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London Low Emission Zone and Small Businesses

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:30:17 +0000

What is the Low Emission Zone?
Driving within London is set to become a whole lot more expensive from the 3rd of January 2012 when London becomes designated a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). The scheme will cover the 33 boroughs of greater London and bring in a charging scheme for vehicles that don’t meet the new emissions standard, to discourage them from entering the Capital.

Who will it target?
The new emission standard will target diesel powered vehicles seen as the biggest polluters on the road. Whether the vehicle is used for privately or business use it wont matter as if it doesn’t meet the new standard it will be fined on a daily basis. Vehicles affected include larger vans, minibuses, pickups and other specialist vehicles that were registered as new before 1st October 2006 and therefore won’t meet the new emissions standards. Neither will coaches/buses, lorries and other heavy specialist vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes and over, that were registered as new before 1st October 2006. This means that diesel powered vehicles in the first category will need at least a Euro III engine or pay a daily fine of £100 and larger vehicles a Euro IV engine or pay a £200 fine.

The system will monitor vehicles entering, driving within and leaving the LEZ by utilising a network of Automatic Number Plate Reading Cameras (ANPR) to record number plates. Once the plate image has been captured it will be checked against a series of databases to see if the vehicle meets the emission standard, if the daily charge has been paid, or if the vehicle is liable to be sent a fine of up to £1000.

Why the change?
The idea behind the new scheme is to improve the air quality within Greater London, which is currently one of the most polluted cities in Europe. London mayor, Ken Livingstone aims to reduce carbon emissions which accounts for two thirds of the Capitol’s harmful pollutants by targeting roadside emissions. The City also needs to cut down on pollution levels to meet their European Union (EU) air pollution obligations, which certain areas of the city currently fail to comply with. Roadside pollution is a particular concern because it emits tiny particles which cause illnesses, such as lung disease and asthma that account for approximately one thousand premature deaths and about one thousand hospital admissions a year.

Who will be most affected?
The cost of cleaning up the city’s pollution levels is likely to be felt the most by small businesses, charities and self employed workers whom rely on their vans to run a business. Most businesses have been hit hard by the recent recession and its slow recovery and after 3 tough years many will not survive this latest taxation. With money already tight for many small businesses they are faced with few options after the LEZ emissions standard changes in 2012:

Choices to comply with LEZ for businesses with older vans
1. Purchasing a new van that complies with the Euro III emissions standard.
2. Paying a daily fine of £100 for driving within the LEZ.
3. Have an LPG conversion carried out on the van at £1500 + depending on van size.
4. Having a filter fitted which will cost upwards of £2000 + vat depending on the van. The downside of having a filter fitted is that there is no guarantee that the filter will pass a 2nd emissions test, as filters deteriorate over time.

For businesses that are already struggling either one of these options is an expense that means their business many not survive.

List of useful links for further reading

Transport for London Website – Comprehensive details on LEZ

Business Link Website about the London Low Emission Zone.

Wikipedia page on LEZ

Wikipedia page on London LEZ

AA website Information about Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF)

Emicon-Systems Ltd Manufacturer of Diesel Particulate Filters

www.vansuppliers.com Looking for a lower cost Euro III van.

www.quadrantvehicles.com Change your van every 3-4 years and stay up to date with the latest van technology.

16 Tips for safe driving in icy weather

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:51:47 +0000

If you have to make a journey in snowy or icy conditions this winter it’s essential that you properly prepared for your trip. Leave plenty of extra time so that you can drive at a reduced speed that’s appropriate for the road conditions. Below are some points that you may not have consider to keep you safe on the roads this winter.

