BAColumn: Tiki-Taki

‘High-tech system development is not all about technology’

BACOLUMN

THE (RE-)DISCOVERY OF THE TIKI-TAKI

WRITTEN BY FLORIAN COX

A long time ago, before we had the Sgt. Peppers as our regular pub, we had another local. This bar was called ‘De Roze Koek’. For some reason, however, it closed. For around 1.5 years, we didn’t have a fixed place to go to in Stratumseind, so we went from place to place as Simon Stevin. This was also the case in 2013, when the 57th Board led the Association. This board wanted some change in that, so they searched for a new place. At first they wanted to do it as any other Board would do: “Wouldn’t it be smart to choose our new bar to have house number 57?” they thought. When looking at that bar, it was discovered that this bar was no normal bar: it was a snack bar.

After thinking and discussing it for a while, it was decided that this place wouldn’t be the ideal favourite pub. But which one would be? Which bar would be perfect for us? This was unknown, and therefore the board searched. Many pubs were tested, and many pubs were rejected. Even De Spijker’s attempted ‘bribery’ with beer coins did not work. At some point the board sat at another bar: it was the Peppers. As you all know, this bar became our local. It just fit well and Bram, the publican, is a great guy. Bram quite often gave drinks on the house to the board. One of these drinks was… quite hot. But in some way, it was also refreshing. When you were tired when going out, a few beers and this drink could give you enough energy to stay awake the coming hour(s). It was called a ‘Tiki-Taki’. When asking Bram what this drink exactly consisted of, he wasn’t really clear about it. What the reason behind this was is unknown. Bas Straatman, the Commissioner of Extraordinary Activities of the 57th Board wasn’t satisfied with this, however. Together with the Extraordinary Activites committee of that time, he tried to recreate it. And after some time of trial and error, it was a success: the TikiTaki was rediscovered.

The Tiki-Taki from then wasn’t exactly the same as it is now, though. Now it is one part tabasco with three times one part liquor of choice. In the past, this recipe was more strict. For the real Tiki-Taki, you put one part brown rum,

Source: stratumseind-eindhoven.nl

one part yellow tequila, one part white vodka and onefourth part tabasco together. At some after-drink, it was decided to include this shot in the menu and the Tiki-Taki gained popularity.

But why the name ‘Tiki-Taki’? To answer that question we have to go back a long time, when even Simon didn’t exist, to around 4000 B.C. At that time the Sumerians lived on this planet in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, which is now known as Iraq. The Sumerians lived in one of the first civilizations called the Sumer. The existence of this civilization allowed the Sumerians to do other things than just collecting and hunting for food. They were able to do research, to do art and to trade. They for example used wheels, irrigation systems, glue and saws. They also came up with the sexagesimal counting system, a numerical system with 60 as its base. This system is still used on the compasses and clocks used today. Apart from all this art, research and trade, there was another thing they were able to do: they could practice religion. There was an extensive number of different gods. According to their tradition, there were two main gods: a man and a woman. These two gods were married and in this way connected. This connectedness was where every Sumerian strived for. This connectedness was called ‘TikiTaki’. Tiki-Taki was the highest you could achieve in this civilization.

Tiki-Taki, the state of connectedness. It’s a metaphor for this shot. After all, this drink creates a bond between the drinkers. When drinking this together with other people you may struggle for a short time. But being in this more difficult condition together strengthens your bond. This also means that the use of the shot as a ‘punishment’ is actually against the original principles of ‘Tiki-Taki’. So next time you’re in De Weeghconst, don’t only order a beer. Order a few Tiki-Takis and drink them together with your friends.

GO SHARING VS FELYX Shared electric scooters

Test track

WRITTEN BY JANKATIRI BOON AND SANDOR HABETS

In 2019, Eindhoven got a little greener with the addition of 200 GO Sharing scooters. These scooters are placed all around the city and are 100% electric. Anyone can rent a scooter, as long as you have verified your account and added funds to you wallet. A year later, some competition was brought to Eindhoven with the addition 200 more slighty darker green Felyx scooters. In the meantime, we have now all seen and perhaps used these scooters. But how do they compare to each other? Is there one true king of electric shared scooters? In this edition of test track, these brands will be put to the test.

Performance

First, we will look at the hardware of the scooters and how well they perform. Given that electric vehicles have a certain battery capacity, you don’t want to be left stranded with an empty battery after just a short ride.

Go Green

The GO Sharing scooter has a top speed of 26 km/h. The engine does not supply much more than that, since you notice the speed already dropping as soon as you go slightly uphill. The battery capacity of the scooter is over 70 kilometres, which means that if you start with a full battery, you can travel more than 70 kilometres before you run out of juice.

