Toilet habits: three ways of telling people what to do in the loo
Blocked toilets are a nuisance. But if you're responsible for lots of loos, figuring out how to ensure people treat your toilets with care could drive you around the u-bend.
The Plan for Drivers: Pay and dismay?
‘One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.’ Afficionados of The Lord of the Rings will recognise this, but swap ‘Ring’ for ‘Parking App’ and it sums up the car-parking ideas outlined by the goverment in their recent Plan for Drivers.
Are dog-poo signs barking up the wrong tree?
Signs prodding dog owners to do the decent thing and pick up their pooches’ poo typically takes one of two forms: the official approach threating fines and the social approach with polite requests from the community. But perhaps both are barking up the wrong tree.
The Plan for Drivers: Does this drive you mad?
The government’s new Plan for Drivers has been driving me mad. For starters, while trying to send a message of “We love motorists”, it fails to realise the statistics it uses show that even most motorists hate motorists!
Empathy trumps accuracy
When we answer a question or solve a problem, what answer are we seeking to provide? Is it better to give the answer we feel is right or the answer we know is right?
Not possible is not impossible
‘Not possible’ can feel like it means exactly the same thing as ‘impossible’. However, there’s often a big difference. And I’ve recently encountered businesses using ‘not possible’ to suggest ‘impossible’ and avoid the truth which is simply ‘We don’t want to’.
The missing dimension in on-street parking
Local authorities face the challenge of enjoying revenue from parking fees, while also needing to tackle congestion and pollution caused by cars. Metered on-street parking is missing a dimension that could help square the circle.
How much is my Starbucks coffee?
Today’s quiz question. How much is my Starbucks coffee if the price shown behind the counter says £3.55? (Here’s a clue… it’s not £3.55.)
When is an e-bike not an e-bike?
Fires caused by batteries on e-bikes have been grabbing the headlines. But the headlines don't tell an accurate story, and are spreading a misplaced fear of e-bikes. Here's one way to fix it.
Stop buzzing in!
Buzz in if you know the answer... or you think you know the answer... or you have the answer to a question you think I should have asked. ‘Buzzing in’ has become an increasingly annoying phenomenon we are all having to suffer and navigate around.