Not Resolutions, compass setting

I've never really been into New Year's Resolutions, possibly because they seem a bit arbitrary to me. That is to say, if you want to change something or improve your life, one could just get on a do it, rather than rely on some fairly arbitrary calendarisation to provide the excuse to do it. (This is perhaps because I tend to love nature's number patterns, rather than man's)

On the other hand, with some Christmas time off work, there's a natural pause to reflect on life's events past and (hopefully) future. Here are a few of my ponderings - I'll use them to set my "compass" rather than create goals I may subsequently fail at. 

More love, laughter & happiness - this is pretty much the standard one, who doesn't want this? It comes in many many guises. 

Skype my niece more often - it's so easy to miss youngsters growing up, it happens so fast. Must try to do it weekly. Have installed the latest skype App on my iphone which now supports video.

Achieve more with my artistic photography. Through 2010 brushstrokes has been successful and rewarding, now with a 4-figure fan base on facebook, a gallery of hundreds of images, collaborations with other photographers and amateur models. It has also confirmed my deep love of photography, which has also been recognised this year: I was selected by the photography company Tiffen as their 'featured imagemaker'. In 2011 I'll explore options to expand my Scottish photography.

Get the work life balance under control. Where to live, where to work? Burning questions for the average mid-lifer. It's no secret that I feel a draw to my homeland of Scotland - so in the long term I need to figure out how this could potentially happen. My work pattern is not ideal either.

Keep my weight under control. In 2010 I managed to lose of 2 Stones that had crept up on me. I want to keep this off (have succeeded so far) and get more exercise too. 

I think that's a fairly rounded set and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into them.

Driving Tips for Freshers

For students starting university this term, the last thing on their mind is probably driver safety.

But the roads before Fresher’s Week are increasingly filled with students moving their worldly possessions across the country - usually in heavily-laden, small, second-hand cars, raising a number of potential risks; fatigue, view blocking and driving on unfamiliar roads.

The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has a few tips for those travelling to university this week on how to load all their clothes, books, stereos, TV’s and food, and allow students to kick-start their uni life safely.

• Make sure belongings are securely packed - bear in mind, drivers can face prosecution for travelling with an ‘unsecure load’. More importantly, loose objects can be distracting and if the driver needs to brake sharply, unsecured items could fly forward and hit those sitting in front.
• Loading a car until it’s ready to burst can obstruct the already dangerous ‘blind spot’ view further, making the driver more vulnerable when changing lanes. Loads should be made as small as possible and positioned for a clear view. Students should take essentials on the first trip and ask family to bring more when they visit.
• A long drive can lead to fatigue, so drivers should get plenty of rest beforehand. For the journey, comfortable, loose clothing should be worn, the driving seat should be adjusted to a safe upright position and the heating/air-conditioning set to a cool – not cold – temperature, regular breaks should be taken at least every two hours and driving at night should be avoided.
• Having a full car will use more fuel; keep an eye on the fuel level to ensure it doesn’t run out.
• Check tyre pressures before setting off. Tyres on a full and heavy car usually require higher pressure. The right pressures prevent unnecessary wear, excess fuel consumption and potentially dangerous blow outs.
• Finally, driving on unfamiliar roads can be unnerving. Sat navs can help and enable the driver to re-route quickly and relatively easily, however, they can be expensive so it is best to plan the journey before hitting the road. 

University life is fantastic; students should make sure theirs isn’t postponed by keeping their car safely loaded while driving there.

[source IAM]

There are two ways to save money...

There are two ways to save money without undermining what you do: reduce cost and cut wastage.

When I recently invested in my bread machine I thought I was probably doing the former - reducing cost - because I anticipated the price of raw ingredients to be much less than the price of the finished product (a loaf of bread). 

It turns out this assumption is not as starkly true as I had hoped. Sure - there is a lower price point for raw ingredients, but it's more marginal than I had imagined. Silly me for not doing my ROI (return on investment) calculations based on more detailed research/discovery.

Notwithstanding, my bread machine is still saving me loads. How?

Because, for one, it's cutting down wastage. The ability to make my bread "on demand", to make the appropriate quantities I need, AND the ability to store the ingredients until they are needed (rather than keep unused bread until it is mouldy) means my purchasing and consumption patterns are much more closely aligned. I'm putting less into the system, but still getting what I need out. And it's fresher - i.e. better quality. In a sense, my process is more lean.

But there's a third factor two - possibly even the most significant - that is contributing to my results: transformation.

That's right - I have transformed my behaviour. And this is the third way to cut costs - by changing what you do.

In the case of the bread maker, my behaviour has changed so that I eat more bread, more often. This change in behaviour translates into less eating of other, more costly, foodstuffs (such as snacks and ready meals). And that is where the significant savings come. If I can feed myself on bread and soup for a day, it'll cost me, say £2 - when I might otherwise have spent £5 or £10 on alternatives (TV dinners, take aways, or even home-cooked meat & two-veg). The effect of transformation is stark. 

