CoCar : Exeter Electric Community Car test

I said we'd had the CoCar (Exeter Community Car Share) installed around the corner. I enrolled in the scheme and decided to try it, ideally as a non-critical test run. It uses electric cars and an increasing network of access locations. We have two stationed in e-Car reserved bays around the corner. To get started I needed a keycard like for a hotel room. This has to be touched onto a blue area on the front windscreen to unlock the car. 

I booked a car using the iPhone App and then the next day we sauntered the 100 metres to pick it up.

The car was plugged into a charger and so I had to disconnect it, noticing it was at 96% charged. I should have taken a couple of pictures around the car for CoCars, but I forgot.

The bright green hosepipe-like charging cable seemed to dominte the bootspace in this small car. I guess I could have coiled it - but in my excitement I just loaded it in.

Then, into the little Fiat 500e (other option was a golf-like VW ID.3- maybe next time). We were soon away, noting its nifty little gear changer set up like radio buttons on the relatively empty dashboard. I expect there will be a massive decluttering of dashboards following the full eCar revolution. My manufacturer picture below illustrates the gear changer [P-R-N-D] Very simple. The car even has a one-pedal rgenerative braking mode, although I was too chicken to try it for any length of time.

It was silent as it moved away and remarkably easy to drive. We decided to take it to the farm shop as a test run and it handled the narrow roads around here with ease. I thought it was fairly nippy too, courtesy of the e-engine. At 96% it showed a range of about 140 miles. Easily enough for local runs. There was a full handbook in the glovebox as well as a simplified guide to the scheme. We dispensed with some of the functions, but I did find it amusing that Greta Thunberg's number was first on the phone dialler. We discussed the car over a couple of well-deserved delicious strawberry milkshakes in the shop and both decided we liked it,

The farm shop used to have a couple of Supercharger stations, but now has about a busy dozen or more as well as a pop-up store for eCars. A sign of the times and maybe the demographic?

Party on with nil returns

I see another party took place this weekend, in Chequers, the16th-century Buckinghamshire mansion with its 1,000-acre estate in the Chilterns. Officially a grace-and-favour location provided for the Prime Minister to run state occasions. 

Except this 'privately funded' event illustrates again that the clown is determined to max out everything before he leaves. To run a party in a tax-payer funded stately home, when many are worried by the increasing cost of living is arrogantly out of touch. 

And I can't help wonder whether the event was somehow 'sponsored'? It doesn't seem in keeping to use one's own money when there are so many alternative sources of funding. 

Presumably the 'new leadership contenders' were not there, although a list of the guests would make entertaining reading. But wait, I see that, based upon earlier transparency submissions,  'Nil Returns' seem to be a way to avoid this.

Excel frolics

Fun with Excel... The current graph shows a divided group of Cons. I'm guessing Truss won't want to step down from her tank, so we'll see her urge her friend to pool votes.

That would give this:

Then Rishi and Penny both need deals.

Penny goes for Tom's military vote. Rishi politely asks Suella to assist him. Maybe a few votes float around.

Kind of like this, which would make it Penny vs Rishi in the shake-down, unless Liz puts her tanks on Penny's lawn.

copycat campaigning

I've seen those pictures of Liz trussed up in combat gear at the helm of a tank and standing in front of rows of fighter planes. Photo opportunities to combat the agendas being put forward by the military backgrounded leadership contenders. 

That's a problem in itself. Opponent in the race Tugendhat knows the military so speaks vigorously about the need to fund it properly. I can hear the hawing sounds emerging from the Club of proper conservatives on this point.

But advisors are using photo images as a quick counter to arguments. Look at her, she's been in a tank and knows how to wear a G-suit. I bet that whip aerial has a Union Jack attached etc.

And Mordaunt also has form to bring in her military background- she's named after a ship for example. Now we can see some copycat agendas around certain topics as well as the 'Cut Tax' and 'Remove the NI Increase' sorcery. 

They skirt around the cost of living crisis and the thrall that Europe and America have to the Asian bloc. Remember BRIC and BRICS? It's coming for you right now. No-one is allowed to blame Brexit, because that is one of the hallowed successes of the still current Prime Minister.

Maybe it is déclassé to talk about the middling class now, but with the food banks, power and fuel hikes and lack of access to property purchase, then the millennials had better hope that millennial socialism works better than whatever they are advertising on TikTok.

There's a paucity of good new ideas in the current campaigning. Everyone is stuck running around for the same few ideas , cosplaying for the media and squandering advantage in a continuation of the clown's circus.

The clown broke the circus and now it becomes clear that no-one (of any political persuasion) is leading a fix.

Sheep Dreams - a novel by Ed Adams

Now my next novel is almost ready, although the choice of cover design becomes a challenge. I've found that if I offer two or three designs, they all have their supporters, although most people download the eBooks. 

