Apparently this hypothetical question is about showing what is important to you. It was posed to me a number of years ago, but with a change of situation over the years my answer has remained constant. In fact, I don’t see my answer ever changing from what instantly popped into my mind at the time.

What would you take with you?

I’ve heard a number of answers, ranging from the obvious; “the family”, “the pet”, through the material; “passport”, “files”, “jewellery”, “phone”, to the eclectic such as “Love”. No, I don’t understand that last answer either, but the question is a personal one and as such it has no right or wrong answer.

From the answer I gave to the question I’ve discovered that what is important to me is a fresh approach to problem solving. In fact the answer partly influenced the creation of thoughtlateral.com.

What was my answer? “The fire itself”.

No, that’s not a euphemism for swearing. You did read it correctly.

“Swoopo” is the cross between an auction site & gambling site. An odd idea, intelligently humourous, and well executed.

The idea is that bids only increase by a nominal amount (e.g. 10pence) for each bid made. When a bid is made it increases the auction’s countdown clock by a few seconds (e.g. 20secs). If the clock reaches zero with your username on the bid you get the goods going for a song. Music to the ears of most people during a recession, no?

It offers paticipants the potential for massive savings up to 100% off, I kid you not.

Such savings can be offered as each bid made has been prior purchased, and 50p of which goes towards meeting the company’s needs. So if we do the maths… an auction item reaching £100.00 would have involved 1000 bids, each earning the company 50p. For those of you reaching for a calculator – that’s £500 for the company. (Well I did say their idea was “intelligent” didn’t I?)

Now that’s what I call e-Commerce with an Eeeeeee!

I’m sure they will be in the news in the not too distant future…

Some bagged bargains on completed auctions

Can any road really be "safe"?

“Road safety” is a term used to represent “Road traffic safety”. However, I feel it to be a misnomer as it suggests the possibility of a ‘safe road’, which is non-existent.

A road of itself is neither safe nor unsafe. It is the manner in which the road is used that creates danger, or lack of safety.

For example, a road with a particularly sharp bend is neither safe nor unsafe. If however a driver decides to navigate such a road at high velocity, they are likely to come a cropper, almost certainly in fact. This is not due to any fault with the road, but the driver choosing the incorrect velocity to get around the bend.

A road is neither good or bad. It just is. It is up to the driver to accept it, and drive accordingly to the road conditions.

Surely an icy road is unsafe?

No. An icy road is simply less tolerant of driver error. A vehicle with the correct tyres driven with good skill would have no difficulty, but an uprepared driver with unprepared vehicle would be a different matter.