Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

Wind here now upgraded to 'proper hoolie', UK remains cut off.  Garden looking a little, err, horizontal.

 

Whilst freely admitting to being no academic wordsmith myself, the standard of written correspondence I dealt with at work from many customers over the last few years was appalling, in both spelling and grammar.  Well written or constructed letters/e mail were very much the exception, not the rule.  No more now, thankfully, one of the aspects of the business I won't miss.

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

6 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Wind here now upgraded to 'proper hoolie', UK remains cut off.  

 

 

 

Certainly would not want to be crossing the Irish Sea in this. Remember my only crossing in July 1972. That was pretty rough although I guess you may have bigger ferries these days.

[New Haven Neil]

1 minute ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Certainly would not want to be crossing the Irish Sea in this. Remember my only crossing in July 1972. That was pretty rough although I guess you may have bigger ferries these days.

 

The 'Ben' is a decent size, neither Douglas nor Heysham can take anything very much larger, the new ferry just ordered is a few metres longer to take this to the maximum, about another 10 or so IIRC.  There was a time when the ferries sailed regardless, however there is nowadays a consideration of the damage to the vessels to add to the decision.  You wouldn't want to be out there today though, for sure.

[New Haven Neil]

The current 'Ben' - Ben-my-Chree' (Girl of my Heart) is about 12,000 tons gross IIRC, this is a Wikipiccie. There's an identical vessel on the channel islands run.  Dutch built.

 

[J. S. Bach]

Talk about ugly!

[Happy Hippo]

31 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

The current 'Ben' - Ben-my-Chree' (Girl of my Heart) is about 12,000 tons gross IIRC, this is a Wikipiccie. There's an identical vessel on the channel islands run.  Dutch built.

 

I bet all that top hamper catches the wind.

[J. S. Bach]

True, I would not want to attempt to dock that thing is a crosswind.

[pH]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I once had a maths group at the sixth form college who seemed quite mature. They basically were not leaving until they achieved at least a C grade which was a requirement for various careers. As long as you were 16 when you started at the college you could keep applying for courses and stay beyond the normal 16 to 19. The maths department getting me to teach them was very much a desperate last chance I think. I am pleased to say it worked. 

 

A guy at our high school was brilliant at maths, but not at English. He wanted to go to university A - old established, more prestigious, but requiring a Highers pass in English for entry. He even stayed on an extra year at school (unheard of) to try to pass, but ended up going to university B - converted 'poly', nowhere near as prestigious. He got his first degree with ease - then went to university A to do a PhD, and became a lecturer there!  

[Coombe Barton]

O level maths in 1966 had calculus

 

A Level Maths in 1968 had more.

 

I wasn't much good at it, just lucky.

[pH]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Interestingly enough Dr Eldest Herbert has to teach some of these new high grades students. He is less than impressed by the inability to produce sentences, paragraphs or use a bit of thought process before launching into their work

Our son had similar experiences while working as a teaching assistant and junior lecturer. There was the extra complication that, since university education is so expensive, students have the mindset that they are consumers buying a degree. Any suggestion that, apart from money, ability and application may also be involved does not always go down well.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Use by date lottery meant that it was Chilli-con-Carne for lunch and it will be Chicken Tandori later for dinner, I don't need the weather forecast to tell me its going to be a windy night. Strangely enough  the garden waste wheelie bin is still upright but has gone for walkies along the patio. Fortunately there is little if any damage, most of the shrubs and trees in the garden are evergreen and are absorbing the wind pressure.

[grandadbob]

Apple pies were OK but I need to work on my pastry -  more sugar needed. *

"Sutton" pasties weren't bad  either but more practice needed.  It's only the second time I've made them.

 

 

* Results of blood tests etc received today.  Blood glucose OK - just.  Cholesterol high so Doc wants me on statins - I don't.

Kidney function OK.

 

Bob's conclusion:  Don't have too many pies and pasties and increase exercise - considerably.  Oh dear, where have I said that before?

