My guess is that Rob has found out that the printer is installed on the server, not locally, so he can fire it up from anywhere else in the world. And yes, I did look round. Just in case...

About the new site design, that is? Too spare? Or nice and clean? I thought the basic background could be quite low key so that when pictures and cover designs appear, they are the centre of attention. Is the font legible to everyone? Rob sent me through an idea for a lovely, delicate design yesterday, which made me think 'ooh, site redesign!', but when I started tinkering I couldn't get his lovely light design to look right and it evolved into this. I am less a designer, more a grand tinkerer.

Anyway, thoughts very much welcome. The only changes have been to the CSS and the images so it's a snap to tweak and fiddle. I use Firefox's Developer plug in to 'Edit CSS' in a live browser, so I can see immediately what the changes I make look like. Then I copy and paste that revision into a new doc and upload it. The only thing is you have to be very careful not to hit 'refresh' after tinkering for an hour, as I found yesterday...!

And of course, doing a redesign was a displacement activity to actually uploading some new content for our forthcoming books (which is also very easy, but I got sidetracked by the pretty colours). So those enticing new covers you see in the header up there? More news to come on them later in the day!

I've got to say, I don't give a rat's whiskers about the Olympics. However, apparently Team GB (yey, go us, bleaurgh) have just won some cycling races. So in the spirit of very half hearted marketing, please now be encouraged to consider buying one of our cycling titles (which are much more interesting and relevant than the poxy Olympics).

City Cycling

Bike Design.

Both look nice. Both smell nice. Both are written by experts. Both will last you a lot longer than any excitement you might feel about the Beijing Games.

For UK and Irish sales of The Affinity Bridge slipcased edition, priced at £30 with free delivery, click the button above.
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For non-UK/Irish sales of the slipcase edition, priced at £30 with postage at £2.75, click the button above.

Problem solving, when the problems aren’t too grievous or pressing, can be fun. Provided you’ve got a metaphorical easy-chair to recline in and a figurative pipe to puff upon, then thinking up neat solutions to whatever pickles you encounter in daily life can be every bit as rewarding as tackling crosswords, blurting out the answers to University Challenge questions or dreaming up revenge fantasies. Unfortunately, when the problem has a social dimension, there’s a temptation to come up with solutions that are a little bit mischievous.

Lately, one of the books I’ve been visiting in my spare moments has been the semi-classic Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman. There’s something very satisfying about reading the catalogue of bad designs which led D. Norman to put quill to parchment. Less thrilling, but rather unsurprising, is that what prompted Donald to begin the book was an extended stay in Britain where he was regularly baffled by which light-switch controlled which set of lights, or which combination of button pushes would put a telephone caller on hold. You’d think, like a stand-up comedian doing a routine about the difference between cats and dogs, there wouldn’t be much to say about the design of taps, light-switches, phone keypads and door knobs – but actually this book, which is now twenty years old, is full of critical observations which still apply and simple recommendations which still need taking up.

An article in today's Guardian talks about the high social price paid in Nordic countries for their amazing social programmes. The downside is that everyone is bound by a strict set of cultural rules which would be stifling and alien to most Britons. But the glimpses the article gives of specifics suggest they're not rules, as such, but principles: respect for each other and a determination to foster the common good. It sounds fantastic. And their reluctance to accept outsiders who don't want to abide by those rules could almost be called racism, the author points out. Well, that's not my definition of racism at all. The one example given of why this strictness is a problem is that the author, a Brit, was the only one whose family was running riot in a Finnish restaurant. Imagine, giving up the freedom to behave inconsiderately in exchange for a measly efficient and benevolent state. Pah. But what if you already happen to be the sort of person who thinks it's appropriate to keep your voice down in restaurants and to generally limit your own behaviour so as not to inconvenience or intrude on others? Do you have to go and live in Finland?

I can heartily recommend Pelaw Presentation Packaging should you be in the market for slipcases. It's one of the few things that Haynes can't do, so I had to find another supplier. I found one, who turned out to be crap (not returning calls or emails, overpriced) and at the last minute googled to find Pelaw. I gave them a ring, said I needed a slipcase doing within the week, and would they oblige? They have been nothing but attentive, responsive and organised since. True, there was a slight hiccup with the die, but they kept me informed and we worked to resolve the issue. The final delivery has been made and the slipcases are spot on - even the delivery driver was charming.

More companies like Haynes and Pelaw, please, Universe.

They're greasy-looking and you can't trust them. Starlings, that is. Or what Anna would call grackles. It seems they've been stealing money. Who knows what they've been spending it on.

But maybe we can pool our resources. If we each read the post and then, say, 25 comments, we could come back and discuss what this post means. Anyone game?

Aside from the Wicker Basket of Shame which you were introduced to a few weeks back re: domestic filing, I have a further, deeper affliction. I have a relatively addictive personality and whilst I work hard to make sure that doesn't manifest itself in really bad ways (step away from the online gambling and G&Ts, Barnes), I do have weak spots which I indulge. One of those is collecting domain names.

Ah, bibliographic data. Always good to see when it works. I am, of course, being sarcastic.

Our latest Bike book, Bicycle Design by Mike Burrows, is at #38 in the Amazon charts in:
Books > Reference > Transport > Automotive > Trucks, Lorries & Vans

Trucks, Lorries and Vans, eh? I sure as hell didn't put it in that category. I wonder who did?

Still, I'm very pleased with the end result. That book nearly killed me, so it's good to see it looks rather fine. Smells nice, too.