and it was a nightmare for me. The bike was tall, heavier than the Kona and I was convinced it was trying to fucking kill me too.
It was also fast down the hills, offered grip second to none and brakes so powerful that I had to treat them with a new found respect, however I just didn't have the confidence to ride it properly. I was justifiably paranoid about my leg too with visions of me destroying all the Doctors' hard work in one swift fall. Pete rode his Kona Caldera and left me standing in an area ill suited to his bike and much more suited to mine. My confidence just wasn't there.
The second ride on it was at Swinley Forest in Bracknell, Berkshire where Pete once again left me standing on his Caldera. I recall how I fell off a collapsed wooden bridge. The fall was about two foot and Pete looked quite concerned asking my how my leg was. The leg was fine, the ego was dire need of repair though.
Later in the year, Pete also bought himself a full suspension trial bike, a lovely Giant Trance. This made me keeping up with him even harder work. I also bought another mountain bike, my 3rd. It was a bargain from the local on-line classifieds. This was purchased with the intention of turning it into a commuter and I am pleased to say I have done this successfully.
Pete and I also did some riding at the New Forest which was great stamina training due to the long sweeping hills within the forest. We rode from Lyndhurst to Brockenhurst via the forest. The great thing about the New Forest is the serenity of the area. Also the wild ponies are something we are just not used to, as in Africa without doubt, these ponies would most certainly be eaten by the starving locals. I did some of the New Forest rides on the Felt Compulsion 2 SE XC bike which isn't best suited to this environment as it's hardtail country but the hard work helps make one fitter.
Winter kicked in and riding sadly ground to an abrupt halt due to the poor weather. I joined the local gym to keep myself in trim but as my 6 week holiday in the sun inched ever closer, my motivation to attend gym waned and my weight gained..
2009 arrived and I came back from vacation weighing 108Kgs (230LBS for those Imperialists) and decided to shed weight as a matter of priority. I returned to the local gym and set my plans in motion. I would make myself fit to ride and for no other reason. I was working on the cross trainer to burn fat and undertaking circuit training to rebuild my upper body strength. I recall watching the RedBull Rampage DVD set and one of the Downhill riders stated the best armour is muscle.
The waistline was declining but the weight wasn't coming down as anticipated. I had also changed my diet and was (and still am) calorie counting. So, what was I doing wrong? I had no idea until I put on a casual shirt and noticed how it was tighter on my biceps. Fuck me, I realised I am rebuilding muscle which weighs more than the fat I burn.
Pete and I rode in Swinley Forest in early March 2009. I was riding better than I ever had before. We went for a rip down an area appropriately named "The Labyrinth" by the locals. This is a fast downhill rutted track with switchbacks and berms galore. This is adrenaline riding at it's best and what the Felt XC bike was made for, however one mistake and you will be hurt as the trail is lined with trees galore with only inches to spare on either side.
In 2008 The Labyrinth scared the living fuck out of me and I tackled the descent under constant braking and was 3 minutes slower than Pete on this route.
In March 2009 we did it a few times, each time I improved and was only 30 odd seconds behind Pete who was riding his Giant Trance Trial bike. I also clambered up hills and flew down hills with a new found confidence brought on by the combination of healing, weight loss, muscle gain and diet.
I've now decided to go exploring by myself and have recently discovered the Forest of Dean which is between 30 minutes and an hour from my house, 3o minutes if you want to line the French's pockets with £5.4o for using the old Severn toll bridge, or an hour to go around the long way. I've done both and decided the £5.40 is a lot more economical than the fuel my V8 powered Land Rover consumes going the long way round. Yes, paying the French any amount of money leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I digress.
The first outing at the Forest of Dean was with my buddy Ray, who had loaned my Kona while I decided to do this on the Felt XC bike.
We did 9.4 miles or 15KMS. This entailed a 6 odd mile climb that had me waiting for Ray quite a few times. The reward was just under 4 miles of downhill with me reaching speeds in excess of 30MPH or 49KMH! Fuck me I am a dumb ass, I logged those speeds on my Garmin GPS, so they're fairly accurate but I wasn't wearing any pads or a helmet.
The tables have certainly turned as far as fitness levels go, I have improved, sadly Ray's been a little slack and slowed down substantially.
I last went alone and covered 22.7 miles or 36KMS and loved it. In fact I cycled over 45.5 miles or 73 odd Kilometers that weekend
At the time of writing this Blog entry, I weigh 97 Kilograms, have a rested heart rate of 65-68BPM and feel on top of the world physically and mentally. Healthy body certainly does equal a healthy mind.
I ride my commuter mountain bike to gym, to the shops or wherever and whenever I can and am committed to cycling opposed to driving. The fun is not just in owning a bike, but actually using it.