 

 

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

True, I would not want to attempt to dock that thing is a crosswind.

 

Twin screws and two bow thrusters - she's made for the job.

 

Todays' weather though....north Douglas promenade, just by the Manx Electric Railway sheds.

 

[BokStein]

Good Evening One and All and congratulations to all the happy recipients of recently announced results (commiserations with the unhappy ones!)

 

May I generalise for a moment, please?

 

Regardless of the test, its results are only truly valid at the time of testing and usually recorded in the form of a certificate. For example, you could be stopped by those in blue for a failed bulb whilst driving your car from its MoT Test for which you hold a Pass Certificate.

 

I hold that, irrespective of whether we are talking GCSEs, A Levels, Degrees (all levels), PAT Certification of equipment, MoTs, Instrument Calibration (Sorry, The Q) and there are many other examples, the results on which the certificate is written are only valid at the time of test. People and equipment vary from day-to-day in their performance and can often be influenced by external circumstances (aka Ambient Conditions!)

 

My point? Certification is not the be-all-and-end-all panacea that it's all too often perceived to be; it is merely an indication of recorded performance. In the higher education realms, to be a tad more specific, there is no better way of judging someone's overall ability, enthusiasm and suitability for further courses than a 1-2-1 interview. Conducted well, it can break down barriers, such as those enforced by the whole 'exam' situation and can give rise to some very unexpected results! Much as it irks me, as a Mechanical Engineer, I wonder how some guy by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel would have fared in a current exam on Stress Analysis? (Rhetorical!)

 

6 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Certainly there was no calculus at the time I did GCE O level maths (1972). I don't think that there was even any in Additional Maths O level (1973).

 

What could they have done if she had refused to sit the test? If they had sacked her, she would have had a great claim for unfair dismissal.

 

I sat GCE O Level maths a year early so as I could sit the 'Additional Maths' O level in 1976; the syllabus included Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Statistics. Unfortunately, the teacher was well versed in Pure Maths and Statistics; I could never get to grip with Statistics, so I failed the exam!

 

Move forward a year into the Lower Sixth, I am on Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Physics, so I ask for a resit that year. Guess what - Grade A!

 

Pure Maths, essentially, was Differential Calculus and I subsequently went on to achieve Grade B A levels in both Pure and Applied Math.

 

During my working career, I have seen the use for Laplace Transforms and FFTs, both heavily based on Calculus.

 

For a while, I worked for a transmission designer and manufacturer; Differential Calculus was my tool of trade! (I spent 3 days looking into the equations on which our cam designs were based and, from the basic premiss that d2y/dx2=(omega)A with designated boundaries, derived a whole new set of equations that, when fed the existing common parameters, gave the expected, published results, and then took them at least two stages further allowing me to develop a design tool which could produce more adaptable motions than with the older tools, adding tools for motion blending, for example.

 

My summary of life:

 

Don't be a d3y/dx3

 

and

 

F=d/dt(mv) is probably the closest I will ever get to Rocket Science!
 

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by BokStein

[Happy Hippo]

16 minutes ago, BokStein said:

Much as it irks me, as a Mechanical Engineer, I wonder how some guy by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel would have fared in a current exam on Stress Analysis? (Rhetorical!)

I won't try and bring Brunel into the equation, but it does remind me of a comment made to me by the examiner (an RYA coach) who was conducting my dinghy instructors course.

 

'Remember Ladies and Gentlemen, the standards you have had to reach to achieve your instructors rating today were the same as I was required to reach 20 years ago to achieve my Coaching award.'

[Coombe Barton]

... and a change of plan ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/08/21/bosworth-535/

[simontaylor484]

I was told at high school in the third year that I wasn't worth teaching.

 

8 Gcses at C and above 3 A levels at grade E a 2:2 degree and a Certificate of Professional Competence in National road haulage 

 

i would like to think I proved them wrong 

 

[brianusa]

7 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

At 05.00 I discovered the milk was off and had to manage without muggertee and Weetabix; there’s nowhere open at that hour to help.  

