The Staufenberger Repository

Kids and Money

This was out earlier in the month but not being a regular NY Times reader I've only just come across it. Film maker Lauren Greenfield has made a nice short film for the New York Times Magazine about kids and money. Although shot in LA its probably true of kids in cities all over the world where rich and poor live virtually side by side. Watching this I can't help but feel a little bit guilty about the work we do. As planners it's easy to treat marketing as an intellectual pursuit devoid of morality. As Peter Parker learnt very early on in his superhero career, "with great power comes a great responsibility".

Alternatives to Powerpoint

We've been pretty busy of late. Hence the lack of anything remotely resembling a work-related post for quite some time. We've been too busy working to think about work, if you see what I mean. (Hope you've been enjoying the bike stuff in the meantime).

On Planet Staufenberger, work usually means a presentation of some sort. But clients get a bit tired of endless Powerpoint. And the document tends to get filed and forgotten. Now, we'd be the first to suggest that it's not Powerpoint that's the problem; it's the way you use it that gives it a bad rep. Nonetheless, we like being a bit different, and avoid it wherever possible.

So we always try to make landmark presentations a little bit special. And if we can't make them special then we at least try to make them stand out a bit.

The presentation-that-isn't we're currently working on is a graphic novel. The style is vaguely relevant to the gist of what we want to say in the meeting. And it will certainly look a bit different to a few bullet points and pie charts.

Let's hope the client likes it.

A Sour Flush

Following on from the discovery of 'whatevers' at the Asda on the Old Kent Road, I thought I'd share another my favourite Asda purchased sweets, the Sour Flush.

Simply lift the lid and dip the lolly into the watermelon flavoured sherbet sitting at the bottom of the lavatory.

Umm nice! I can't wait for urinal ice lollies.

Build a bike in 5 minutes

...at Pedal ID

via Honeyee.com/MASHSF

London Calling

Alleycat in London last year.

Courtesy of Lucas Brunelle

Fixed Wheel - gear calculator & skid patches

A useful tool for those of you with one cog and bad maths.

Launch with Java Web Start

Launch as Java Applet

Thanks to testtube @ bikeforums.net

Love, Hate, Whatever

There was always something 'nice' about eating Love Hearts with their positive messages, like Trust Me, True Love and Don't Cry. They even updated them recently with things like Page Me and Email Me.

Apart from these small tweaks I doubt if they have changed much since they were first introduced back in 1933.

But at the Asda on the Old Kent Road (how did I find myself living so near to the cheapest place on the monopoly board?) it's evident that there's no place for love in the hearts of south London kids.

 

'whatevers' come complete with such heartfelt messages as Minger, Botherered, You What and In it

Sweet!