Early Risers.

[grandadbob]

Sausages and mash are one thing - SMOG is an even better thing,  so get the management sorted

 

Trust me Mike, when it comes to catering management doesn't need any sorting. That's why I married her! 

[Ozexpatriate]

Honours degrees are 1st, second and third class. Second class are divided into upper and lower 2:1 2:2. TWO TWO sounds like Tutu, surname of the Desmond the former Anglican Archbishop in South Africa.

The Tu Tu reference I understood - he is quite world famous, even to people in the US. (I believe I once stayed under the same roof as him - in a hotel in India.)

 

Where I was lost was the "2:2" - so "Lower, Second Class Honours" or somesuch?

 

I assume this applies to Bachelors degrees.

 

As far as I know, there is no standardization of honours in US Universities. Many use Latin forms: Summa cvm laude, Magna cvm laude, Cvm laude, though not necessarily consistently.

 

EDIT: the naughty word filter behaved as I thought it might - substitute 'v' with 'u' as appropriate.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

I got the grade known as an "only", as in only a third...

Or a Richard!

Sounds better!

An Englishman of my acquaintance referred to that personage/character (though not the honour) as "Dick three eyes".

[Tony_S]

The Tu Tu reference I understood - he is quite world famous, even to people in the US. (I believe I once stayed under the same roof as him - in a hotel in India.)

 

Where I was lost was the "2:2" - so "Lower, Second Class Honours" or somesuch?

 

I assume this applies to Bachelors degrees.

 

As far as I know, there is no standardization of honours in US Universities. Many use Latin forms: Summa cvm laude, Magna cvm laude, Cvm laude, though not necessarily consistently.

 

EDIT: the naughty word filter behaved as I thought it might.

Yes, Bachelors degrees.

 

Matthew did a year at the University of Calgary. He liked the way grading was done there (similar to that in the US) and also how promptly lecturers returned marked work. However the formula for converting grades to UK marks on his return to Leicester wasn't quite as he thought it would be. He thought his Canadian grades should have been equivalent to firsts rather than a 2:1. It didn't matter anyway, he is doing what he wanted to.

He is off to Dublin airport late tonight as he has a morning flight to Newfoundland. The lecture he is giving is now at 9.30 on Sunday morning not 8am! I sent him some money so he can have some nice dinners. He told me the local delicacy is flipper pie. But not at this time of year.

He will be back Monday morning.

Tony

Edited September 26, 2017 by Tony_S

[AndyB]

FWIW our course tutor explained that to get a 1st all we needed to do was get roughly 70% in each and all final exams. 

However, he then went on to explain that as a 1st was the top grade it equated to perfection. 

THEREFORE, no marks above 7/10 would be awarded. After all, how could you achieve a mark above perfection.    

All you needed to get a first was everything right, perfectly. 

In 20 years there was one instance of someone getting a 1st.

So as some kind of "scaling" had been introduced there was a course tradition to equate a 2:1 to a 1st, a Desmond to a 2:1 and so on. 

We were never clear what the CNAA would have made of this level of marking rigour.

 

And 30 years later it isn't much clearer to me, either. 

Although it is pleasing to see that with the passage of time a goodly proportion of my classmates have reached the top of their respective industries. 

 

As Baz says, all the best people get a Desmond, although with one extra mark in one paper I'd have gone up a notch. 

[Coombe Barton]

Had lunch with Desmond Tutu when he came to visit university when I was an undergrad. Brave chap.

[jamie92208]

Isn't that wot ballerinas wear?

Also worn by my middle son's stuffed Hippo when he was a toddler.   Somehow I can't imagine HH in one.

 

Jamie

[Coombe Barton]

I mark out of 100, not 70 or 80

Edited September 26, 2017 by Coombe Barton

[tetsudofan]

Evening all, been another warm and pleasant day down here in the south east corner so got the cement mixer churning this afternoon so that I could go from this yesterday:

 

 

to this today:

 

 

.....progress is slow but sure.