Check all the car lights are working correctly and replace any worn bulbs, it’s also a good idea to carry a set of spare bulbs in the boot, so that in the event of one going out it can be quickly replaced.
Make sure that your vehicle battery is fully charged and in good working order it’s important to remember that batteries are less efficient in cold weather and one of the biggest causes of breakdowns. If your battery doesn’t hold a charge very well it’s probably a good idea to replace the battery.
Your vehicles tire tread should comply with the minimum legal tire tread depth which is at least 1.6mm of tread. If your tires are down to the minimum legal requirement in snowy weather they will be pretty ineffective useless when you consider a good set of snow tyres will have between 11-14mm of tread.
Ensure that your windscreen wipers are in good working order and that the water jets are not clogged. When you scrape the car windscreen make sure that the windscreen wipers are not stuck to the glass otherwise when you turn them on it may damage the wipers or even worse the wiper motor.
Keep the windscreen wash reservoir topped up with a good mix of water and a quality wash/antifreeze; be aware that in freezing conditions some of the cheaper UK superstore brands seem to freeze as soon as it’s sprayed onto the windscreen, which can be quite dangerous.
A can of de-icer and a quality ice scraper are essential for snow and icy conditions as driving with restricted visibility or even snow on your roof for that matter can result in a £60 police fine and 3 points on your licence for breaking rule 229 of the Highway Code.
The vehicles cooling system should contain a mix of 50-50 antifreeze and water to give an adequate protection to the engines cooling system and prevent any freezing. If you don’t use antifreeze and the coolant freezes you run the risk of cracking the engine block which can end up costing you a few thousand pounds in repairs.
Try to keep your tank topped up as much as you can, especially if you are travelling on the motorway or through a remote area. Freezing conditions and heavy snow will almost certainly increase the time your journey takes and if you are unfortunate enough to get stranded, it will mean your vehicle has enough fuel to keep you warm until you are rescued.
Check that your heater and windscreen defroster is working correctly if you become stranded in snowy conditions your heater will be essential to keeping you warm until your are rescued.
If your vehicle is due a service it’s a good idea to have one done before you take any long journeys in the cold weather so that any issues with the vehicle can be resolved. While you are having a service make sure that the mechanic checks the hoses and belt for problems.
Keep a good distance from the vehicle in front of you, breaking distance can be up to 10 times greater when the roads are icy or covered in snow.
If you do happen to skid don’t on ice it’s a natural reaction to slam your foot on the brakes, but this will only make matters worse. At the first sign of skidding, take your foot off the brake and do not use the brake, but turn the wheel to steer into the direction of the skid until the tyres find grip and the vehicle straightens out. An example of this is if your vehicle is skidding to the right, smoothly turn the wheel to the right until the vehicle gains control and then gently accelerate to gain control out of the skid.
Pack an emergency winter survival kit if you are travelling in snowy weather which ideally should include:
- First Aid kit
- Snow shovel
- Torch and batteries or a dynamo flashlight
- High visibility vest and triangle
- Blankets
- Water and high energy food (in case you become stranded)
- Cell phone / charger (to call for help)
- Warm clothing

If you get stranded in the snow

Make sure that the vehicles exhaust pipe is free of snow or ice, if it becomes blocked and you stay in the car with the engine running deadly carbon monoxide fumes can get into the vehicle which are odourless and colourless, so you will have no way of knowing that you are breathing them.
Run the engine for 10 minutes every half hour to keep the vehicle warm but open the window slightly to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Don’t keep the engine running permanently or you may use up all your fuel.
Unless it’s unsafe to do so stay in your vehicle as it’s extremely easy to get lost and disorientated in heavy snow with freezing temperatures.

The best way of all to avoid having an accident or getting stranded in bad weather is not to make any unnecessary journeys unless you absolutely have no choice to do so. If you have to go out make sure you prepare your car before the journey and leave plenty of time so that you are not rushing and can drive at a safe speed in accordance with the weather conditions.

My Top 10 Movie Speeches

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:43:56 +0000

There are many great movie speeches from great films and everyone has their favourites, but the 10 most memorable that stay with me are as follows:

10. Apocalypse Now – Napalm Speech

You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn’t find one of ‘em, not one stinkin’ dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like… victory. Someday this war’s gonna end…

9. Dirty Harry – Clint Eastwood

I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk?

8. Braveheart – William Wallace

“Many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days — from this day to that — for one chance; just one chance to come back here and kill our enemies? That they may take our lives. But they’ll never take … OUR FREEDOM!”

7. Pulp Fiction – Watch Speech

“So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something: his ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then, he died of dysentery. He gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable piece of metal up my ass, two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.”

6. Blade Runner – Rutger Hauer

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I Watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time … like tears in the rain. Time to die.”

5. A Few Good Men – Courtroom Speech

“You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know – that Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.”

“We use words like honour, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way, otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled too.”

4. Full Metal Jacket – Motivation Speech
It’s a little too long for including all the dialogue but a great speech.

3. Apocalypse Now – Kurtz Horror Speech

“I’ve seen horrors horrors that you’ve seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that but you have no right to judge me. It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with Special Forces. Seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate the children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for Polio, and this old man came running after us, and he was crying. He couldn’t see. We went back there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember III cried. I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized like I was shot like I was shot with a diamond a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we………..

