7 Reasons

Tag: Drive

  • Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why Road Trips Are Awesome

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why Road Trips Are Awesome

    7 Reasons Why Road Trips Are Awesome

    There’s no better feeling than the wind in your hair, the open road ahead of you and some pumping tunes on the radio. You have only two objectives – get from A to B and have fun. Here’s seven reasons why road trips rock.

    1.  You Get to Drive Something Different. Although you can opt to take your crappy Nissan Micra cross-country – where’s the fun in that? A road trip is the prime opportunity to hit that car hire firm and rent the vehicle of your dreams. Go wild. Cadillac, camper van, Monster Truck – the choice is yours. Just remember three things, it needs to be comfortable, you need to opt for a vehicle with cup holders – so as to ensure that passengers can be hydrated with no risk of spillage – and you need a sound system that goes up loud!

    2.  Power Rock. Road trips are 25% about the journey and 75% about the tunes that you choose to accompany your epic voyage. This is your prime opportunity to delve into the greats of 80’s/90’s power rock. I mean screeching guitars, high pitched man voices and lots of opportunities for throwing your rock fingers into the air and waggling your tongues ‘Gene Simmons-style’ at the children trying to peacefully watch ‘Lady and the Tramp’ in the next car.

    3.  Road Trip Games. When else in your adult life do you get to play games? Any sport with a referee doesn’t count. I’m talking good old-fashioned car journey games. There is something about the fact that you are cooped up in a car that makes even the simplest game amazing. In every day life you may see six, maybe seven yellow cars a day and allow them to pass by without comment. Suddenly, simply your location means that the appearance of a yellow vehicle will have you acknowledging its presence with a shrill cry of victory and a short, sharp jab to your partners arm. When else is violence condoned? Ordinarily you may be saddened to see a poor little badger deceased on the side of the road – not when your objective is to spot the road kill before you companions. Embrace the games.

    4.  Junk Food. No matter where you are travelling, chances are you won’t be able to be healthy. So don’t beat yourself up about it. Drink that Red Bull even when you heart tells you it can take no more. Scoff those Haribo and Pringles safe in the knowledge that they were the only option in the Texaco garage on the M42. And, if you have to, follow those golden arches. This may well be the only time that it is acceptable to step inside the home of that creepy clown and heck…supersize it if you want – you need the energy.

    5.  Interesting Characters. What’s the one thing that crops up without fail in road movies? Unusual characters. It’s inevitable. Whether it be a minibus full of boisterous football fans on their way home from a match – eager to show you what’s under their clothes – or a handsome cowboy who seduces you and then steals all of your bail money, it will happen so have a contingency plan.

    6.  Arguments. Whenever map reading is involved, there will be arguments. Use them as therapy, air your woes and criticise your companions’ foibles. Get it out, you’ll feel lighter. See it as ‘On-the-Road Healing’.

    7.  Saving Money. Your outgoings are petrol and snacks, none of this airport tax malarkey or being charged extra by the cretins at Ryanair for a blanket in their sub-zero plane cabin. These saved pennies can be used to stock up on fun road trip activities or as extra beer money when you finally reach your destination. Bonus.

  • Guest Post: 7 Reasons You’re Always Broke

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons You’re Always Broke

    For understandable reasons it’s been rather Christmassy on 7 Reasons as of late. And while today’s post isn’t exactly a festive post in itself, it may well be relevant when you reach the till with your basket full of presents. Don’t worry, though, while your loved ones might have to do with a sprig of holly and a set of firelighters this year, next year will be very different. All you have to do is read (and learn) from today’s guest post. And that’s not the most challenging thing you’ve ever been asked to do, is it?

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons You're Always Broke

    These days, it’s easy to blame the government and the bankers for your financial woes, but the chances are you could make things a lot easier by making a few of your own changes. Think Money, which provides debt management and other financial solutions, offers its own ideas about why you might be struggling financially…

    1.  You’re An Impulse Buyer. It’s funny how supermarkets can make you forget half your shopping list and replace it with all those things you Didn’t Know You Needed. The problem with this is that you’ll still have to go back and buy the things you forgot, at which point you’ll end up buying another load of junk that should probably be banned from human consumption. The simple answer: write a shopping list, and stick to it.