 

Need to pop out to get some more building supplies tomorrow so set the alarm for 6:25am to get the car out on the road before the day-time parkers arrive.

 

Most of the time I go to Wickes for my supplies but a Bunnings Warehouse opened recently (in a large shed that was a B&Q until earlier this year) after they closed the Homebase store (which was next door to Wickes) so a visit to compare prices and quality is called for.

 

Time for a shower now and back later with a malted drink nightcap before hitting the sack. Pleasant dreams and o yasumi nasai.

 

Keith

[Horsetan]

Had lunch with Desmond Tutu when he came to visit university when I was an undergrad. Brave chap.

Everything he fought for - a better South Africa - is being squandered.

[Gwiwer]

Congrats to junior mb...all great people have Desmond's awarded. ...

25C and dry here...

Baz

With this humble exception

 

Congratulations to Junior NB from one who just scraped a third.

[andyram]

Evening all. A late night check in after a bleary eyed day. Not a lot of sleep last night with the additional two cats partly to blame. Some frustrating computer issues meant I was late to bed last night, finally turning the light off at midnight. Then one of the in-laws' cats decided to start meowing in the early hours. I woke, convinced I had heard the alarm so reached over into my bedside table to dig out some of the clothes needed for the day, before deciding to have a short lie in. The next thing I knew - one of our cats starting scratching at the bedroom door, wanting to be let out. I woke with a start, believing I had slept for ages after the alarm. A panicky look at the clock on phone showed 3.30am! Goodness knows what time I awoke the first time. Needless to say I did not manage to get back to sleep!

 

Hopefully things will be better tonight.

[NGT6 1315]

Cheers from the middle of nowhere, folks...

 

[BSW01]

Evening all

 

Well the early morning sunshine didn't last long, it went a little cloudy but the rain held off, which made for a pleasant day in the garden. I managed to dig up both gate posts and re-site one before it was time to call it a day. Hopefully I'll get the second one in tomorrow and then it's just a question of fitting the gate and fence panels. The gate and small panel I can manage on my own, but I'll need some assistance with the large panels. I mentioned needing a lift to my SiL last week and he has agreed to give me a lift. But before that I need to trim one down a wee bit and then paint the ends, so it will probably be weekend before it is all done.

 

After tea we had a quick trip to the Trafford Centre to collect a couple of parcels from John Lewis, Sheila didn't want to look any else so we were hit here for less than 30 minutes, now that's my kind of shopping!

 

Congratulations to junior NB.

 

Goodnight all

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[laurenceb]

Congratulations to Junior NB

Night awl

[AndyID]

Also worn by my middle son's stuffed Hippo when he was a toddler.   Somehow I can't imagine HH in one.

 

Jamie

 

This might help.

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a fairly dull morning, and a little chilly but not too bad for the time of year.

 

Yesterday evening there was excitement in our street.  The fire brigade turned up en-masse at the school opposite and proceeded to rig hoses disappear into the building with breathing apparatus.  It was long after school had finished, so there was nobody in that part of the building - but we are not sure if it was an exercise of the real thing.  There was quite a lot of smoke visible, but we are still wondering if it was a smoke bomb to simulate a smoke filled building.  I don't doubt that the newspaper will make things clearer if it was the real thing.  Over here, most of the emergency services don't twitter like they do in the UK.

 

Oh well - time for a coffee.

 

Have a good day everyone...

Edited September 27, 2017 by Robert

[AndyID]

Over here, most of the emergency services don't twitter like they do in the UK.

 

Emergency services is bad enough. A twit with senile or syphilitic dementia is another thing entirely.

 

(Oops! I hope I didn't violate the ER Code there.)

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

I didn't manage a Desmond when I graduated in 1969, having to settle for a Third.  I tried to console myself with the knowledge that I had achieved an education as well as a degree and spent the next year looking for work.  I became a spectacular under-achiever in many disciplines but managed to avoid burnout and all the havoc that it wreaks.