I'm using a cover which is attempting to reboot the Edge book series, by writing what is effectively the first book in the Edge Series. They will run as 

• Sheep Dreams: The Elysium Mission to start mining on Ganymede
• Edge: World end climate collapse and sham discovered 
• Edge Blue: Endgame, for Earth – unless?
• Edge Red: Museum Earth an artificially intelligent outcome – unless?

It allows me to project forward a few hundred years, and it also means that Sheep Dreams becomes a natural conclusion to the RightMind and Big Science series.

• Coin : Get rich quick with Cybercash – just don't tell GCHQ
• An Unstable System: Creating the right kind of mind
• The Watcher: From the Big Bang to the almighty whimper
• Jump: Some kind of future.
• Pulse: Sci-Fi dystopian blood management with nano-bots. Just stay away from the Edge
• Rage: A madman's war
• (Sheep Dreams: The Elysium Mission to start mining on Ganymede)

It fits into the chronology of Matt Nicholson, who first features in Coin (London), then goes to Geneva (An Unstable System) and then on to Bodo, Norway(Jump) The twists of these novels mean there are also encounters in Pulse, The Watcher and Rage, like a DNA double helix. I'll have to draw a flowchart through my books at this rate.

Clown goes but leaves a Three Ring Circus

Fascinating to see the Conservatives all jostling for the top spot. 

They are making better arguments than the opposition parties about some current topics and cutting across previous policy and each other. 

With so many contenders, there will be some who don't make it to the next round although anyone favouring them will still be confused about who to prefer next. 

 The previous clown left the economy in tatters and I'm guessing there must be a central briefing to 'lower taxes' because all the MPs doing the media circuit are trotting it out. 

Increase money for the state and lower taxes? I suppose they will use the gargantuan savings from Brexit. 

 Then there is the question of latent sleaze which infects much of the Tory party. I'm aware of stories affecting several of the candidates, both of the financial and the personal variety. 

And we should be aware of who takes a more extreme view of politics too. Those with anti-green and fracking policies, ex members of hard-line political groups, tax dodgers and those for whom inapproriate actions become open to debate. 

We also notice some reprobates not in the running, but tactics to influence the levers of power.

Dodgy days ahead?

Novel writing

I was along the South Bank a few days ago at the fascinating Self Publishing Show. It was a lively and interesting place to pick up some ideas about my various books and ways to publish them.

I guess I've been focused on the creative side (ie writing) but less on the business side (ie sales). 

In fairness, it all started as something of a hobby, but I can see that others who started around the same time as me but have taken a more business-like approach have had some interesting successes.

My 10,000 downloaded eBooks dwindles to nothing when I see that others have focused on altogether more targeted approaches.

In one case, an author's shift from political novels to police procedurals was able to resonate with the Line of Duty watchers and the result was 750,000 novels shipped. 

In another case, with some slightly salacious writing, but along a theme akin to  "Voldemort runs Hogwarts", two sisters were able to ship around 5,000,000 books. 

Astonishing. 

It got me thinking. I've got the 'inventory' now in the form of a stack of novels in various series. Maybe I need to put some more attention onto the Advertising and Marketing and of course targeting? I could even write to a genre, although I'd rather recategorise my existing novels into more commercial categories

I think I've shipped something over 10,000 novels now, spread across around 20 different stories. For every one that gets downloaded as an eBook, there's about 2-3 further views.

The newly refashioned 'Indie' market seems to be where an increasing number of novels are being sold (50% of the market for eBooks), and I'm told the market is expanding at more than 10% per annum.

star grabs camera

Two recent movies I've seen - both of which had their star grabbing most of the camera time. First up was Top Gun: Maverick, with Tom Cruise. It shows Captain Cruise mainly competing for screen space with big pieces of metal.  It's a reprise of the Top Gun, complete with piano bar scenes and beach volleyball, and I'd say it managed to enthrall in the way of the original all those years ago. The 60-year-old Cruise shows the young guns how it's done and there are miles of aerial combat footage, flown mainly on F-18 planes, plus an original F-14 thrown in for good measure. 

The film doesn't disappoint with multi-Mach moments, flames from the engines, crash landings, mean black Soviet helicopter gunships, Sukhoi-57 '5th Generation' fighters and a few 'just when you think its all over' moments when something ratchets the suspense. No wonder it grossed over a US$ billion in the first few days.

The other one is a refreshed BFI offering - Daphne, which tells a story of a female 30-something singleton working as a chef in a London cafe. She's somewhere between Bridget Jones and Fleabag, also with a similar hint of privilege. Although billed as rom-com, it feels more existential. A stand-out performance from Emily Beecham, who completely owns the scenes. 

I'd say both films, for different reasons, are re-watchable.

the drip drip of modern politics

Out, demons, out. 