So, why do I ride? Is the great camaraderie between mountain bikers? Perhaps it's the lure of the great outdoors and fresh air? Maybe it's just the machinery itself, great bikes bristling with the technology of lightweight, space program type alloys and carbon fibre, plus let's not forget the kit, helmets, gloves, shoes and the brightly coloured attire.
To be honest I don't know why I ride so much, one thing I can say is that when I ride it's like Novocaine for the soul. I think it could be that the mind needs to take a break and let the body do the harder work in order to meet the balance one often seeks subconsciously
Conclusion:
My name is Raymond and I love riding bikes, but strangely I still don't really know why....
Thursday, 9 April 2009
The great power debate
So, things cost a little more nowadays, right?
Sure they do, in this fragile economic climate everyone has the right to make a living and therefore charge just a fraction more for goods and services. These increases are supposed to be proportionate to the country's inflation rate. Now to be honest, I have no issue with this, every year things cost a little more, I work harder, earn a little more and make ends meet accordingly.
Well, much to my surprise, upon my return from vacation, EDF, my French owned electricity supplier decided to increase my monthly payment (which I may add is paid for by Direct Debit) from £65/month in 2008 to £100/month in January 2009. So it's £35! Perhaps it's a billing mistake or they'll not take that much off in February. Well, I guess I got that wrong when February this year I was once again billed £100. The same happened again for the month of March 2009, so I took the onus of calling customer support
Armed with my account number I listened to the pre-recorded messages telling me to press thee # key to start and rattle through the 90 seconds of recorded waffle outlining the endless choices I have by pressing 1, 2 or 9. (What would have happened had I have pressed 3,4,5,6,7 or 8?)
I press 9 for customer service only to me told by another recorded message telling me for "training purposes" all conversations are recorded, I am in their queuing system and will be attended to accordingly
Whilst waiting EDF's recorded propaganda tells me that EDF have UK based call centres. great now the French are attempting to patronise me with a recording of Nationalistic value. In my opinion it doesn't matter where the call centres are, BT for example have excellent call centres based in Mumbai.
So i get through to this Northern woman who told me her name was Phylis could I please tell her my account number. Done! Then comes a barrage of security centric questions like postal code, favourite sexual position, great grandmother's middle from last name etc. I am then asked the nature of my inquiry. At last! I inform her that I am recording this conversation for legal reasons.
I query as to why my billing has gone up from £65/month to £100/month. She tells me the magic scripted formula that it's calculated on estimated monthly consumption, so I profess that I cannot possibly be using £100/month worth of power as I am not trying to get the DeLorean up to 88MPH without Mr Fusion* in my dining room or anything like that.
She then informs me that I am in fact "in credit" by £131! I asked for the money to be credited into my account. Phylis then tells me that this is not possible as my consumption may go up and the credit will be used to offset any extra electricity use.
Now in the words of Bender Rodriguez**, this "does not compute" and I demand my £131 overpayment back. No can do she says.
Somewhat dazed at how efficiently she has answered my questions (or read the scripted replies flawlessly) I ask if I can cancel the Direct Debit monthly payment. yes I can, but then I lose my Direct Debit Discount. w00t! 3D's in concurrence. I tell her I am not happy with her French masters overcharging me on a monthly basis and keeping my money in their coffers and earning interest on it. She diligently tells me that this is not the case and proceeds to repeat the billing process.
Anyway I come to the conclusion that I am being defeated telephonicaly by a woman who probably earns a lot less than me, puts up with smart asses like me all day, values her job and really looks forward to going to work.
I suggest that I will probably cancel my Direct Debit and pay monthly, even if I do lose my (big cahuna) discount. She diligently tells me she will cancel it immediately. I remind her that I have not given her the go ahead to do this and that I am recording the call and will rewind it if she wants me to. Needless to say I am not recording the call and hoping she doesn't call my bluff on this one.
So, the good news is I got my meter reading from Phylis and on a positive note she informed me that I may actually pay less for April's bill as I was in credit. I checked the meter when I got home and I feel assured that the EDF man is doing his job and reading my meter.
One of my work colleagues overheard my conversation and made a suggestion that I move suppliers and use the service he has. This entails providing the supplier with monthly meter readings online and then paying electronically. He told me it saved him 15%. Bargain and I most certainly will take his advice.