 

Yesterday's supermarket sighting was a female spotted removing all her plunder from the checkout belt, placing it in and around a basket paced next to a closed checkout and rushing off somewhere muttering something like 'third time lucky'.  I will never know how that ended for I was anxious to be out of the place with my mere £17 worth of groceries.  When I arrived at the shop, around 07.50, three checkouts were open.  By 08.10 there was just one.  The logic of this escapes me.  Of far greater concern is the caravan that has been moved along the street to come to rest next to Mrs Electric-Chair's gate.  The width of this thing is such that I can barely see past it from the driving seat of my Polo and nurture the hope that another car will not collide with mine as I try to enter the spasmodic stream of traffic.  As well as this thing there are several skips allied to building work which make the task of parking even more difficult.  Oh, the joys of town life.

 

Today I have food prepping to do for tomorrow's lunch with Poorly Pal.  Then I need to round up the tools that belong in the toolbox for there will be no m*d*ll*ng today.

 

Felicitations and best wishes to all in distress and recovery

 

Chris 

[Barry O]

Morning good people from a nice, warm island.

 

Excitement today will be two cable car rides and two gardens to visit.

 

My mum died just before I took my finals. After the results were out one of the lecturers noticed I was less than chirpy..he asked me why so I told him. He then said if they had known I would have got a 2:1 as I had been very close to it. He asked if I would have stayed to do an MSc..yes was the reply but off I went to be a rocket scientist...and that started a career in engineering.

 

Enjoy your 24 hours on Planet Earth

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Another dull start but it's dry and it should stay that way and become warm and sunny later.

Further domestic assistance is required of me today in preparation for the end of week festivities. I did manage to spend some time with the layout yesterday and with a bit of luck and a following wind intend to do so again later.

I am so glad that I don't have Chris's parking problems. About 30 years ago I did have in as much as I was always the last one in the road home from work and frequently had to hunt for a space. I then decided to have the kerb dropped and made space for two cars in the front garden. When the kids started driving and we became a 3 car family this was a huge benefit and still is today when we have visitors. It's a pity that a couple of our neighbours who have 3, 4  and now even 5 cars haven't done the same. 

Have a good one, 
Bob.

Edited September 27, 2017 by grandadbob

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Here,

 

Another bad Nights sleep of only about 5 hours, Not good.

 

This was not helped as I got engrossed in reading "Swindon GWR Reminicences" by Eric Mountford. A book of his life on and looking at the railways in Swindon. Mostly during his school days, but including his Apprenticeship there. (pre WW2). I read the book cover to cover in two hours but I am a fast reader.

 

There were a lot of facts in there about the MSWJR line I didn't know about, as well as about the railways around Swindon.

I didn't know there was a regular LNER train to Swindon from Sheffield or that all the trains taking the annual GWR workers holiday traffic weren't GWR, there was for instance a Southern T9 that turned up with Southern carriages for workers wanting to holiday in that region ( that Proceeded Down the MSWJR line) .  With LMS putting carriages on the through trains to Southhampton from Cheltenham, you could say that Swindon had the full set of grouping Companies appearing.

 

My Open University overall average was stuffed by my choice of a newly run course for my final year (Materials for Electronics). Normally of those that survive the courses through to the final exam, something like 80% get a pass. That year it was somewhere between 40 and 50%, I just scraped through on that final!!

 

Time to.. turn round and wait for this section of an Automatic test programme to finish any time now...

[br2975]

Bore da.

.

Suffering partial tinnitus this morning, induced by 2,700 vociferous Leeds United supporters backing their team for a full ninety minutes.

.

But, it's the result that counts and their journey was in vain.

.

In fairness, Cardiff City made them look very ordinary, despite arriving as table toppers. 

.

Hence my broad grin this fine south Walian morning.

.

Now, the big decision........

.

Baseboard building, or Derby County at home this Saturday afternoon ?

Edited September 27, 2017 by br2975