    2.  You’re A Plastic Spender. Credit cards are one of those magical modern inventions that can make spending money so much simpler. The reason for that is that it doesn’t really feel like you’re spending money – and it might not actually dawn on you that you can’t afford your rent until your landlord starts hurling abuse through your letterbox.

    We’re not saying you should stop using your credit card altogether, but a bit of advance planning can’t hurt. Before you make that purchase, work out how much money you need for important stuff, like food.

    3.  You Never Budget. Planning out every last penny of your spending might seem a bit regimented, but if there’s one area in which you should give your inner anarchist a rest, it’s here. If you have bills to pay and food to buy, it really is a good idea to make sure you have enough money for those things before you start your next online shopping spree.

    It doesn’t have to be complicated – look at a few recent bank statements, add up all your essential living costs and make sure you put that money to one side at the start of each month.

    4.  You Hide Things From Your Significant Other. We’ve all done it: fearing the ire of our loved ones, we pretend our latest and greatest purchase cost a good 50% less than it actually did. This poses a multitude of potential predicaments, all of which confirm the old saying that ‘honesty is the best policy’.

    Scenario A: your partner, in the belief that your combined bank balance is a lot healthier than it actually is, goes out and spends yet more money, sending your account into the red.

    Scenario B: your partner becomes suspicious and checks the price online. You are sleeping on the sofa tonight.

    5.  Your Significant Other Is Hiding Things From You. Despite the punishment you may have received for your own spending mishaps, there’s every chance that your partner has probably done the very same thing more than once. And without watching the bank balance like a hawk, it’s very easy for these things to slip under the radar. So unless you’re willing to be completely honest with each other – and never buy anything you actually want ever again – it might be an idea to have a joint account for your bills and other living costs, and keep your own accounts for the things you don’t need.

    6.  You Drive Like A Maniac. It’s another thing most of us have been guilty of at one time or another: putting your foot down at the lights to get away quickly, or driving at 80mph on the motorway to get somewhere on time. Not only are these things against the law, they could also be adding a lot to your monthly fuel bill.

    Change gears when your engine hits 2,500 revs; brake gently; accelerate slowly. We won’t keep boring you with the tips you’ve probably heard (and ignored) a thousand times, but taking them on board could cut your costs by more than you think.

    7.  You Can’t Cook (Yet). Back when we all wore loin cloths, your life expectancy would be significantly lowered if you or someone in your family couldn’t cook, to say the least. These days, things are much easier: microwave food and take-aways mean a meal is never more than a few minutes away. Those foods may also hit your life expectancy, but a more pressing issue could be the effect on your bank balance.

    Buying fresh ingredients and making meals from scratch is usually cheaper, not to mention healthier. What’s more, it’s probably not as difficult as you think. Find some simple recipes online, learn to cook and see your finances improve.

  • 7 Reasons That Peter Allen Should Be On Twitter

    7 Reasons That Peter Allen Should Be On Twitter

    Hello 7 Reasons readers!  I hadn’t intended to write about Peter Allen or Twitter today.  I had originally intended to write about Hitler and the British plot to add oestrogen to his meals but then, in a fleetingly overheard snatch of BBC Radio 5Live’s Drive programme, I heard Anita Anand exhorting broadcasting legend and curmudgeon’s curmudgeon, Peter Allen to open a Twitter account.  Amazing idea, I thought, as all notions of one charismatic pint-sized despot receded from my mind, to be replaced by thoughts of Peter Allen using Twitter.  That would be amazing.  Here are seven reasons why.

    1.  The Username Potential Is Great.  Anita Anand is presenting Drive all week alongside Peter Allen.  Her Twitter-name is @tweeter_anita.  Peter Allen could take the name @tweeter_peter.  Could anything be sweeter than @tweeter_anita helping @tweeter_peter take his first tentative steps on Twitter?  Well, yes, kittens and just about all other things in the known world, but the matching names sound like fun.  They’d be the Howard and Hilda of the Twitterverse.