Conclusion:
Most of Britain's Utilities companies are owned by French and German corporations. As the British consumer is little protected against exploitation, companies like EDF raise the prices way beyond the national inflation rate to hike profits and also provide lower tariff increases in their home countries, where the consumer is protected against exploitation
In addition to this, EDF overcharges British consumers and makes money from the interest gained on the overcharge amounts. This unfair practice was raised on BBC Radio 2's Drive Time Show when Rebeca "the fox" Pike interviewed some or other consumer rights watchdog organisation who's name eludes me now and probably forever
/rant = over
*Back to the Future when 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is need to get the DeLorean from 1955 back to 1985
**Bender Rodriguez the kleptomaniac robot from Futurama
Sure they do, in this fragile economic climate everyone has the right to make a living and therefore charge just a fraction more for goods and services. These increases are supposed to be proportionate to the country's inflation rate. Now to be honest, I have no issue with this, every year things cost a little more, I work harder, earn a little more and make ends meet accordingly.
Well, much to my surprise, upon my return from vacation, EDF, my French owned electricity supplier decided to increase my monthly payment (which I may add is paid for by Direct Debit) from £65/month in 2008 to £100/month in January 2009. So it's £35! Perhaps it's a billing mistake or they'll not take that much off in February. Well, I guess I got that wrong when February this year I was once again billed £100. The same happened again for the month of March 2009, so I took the onus of calling customer support
Armed with my account number I listened to the pre-recorded messages telling me to press thee # key to start and rattle through the 90 seconds of recorded waffle outlining the endless choices I have by pressing 1, 2 or 9. (What would have happened had I have pressed 3,4,5,6,7 or 8?)
I press 9 for customer service only to me told by another recorded message telling me for "training purposes" all conversations are recorded, I am in their queuing system and will be attended to accordingly
Whilst waiting EDF's recorded propaganda tells me that EDF have UK based call centres. great now the French are attempting to patronise me with a recording of Nationalistic value. In my opinion it doesn't matter where the call centres are, BT for example have excellent call centres based in Mumbai.
So i get through to this Northern woman who told me her name was Phylis could I please tell her my account number. Done! Then comes a barrage of security centric questions like postal code, favourite sexual position, great grandmother's middle from last name etc. I am then asked the nature of my inquiry. At last! I inform her that I am recording this conversation for legal reasons.
I query as to why my billing has gone up from £65/month to £100/month. She tells me the magic scripted formula that it's calculated on estimated monthly consumption, so I profess that I cannot possibly be using £100/month worth of power as I am not trying to get the DeLorean up to 88MPH without Mr Fusion* in my dining room or anything like that.
She then informs me that I am in fact "in credit" by £131! I asked for the money to be credited into my account. Phylis then tells me that this is not possible as my consumption may go up and the credit will be used to offset any extra electricity use.
Now in the words of Bender Rodriguez**, this "does not compute" and I demand my £131 overpayment back. No can do she says.
Somewhat dazed at how efficiently she has answered my questions (or read the scripted replies flawlessly) I ask if I can cancel the Direct Debit monthly payment. yes I can, but then I lose my Direct Debit Discount. w00t! 3D's in concurrence. I tell her I am not happy with her French masters overcharging me on a monthly basis and keeping my money in their coffers and earning interest on it. She diligently tells me that this is not the case and proceeds to repeat the billing process.
Anyway I come to the conclusion that I am being defeated telephonicaly by a woman who probably earns a lot less than me, puts up with smart asses like me all day, values her job and really looks forward to going to work.
I suggest that I will probably cancel my Direct Debit and pay monthly, even if I do lose my (big cahuna) discount. She diligently tells me she will cancel it immediately. I remind her that I have not given her the go ahead to do this and that I am recording the call and will rewind it if she wants me to. Needless to say I am not recording the call and hoping she doesn't call my bluff on this one.
So, the good news is I got my meter reading from Phylis and on a positive note she informed me that I may actually pay less for April's bill as I was in credit. I checked the meter when I got home and I feel assured that the EDF man is doing his job and reading my meter.
One of my work colleagues overheard my conversation and made a suggestion that I move suppliers and use the service he has. This entails providing the supplier with monthly meter readings online and then paying electronically. He told me it saved him 15%. Bargain and I most certainly will take his advice.
Conclusion:
Most of Britain's Utilities companies are owned by French and German corporations. As the British consumer is little protected against exploitation, companies like EDF raise the prices way beyond the national inflation rate to hike profits and also provide lower tariff increases in their home countries, where the consumer is protected against exploitation
In addition to this, EDF overcharges British consumers and makes money from the interest gained on the overcharge amounts. This unfair practice was raised on BBC Radio 2's Drive Time Show when Rebeca "the fox" Pike interviewed some or other consumer rights watchdog organisation who's name eludes me now and probably forever
/rant = over
*Back to the Future when 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is need to get the DeLorean from 1955 back to 1985
**Bender Rodriguez the kleptomaniac robot from Futurama
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