Nice People Thread Part 9 - and so it continues

GDB2222

Brilliant photo of the rainbow.

Both bows. You can clearly see that the colours are reversed on the second one.

neverdespairgirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

I was 17 miles away - weather was quite cool/wet/overcast most of the week; funny how different it can be on a peninsula.


I should have turned up at 6am every morning and sat on your wall waiting for breakfast to be served

It was fab meeting you! When you first spoke to me, asking "are you looking for somebody?" I thought you were Beach Police, seeking out and despatching undesirables

There were a few showers on Friday and Sat, but each time it just rained for a few minutes and then the sun came out again. It was definitely warm, too.

I should have warned you - I am a total cow at 6am. I wouldn't ever arrive then and expect me to do anything except growl at you.

I asked, because I suddenly realised that you'd be looking for someone in a red swimming costume (thanks to my text) and with long fair hair (thanks to my photo) and I was in a wetsuit, with my hair plaited out of the way and smeared with what OH calls snake oil ("Masque to protect hair against sea and sun"), and wet to boot, so the colour of decaying seaweed.

Spirit_2

zagubov wrote: »

The A level system used to teach it in a fourth A level called General Studies which was a great predictor of which students will get the better degrees but I'm not sure which universities accept it now and I don't know how common it is currently.:(

My DDs sixth form insisted everyone did general studies. She and her peers turned up for it but did no work. Her then Bf a clever boy who then went to Oxford to do maths, managed an E in it. DD got a D I think, it has never been mentioned again.

Friends son wants to be a runner for a film company as a stepping stone to his area of interest, he is presntly working as a barista there as that is the path in. He has ADHD and a degree in something involving film. Apparently the ADHD is not a problem in that industry. The environment sounds upbeat, fast paced and informal. Friendly folk there have shown him stuff and helped him with opinions on the short commissions he has got privately. Interesting animation stuff. I can understand the competition for jobs.

Communication, digital marketing and associated technology social networking skills/know how, are very powerful when done to a high level.

OH is just losing a fab member of the team who has an undergraduate degree in this field. She is off to an Ivy leaf university, for a post grad course, courtesy of sponsorship of a latin american embassy.

Spirit_2

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

I see! So we are not allowed to mention houses on this thread then?

It is allowed.

My house has a new wood shed.

At my house, our bonfire is now 15 days old and still smouldering.:(

michaels

Spirit wrote: »

My DDs sixth form insisted everyone did general studies. She and her peers turned up for it but did no work. Her then Bf a clever boy who then went to Oxford to do maths, managed an E in it. DD got a D I think, it has never been mentioned again.

In a way that reinforces Zag's point about A levels being too specialized - succeeding as a mathmo at Oxford means you are pretty darn bright and yet it is disappointing that the same individual does not have the general knowledge at 18 to get more than an E in general studies.

Spirit_2

michaels wrote: »

In a way that reinforces Zag's point about A levels being too specialized - succeeding as a mathmo at Oxford means you are pretty darn bright and yet it is disappointing that the same individual does not have the general knowledge at 18 to get more than an E in general studies.

Same place you went to.:)

Chap is very dyslexic and cannot really read fiction at all. Has to listen to books. Humanities subjects were a trial. Yet he was great at family quizzes.

Built a car from scratch by the time he was 21 , built a robot, knowledgeable about classical music, rows, travels, skis, sails etc so puts himself in the way of acquiring other knowledge.

He is something in the city (like GDB I think) now so I expect his politics and economics knowledge has gone up.

neverdespairgirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

I can afford veg; can't be 4rsed to cook it most days and don't have a saucepan..... I do eat a lot of tomatoes and onions, peas and baked beans. They're veg. I sometimes buy 1Kg of frozen veg then eat it within 2 days, usually in a big yorkshire with mash and gravy - and the last bit in an oven-baked frittata.

Most veg doesn't need cooking, and tastes better raw (IMO). Carrots, peppers, red cabbage, mange tout / sugar snap peas etc can all just be munched cheerfully.

lostinrates wrote: »

Not as scary but when I was doing my degree viva I got my first Bell's palsy. Right while I was talking.


(I don't get that nervous public speaking, but defending your work is a bit stressful, but I wasn't as nervous as many

I don't get particularly nervous doing public speaking (-:

There's always the odd moment, though, when a judge in a legal hearing (where they interrupt far more than in evidence-based hearings) says something like, "Miss NDG, you surely don't expect me / us to accept that...." or, "But doesn't the case of R v Smith undermine your third ground of appeal completely?" when you've not even heard of R v Smith.

LydiaJ wrote: »

All very interesting. Thanks for explaining. It all makes perfect sense the way you put it.

This usually (but not absolutely consistently) happens in teaching too, when addressing a fellow teacher in front of students or parents.

I suppose you're right - I've never really thought about it, but at school teachers did tend to say things such as, "aren't you late for Mrs Smith's maths lesson?" or "Give it in to Mr. Jones at rec".