 

What a reminder!  From memory, this happened all too often and most frustrating it was too.  No milk for your cornflakes!  I never thought it could happen in his day and age of refrigeration and these days our milk from the local store invariably lasts well beyond its sell by date.

       Brian.

[Barry O]

why do ancestors do their best at making it difficult to draw out a family tree??

 

and.. why did they move around and not leave any evidence?

 

Baz

[polybear]

 

11 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I've told her, that:

 

1. The airfield was operating there long before she bought here house in the area.

 

2. Stop moaning.........until you've lived close to the threshold of QRA airfield you have little to complain about in the noise department.

 

 

I used to stay in the Northover Manor Hotel in Ilchester sometimes, whilst working at WHL.  The Hotel was at the end of the runway at RNAS Yeovilton; they were flying Sea Harriers at the time.  I believe Tuesdays were for night flying - until around 11pm or so IIRC.  Not in the same league noise-wise as a Tornado, but loud enough.... 

 

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

The higher grades being handed out (improvements year on year) will end in tears. When you see a placard wielded by a student who was complaining that her A Level English had been "downlowered" from an expected A* to a B things are sliding away...

 

One of the TV news reports mentioned that students were complaining when they didn't get the results that "they wanted".  Mention of getting the results "that they deserved" didn't come into it.

 

4 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Certainly would not want to be crossing the Irish Sea in this. Remember my only crossing in July 1972. That was pretty rough although I guess you may have bigger ferries these days.

 

Many moons ago one of the truck drivers at work was on the Ferry from Stranraer to the Outer Hebrides in rough weather (in fact the Ferry shouldn't really have sailed, in retrospect).  It was so rough on arrival that they couldn't dock at the Hebs. and it had to stand off-shore for 18 hours waiting for calmer weather.  Little Billy was no sailor, and his cries of "stop the ride, I want to get off" went unheeded.....as did his wish to die so it would all be over.....

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Twin screws and two bow thrusters - she's made for the job.

 

Todays' weather though....

Sister reports a very rough crossing indeed from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the car ferry.  She has been unlucky; three of the past four times she has made that crossing a storm has blown in and on one earlier occasion she was almost the only passenger on the last crossing back to the mainland before all services were suspended for two days.  Today's crossing was described as "Impossible to sit in the assigned seat due to being tossed about.  Very interesting trying to cling on to my coffee"  She and BiL are visiting family over there hence the reason for fairly regular visits.  

 

A step forward - we hope - for SWMBO tonight as we drove to Kew for her to collect the remaining contents of her office and bring them home.  She is still not permitted to work from work but was given permission to enter the Gardens out of office hours (i.e. next to no-one about) on this occasion.  We also strolled through some of the gardens themselves and were able to see some of the results of her WFH.  A whole new family of interpretive signs is appearing which are far clearer and more readable than the older somewhat more scientific style of "descriptive plant labels".  

 

The visit was described as "all right" with no apprehension visible though having now cleared her office it does look to the outside world as though she won't be returning any time soon.  We await news on that - it will happen some time but that time might yet be months away.  

 

A windy day at the House of Fun with a number of horizontal trees causing us some problems though far more problems were being caused by South London's Finest Yoof.  There is an attitude problem; invincibility, incivility and irresponsibility.  And safety in numbers as they usually travel in gangs of between 10 and 30.  

 

An early start is being made tomorrow for the Kent and Sussex borderlands.  Stay well one and all.  I must get some sleep ahead of a fairly long driving day.  

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[tigerburnie]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

why do ancestors do their best at making it difficult to draw out a family tree??

 

and.. why did they move around and not leave any evidence?

 

Baz

Ha- ha I've been doing my family tree, I kept going backwards and forwards re-tracing each step to try as best I could to ensure the next step was correct, I got back to a Saxon who came over here around 480 AD and was the King of Wessex, so if you go back far enough you might be of royal blood like me.................................................several times removed, but he is my 47th Great Grandad.................allegedly.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all.