Homeopathic "medicine"
- Posted from Nottingham, United Kingdom
Lost at Wharncliffe woods dh trails - steel pendant
I was riding at Wharncliffe woods on sunday (26th September), for the first time ever. Some how, even though I only live an hour away, I'd never got around to it. Maybe it's because most of my mates ride xc, or just that I'm actually quite lazy.
The dh trails there are amazing though, and a real credit to the guys at Wharncliffe Riders Collective - technical, rocky, rooty, fast and burly. Proper UK downhill, not like the sterile, manicured trails at most trail centres, but good proper stuff that makes you work for it, and the rewards are all the greater as a result.
The downside, however, was that I lost my steel pendant from around my neck (pictured). It was a present from my wife a few years ago, and I'm quite pathetically sentimental about it. I'm not sure which trail I lost it on, as we rode a few different ones, and pushed up a few different routes too. If anyone finds it, I'll find something to give you in return - beer / wine / bike parts / good karma / cuddles (everyone like cuddles).
Email me at tom.geraghty@yahoo.co.uk or tweet me @tom_geraghty
360 IT
Today, I'm going to the 360 IT show at Earls court. I've been to IT shows like this before, but I think this might be a new one - it certainly is to me.
I'm looking forward to it though, and I think it'll be really useful. I need to check out storage and backup technologies primarily, as that's probably our biggest business issue right now in relation to IT.
I'd also like to check out some of the fuss about "cloud computing", outsourcing IT support, inter-site connectivity, and mobile technologies.
I'm looking forward to it though, and I think it'll be really useful. I need to check out storage and backup technologies primarily, as that's probably our biggest business issue right now in relation to IT.
I'd also like to check out some of the fuss about "cloud computing", outsourcing IT support, inter-site connectivity, and mobile technologies.
"Unlimited" data tariffs: What's a true fair use limit?
I'm with Orange for my mobile contract, and data hiccups notwithstanding, quite satisfied. When I signed up, however, I asked for their "unlimited" data tariff, which (at the time) I was told had a 500MB "fair use" limit. 500MB? Really? If 500MB is fair use, then what's standard usage? Do Orange expect people to use less than a couple hundred MB per month? I asked them what they could do to increase the limit, and was told I could bolt on another 500MB for an extra tenner, but I (rightly) guessed that probably wouldn't be enough either.
As it turns out, they're able to bolt on one of the low-end datastick tariffs, which turns out as £9 for 10GB per month. Since then, I've been merrily downloading and munching on data without any fear of incurring extra fees.
I don't believe that I'm a particularly heavy user - I listen to podcasts, a little bit of internet radio, use twitter a lot, a bit of web, a bit of facebook, various web apps, and a little video too. Yet, I consistently go over 1GB per month, and sometimes 2GB. If I'm using this, there must be a considerable number of people using significantly more.
What sort of data volumes do you reach per month? And what do you think would be a true "fair use" limit?
"Measuring" social media success?
I often get asked how "successful" my use of social media is, or how my business's marketing department can justify using social media for marketing.
To me, this seems a little like asking how successful our use of email is, or the telephone. I'd be surprised if we could directly attribute any revenue generation from our use of social media, our presence on twitter, a facebook page, blogs, LinkedIn, or some other network, as it doesn't work like that. What I do know is that I find social media incredibly useful. It's changed my life, in some respects. I've made friends, discovered useful resources, attended social and business events, promoted myself, my business, and my work, I've become involved in a huge conversation that I would otherwise have been excluded from.
"People buy from people." - especially true when it comes to anything with real value. Consumers can now use social media to research products and services, ask for recommendations, and support when something goes wrong. A business using social media can expose themselves to these searches, more easily get recommended by people, and much more easily provide support if something goes wrong. It can make people feel closer to your business, and (if it's done right) put a personality upon what used to be a faceless entity.
For example, I recently signed up for hosting with 34sp, from a recommendation on twitter, and chose them largely because they use twitter for support, and that's important to me. BT and Virgin Media also both use twitter to provide support to customers, to great effect, or at least it makes up for some of what they lack in the call centre realm. With social media, big businesses can appear smaller, while small businesses can appear larger. To some degree, it's easier to engineer your own online personality.
It's also far easier to deal with bad publicity if you're involved in social media. There are myriad examples of this, and I won't go into it right now, but if someone complains about you online, I think it's best to deal with it publicly and professionally - and the only way to to that is on the same platform as the complainant. It doesn't always solve the problem, but too many businesses don't realise how big social media is, and how one complaint can turn into a PR nightmare.
If you want to join twitter to post every two days about your new product line, tweet your website's url, and never use your real name, maybe social media isn't for you, yet.
If you're already a good communicator, enjoy networking, and want to improve your service rather than just make more sales, social media will be your thing.
Love heart note
Seen in nottingham train station.
For sale: 2006 Specialized Enduro with upgrades and experience!
