Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

Following on the previous episode of DS2 deciding what to study at uni.

...

2 days later. Bingo! One offer, a grade lower than they are quoting on their website.

:j:beer::T

silvercar wrote: »

In other news, the young driver (DS2) goes off with the London A-Z on what should be a half hour journey towards GDB2222 land; phones 45 minutes later to say he went slightly too far round the north circular and can't work out where he went wrong. Today I bought a sat-nav.:( So I've saved on no more driving lessons, but spending more on accessories and petrol.

I used to think sat-nav was for wimps who couldn't read a map competently. But I have come to realise that however good you may be at map-reading, it is downright dangerous to try to read a map and drive at the same time. So now I use the map thingy on my smartphone that does all my map reading for me, and I drive much more safely.

vivatifosi wrote: »

Thanks silvercar, that's a great deal.

I'd love to be able to buy a cheap edition of office but don't want to get stung as I run a limited company. I'd like the full version of Acrobat, it would be very useful to produce Acrobat files for my clients. More than anything else though, I need a bulletproof version of Excel. Upgrading that is what strikes fear into me the most. I really need to be able to try before I buy. Unfortunately I've only been able to grab a play on Word 2010.

I recently made the transition from Excel 2003 to 2007 and then a while later to 2010 (at work) although I still have 2007 at home. It was painless. There are a few things that are a bit different, but it basically feels like the same old familiar Excel that does all the things I want it to do. My user-defined functions still work, including my really long code that sets up multisheeted workbooks automatically.

Today DS and DD had a fight with cans of silly string. I had to rescue the hamster, who was in imminent danger of getting caught in the cross-fire. She's absolutely fine, but I wish DD had a bit more imagination about what it would be like to be only a few inches long and easily scared. She's now much tamer than I thought she'd ever be, and accepts being scooped up and carried around by DD with equanimity.

michaels

It loads for me but also says there is an embedded font that won't load correctly - could this be your problem. At work we use a word 'pdf printer' - you chosse print but rather than choosing a physical printer you instead select the pdf printer and get prompted for a file location to save to, works great, examples are jaws and primo.

I know a lot about policing and performance metrics including a couple of people at TVP - they are much too into Prince and not nearly aware enough of benefits realisation. I also know a lot about visibility metrics.

vivatifosi wrote: »

NP, if any of you are around, can you please click on the link and tell me whether it works properly. I may write to the body involved, but want to check whether its me or not (I use a weird PDF reader not Adobe).

I want to know if there is any text in the plan section of the document:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/strategicplan2011-2014.pdf

Thanks!

Thanks DG, pretty much what I suspected and I think I would also join you in the moving in to rented for a few months if doing major works - may be just spend 6 weeks away over the summer. The bit that puts me off is that your house is no longer your home but also your income so if property prices fall 20% you make no income - scary.

Doozergirl wrote: »

We know it's a grey area but if we're talking about extending houses, by now, michaels knows how long it takes to plan and carry it all out(!) - by the time you get round to selling and completing, you're at least eighteen months to two years down the line from purchase, which I think any tax man would find difficult to argue that it was trading.

You'll find it even harder as you need the right house that you can live in, that suits your life and makes sense financially.

I think it's different if you're giving it a bit of makeover and flipping it as soon as you can, it's going to look a bit sus at some point.

I told H that I wouldn't live in houses and renovate them with children on a serial basis - the family doesn't cope with it very well. So we moved into our new house which needed some slight renovations, and now we're living in a holiday cottage until the 26th because H removed part of the back wall when I was out buying shoes for the kids?! (this being my breaking point after he'd removed every other creature comfort) :mad:. He only follows one track, that being the fastest one.

Essentially, we've moved house four times this year now and I cannot wait to see the back of 2011.

Congratulations are due - but I suspect to you rather than DS - I seem to remember my parents pretty much left it all up to me but then they werefairly hands off - it often amaze3s me that all 5 kids have made it to adulthood mostly intact.

silvercar wrote: »

2 days later. Bingo! One offer, a grade lower than they are quoting on their website.

neverdespairgirl

Doozergirl wrote: »

Essentially, we've moved house four times this year now and I cannot wait to see the back of 2011.

You have my deepest sympathy! ONce in 2011 is quite enough for me.

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

It loads for me but also says there is an embedded font that won't load correctly - could this be your problem. At work we use a word 'pdf printer' - you chosse print but rather than choosing a physical printer you instead select the pdf printer and get prompted for a file location to save to, works great, examples are jaws and primo.