    2.  We’d Learn More About  Him.  What do we really know about Peter Allen’s life?  Very little.  I checked his Wikipedia entry and this is all of the information contained in the Personal Life section:

    He follows Tottenham Hotspur, owns a barn and has a trademark grunt.

    While every 5Live listener will be aware of the first and third things mentioned, that he owns a barn is a revelation that has piqued my interest and raises many, many questions:

    • Why does Peter Allen own a barn?
    • What colour is Peter Allen’s barn?
    • What does Peter Allen keep in his barn?
    • Where is Peter Allen’s barn?
    • How long has Peter Allen owned a barn?
    • Does Peter Allen allow other people into his barn or is it like a rural Essex-based version of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude where he goes to hone his opinions and polish his hair?
    • Did Peter Allen wake up one morning and think, “You know, what I really need to complete my life is a barn”?
    • Does Peter Allen actually live in the barn?
    • Why can’t I stop thinking about Peter Allen’s barn?

    I’ll try to contain my curiosity about Peter Allen’s barn for the moment.  Essentially we’d get to know more about the man behind the microphone and the barn behind the man behind the microphone.  That would be great.

    3.  He Would Bring Something Different To Twitter.  According to people that spuriously concoct statistics on the internet* rather than researching things properly, the average age of a Twitter user is thirty-one.  That isn’t high enough to make Twitter truly representative of society.  Peter Allen is more than twice that age.  He’d bring a rarely seen perspective of experience and the benefit of time-accrued wisdom to the social network.  Twitter is – in my experience – also predominantly a happy and joyful medium.  He’d soon sort that too.

    4.  He Would Be Better Informed.  During Drive, he regularly solicits listener feedback via text and email.  If he were on Twitter, he’d get feedback 24 hours a day, whether he’d asked for it or not.  He’d get feedback about travel, he’d get feedback about news, he’d get feedback about sport, he’d get questions about the barn from me, he’d get tweets from his colleagues poking fun at him (which would stop Aasmah getting out of practice during her week off) and he’d get feedback about things that he didn’t even know he wanted feedback about.  Peter Allen would be better informed than he’d ever been in his life.  If you need an opinion on anything, it will find you on Twitter.

    5.  There Would Be Pictures.  Radio is a non-visual medium, so the ability to post pictures on Twitter would probably be liberating for Peter Allen and enlightening for the rest of us.  We’d get pictures of Essex, we’d get pictures of the studio, we’d get pictures of the most bountiful and luxuriant silver barnet in the known universe and – most importantly – we’d get pictures of the barn.  Please.

    6.  He Would Be Good On Twitter.  A lifetime spent in journalism and broadcasting is the ideal preparation for the successful use of Twitter.  After all, the distillation of the essence of a news story down to a headline or the dogged pursuit of an insightful quote from a radio interviewee are pretty much the same skills that are involved in condensing a thought, experience or opinion down to 140 characters on Twitter.  Peter Allen’s tweets are likely to be provocative, incisive and sharp.  Or at the very least he’d be able to say “Go away!” with alacrity and authority when confronted with the ninth question of the day about the barn or the fifteenth about his hair.  Probably by tweeting “Go away!”.

    7.  His Presence Would Provide Encouragement For Curmudgeons.  Having such a high-profile, self-confessed Twitter-sceptic jump into the fray would be an interesting experience for the man himself, his listeners and Twitter users.  What better way to introduce other sceptics, doubters, technophobes and the plain hostile to the medium than to hear someone with a similar mindset coming to terms with its use?  He might even learn to love it or, at the very least, loathe it less; which possibly amounts to the same thing in his world.  Peter Allen could blaze a trail for the timid, the wary and the sceptical to become late-adopters of Twitter and would probably entertain his listeners royally into the bargain.  I’ve loved listening to him since Radio 5 (as was) started and I can’t help thinking I’d enjoy his presence on Twitter every bit as much.  Anita Anand is right.  #letsgetpeterallenontwitter as soon as possible.  Then we can teach him what that hashtag means.

    *Source: 7Reasons.org, 2011.