VR bicycle transport -getting even worse

I'm on holidays. One of the best ways to travel around is to use train and have a bike with you. The weakest point of this plan is public transport and VR. (Earlier post here)
At the moment I'm waiting for the train to leave from Turku to Helsinki. I placed my bike to the holder, which is clearly not designed for the comfort of the bike handles. And the situation is not going to get better when two other bikes are put by mine.
This time the situation differed in that sense that conductor was standing right next to me, also during the phase when I inserted my 50 cent to lock the bike, didn't succeed and didn't get my coin back. He just commented that bikes do not need to be locked because they need reservations..
This bike rack is an perfect example of design for public use, where too little time and consideration is used. By doing bad design into investment products like trains, the design stays there bugging users (public and staff) for tens of years! -The problem is partly related to sourcing of design and tight budget policies. There should be good understanding on both sides to create side budgets and schedules if certain problems require special attention.

I have been commenting about VR also earlier:
VR - green image of rail transportation vs. bikes
VR and how to wash your face vs. floor
VR ja uusi uljas juna-aika


This is an example how to fit my bike and the one of an crampy old drunken finnish outdoor-enthusiast and the one of german middle aged bike tourist.
-At some point I decided to leave two others and the commanding officer to do the dirty work and check the damages later..

Finnish summer (27.6.08)

User name for frequent flyer profile

Since 2000 I have been a member of both Star Alliance and One World frequent flyer programs. And every summer I face the same problem when I'm about to book a holiday flight. -There's no way i can remember my user name thus not being sure if i remember my password right. Airliners have a fairly strict rules about how user names or passwords should be structured. And calling for help is usually a long way.

The same year as this contradictive union with airliners started, I was highy amazed that there was a person in my company who refused to use Windows machines because of the unreasonable need to change password every 40 days. -Because everybody writes it down underneath the keyboard on a Post-It (although he encrypted it for three times before writing it down, it was too risky for him). Later he changed the company, but his strong opinion has been in my mind since.

I have written about this earlier too, but this time I wanted to point out also that services should also consider using reasonable security measures to enable people to use good passwords and systems attached. Next time I'll log myself into this page, I will probably use password like 'password'.

100-naista ja luova punaviini

Eräs parhaista blogeista jota olen aikoihin lukenut on 100-naista. Blogissa Teppo M. kertoo vedonlyöntinsä täyttämisestä -100 naista vuodessa- kirjoittaen samalla harvinaisen oivaltavia asioita ihmissuhteista ja elämästä. Yksi näistä oivalluksista liittyy myös muotoilijan/taiteilijan elämään:
"Luovan työn vauhdittamiseksi nautittu punaviini ei missään tapauksessa saa olla korkeintaan keskinkertaista. Liian harmoniset aistinautinnot pyöristävät ja pehmentävät ilmaisua liiaksi. On oltava kärki ja on oltava kontrasti."

-Jos et muuten, niin katso edes miten 'deadline' taipuu monikon genetiiviin..

Textile body on a car? BMW Gina

Check this interesting video about BMW concept car where qualities of textile has been used to create interesting features!

Google maps got even better

Google maps has long been my favorite maps application because the road map is just not enough in all situations.
Maps got just waaay better. It features pictures uploaded by users on different locations to Panoramio. It also features Wikipedia links on their right places.


Näytä suurempi kartta

Animation painted on walls by Blu

If this day would not have already been good, this would have saved it.
A great animation called MUTO, which story goes around a block, as it is completely painted on the walls (and bit on the pavement too;). The piece is done by Blu. And the website is also really much worth to see!


Via blog deco design

Proper error-message

Very often error notifications are useless and provide a little choices for the user. This notification from Google gives user some real choices while informing honestly that things can go wrong.
-Big thumbs up for Google!

Ajasto - adjusting to mobile era

Today me and my colleague had a talk about why the flags are still up. -Yesterday evening when the mothers-day flag was still up at 9 o'clock, I thought that maintenance has forgotten the flag. Now I know that they were only lazy (lazyness is at least second step to progress), because the flags are up everywhere -so there really is some special day.
Then I got one of my brighter moments, when I realized that surely Ajasto (which has held the monopoly for Finnish calendars for centuries) have the required information about today on their site! -I got disappointed. The ONLY information about today, was the names for today. -Yes. Not even the Date.. XD

Another interesting news was that Ajasto has decided to put of 99 persons to be able to adapt to the new challenges. -I can easily understand the dramatic change the branch is experiencing. But what I cannot understand is that why I still cannot buy a add-on package of holidays and additional information to my mobile calendar from Ajasto site?!

4,5 reasons Not to fly

Traveling without moving:
Somehow waiting for the taxi, waiting in the lounge, waiting in the line, waiting for the take off and again waiting for the taxi is quite nerve breaking method of moving.

Stress about connections:
In Helsinki, you have to be worried if your taxi is really coming, flying from rest of the Finland you only have to worry about if you are able to make to the connecting flight in time inspite the different delays the flight is experiencing.
BTW: If you are flying from Oulu to Manchester by Finnair, take extra handbaggage. Your luggage will never make it in time.

Security checks:
Uncomprehensive regulations about equipment which should be separated for the x-raying, the lack of person inspection. -They rather see you dropping your pants than check your belt. Further the lack of responsibility over customers belongings. I've even received my wallet from another passanger after he realized that it was not his. -And the fact that a single bottle of liquid should be packed into a plastic bag, "just because of the regulations".

Service culture:
A year ago I flew to Osaka. I expected a culture shock. -Instead having it in Japan I experienced it in Finland. In Osaka airport security and other personel were doing the work for the customer. In Finland the customer is an annoyance for the stuff. You can be sure in case you need help, you don't get any.

Focus on the detail

If iPhone hasn't shown us anything else, but the fact that paying attention to detail is all worth it. My colleague bought a new shiny heart rate monitor, in an instant we knew there's something wrong. -Why on earth Suunto didn't but some effort to make the display centralized?! -The size might be the answer from the engineers, but that's not enough for the customer.

Banking is another businness where details matter. Without commenting more about Sampo-bank's major disaster with security problems in their net-banking, more- personal crisis can be arranged by for example Nordea bank in Rovaniemi. Details were taken care, when I sold my half of an apartment. The payment was not placed on to my account dispite personal attendance. The next day the situation was noticed and the correction was that the sum was directed to my account and the account was simultaneously configured to be visible to the buyer. -Truly unbelievable..

Can a minister have a sexual relationship?

A friend of mine wrote in Httpp//: all about what I wanted to say about Ilkka Kanerva's resignition. It would be time to understand that politicians are just people. They do send messages and meet their future girlfriends in the mall (Vanhanen).
This should be quite alright, as far as both parties agree. If Kanerva would have been harrassing Tukiainen, then I could understand that there was a reason for Katainen to ask Kanerva's resignition. But no, you can do your job -no matter how- poorly and still get away with that, but if you are a minister and want to have a sexual relationship, that's something what finnish people -or is it actually finnish media- cannot handle.

I have been preaching about 'third thruth'. In this case there is the thruth what Kanerva and Tukiainen know, secondly there is the truth of the public (that I don't care) and then there is the third truth, which is created by the media and the conversations. The third thruth claims that Kanerva has done something deeply wrong, and it starts to affect on our mind. -"Am I taking this too lightly, should I be more angry about what he did..?"
Next level is that media starts to burn us, non-believers on stake -just like the church did, based on the manipulation of the third truth.