I know a lot about policing and performance metrics including a couple of people at TVP - they are much too into Prince and not nearly aware enough of benefits realisation. I also know a lot about visibility metrics.

Cheers michaels. Primo is what I use and what I was having trouble loading to. I'm not working for TVP or looking into them in any great detail, I was just being a nerd and exploring the net:o.

I had an e-mail the other day from Hertfordshire Police saying that they were shutting or putting on shorter time some police stations as part of their cost savings, so thought I'd see what their neighbours were up to. I got a bit of a shock when I started to load TVP's strategic plan and saw, er, lots of pictures and no strategic plan! All I was looking for was what they are doing with their stations and whether they are closing too!

silvercar

vivatifosi wrote: »

Thanks silvercar, that's a great deal.

I'd love to be able to buy a cheap edition of office but don't want to get stung as I run a limited company. I'd like the full version of Acrobat, it would be very useful to produce Acrobat files for my clients. More than anything else though, I need a bulletproof version of Excel. Upgrading that is what strikes fear into me the most. I really need to be able to try before I buy. Unfortunately I've only been able to grab a play on Word 2010.

Keep an eye out for the deal called "the Ultimate Steal". The only requirement is that it has to be bought for a student. They do monitor this by requiring a ".ac" address or an email from a teacher with a .ac or .sch address, or something like that. But it gives you a licence for 3 copies for about £45.

If you pay full price its about £90 for the whole package.

silvercar

Congratulations are due - but I suspect to you rather than DS - I seem to remember my parents pretty much left it all up to me but then they werefairly hands off - it often amaze3s me that all 5 kids have made it to adulthood mostly intact.

My parents left it all up to me. These days parents seem to be more involved.

I certainly feel that parents who are interested and capable give their offspring an advantage. That coupled with attending a school with a lot of experience in university entrance and enough staff time to help the students individually in their application have a distinct advantage.

My initial thought was that realistic predictions are better because you then have achievable offers, until it was explained to me that if you don't get the offer, you don't stand much of a chance of a place if you don't quite make the predicted grade.

So if a standard offer is likely to be BBB and you have predictions of BBC you may not get an offer. But if you secure predicitions of BBB, you could then get an offer of BBB but they may take you with BBC, whereas a BBC prediction would have got you a rejection. Add into the mix a polished personal statement and good reference and applying at the right time and you could get that BBC as an offer.

Knowledge is power in this game.

zagubov

silvercar wrote: »

Following on the previous episode of DS2 deciding what to study at uni.

The uni application is in. Personal statement polished and repolished - now totally unrecognisable from the original (and TBH not sure DS2 knows what all the words mean!), but its his sentiment.

Teachers shmoozed to give the high predicitions he wanted and a decent reference. (Better to get high predictions so you get the offers and hope they accept you if you don't quite make the grade than have more pessimistic predictions and not get the offers.)

Much research on unis and courses and likely offers etc (that's my bit)

Timing calculated. Waited until unis were announcing numbers down on last year, but not waiting too long.

So application submitted - all online these days.

2 days later. Bingo! One offer, a grade lower than they are quoting on their website.

result!:D

As regards sat nav tell your son that tip about satellite dishes pointing south. So many major roads in London with no street signs -got me out of a wrong-way journey more than once!

zagubov

silvercar wrote: »

Keep an eye out for the deal called "the Ultimate Steal". The only requirement is that it has to be bought for a student. They do monitor this by requiring a ".ac" address or an email from a teacher with a .ac or .sch address, or something like that. But it gives you a licence for 3 copies for about £45.

If you pay full price its about £90 for the whole package.

Software for students website maybe worth a visit. Always be careful of upgrading. I've got software from 20 years ago that beats modern Word progarammes into a cocked hat!

But lets all keep believing everything needs to be updated every day. :doh:

The unstoppable march of technological digress:eek:

vivatifosi

zagubov wrote: »

Always be careful of upgrading. I've got software from 20 years ago that beats modern Word progarammes into a cocked hat!

Funny you should say that. DH still uses Lotus's suite with Ami Pro and 123, he hates Microsoft and also sees no need to upgrade. He did his PhD with 123 and can make it do things that he still can't make Excel do. Though his latest version is at least a Windows one.

I do wonder what the professional take-up of Office 2010 is. I tried to look it up and it seemed that the initial take up was higher in the home market rather than commercial. For the most part I still use 2003 at work. If I thought the majority of British companies weren't bothering to upgrade, I don't know that I would. The problem is I don't know what they are doing.

lostinrates

I'm meant to be looking at farming software...but it all confuses me. I still prefer note pad, pencil and spare pencil.