Much rather stand in horse shit than dog shit. Bad dog owners (i.e pretty much every one in a large town/city who owns a dog) and people who are overly noisy and clattery. Thats about all.
I'm not sure, every time i've ridden someones bike with flat bars it felt like my wrists were gonna snap off. They feel horrible to me, not sure why you would ever do it. I guess someone must like them though, otherwise they wouldn't make them.
For the record I'd say that organic = better braking, shorter life and sintered = worse braking, longer life. For trial du monde I'd always go organic, as wear is pretty much a non-issue.
I had to get an order cancelled and money refunded the other day, sent an email on monday asking them to do it and the money was refunded today, along with an apologetic email. Not had any problems at all, good luck with it.