05-30-2003, 08:19 PM | #11 |
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I had the same problem at first, audio but no video. When I tried with a different computer with windows media player 9 it worked. I still had to wait for it to download a codec though.
Aloha, Randy >) http://alohasegway.com "Increase the Peace" |
05-30-2003, 08:25 PM | #12 |
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For those who didn't grow up with them, Firesign Theater reminds us of "Fudd's First Law of Opposition", that being:
"If you push something hard enough, it will fall over." I try to heed this warning every time I go out (on the Seg, in my car, whatever). pbarr |
05-30-2003, 08:54 PM | #13 |
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I'd like to have Andrew's input on this. What does he believe happened? Don't critisize the trainer--just say what went wrong. What was he really trying to do before the fall?
Visit my Segway Blog page at http://galsegway01.blogspot.com |
05-30-2003, 09:02 PM | #14 |
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lohja-
andrew did post and sent me an email as well. he said he wanted to push the limits of the ht and used it in an unnatural way following jack's instructions in way which resulted in "making it" fall over as per andrew. they were working on agressive stopping at the time. i don't think andrew had "ill will" and we know that andrew didn't get to see the safety video and they were gliding in a parking lot (it seems without permission as well). since then, the trainer jack demanded andrew remove the video. it is reasonable to say jack could have done a better job here do you? and i think the 16 hts he rents may not be operating safely if this is how he usually does things. i sent a note to jack, no reply. cheers, pt ====================== segway ht journal: http://www.bookofseg.com other stuff: http://www.flashenabled.com |
05-30-2003, 10:31 PM | #15 |
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here's some math...(please check, i could be wrong).
according to www.segcenter.com jack's future human transport solution company (http://www.FHTSC.com) has 16 segway hts. so 16 hts @ ($5,000) = $80,000 if the rental center charges $20 per hour. 16 segway hts would need to be used 24 hours per day for 166 days to break even for the cost of the hts ($80,000). that doesn't include all the other things one needs to run a business, it's unclear what (or if) they carry an insurance policy. proper insurance is at least $5,000 for 4-6 units per 6 months (from some carriers). 24 hours per day x 166 days sounds impossible, since there's at best 8 hours per day of use it would actually take longer, about 3 times longer. so that means it would take about 1.5 years of renting the hts each day for 8 hours per day, 7 days a week to get the return on the cost of the units. there are many other factors too, training (which is reported to be a short as 15 minutes) and also a safety video (which isn't shown all the time). there's also all sorts of things. i guess if you could skim on the training and video, you could make more $. to me, this sounds like it will be really hard to ever break even on the costs of the units, after 2-3 years i would think the ht would start to wear down with this much use...and since they're in canada can they get them fixed quickly? oh, there's also the weather, some folks might not want to glide around in december. there's a good portion of the year that recreational gliding doesn't sound fun. i'm thinking it'll take more than 5-6 years to get back the investment, if ever, if everything goes well. cheers, pt ====================== segway ht journal: http://www.bookofseg.com other stuff: http://www.flashenabled.com |
05-30-2003, 11:11 PM | #16 |
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I have been waiting for an appropriate crash topic to tell this story:
So I had a few folks over for dinner, one of whom is a famous professional athlete in Chicago. It's late, suburban and well lit, so we ride a bit on the deserted street in front of my house. He is doing very well as you would expect of a world class athlete, and then he pulls exactly what this guy in the video does, except he does NOT let go of the turn grip on the way forward, thus SPINNING the Segway around his arm HARD, which sends it airborn as he grips it TIGHTLY. HOnestly, it jumped a few feet in the air, he was forced to let go and the Segway bounced off the tires, righted itself, and slowly started moving forward right towards me as it shut down. The whole dinner party was amazed by the fact that though the rider flew off, the Segway NEVER lost its balance. His wife was freaked. It was pretty amazing. And thankfully, Mr. All Star was not hurt. That would DEFINITELY have made headlines -- negative ones. Never more after a late night. But the Segway performed wonderfully.... adios |
05-30-2003, 11:40 PM | #17 |
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Hi PT. I calculate that if he rented one HT for only 5 hours per day, that would bring in $100 per day, no? The machine would pay for itself in only 50 days. After that, its $100 /day if only rented 5 hours a day. Times that by 16 machines! Not bad.
JEFF JARVIS |
05-31-2003, 12:11 AM | #18 |
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Uhm, pt, it looks like you punched in an extra digit somewhere...
16 Segways @ $5,000 = $80,000 7 revenue days per week, 5 revenue hours per day (accounting for idle time), 16 units in pool, at $20/hour = $11,200 per week. That's a capital payback of about 8 weeks. Of course, there's overhead, ($3 per sq.ft * 1000 sq. ft, maybe or $3,000 per month for rent, staffing at 2 x $8/hr * 40 hours = $640 per week, insurance at [random guess] $32,000 per year)... You'd still pay for the Segway in several months and you can resell the used Segways... http://www.pasadenasegway.com/ A bicycle in 1897 cost $25 ($2,200 today adjusted for inflation). A Ford Model-T cost $850 in 1908 ($75,000 today adjusted for inflation). |
05-31-2003, 12:15 AM | #19 |
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i knew my math was off, thanks.
cheers, pt ====================== segway ht journal: http://www.bookofseg.com other stuff: http://www.flashenabled.com |
05-31-2003, 12:23 AM | #20 |
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>>16 segway hts would need to be used 24 hours per day for 166 days to break even for the cost of the hts ($80,000).
Looks like you calculated for the Segways only being ridden one at a time instead of concurrently. If all the Segs are always rented, that brings in a total of $320 per hour (16 x $20). That gives a "break even" point of 250 hours, or 11 days. That's what you get for letting your ROBOT DOG do the math . Dave C. me: www.idexter.com work: www.idealjacobs.com play: www.nyline.org |
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