After just less than 4 years riding this little beast, I'm selling it. I've bought myself a beautiful new Trek Scratch Air 8 to replace it, and hopefully do the Megavalanche in 2011.
This is a 2006 Specialized Enduro (http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=21639&menuItemId=0) but most of the original components have been replaced. The only stock components left are the frame, rear wheel, rear mech, front mech, shifters, seat and seat post.
Over its life, I've upgraded to a Fox DHX air 5.0, Marzocchi Bomber 55s, Avid Juicy Seven brakes with 203mm rotors, Sun Double Track front wheel with Reverse 20mm bolt through hub, DMR Wing bars, Race Face b/b, Gravity crankset with bashguard, odi lock-on grips, and DMR V8 pedals.
Before you read any further, you should know that the forks are essentially broken - the lockout has blown and the rebound damping is shot, so they're pretty uncontrolled. Still rideable, but it's necessary to replace them. The forks failed at Brechfa a month ago, but I was still able to ride a lot of trails - it was just a little harder to control! The drivetrain is a little worn, but got a fair few miles in it yet. The rear wheel has some pretty serious dings, as you can see in the photos, one ding is right on the seam and has split a little - i have been riding it like that for two years now, so I don't think it's too much of a problem. That particular one happened on a dh trail at Ambergate in Derbyshire, where the rocks are really unforgiving. The brake calipers could do with a service, as the pistons don't return very well, but the brakes are good, and don't need bleeding. The B/B was new in March this year so should be good for a fair while yet.
The bike's seen a lot of action, including a few week-long xc trips all over Wales and Scotland (most of the 7 stanes), trips to Cwm Carn downhill course, chicksands, street riding, some xc and dh in Derbyshire and the Peaks, Cannock, and various other trail centres, and even some road miles. I've jumped it, dropped it, crashed it, put it in and out of endless car boots and backs of vans, and generally beaten it up. It is covered in scratches, but no dents that I can see, so I assume the frame is still in good condition. It's capable of fast dh, it's stable and predictable, and can also climb (just be prepared to work for it). It's essentially a really good heavy-duty all-rounder, and if you replace the forks and look after it, it'll be a great bike. If you do replace the forks, I'd suggest you either go for slightly less travel, or the same (160mm), as any longer will make it too slack for general riding.
You can also see in the photos that I've ground down the shifters a bit to make them more thumb-friendly when it all gets a bit loose, and there's a bit of foam in the front mech to keep the crap out.
I'm asking £550 ono for it, if you can pick it up, or I might be able to arrange a drop off somewhere. If necessary, I can organise a courier, at the buyer's cost.
Contact me at tom.geraghty@yahoo.co.uk or @tom_geraghty on twitter for more information.
Being an IT manager - 5 great things about the job
- Every day (well, almost every day) is different. From installing a new server, setting up a new office, troubleshooting a problem, helping users, managing finance, dealing with suppliers, analysing contracts, planning strategy, marketing, designing web sites, advising clients, researching and learning about new technology, attending seminars and conferences, travelling to different sites, analysing statistics, to managing IT security, and everything else. The role of IT management is pretty wide-ranging. If you like to sit by yourself, at your computer, and silently work on code, IT management is not for you. If you enjoy varied work, dealing with people as well as technology, and can understand and enjoy both short and long-term business strategies, you'll probably enjoy IT management.
- You get to play with, and actually use, new technology. Businesses today need to embrace new technology in order to stay ahead, or simply keep up with the competition. From the newest mobile handsets, cutting-edge servers and routers, to testing new software packages, it's essential that you keep yourself and the business up to date. You're still going to babysit old technology, but it's always fun to test out new tech.
- Sometimes, you can be a hero, of sorts. If a disaster occurs, it's often entirely upon you to fix it, and people will be grateful to you when you get it sorted out. From an office being burgled, and having to quickly replace and set up new hardware, to restoring an important file from a backup when somebody accidentally deletes a presentation 30 minutes before they're due to give it, you can step in and save the day. The flip-side of this is that it's also your responsibility to ensure disasters don't happen in the first place.
- You're constantly learning. The landscape of IT is completely different today as it was 5 years ago. And in 5 years time it will again be completely different. IT is probably the fastest changing industry in the world, and doesn't suit people who don't want to constantly learn and develop themselves. To be effective as an IT manager, you need to read technology and business news and information every day. You need to attend seminars and conferences. Most importantly, in my opinion, you need to network with other technology professionals, as the amount you can learn from discussion with others is far more valuable than from any other source. It's also enjoyable, but it does take a lot of time (although it's a lot easier now, with the use of Twitter and other social networking tools).
- You're important. From making people and processes more efficient, to cutting costs, to increasing turnover, improving profit margins, helping people work more effectively, helping people be more comfortable and happy in their jobs, providing tools to people, and effecting significant change in an organisation, you're inevitably going to be one of the people in the organisation that everyone knows, and if you do your job well, you'll make a big difference to the business, and everyone in it.
