A Work from home career has lots of advantages, not least of which is a reduced, or even eliminated, requirement to use a car. However, even when you work from home the majority of the day, for example doing Online jobs, you could at some time or other discover the requirement to leave the office to run some errand or other. Journeys to the bank, picking up of parcels or mail at the post office or visits to your local stationer for emergency stationery supply could all occur from time to time no matter what your work from home jobs entail. And the bad news is that driving your car for any such short journeys has a negative effect on your fuel consumption as the engine does not warm up properly.What’s more, emissions from the enginecar are most in the initial three miles so your green credentials are rather spoilt by such very short trips.

I’ve been working from home for seven years now. I go out every days for one reason or another but during the last few months have started riding my mountain bike instead of my car. It really works, my journeys are up to four miles and done in less than twenty minutes. It is rare that the weather is a show stopper,now and again I capitulate and jump in my car but that is quite unusual. I fitted a saddle bag for carrying items in, I can put in all my inbound or outbound post and a reasonable amount of stationery should I run out of anything.

Of course safety is a worry but I always wear a helmet and I select my routes with care to miss the bulk of the traffic. In fact I can get to my bank branch in twenty five minutes using exclusively minor roads.

I find this improves my work from home operation by providing true green transport and it provides me with useful exercise as well.

Be fully prepared when teaching young people to drive safely. A supervisor ought to be comfortable with driving processes and be able to give favourable support.

Prior to accompanying a learner on the road, there are a few matters you need to organise. Foremost, are you old enough to teach driving? Usually you need to be over 21 years old. You must also have a valid driving licence which you have held for at least three years.Make sure the driver you will be instructing is insured on the vehicle you will be using. A good provider of cheap car insurance for young drivers is Coverbox. Get hold of a copy of the latest Highway Code and make sure you know all the latest rules and regulations.

Make sure the driver is fully prepared for the road. Ensure that he has a provisional license. It is advisable that the learner has already had some basic lessons with a qualified driving instructor in a dual control car. They should also understand the first principles of driving. Always ensure you use a safe vehicle and get the learner to help you check the lights, brakes and tyres are functioning normally.

It is a good idea to have a route prepared. To prevent learners getting distracted and tired start with short trips. Gradually increase the route distance and acquaint the learner to a variety of conditions. Experience is needed of driving on a variety of road types – narrow to dual carriageway and in all weather conditions.

The supervisor needs to remain relaxed at all times and be constructive. Always encourage the driver and don’t denigrate mistakes. Ask the learner to point out any potential problems. The driver should be reminded that they need to look in the rear view mirrors and use the indicators when changing lane or at junctions. It is important to reinforce good habits. If something dangerous happens, pull over somewhere safely and inform the driver what they did wrong but in a constructive fashion. Recap the learners performance after practising, always staying positive.

It is important to teach learners in a way that will stay with them once they are driving unsupervised, and occasionally supervisor a young driver even after they have passed the test.

So the first one is the Walkman E. Pretty hot. LCD screen, video playback, two-tone design. No pricing or storage sizing.

Just 9.3mm thin and available in black and red, the super-compact WALKMAN® E Series slips easily into a pocket or bag. Despite its small size, it’s packed with serious features to enhance enjoyment of your personal media collection.
The generously-sized 2-inch QVGA Colour LCD screen offers a crisp, detail-packed view of videos, photos, album art, playlists and other functions.
As you’d expect from WALKMAN®, the E Series is packed with unique Sony sound enhancement features for a more satisfying listening experience.
It’s the first E series WALKMAN® to feature Clear Audio technology by Sony for a dynamic, detail-packed soundstage. Clear Stereo reduces leakage between left and right channels, while Clear Bass delivers powerful, controlled low-end frequencies without distortion.
There’s also a 5-band equaliser to fine-tune your listening enjoyment. In addition, a Dynamic Normalizer balances volume levels between songs ensuring a smooth, comfortable listening experience.

Importing music, video and photos is quick and fuss-free, with simple drag-and-drop from your PC’s media folder or via iTunes[1] 8.1 using Content Transfer.
A range of major music and video formats are supported including rights-managed WMA and WMV. In a WALKMAN® first, there’s now support for video file format conversion via the supplied Content Transfer software.
For even more listening choice there’s a high quality FM radio tuner. Broadcasts can be recorded at the touch of a button, to enjoy whenever you want.
Great sound and smart features are teamed with extra-long battery life. The WALKMAN® E Series delivers up to 30 hours of music or 6 hours of video playback on a single charge – more than enough entertainment for the daily commute or short trips away.

Then there’s the inexplicable Walkman B.

WALKMAN® B Series MP3 players
• Small, Ultra-light player in choice of four colours
• Easy operation with drag-and-drop file transfers
• ZAPPIN™ for quick, easy song searches
• Bass button for powerful low frequency enhancement
• 18 hr music playback and Quick Charge battery
• FM tuner with recording facility

They’ll be available this month. Woot.