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January 03, 2004
answers, and Ikea aside
Here are the answers to the London quiz. 5-10 seems to be a good score for anyone who doesn't live in London, or doesn't eat London with their own eyes, 10-15 is a very good effort, and anything above means you're a London genius, or you're me. blech gets to go to the front of the class and give the pencils out, with a score of 22 (not that I was expecting him to get the most or anything).
Each has a link to a map, and is therefore geolocated. If someone explains to me how to geoencode the images, I will.
Anyway, it was a crude way to point to loads of London things that are a bit neglected by tourists and Londoners alike. In particular, the new Enlightenment Gallery in the British Museum, the Wellcome 4th and 5th floors of the Science Museum, Crystal Palace park, and Canary Wharf are all well worth a visit, even if you've seen them before. It's been years since I went to the Wellcome galleries - it's a far bigger selection of stuff than the recent exhibition at the British Museum (and you can still see the Brothers Quay video).
Sorry for the lateness of the answers - yesterday consisted of an early start, an hour of public transport, 2 hours of Ikea, and 6 hours of wardrobe assembly/carrying several hundred kilos of stuff up and down four flights of stairs.
Now, I don't think Ikea instructions are too bad. You do have to study them carefully, because very important details,such as ridges, tend to be the key to assembly, yet are not emphasised. What they don't supply are some of the finishing touches, and basic woodworking knowledge, that can make the job a lot easier. After all, it's at least 10 years since I did CDT, or picked up a junior hacksaw (and learning to make bird boxes is probably not a real-life transferable skill).
Important information, such as clearance needed to assemble and put wardrobes up (or to get sofas up the stairs), or that wall fixings for tall units are needed but not included, or that certain range combinations are impossible, are not mentioned at point of sale or in the catalogue. Frustratingly.
There's definitely a book idea here - Ikea: The Missing Manual - covering techniques such as room planning, how to drill, how to line things up, as well as range-specific additional information, tricks, and pitfalls.
Another idea is to provide an instruction video (or DVD) for some of the ranges. This has the ability to highlight what is important (and what is happening), which can't be done in a one-colour no-text instruction booklet.
Huge thanks to my dad for transportation, tools, assembly in small spaces, and waste disposal.
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