2. Anchor Man – Ron Burgundy Chat up Speech
Apologies for the quality but it was the only clip with the full speech in I could find.

Hello. Hope I’m not disturbing you, but, uh, I saw you from across
the party, and, uh, I don’t usually do this, but I felt compelled to tell you something. You have… an absolutely breathtaking… heinie. I mean, that thing is good. I want to be friends with it.

Well, you certainly know how to compliment a woman. Now, if you’ll excuse me.

Do you know who I am?

No, I can’t say that I do.

I don’t know how to put this, but I’m kind of a big deal.

Really?

People know me.

I’ve very happy for you.

I’m very important. I have… many leather-bound books,and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. I… I’m friends with Merlin Olsen, too. He comes over on occasion.

That’s stupid.

No, no, that’s… very exciting.

Listen, can I… can I start over again?

Sure.

I wanna say something. I’m gonna put it out there. If you like it,you can take it. If you don’t, send it right back.

Mm-hmm.

I wanna be on you.
Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
I… I wanna be on you.

1. Fist Full of Dynamite – Revolution Speech
“Revolution, please don’t try to tell me about revolution – I know all about revolutions and how they start. The people that read the books they go to the people that don’t read the books, the poor people, and say oh ho the time has come to have a change ha!
Shhhhhhh.
Shh Shh Shh Shh Shh Shit Shush!!! I know what I’m talking about when I talk about the Revolutions! The People who read the books go to the people who cant read the books, the poor people and say we have to have a change. So the poor people make the change. And then the people who read the books they all sit around their big polished tables and talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, but what has happened to the poor people…..THEY’RE DEAD!…………….. That’s your Revolution…………. Shht!……..

So please….. don’t tell me about revolutions….

AND WHAT HAPPENS AFTERWARDS THE SAME FUCKING THING STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN.”

Good low light camera compact camera

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:17:33 +0000

Since our Fuji Finepix F45fd broke a few weeks ago I have been looking for a replacement that will take decent pictures indoors. You would think that this would be quite a simple process to find a suitable compact camera. The reality is most budget compacts perform very poorly under low light conditions. The main function of the camera will be a point and shoot for work nights out for my wife who has no photography skills yet wants the pictures to look acceptable when she shares them with friends on facebook.

There is a great site for reviews, comparing cameras features, looking at images taken with a camera and reading user reviews called DP review. After looking at the various cameras in our budget it came down to 2 Fuji finepix cameras again as they appear to be the only make who cater for low light conditions (on a budget camera). The two models were the Fuji Finepix F70EXR and the F200EXR which is a slightly older model. The forum rates both cameras as extremely good for a budget compact and both photo galleries looked very impressive.

The 10 megapixel F70 has a 10 times zoom where as the older 12 megapixel F200 only has a 5 x Zoom but a better quality lens which for me outweighs the benefits of a longer zoom. Both cameras has the latest low light Fuji technology called EXR which basically means the camera is able to capture sharper colour even under low light conditions, where other compacts will show the image as grainy.

Full description http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/FujifilmF200EXR/page2.asp

After I have a chance to test the camera both indoors and outdoors I will post some pictures. Anyone interested in the f200EXR will need to grab yourself one soon as they are being discontinued so there won’t be many around for long.

Swarovski crystal flip flops

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:24:40 +0000

With the good weather here it’s the time to get out your flip flops which are much more comfortable and practical than wearing shoes. There are so many choices now to choose from, some of the nicest flip flops are the Havaianas style that have Swarovski crystals over the strap. To buy them they are not that expensive buy the price goes up sharply when those little sparkly crystals are added. Most of the crystal flip flops on offer it would appear are hand made so there is nothing stopping you from creating your own. This way you can choose the colour and design of the crystal layout you like and they look simple enough to make. The Swarovski crystals can be purchased from Crystal and Glass Beads who offer a selection of both hotfix and non hotfix crystals. The non hotfix ones are the better choice and using an adhesive that sets as rubber they should stay on permanently. You can also create a bracelet or necklace to go with the flip flops with Bicone beads which have a hole through the centre for threading. The crystal AB is by far the sparkliest if the crystals and goes well with the other colours available. You can get Stretch elastic and simply thread the beads onto the elastic thread and then tie the ends.

You can buy crystals at one of the following.
www.crystalandglassbeads.com
www.thebeadstalk.co.uk