And this is how it applies in business too - technology is an enabler. It may slice a bit of cost off here, enable a slightly more efficient process there - but ultimately, it's by transformation - change in behaviour - that the big bucks can be saved. 

So there you go - the essence of business process transformation in a nutshell - or indeed, a bread machine.

Finally tempted my brother to the dark side...

After what must be the best part of 20 years driving exclusively volvo, I never thought my brother would defect. But he has! He's bought a Skoda!

I think the pressure has been gnawing away from within the family network - not only did I defect from Volvo/Saab (I like my fast, swedish, quirky cars) to Skoda a few years ago, but so did my sister (at the same time and completely independently) and finally my mother recently, prompted by the UK scrappage scheme. 

The leap on paper was big for me - not only from a 300bhp SAAB to a "lesser" badge, but a diesel car at that. But, I was too tempted by the alarming regularity of rave reviews, much lower all round purchase & running costs, capacious load carrying, and a fun pokey engine in the vRS - which is essentially a Golf GTI by another name and body shell. 

I've never looked back. Thrilled by fun, low cost, high economy motoring, not a day goes past without the car putting a smile on my face. A spirited drive does not cost the earth, unlike that of my brother's volvo T5 - for which you have to take steps to arrange a bank loan before you give it a long blast through the mountains. And, should you care to chip your diesel vRS you can have 430Nm of torque propelling you past pretty much any line of traffic. Even my 300bhp saab only managed 400Nm. 

So, spurred by Skoda's current "tax free" deal (i.e you pay list price before VAT is added, saving about £3500 on a top spec car) my brother has jumped ship - also to a diesel Octy vRS estate. He won't regret it. Not to be outdone, I'm changing mine too - for the same thing. This is the first time I've replaced a car with one the same - that's how much I love my Skoda. 

It'll be interesting to compare cars - his is the manual, mine will be the DSG auto (with flappy paddles). Both will benefit from the new common rail diesel engine which allows a higher rev limit, and if my test drive is anything to go by, a smoother power delivery across the range. I was mightily impressed by the DSG - responsiveness, comfort and ease of use. I doubt I will go back especially once it's come into its own in all those M25 queues. 

Roll on March - we've ordered them only 2 days apart and from the same dealer - so they may arrive together. That'll make a nice photo :)

How I baffled a cold-caller with one easy statement...

Cold Caller: Do you think people should be paying less for solar energy

Mr. Nik: I don't know - I mean I don't know what they're paying at the moment

Cold Caller: But people should be paying less, right?

Mr. Nik: Like I said, I don't really know, what are they paying now?

(repeat for several minutes)

Cold Caller: Well, but they should pay less?

Mr. Nik: Honestly, I don't know if they should...I have no idea about the costs.. maybe what they're paying now is ok?

Cold Caller: <silence>

Cold Caller: <more silence>

Cold Caller: <about 12 seconds silence; sound of tumbleweed>

Cold Caller: Ok, thank you for your time.. <click>

In Mr. Nik's head: No, thank YOU. My day wouldn't have been the same without this insane conversation

I Save money when I shower with two natty watery gadgets

If your shower runs at mains pressure or close to it, it's quite possible that you can reduce its pressure without detriment to its cleaning potential and how it feels. Indeed, if your shower is like mine, it might actually be painful to stand under at high pressure.  It seems that most modern houses comes with thermal store hot water systems which allow hot water to be delivered to the house at mains pressure, without little regard to what is actually comfortable or what is economic and eco-friendly.

Since I have the luxury of two showers I have installed two different devices, one in each as follows:

Eaga Shower Smart (get one free)

A small pressure-reducing insert that goes inline with the shower hose.

The Eaga shower smart prevents the unnecessary waste of water without loss of comfort. It creates a constant flow of 7.7 litres per minute, giving a full even jet with less fluctuation in water flow. Water temperature can be more constant - because sudden changes in pressure have a much smaller influence on the temperature. 

For a 2 person household, the Eaga ShowerSmart could save more than 12000 litres of water per year, as well as all the associated energy costs that go with heating it. 

At the time of writing Eaga are running a promotion for a free showersmart.

Oxygenics BodySpa shower head

If you want the dual benefits of economy AND a spa-like experience when you shower, then try the Oygenics BodySpa shower head. The entire oxygenics range not only reduces pressure and flow but at the same time sucks in oxygen and mixes is the with the water, giving an incredible refreshing shower sensation without any feeling of loss of pressure.

I have one fitted in my main shower and have tested that it does indeed reduce the flow (easily done by filling a bag with a line marked for 5 seconds or so) yet it feels wonderful to shower under. And it looks great too. The single orifice design of Oxygenics® showerheads coupled with internal components made of non-stick Delrin® are no match against common "shower cloggers." There isn't a calcium deposit or sediment that will stand in the way.

is it all a load of Berocca?

