Nice people thread part 5 - nicely does it

silvercar

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Eldest had a laptop for his 18th, but somehow youngest already has one. He's got an iPhone too. Plus he drives the car that officially belongs to his brother (whose away at uni most of the time). Doesn't want jewellery. I'm stuck.

lostinrates

silvercar wrote: »

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Eldest had a laptop for his 18th, but somehow youngest already has one. He's got an iPhone too. Plus he drives the car that officially belongs to his brother (whose away at uni most of the time). Doesn't want jewellery. I'm stuck.

Money towards uni in september.

He is very lucky.

Davesnave

silvercar wrote: »

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Eldest had a laptop for his 18th, but somehow youngest already has one. He's got an iPhone too. Plus he drives the car that officially belongs to his brother (whose away at uni most of the time). Doesn't want jewellery. I'm stuck.

I bought DD2 a camera for her 21st. She already had one, like your son has an iphone, but this was a decent one, and I reckoned she'd find it essential for uni.

I was right. DD's course is very visual and the results she gets impress her mates, some of whom bought SLRs for the same job. I suppose it depends on what the uni course is really.

I think I once mentioned the posh meal we won, but ended up subsidising, because we went well over (like double!) the £100 budget for two. It was OK, but barring the surroundings, there was nothing to write home about, and Kylie dined in her room.:(

chewmylegoff

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Well having accidentally watched episode two, because in a masterful piece of scheduling C4 made the repeat follow "Proud & Prejudiced" (the joys of a religion that knows it is right focussed in Luton) The episode made sense to me.

Would I be right in thinking that episode one laid out this sort of scenario:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/history/story/2007/01/070124_hostages.shtml
or was it just a John Wayne story of American heroics and only now are we exploring the psychological undercurrents?

Presumably at this stage only we, the viewers, know that some sort of situation like this appears to have place place, though the sergeant was not exactly an impressionable 19 year old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army

What I don't understand is why the CIA or Homeland security mob have invested so much time and resources into monitoring the behaviour of just another NCO with shell shock, or post traumatic stress disorder as we call it today?

I rather subscribe to the "Spy Catcher" school of incompetence and rather wonder if this is designed to let the citizens of USA sleep soundly in their beds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spycatcher

Yeah American POW (who noone knew had been captured) found during a raid by special forces on a terrorist controlled compound. The basis for the suspicion is that the crazy CIA bird had received intelligence a number of years before than an American POW had been "turned".

chewmylegoff

silvercar wrote: »

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Eldest had a laptop for his 18th, but somehow youngest already has one. He's got an iPhone too. Plus he drives the car that officially belongs to his brother (whose away at uni most of the time). Doesn't want jewellery. I'm stuck.

A nice suit

Money

A couple of tickets to a Coldplay, scalped off viagogo at huge cost? Oh yeah, this isn't for me...

A decent watch, or does that fall into jewellery?

chewmylegoff

silvercar wrote: »

OH has an incredibly complicated bonus formula. It's meant to be fair. This year it collapsed on itself, you can't increase turnover of sub-company X by 3% if you sell half of it off! You can't increase an areas profit if you re-invest instead of releasing the profit.

I get graded A, B, C or D depending on what my manager thinks of me. A means a 30% bonus, B means 10-25%, C <10% (but never 0), and D means you're basically sacked.

If you get a B or a C the managers sit around in a room and decide what % you should get.

Of course the directors have a different scheme. They just get 30% whatever happens.

Nice!

Generali

PasturesNew wrote: »

Bl00dy foot... Might have to suck it and see.

Amazing. You should join the circus or something.

Generali

silvercar wrote: »

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Some shares? He could help you pick them and the dividend could add a nice annual bonus for him at uni (plus it gives him some emergency money).

Does he support a sports team? Lunch in the Directors box followed up with a couple of tickets for the match is a good day out and something that 'money can't buy' (except it can). He'll meet a couple of ex-players and perhaps a current injured one and may well get to meet the Man of the Match too.

Last time I did this I went to Leeds United and The Kaiser Chiefs were there to release their then new album and did the MotM presentation.

An advanced driving course is a good 'un as is a track day ie driving a bunch of racing cars around a track. The latter will teach him plenty about the appropriate place to drive fast (clue: it's not on the highway).

A promise to save it over until there's something he really wants/needs? A bit boring but very grown up.

silvercar

chewmylegoff wrote: »

A nice suit

Money

A couple of tickets to a Coldplay, scalped off viagogo at huge cost? Oh yeah, this isn't for me...

A decent watch, or does that fall into jewellery?

He wears a suit for school (the 6th form uniform policy).

I wanted to get something rather than money.

He doesn't wear a watch, which was my first choice.

I'll suggest concert tickets, but he did say no to an experience like skid driving. He wants an item.

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

Ideas for 18th birthday present please.

Eldest had a laptop for his 18th, but somehow youngest already has one. He's got an iPhone too. Plus he drives the car that officially belongs to his brother (whose away at uni most of the time). Doesn't want jewellery. I'm stuck.

Has he got any ideas himself? Does it have to be a surprise or could he choose?