Now that the contrition-free buffoon is being removed from office, it's time to think of his replacement. The news programmes will be filled with it.

I assume that most of the other messy suspects won't stand. No Gove, no Rees-Mogg, for example. I generated my own short list, from the bookies' site, plus some vox pop and press and it shows a moment in time, but one that will no doubt change quickly.

My bad guessing goes right back to Pop Idol where I was able to consistently support the person who was zapped in the very same week. 

Of course, with the Conservatives, inevitably it is a strange system. I'm reminded that there's only about 18k members in the formal Conservative Party and that the number of MPs is 358 comprising 270 men and 88 women.

It means the next leader is chosen from the 358 MPs first and then finally voted upon (as a choice between two) by the 18k party members. It's a kind of closed system sealed unit from which only a few drips escape.

Much is run by puppet masters who lurk in the shadows. I was at a partially political event during the week which featured various stock characters. There was dogma, loud polemic and microphone-hogging. A showcase of meeting technique over substance. 

Oxford Union debating practices still prevail.

Out, demons, out.

Get thee gone

Cakes and ailment

I guess he has lasted two years longer than I thought. Fair play that his lies exceeded anyone's expectations. 

The last time I wrote to my Conservative MP about him was back in February. My MP agreed in the need to stand up for what is right. 

This chump with his schoolboy fantasy wants to go down fighting. Probably misquoting Greek poems as well. 

I won't give him credit for anything. The chancer simply manipulated situations to his advantage.

Once this is all over, he will be able to get the medical attention he clearly needs.

Ed Adams: The novels

One reason my blog output decreased is because I've been working on my novel writing. However, I'll need to balance my creativity with my Marketing. But don't panic. I have another site and web address for Ed Adams.

Triangle Trilogy		About	Link
T1	The Triangle	Dirty money? Here's how to clean it. Money laundering			https://amzn.to/3c6zRMu
T2	The Square	Weapons of Mass Destruction – don't let them get on your nerves. A viral nerve agent being shipped by terrorists and WMDs			https://amzn.to/3sEiKYx
T3	The Circle	The desert is no place to get lost.  In the Arizona deserts, with the Navajo; about missiles stolen from storage.			https://amzn.to/3qLavYZ
Archangel Collection
A1	Archangel	Sometimes I am necessary.  Icelandic-born, Russian trained agent Christina Nott, learns her craft.		https://amzn.to/2Y9nB5K
A2	Raven	An eye that sees all between darkness and light. Big business gone bad and being a freemason won't absolve you.		https://amzn.to/2MiGVe6
A3	Card Game	The power of Tarot whilst throwing oil on a troubled market		https://amzn.to/2Y8HLgs
A5	Play On, Christina Nott	Money, Mayhem, Manipulation. Christina Nott, on Tour for the FSB		https://amzn.to/2MbkuHI
A6	Corrupt	Parliamentary corruption. Trouble at the House		https://amzn.to/2M0HnOw
A7	Sleaze	Autos, Politics, Gstaad		https://amzn.to/3sE3UDt

 

Big Science
B1	Coin	Get rich quick with Cybercash – just don't tell GCHQ	https://amzn.to/3o82wmS
B2	An Unstable System	Creating the right kind of mind	https://amzn.to/2PRJciF
B3	The Watcher	We don't need no personal saviours here. From the Big Bang to the almighty Whimper	https://amzn.to/3kTFWjg
B4	Jump	Some kind of future.	https://amzn.to/3sCzK3h
B5	Pulse	Sci-Fi dystopian blood management with nano-bots. Want more? Just stay away from the edge	https://amzn.to/3qQlBvL
B6	Rage	A madman's war	https://amzn.to/3MEuKlL

 

Blade's Edge Trilogy
E1	Edge	World end climate collapse and sham discovered during magnetite mining from Jupiter's moon Ganymede.	https://amzn.to/2KDmYOW
E2	Edge Blue	Endgame, for Earth – unless?	https://amzn.to/2Kyq9au
E3	Edge Red	Museum Earth an artificially intelligent outcome – unless?	https://amzn.to/2KzJwjz
Master Collections
C1/T4	The Ox Stunner	The Triangle Trilogy – thick enough to stun an ox Triangle, Circle, Square in one heavy book.all feature Jake, Bigsy, Clare, Chuck Manners	https://amzn.to/3sHxIgh
C2/A4	Magazine Clip	First three Archangel novels	https://amzn.to/3pbBJYn
C3/A8	Ignoble	Corrupt and Sleaze omnibus – double album	https://amzn.to/3sp6EUL
C4/B7	The Dealer	Jump,, Pulse and Rage Collection	https://amzn.to/3AlZmWg
C5/E4	Edge of Forever	Edge Trilogy	https://amzn.to/3c57Ghj