Felyx

The Felyx scooter has a higher top speed, capping out at around 31 km/h, so if you are in a hurry, make sure to first check whether one of these scooters is around. This scooter also does its job uphill as you can easily catch up with many envious cyclists. The action radius, however, is smaller for the Felyx Scooter in comparison with the Go Green scooter. On a full battery, you are able to travel around 60 km/h which is a little less than the Go Green Scooter.

Functionality and ergonomics

If you have to choose between two brands, you obviously also have to consider how well it drives and any luxuries that are included. Some times, even if you have a choice, you also have to be lucky. Sometimes you may rent a scooter that has been damaged by a previous user, where it

Go Green

The GO Sharing scooter has a sufficiently wide enough seat, which can fit two people. It has two footrests on the side, where the passenger can put their feet. Under the Dashboard, there is an open compartment, where you can store a small bag or water bottle for example. The dashboard of the scooter is very sleek, with all wires encased in a housing. There are some instructions placed on the dashboard that lists how to turn on the scooter and contains a QR code to scan with the app. The dashboard itself has a clear design, where you can easily view the battery percentage, travel velocity, and some other minor statistics. The scooter itself handles very well. You are able to make fairly sharp turns, and the steering does not feel clunky. Lastly, it also has some nice suspension, combined with a well-cushioned seat.

Felyx

The seat of the Felyx scooter is relatively large and quite suitable for a trip with two persons. A large advantage of this scooter is that it is equipped with a cover for the seat that prevents it from getting wet. This means that you do not have to worry about getting your pants wet if your predecessor was nice enough to use this cover. Overall, the seat is quite comfortable and convenient for longer trips. The scooter is relatively heavy which you only notice when parking it or sudden brakes. Besides that, it drives well and is easily controllable, also in bends. The dashboard design is rather simplistic, but the relevant information such as speed and battery percentage is visible. The Felyx scooter is equipped with a safety switch that does not allow you to drive before you have pressed this button, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally pushing the throttle while parking it.

Price

All in all, this sounds nice. But you are not going to rent these scooters if they are pretty and work well but cost a fortune. Both scooters offer their services at around the same price, even charging the same fee of 10 cents per minute if you park the vehicle. There are some subtle differences in the base price though.

Go Green

The Go Sharing scooter has a base price of 29 cents per minute, but the company offers also certain packages that come with a discounted price. They range from upgrading your balance with the Go Basic new package with € 9,95 up to the GO Crazy package which upgrades your balance with €99.95. With the largest package, you will effectively drive for 25 cents per kilometre. All packages offer a balance that will not expire.

Felyx

Renting a felyx scooter costs € 0.30 per minute in Dutch cities. You can park a felyx everywhere both inside and outside the service area for € 0.10 per minute min. At the moment felyx is applying dynamic pricing in the Hague. To get the e-scooters in the right place, the price is adjusted per minute based on time and location. For just a few cents less or more per minute, supply and demand are rebalanced.

App

Go Green

The app that comes with the service is very sleek, but it does have its drawbacks. It is rather slow and often experiences bugs connecting to the scooter. It has happened some times that the scooter would disconnect, while your ride was still running, or that the scooter refuses to disconnect. Coincidentally, this also happened during the photoshoot of this article. Luckily you can easily contact customer support and they will fix these issues very quickly, easily and remotely.

Felyx

In general, Felyx has developed an excellent app, Despite the occasional bug that can display a wrong location, the scooters are generally easy to find because the app displays it clearly.

The service area is also clearly marked on the map. Customer service is also easily accessible via the app and responds quickly to questions asked in the chat.

Conclusion

Both scooters are pretty much the same. The prices are almost identical. GO Sharing does win in the action radius department and having a lower minimum driving age could be beneficial. It depends on how much lesser experienced driver damage scooters when they take them for a ride. What could be the main decisive factor for some people, could be the top speed and acceleration, where Felyx easily wins.

All in all, both scooters are pretty similar and choosing which scooter you use will probably depend on which one is the closest or which shade of green you prefer. But both companies should probably be careful since a new contender is already on its way...

Specifications GO Sharing

Top speed 26 km/h

Action radius 70 km

Base driving costs 29 cent per minute

Parking costs 10 cent per minute

Amount of scooters 200

Minimum driving age 16 Felyx

31 km/h

60 km

30 cent per minute

10 cent per minute

200

18 (plus 1 year owner of a drivers license)