My Latin GCSE teacher is a mate of my Mama's, and they are in the same choir. Desipite invitations, I'm utterly unable to call her Frances. It's just wrong.

neverdespairgirl

michaels wrote: »

However I would like to stop having metion made of how nice it is outside and preferably move to a basement office as sitting here at work looking at the sunlight on the trees and lake in the park is almost more than I can bear

I promise being without windows is worse. In the winter, it's a nice sunny day outside but you don't even get to see it! Courts very rarely have windows, and it's disconcerting when you actually miss daylight for the entire day in December.

LydiaJ wrote: »

Had to go to work but have just got home to find parcel arrived in my absence and was duly signed for by my kids or the adult with them. They are beautiful. Thank you so much. I am wearing mine now.

Hope you and DD enjoy your respective 43rd and 10th birthday presents! And that you got them the right way around - DD's is pinker, I think, and is definitely shorter. I forgot to label them before I gave them to LIR.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Bit of a hiccup gatecrashing NDG's place.... I'll leave it for her to tell you, or not.

Anyway - met up. She gave me a nice gift

I have sandy toes.

I have sandy everything, still! Amazing the places sand gets in to.

The hiccup was OK, really - we arrived at about midday (having left before 6am) and were greeted by horrified, hand-wringing managers and members of staff. The people in the glorified beach hut seemed to think they were there until 3rd Sept, and we'd turned up with our confirmed booking starting on the 2nd Sept.

OH managed it rather well - he did his calm, I-am-disappointed-how-will-you-make-me-feel-better-about-it pose, and we ended up with them refunding that night's accommodation, booking us into a place down the road for the night at their expense, and a free dinner for us all when we were able to check in, at the beach front restaurant and an offer to carry all our stuff down the 140-odd stone stairs from the clifftop car park to the beach. And it was a very good dinner, too.

Masomnia

michaels wrote: »

In a way that reinforces Zag's point about A levels being too specialized - succeeding as a mathmo at Oxford means you are pretty darn bright and yet it is disappointing that the same individual does not have the general knowledge at 18 to get more than an E in general studies.

Whereas Oxford wouldn't have me but I got an A in General Studies. Boooo.

One more week of freedom until the Masters starts, and it can't come soon enough. I'm going stir crazy having nothing to do, I'm very bad at structuring time and motivating myself.

Planning on going for a run tomorrow morning. I don't get enough exercise, and taking up running seemed the thing to do. A friend of mine is doing a 10k in a couple of weeks and invited me along, but I don't think I'm up to that yet.

I'm going to have every Thursday morning off from uni, so thinking Thursday will be running day. There's a reservoir a short-ish drive away in a nice spot, and it's 4.5k round, which is far enough to push me a bit as a non-runner, but not so far that it completely knackers me. So I'm thinking if I can do that once a week I'll feel the benefit. Getting to uni will involve a fair amount of walking daily so it's not as if that'll be only exercise!

I'm also having to go to the doctors tomorrow as I have some kind of shoulder/back injury, can't really tell, and it's pretty debilitating. (The run may depend on how that's feeling!) Had to wait a week for the appointment and thought it would be better by now but if anything it's worse. Not exactly sure how I got it. I went paintballing two weeks ago and thought maybe I'd pulled a muscle doing that, but two weeks later and it's no better; so could be something more underlying.

Other than that nothing much to report. The place I did the internship offered me a job, but they want someone more or less full time, and I can't fit it in. But it's nice that they offered!

neverdespairgirl

vivatifosi wrote: »

My favourite science-based news story of the day:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/09/03/uk-britain-tower-car-idUKBRE9820EW20130903
or
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23944679

I love that series in the BBC Magazine, all sorts of interesting stuff.

Have any of your clever scientific NP come across the BBC programme called Science Club, hosted by Dara O Breen? Is it reasonably kosher, solid information, or random and not terribly trustworthy?

LydiaJ wrote: »

We'll be driving up to London (approaching it from the M4) but presumably our best bet would be to park somewhere further out than the theatre and get a tube in, would it? I have an oyster that I use when I go to visit London friends, but would need to buy a ticket or travelcard or something for DS. DD, being only 10, is free on TfL public transport isn't she? Please could the London NP advise on our best strategy?

Where in London, and what day of the week? Saturday?

silvercar wrote: »

We pray, we talk, we eat. Actually in reverse order - we do a lot of eating.

Traditionally we dip pieces of apple in honey, the apple being a whole fruit to signify the whole year and honey to make it sweet. We also eat anything made with honey, so honey cake and tzimmis (carrot/ cinamon/ honey mix).

Traditionally families get together for meals etc. We had a few young people to dinner tonight, kids of friends and others friends of friends, who were here without family. So they all came to us for dinner. Makes the holiday nicer for them than being alone over a festive time and entertaining for us. DS2 is with us. DS1 declined.

OH's father summed up all Jewish festivals by saying, "They tried to kill all of us. Some of us survived. Let's eat."

He also pointed out on another occasion that while Christian festivals are mostly about what happened to God (father and or son and or holy ghost) Jewish festivals are mostly about what happened to Jews; directed by or orchestrated by God, but the events were experienced by the Jews. Would you agree, Silvercar?