Is it really worth paying almost £5 for a tube of Berocca tablets (£4.37 for 15 = 29p per tablet), when both Boots and Tesco have their own variants for much less?

Boots' "Re-energise" costs less (£3.49 = 17p per tablet) but also has higher RDA levels for all the vitamins and minerals so seems like good value. Meanwhile Tesco's "B-active" costs significantly less (£1.93 for 20 = 10p per tablet) and has identical RDAs to Berocca! Is it in fact exactly the same stuff?

% RDA for...	Berocca	Tesco "B-active"	Boots "Re-Energise"
Vitamin C	793	793	833
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)	743	743	929
Ribofalvin (Vitamin B2)	850	850	938
Niacin (Vitamin B3)	252	252	278
Vitamin B6	355	355	500
Folic Acid	183	183	200
Vitamin B12	860	860	1000
Biotin	87	87	100
Panthothenic Acid	378	378	417
Calcium	12	12	13
Magnesium	32	32	33
Zinc	60	60	67

How to get your music on iTunes

the digital age has made it possible to self-publish your own music on the route to rock-stardom. Here's how you can get your music on the apple iTunes store as well as all the main digital download stores such as Amazon, Napster and eMusic.

Without doubt the advent of MP3s and the digital download age has revolutionised music forever. It's now possible for anyone with a PC and the right software to create their own music and recordings and make them available to the world without the merest hint of a record contract or a large record producing organisation to both invest or constrain the artistic process.  

However, in the absence of a huge marketing budgets it is essential to get your music into all the major online record stores and all the online download stores in order to reach the widest audience possible.

In my opinion the best way to do this is through the tunecore service. For a ludicrously low annual fee in the region of $20 they will make your digital music album available to all the major music retailers across the globe, including iTunes, Amazon, Napster and many more. It's extremely easy to upload your music just once to tune core who will then distribute it on your behalf to all the stores you select. This is a process you can complete in one or two hours and within a matter of a few weeks your album and recordings will be available to buy and download to hundreds of millions of Internet users all over the world. Tune core takes all the hassle  out of hosting and distributing your files, as well as collecting and is shooting the royalties you earn.   On top of that they provided information and advice on how to be successful in the industry.. I cannot recommend them highly enough and I have my own music published through tunecore.

Click here for TuneCore

When Music-on-hold goes bad

The Avoid List

Born of Frustration - James

Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie

Heaven Knows I Am Miserable Know - The Smiths

Hold the Line - Toto

How Long - The Eagles

Hung Up - Madonna (“Time Goes By So Slowly”) 

It's So Funny How We Don't Talk Any More - Cliff Richard 

It's Yer Money I'm After Baby - The Wonder Stuff

No Rush - Josh Turner

Paper Planes - MIA (“All I want to do is ... and … and take your money”)

Patience - Take That

Relax Take It Easy - Mika

Ring Ring - De La Soul (“Hey you doing? Sorry you couldn’t get through. If you leave a name and a number … I’ll get back to you”)

Sam’s Town - The Killers ("Why do you waste my time? Is the answer to the question on your mind")

Say Something - James (“Say Something Say Something Anything Your Silence Is Deafening”) 

Shutt Uppa Ya Face - Joe Dolce

Still Waiting - Sum 41

Talk Dirty To Me - Poison

Things Can Only Get Better - DREAM

Under Pressure - Queen

We Have All The Time In The World - Louis Armstrong

You Don't Care About Us - Placebo

You Never Give Me Your Money - The Beatles

Utility Company no-no's

Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

Boom! Shake The Room - DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince

Every Light In The House Has Blown - Cledus T Judd

Firestarter - Prodigy

Greased Lightning (“It’s Electrifying”)

Hot And Cold - Katy Perry

Lights Out - Santigold

Relight My Fire - Take That

Short Circuit - Daft Punk

The Light - Proclaimers (“A Light Shines On That Helps You To Steer, Makes Everything Clear, Well It Might In Your World But It Doesn't In Mine, Ive Been Stumbling In The Dark For Years”) 

Une Annee Sans Lumiere - Arcade Fire

Suggestions for a Utility Company

Darling Leave The Lights On For Me - Belinda Carlisle

Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle) - Outhere Brothers (Energy!  Energy!  Energy!  Energy! ) Nb: Only Listen To The Clean Version!

Energy - Earth Wind And Fire

Light My Fire - The Doors

Our Friends Electric - Gary Newman

Power Of Love - Huey Lewis And The News

She's Electric - Oasis

Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra

The Power - Snap

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

Whatever You Want, Whatever You Need - Status Quo

You Are Not Alone - The Eagles

You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone