railways
I tend to think of myself as quite a frequent rail traveller and fairly knowledgeable about how they work however this does not prevent me regularly being baffeled by delays on our railways. As I get the train from Reading into Paddington every morning the train (whether it is the 9:35, 37 or 45 from Reading) almost always stops outside Paddington for a few minutes. Im pretty sure there are set platforms that they are supposed to go into, if there is a train that does not leave until mine is supposed to be arriving to free up the platform then why not change the timetable by a minute? What is even odder is that it even seems to happen when late, how can there not be a platform free?I assume this must all be down to a lack of capacity for the number of trains meaning that the staff in the signal boxes must be juggling trains and platforms right up to the moment the train arrives. So we need more investment and no real chance of getting it until after the recession is over. Crossrail in 4-5 years time should mean even more trains running along the line to maidenhead, I wonder if it will help or hinder?
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Five things and gone fishing or rather recruiting
Konichi Wa or Konban Wan or whatever greeting in whatever language you speak.Here's five things I've done last week and Monday:
1.Created Facebook, Myspace and Bebo groups all trying to get people to come and compete in or follow the World Online Debating Championships
2. Spread my wings and started tweeting as the new spokes-bird for debatewise.
3. Managed to potentially get an article into two publications for autistic people
4. Battled sleep while watching a training video for Salesforce (Still got more to watch!)
5. Helped Alex with the new FAQ section and worked on various debates such as on Formula 1
Out of the five activities I've been doing this week most of these things involved doing one thing: fishing for people for different purposes which is tricky. This is particuarly since I'm in the stage of doing what any good fisherman or woman does and setting out his bait for unsuspecting fish to come and take a bite and get reeled in. Difference is with interns people know what they're letting themselves in for hopefully and I can't hurt any people by either creating a hole in their tongues with a metal hole in their mouth's or getting them trapped in a fishing net. One thing remains the same in fishing and recruiting: what bait or where to go?. Debatewise is a not for profit meaning zero budget for promotion or recruitment so... that means thinking about trying to make an offer that people and advertising companies can not refuse, something that I'm getting the hang of. A great thing for whipping up passion in the team ethic that is debatewise but a tricky challenge meaning that I'm looking for outlets from the quiet corners of the globe as well as the loud ones. Any tips for how to fish (recruit) ethically but effectively in strange waters for people would be great fully appreciated. Oh and any new people too...
Anyway got to flutter off now
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another week
so another week over at debatewise. Dave is off at Glastonbury (its alright for some) and not much is going on here at HQ.still forgot to do any 5 a week last week so I guess I had better do one.
Alex
1, on account of not doing this last week I did not put down that I have taken charge of our weekly look at the papers in search of debates; always one of the best bits of the week!
2, written a set of guidelines for users of the site (mostly to be used for the while lable)
3, starting on a FAQ
4, meeting with debatemate; looks positive, to do with education so fits with revisewise
5, meeting today with Unlock democracy: want us to do the same with votematch for the general election as EU elections, they are also attempting to organise a big conference on parliamentary participation for GCSE/A level kids that we could be involved with
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British Sporting Summer
It is a sunny day outside, and after realising that no blog posts have been entered for almost two weeks , I have decided to indulge myself and blog about my most favourite of topics- sport.As an avid, some might say obsessive football fan, I dont generally find much time to be interested in any other sports through the months of August-May, with the notable exception of my love for horse racing (which has become increasingly expensive of late, however as the USA showed last night, all runs must come to an end sometime).
However once the football season has finished, there is a rather large stretch of balmy summer days in which I desperately need something to cure my 'sports fix'. This is something that the British sporting calendar manages quite well, with a raft of sports that manage to captivate my attention and banish the tedium of the endlesss summer transfer rumour mill. Already this summer we have had the twenty twenty cricket world cup, which I actually rather enjoyed, especially since I have had no previous interest in cricket. There has also been the lions tour, the US golf open and some of the finest horse racing you will ever see in the form of the Epsom Derby which was won by the magnficent Sea the Stars, who became in the process the first horse for twenty years to win the Derby/2000 Guineas double. This feat would have been met with a much greater level of admiration had the horse not passed Fame & Glory, my latest in an increasing line of 'unwise decisions' with only just over a furlong remaining. There has also been the glamour and style of Royal Ascot, with the Aidan O'Brien trained Yeats winning his 4th Ascot gold cup in a row, placing him in the pantheon of racing legends.
However, there are two sporting events that occur during this strange period of football limbo that i always look forward to. The first of these started on monday, and is of course Wimbledon. Tennis is a sport that is on virtually all year round, with bountiful coverage on SKY etc, but because I have football to contend with i am largely apathetic towards it. However come the end of June, for two weeks i become a tennis fanatic. There is something that always gets me about the way Wimbledon looks, and with players of the skill of Federer & Nadal to watch, you can't help to be drawn towards it. There is also the very real possiblity that a young Scotsman called Andy Murray could finally end Britains drought of winners at the top table of tennis.
The second event that holds me in raptures is the Open golf championship. I have always fancied myself as a golfer, and like the idea of early mornings on a picturesuqe golf course, prowling the greens like Tiger Woods. However my total lack of patience (read hand to eye co-oridination) has meant that trips to the golf course are often very infuriating affairs, and best not to be done on a regular basis. I find watching the golf very relaxing, and the BBC commentry team of Peter Alliss and Sam Torrence are very interesting and frequently hillarious. I am actually going to the last two days at Turnberry this year, so lets hope for an exciting tournament and either an Iain Poulter or Padraig Harrington victory would be nice.
On top of all this excitement there is the Ashes, the rugby league challenge cup final, aswell as other exciting events that I have probably forgotten about.
This is what will keep me interested untill that glorious kick off in August with teams sporting shiny new kits, your team has signed that silky Zidane esque midfielder that is going to cure all the problems of last season, and willl romp to an undefeated season that will go down in history with my grandchildrens grandchildren still talking about THAT team in in the most reverent of whispers. Then the referee goes and ruins it all by signalling for kick off and you remember that your defenders can't defend and your strikers cant score and that new signing is more like bananna man than Zidane. It's going to be a long season, COME ON THE HOOPS
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DrinksWise
I have thought of a brand new, exciting product to go under the 'wise' brand. In fact it is more of an event than a product, and i guarantee that it will be successful.The event starts at 17.30 hours, with all attendees meeting at the Old Kings Head pub which is on the corner of Scrutton Street and Hollywell Row in Londons trendy Shoreditch. The nearest tube stations are Old Street (Northern Line), Liverpool Street (Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Lines) and Moorgate (Northern, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Lines). The event has no definitive end time or venue, and will occur every Friday evening from now on.
Here are some recommendations:
DrinksWise is an excellent team building event, everybody and thier dog (especially ones named Marley) should go- Steph Gaynor, Sales Guru
If it was not for DrinksWise I would not be the man i am today- Alex Helling, Academic Superstar
After attending DrinksWise visits to the pub have never been the same again- Leo Capella, Debating Author Extraordinaire
DrinksWise was created for people who like making informed but drunken decisions- David Crane, CEO Maestro
Ahm so pished ah dinae ken wur ah um any mare- Peter Lally, Stereotypical Drunken Scotsman
Hope you can join us
37 comments. Click here to read them and add yours
Five things for the week
Its time to list the five things we have done this week1. Had the best week since i started at debatewise, not necessarily a task but worth trumpeting
2. Finished the first drafts for the screen casts, Dave is tweaking them for another go next week
3. More cold calling of companies, slowly getting better and leads are coming together
4. Had a meeting with the wonderful Alistair to help cement a Debatewise vision for the future, also made further progress with leads
5. Researched local independent newspapers to contact for partnerships.
Stephanie
1. Followed some leads, meetings and discussions. Did 'Business' as you do
2. Listen, learnt and was encouraged by Alistair- Share my views and added input into direction and vision
3. Made some calls, did some lunches, set up a few meetings with some like-minded websites which were interested
4. Attending one of these meetings with ispystrangers Tony Grew, working together to establish core values
5. Wrote another blog which is starting to become a little addictive
Alex
1. nice to be involved in 2 new ideas sessions, one with Alistair and one on the webby – suggested several of the things I want for revisewise as well as various other ideas - not had ideas sessions for a while
2. been looking at possible funding for revisewise, seems to be quite a difficult task. This can be subdivided in various ways, first off looking at funding within the UK and then also Europe (nightmare and still don’t have a clue if there is anything at all relevant – its EUROPE there MUST BE SOMETHING!!!) not yet really looked at the US.
3. Another area I have only just started looking at is the private foundations and grant making institutions, both in the UK and the US.
4. put down my rough ideas on archives and debatewise...
5. leading to sending some emails off to some people who know about archives, basically to see if they get back to me with any ideas/ways for collaboration etc.
Dave
1. Very interesting meeting with a potential client for the Debatewise white label service
2. Great sales meeting with Alasdair and the gang, think we have a strategy here
3. Almost finished the written portion of the updated business plan
4. Made styling improvements to the comments section
5. Tidied the wires under our desks, now all is neat and tidy and my mind is eased.
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The Ebb and Flow of ‘Business’
With no experience, interest or abilities in Business I struggle to add anything to our mission apart from enthusiasm. Finding myself bewildered by money, business strategies and the confidence to ‘flog’, I find myself powering enthusiasm into the Debatewise team, hoping that it will settle and empower those who do know what they are doing. Compared to a puppy, I bounce along, hoping that my positivity will encourage people to throw money at us but it doesn’t really work like that. I am confident now in my ability as a cold-caller and have managed to set up a few meetings with smaller organisations, but the BIG, BAD corporate machines still petrify me with their receptionist and gatekeepers. As I have recently learnt, it is one thing to have an idea, yet another to implement it. There is a fear with any philanthropic, pioneering vision that it just isn’t sellable, for our own sustainability, online debate doesn’t necessarily appease businesses with that ‘what’s in it for me’ factor. So we are forever evolving as companies do... with Revisewise, Consultwise, Discusswise. Our abilities to think outside the box perhaps got a little side tracked with the new arm of our company, Drinkswise, even if it does have a good ring to it; ‘DrinksWise created for people who like making informed but drunken decision’. So its Friday and here I am, raising my glass to Debatewise and its drive to take the business world by storm!Click here to add your comment
Five things for the week
Its that time again where we tell everybody of the five things we are most proud of this week.Pete
1. Started on the cold calling, it was pretty scary at first but I am getting used to it
2. Got some replies from a couple of companies as a result of my cold calling, lets hope these turn into physical meetings
3. Wrote a blog on my expereinces of being a salesman so far, I can see why people enjoy 'blogging'
4. Continued with the screen casting. The 'how to use Debatewise' screen cast is practically done, just needs its voice over
5. Tried to contribute to a lenghty brain storming session this morning on how to drive Debatewise forward and safeguard its future.
Alex
1. Wrote a blog post for donklephant (along with a debate to go with it)
2. Wrote a blog post for our blog on the new comments system
3. Written up some new ideas for revisewse
4. Written a list of the changes that are possible or to be done for revisewise, along with reasons for them.
5. Done 2 revisewise debates (managed to publish one in the wrong place) things had not been changed recently enough.
Dave
1. Finished a pitch so that local authorities know just how much they need Debatewise
2. Arranged a meeting with sales guru people to help us work out a) if we actually have anything to sell and if so, b) how to sell it
3. Undertook leadership expertise course, apparently Jedi mind tricks not necessary
4. Started organising a debate for the Barbican through our lovely landlords Bash
5. Got more great tips on how to move us forward from Nick. Thanks Nick.
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Vision
This is a blog post for steph who has managed to forget her password, or username... or possibly both!!‘Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all’- Helen Keller
Sitting in a meeting room, minds come together to solve the problems of business. Puzzled by the challenges that are presented to Debatewise, our team of comrades are busy finding our direction in this crazy capitalist world. Our problem is simple...our liberal, ‘boheme’ idea of creating a online space of debated ideas although excites, does not make us sustainable nor puts bread on the table. So our mission is clear. We need a selling strategy. From grant funding, sponsorship schemes, to cold calling, we are trying it all and so we are asking you, the readers, the participants of Debatewise for your feedback by adding your comment below. The idea does spring to mind that a debate would sort out our problem with direction. Something along the lines of ‘Is there a place in the business market for Debate?’ or maybe it is more of a question as to whether the voices raised on our site have an outlet, a place in business and in society’?
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A new comments system
We finally have a new comments system for the website. This should encourage people to get involved in the debates even if they don’t want to write a whole new point or counterargument and are unwilling to edit what someone else has done. The new comments system gives several options as to what to do, a big improvement over the old system which was more or less a blank box that could be written in and posted. Comments did not have any context and seemed to be out of place on the old system, this is no longer the case! Now in the ‘Join the debate’ section another view of the debate in a much more linear format is given, this gives context to the comments as they are made relevant to particular points within the existing argument.The Join the debate section has several options. The first two are pretty obvious. ‘Applaud’ is simply giving thumbs up to an argument made by someone showing that you think its a good argument or agree with it. ‘Flag’ is marking an argument as inappropriate so that the moderators notice and consider the content. ‘Quote’ quotes the section of the debate you want to respond to, giving the text of the initial post, if you just want to reply simply delete the quoted passage. This then says at the bottom that it is a ‘reply to #x’. The final option is ‘my two ¢’ that allows you to take the discussion in a different direction by not quoting or replying to a previous point but still staying on topic.
Overall the new comments system is a massive improvement over what was there before. The new comments system may well be useful for revisewise as well. One of the things we are aiming for is pathways and allowing users to break out of the dual debate structure that is currently enforced by the site. This new comments system helps create a way through this. For revisewise debates the comments system could be considered a much more integral part of the debate allowing discussion on essay titles and how the debate should flow if not in a dualist structure. The comments system also helps to facilitate collaboration between users on the site, this is helpful for students revising as they can make comments on what needs to be revised more, how it should be done etc.
Hope you all like it as much as I do
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The joys of selling
Last week, I decided to help out Dave and Stephanie with the selling of various Debatewise side products such as our white label scheme. These products are essential to the future of debatewise, as they will help fund all the various projects we are pursuing, as well as ensuring that the continuing upkeep and maintenance of the site is kept up to date. The plan started off with me and Steph going to the city business library and getting a list of small- medium sized companies (sme's for those of you who like their jargon) that have some sort of environmental bent to them. I cant lie by saying that I was wholly confident when I started yesterday, and approached my first phone call with a real degree of trepidation, however as Alex commented yesterday, what is the worst they can do, hang up on us? I am actually weirdly starting to enjoy this whole process of 'cold calling' and treat each phone call as a challenge that I need to psyche myself up for. We are basically selling the product as a great tool for the various organisations to promote their causes and campaigns to a wider audience. We are selling it on the basis that it will enable organisations to harness contributions, find what arguments will be really persuasive for them, know which of their causes the general public harbour misconceptions over and will result in a large body of material that can be distributed to a wide audience. I am genuinely getting really excited by this prospect, and if any budding sales gurus out there have any tips or pointers please feel free to get in touch.Click here to add your comment
5 things for the week
Another bank holiday week with just 4 working days so not everyone will have 5 things this weekAlex
1, A document on the benefits of revisewise, and a nice little table setting out all these benefits in a nice accessible format so everyone here can see the benefits without having to know revisewise in detail
2, Working on the WODC rules and Code of Conduct
3, tested the new comments system on the site, looks good, perhaps david will write a blog post on how it all works and whats better about it compared to the old system - if not I will do one next week
4, a couple of ideas about how to improve revisewise, one should be pretty easy to do the other is probably rather longer term
5, found out a bit about the university of the third age, and local older peoples forums, might be a potential source for new rapid response team members as they are people who want to keep mentaly active and focused while having a lot of time on their hands due to being retired. Writing debates might be the perfect thing for them, they are bound to have lots of ideas and opinions that may be useful and interesting for us... the question is how to get them involved.
Stephanie
1. Revised our sponsorship packages and its powerpoint presentation
2. Met Super Nick from upstairs in BASH Studios, who helped with ideas and gave inspiration (I took fantastic notes)
3. Brough Pete into the 'Sales Scene' to try to get Debatewise out there with CSR and businesses
4. Researched different companies and businesses that we could target
5. Said a tearful farewell to Bettony but gave her a smashing send off!
Pete
1, Made significant progress on my screen cast
2, Joined Steph on the role of getting money
3, Went to the city business library to get information on companies that will give us said money
4, Got a detailed plan on how to apply for sponsership, it should be fool proof
5, Managed not to get too drunk at Betonys leaving do
Dave
1. Put the new comments feature live, try it, it’s great
2 Discovered Google Wave – think this could be amazing for us
3. Met with Tim from the RBKC about local authorities using Debatewise as a tool
4, Fixed problems with VoteMatch, all should be fine there now
5. Finished the WODC flyer, launch date next week
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‘Global debate challenge’ – the first truly worldwide debate!
For the launch of the inaugural ‘World Online Debating Championships’ we are setting ourselves a challenge – we want someone from every country in the world to debate on our site by the end of August. The site currently has views from IP addresses in all but 12 countries…1. Greenland
2. Western Sahara
3. Guinea
4. Niger
5. Chad
6. Central African Republic
7. Gabon
8. Congo—Brazzaville
9. Angola
10. Turkmenistan
11. North Korea
12. French Guiana
…and we want to hear from anyone who can help get these countries involved! The site’s founder David Crane says “Debating is the only way we can make informed decisions. With more and more issues affecting our entire planet we need to make decisions on a global scale, and this calls, first, for global debate.” He adds, on a positive note, that “we are privileged to live in a time when international communication is merely the click of a button. Debatewise want to harness the vast communication capacity of the internet to stimulate global debate. We hope the Global Debate Challenge will highlight the potential of the internet to reach every corner of our planet, and unite us in discussion and debate.”
Please get in touch with anyone you know from these places and ask them to go on the site!
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its about time for a five a week
We have not done a 'five things we have done this week' since the 8th of May – we must have managed to forget last week - and Betony was the only one of us who put anything in for the 8th! Debatewise is defiantly needing a new one so you all know what exciting things (or otherwise) we have been up too since.Alex
1, Looked through the WUDC rules and made changes so that they can be used for the WODC (now I need to change them on an electronic copy rather than using traditional pencil and paper)
2, Attempted to edit debates on Boudicca and Stalingrad. I was surprised that I could find almost nothing online relating to the Boudicca question... everything ends with her death (by poision) and the manner of her burial is not really mentioned. Cassius Dio mentions her as being buried but is not specific. To me as the only ‘primary’ source I have found that mentions how she was buried at all (there are only three that mention the whole rebellion) it seems to be case closed... someone else please find something relevant and edit this debate!!!
3, Spent some time looking for funding for revisewise. Unfortunately the British funding system for education seems to be rather obsessed with Higher Education and Further Education institutions rather than how outside organisations can help those institutions, or the students within them.
4, Continued my overall vision of revisewise document... this will be ongoing as either my idea, or David’s idea of revisewise and the uses it can be put to seems to change each week!
5, Written two documents; on how we deal with plagiarism and how revisewise can be used in seminars and essays.
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Removing indecision
We’re going through a major fundraising drive at the moment and one of the questions I really need to find an answer for is “Why should we give you any money?” Funders – be they charitable foundations, rich benefactors or banks – understandably need to know there’s a need for what we’re doing.To me the need is clear. I spend an inordinate amount of time online reading what other people think. I think other people do the same. If they’re like me they’ll find making sense of all the different opinions time-consuming, imprecise and pretty damn frustrating. They’ll want a better way.
But how do you quantify this? Does it really matter if people are undecided? Or rather, how much does it matter? A look around the internet has revealed self-help gurus talking about the damage of indecision but there are no studies which measure the actual effect.
Right then. Plan B. Go local. Examine events in my life to determine how indecision affects me and see if there are any broader lessons to be learned. The first example I can think of is the indecision about getting Marley detesticulised. It’s a grim, but important, decision and one I’ve been wrestling with for the best part of five years now.
On the face of it, the 'lose them arguments are overwhelming. 1) The zero sum game – there are enough pups in the world, making more means others wont get rescued. 2) Health – testicleless dogs are less likely to suffer from prostrate cancer or testicular cancer, plus they’re less likely to get run over by cars on their headlong quest toward that bitch in heat. 3) General wellbeing – he’d be less of a target for other intact alpha males and would be less frustrated by the sheer number of dogs who aren’t in heat. Plus he’s not likely to get it often, wouldn’t getting it once be worse than not getting it at all?
The keep them arguments are much more intangible. There’s the fear his personality might change or, worse, something might happen in the operation. There’s the concern something might happen to him in the world and that his offspring would allow him to live on. Plus, I think there should be more dogs in the world like Marley. He is what evolution was made for.
So clearly what we’ve got here is classic case of logic trumping, largely irrational, fear. The For reasons make a lot of sense, the Against reasons are anxiety based (I’m sure every dog owner thinks theirs is the best). This kind of fear will always beat logic since the fact it is irrational makes it impervious to rational thought.
Since the arguments can’t be convincing perhaps the consequences will do the trick. The consequences for him are essentially a less happy life. All he does when meeting dogs is sniff to see if they’re available. He’s not interested in playing, just mounting. And he seems not to care their sex or their age. I think he’s desperate poor thing.
The consequences for me are a less happy dog with a less long life. Which considering how important he is to me should be consequence enough. My inability to decide, to actually pick up the phone and book that appointment, is not good for him and it’s not good for me.
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European Bonanza!
As one of our RRT mentioned the other day, we appear to be having a 'European Bonanza' at the moment! The homepage has been colonised with tiny EU flags in the corner of most debates and they seem to be taking over the site. Don't panic and call the euroskeptics on us yet, however, as there is method to this euro-madness. We have been collaborating with Unlock Democracy on thier new project Votematch. This tool allows people to enter thier opinions on policy issues, and will match them with the candidate that best fits thier opinions. It's a great way of deciding who to vote for in the upcoming EU elections, and will hopefully be used in the next general election too. Where Debatewise come in is when people can't decide how they feel about the issue and want more info. At the end of the quiz there is a little 'd' after each statement, which links to our debate on the topic. Clever eh? We thought soMore about it here
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Five things (in four days!)
Despite it being a Bank Holiday I still managed to get a good amount done!1. Sent out 967 press releases (yes, really!)
2. Called 61 student unions/newspapers
3. Co-ordinated,edited, strengthened and added pretty little EU pictures to the 29 debates for Votematch
4. Written blog post for Donklephant
5. 500 words for the Charitymash website
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Donklephant Post
Across the pond we’re still debating…‘From a British Perspective Have Obama’s First 100 Days Been a Success?’After the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency there was much ink spilt in the USA on domestic policy changes during this so called ‘honeymoon period’. In Britain, however, we are more concerned with Obama’s foreign policy, and have the advantage of distance (both geographical and theoretical) from which to give an assessment on that.
Obama has made changes to counter-terrorism policy, stating his intention to Guantanamo bay and renaming the ‘Global War on Terror’ with a softer phrase. But are these merely empty gestures and word games designed to placate those becoming increasingly uneasy at the U.S’s strong-arm tactics? Obama’s policy on Afghanistan, too, was a disappointment to many of us across the pond as he insisted an exit strategy was needed but failed to articulate one definitively.
However, Britain is probably in line with much of the rest of the world in viewing nuclear disarmament as a wholly positive policy step, and the fact Obama supported Brown’s ideas for the economy at the G20 definitely strengthened the relationship between the new premiers. This side of the Atlantic there has also been concern about Bush’s stance in the environment and it seems Obama is doing his best to allay these fears through tougher fuel standards and CO2 regulations.
Finally, in his first 100 days Obama seems to have succeeded in changing the overall tone of U.S diplomacy from one of unilateral ‘world policing’ to one of dialogue and co-operation. He has smoothed relations with Russia and has indicated he will do more to engage with the Arab world. This is perhaps the biggest positive step from a British perspective, as our special relationship with the U.S means that in the eyes of the world, U.S diplomacy is also our diplomacy. It remains to be seen whether this change in tone will be consolidated by a decisive change in actions, but for now we can hope this will be the case. It seems for Britain there have been many positives at the start of the Obama presidency yet a few things left undone. So far, so good, but Britain has bated breath…
This post was brought to you courtesy of Debatewise.com For a more in-depth discussion visit the actual debate!
[I am attempting self-syndication here, as I also posted this on Donklephant
]
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the debatewise week
what have we all been doing this week?Stephanie
1. Wrote a letter to Hazel Blears (as you do) to ask for support and told her how wonderful we are
2. Finished an application for a Trust Fund, using very intellectual big words, complex syntax and enthusiastic rhetoric
3. Took criticism very well on said application (Excuse tissues hid under the table)
4. Met up with Marcien from IDEA to discuss Fundraising a debating event 'debatewise IDEA exchange'
5. Sifted through a big, nay enormous, book of funds, categoried it in Excel and didnt go mad in the process.
Alex
1, came up with an idea for how we could meet critics of revisewise, David did not like it but I think I will write up the idea anyway just in case we need to go back to it in the future... no spoilers as to what it was!
2, wrote two up to date debates. One on Obama's first 100 days in office, I had hoped that it could be put on donklephant which at the same time could highlight Obama's policy towards Iran, torture against terror suspects and changing the name of the war on terror all of which are to do with Obama's foreign policy however I finished the dabate a few days late!. I also wrote a debate on should we be afraid of swine flu for which others here have been adding points.
3, more phone calls, only managed about 30, also got a few email addresses for debating societies
4, added a bit to some of the EU debates, need to do rather more on this though.
5, found the email addresses of some UK journalists who might be interested in our press releace on revisewise
Betony
Two major challenges/deadlines this week as well as more Revisewise marketing:
1. Finished annual report for OSI
2. Finished House of Lords People and Parliament Inquiry evidence submission.
3. Sent out 'pre press release' on Revisewise and got replies form the Guradian and the Telegraph
4. Contacted more universities and sent out more marketing materials.
5. Worked on European debates for Votematch
Pete
1 Found names of journalists to email
2 Added debates to the website on Football, Swine flu and added to a EU Debatewise
3 Reprised my role as postman Pete
4 Made more phone calls to promote revisewise
5 Had another Friday team lunch, I love those.
Dave
1. Finished the fundraising task list Yen sent, love deadlines
2. Emailed all my friends, clients and even vague associates to see if they could help us raise money.
3. Went to see the very wonderful Ade to cost for Express Yourself
4. Worked out more of how the World Online Debating Championship will work with Neill, that’s getting quite exciting
5. Got the newsletter out, despite a very loud Friday evening office making proof-reading a challenge
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Running the marathon
That has to go down as one of the best days of my life. Mickey Thomas scoring in the last minute of the last game to win us the title at Anfield was ecstatic. If I’m lucky and have kids I hear their birth is pretty good too. But running the marathon will be one of those rare experiences I’ll cherish forever and relive frequently. It was, quite simply, fantastic.I was nervous the week before but in a good mood on the day itself and sat on the tube making friends with fellow runners. This in-it-together atmosphere continued all the way to and in Greenwich Park, though by then my nerves had ramped up and I was feeling apprehensive about what lay ahead.
But when you see four Wombles, three donkeys and a twelve foot nurse called Rob you tend to relax a little. I also didn’t have much time to think because five minutes after being in place the whistle went and we were off. Even if the thousands of people in front meant it took 25 minutes to reach the start.
I felt stiff and in mild pain for the first few miles, though knew it was the kind you run off. The crowds were thin, but even so I started to get a few of the magical things which saw me through to the end – complete strangers cheering my name.
One of the best tips I got was to print my name on my vest. When you do, and if you run close enough to the crowd (as I made sure I did), men, women, kids and grandmas cheer you on. What a feeling that is. What an uplifting, propelling, wonderful feeling to hear random people congratulating me and urging me forward.
The crowd was absolutely fantastic. They didn’t cover every inch but there weren’t many yards that were empty. The cheers were the best bit (and let me say again just how amazing they were), though we also had kids handing out sweets, firemen dousing us with water, bands playing us on, drummers proving a beat, people on balconies with house music backdrops, pubs with MCs shouting out names and other things I’ll probably only remember once I hit Send.
It wasn’t only the complete strangers who propelled me forward either. Mandy and Lily were at mile 7 somewhere near Dom and family. Romi was at mile 8, Mandy moved to Docklands to be at mile 18, Gian, Scott, Rob and Richard were at 22, Dave at 23, Paul at 24 and Natalie opposite Parliament.
Each person, each milestone, gave me something to look forward to. I only actually saw Mandy, Lily, the boys and Paul but knowing they were there was enough. Other things broke down the distance, crossing Tower Bridge, turning for home at Docklands, hitting the 20 mile mark, seeing Charing Cross and going up the mall.
The race itself went by in a bit of a blur. Miles 8-12 were hard in places because I knew the distance still to run, but the Lucozade sport and the cheers saw me through. Parts of Docklands were tough, but sports gels, more Lucozade sport and more cheers saw me through there.
The really tough miles were 20-26. My feet hurt every time they hit the road, legs were heavy and tired, I could barely throw a smile at the people calling my name, every mile took an age to pass and the people walking were very tempting to join.
But I even loved how hard it was because it was so hard. I knew I wasn’t at my limit and if I kept going I’d feel proud. Plus, walk then and I’d be walking till the end. So I gritted my teeth, pushed myself forward and managed to run every step of the way. And I was right, it feels great.
By no means was it all hard, in fact I’d say it was fine most of the time and wonderful as often as tough. There were many times the sheer spectacle of the event gave me goosebumps, I put on headphones for a bit and wanted to bounce for joy and frequently thought this is so great I’ve got to do it again.
I think the heat and my leg and the crowd meant a fast time was an impossibility. But I’m so glad I decided to take it slow and savour as much as I could. I ran past the outstretched hands of kids giving them high fives, grinned at my supporters, ate a few sweets here and there, congratulated other runners, took in the beauty of London and the magnificence of the event.
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