Modern Vespa

OMG Alice! ICBYHBTP!!!!!

I know, I know (and I have just spent several minutes working that out, yes).

You can tell me what it's like!

I went many years ago and it is very nice if you're in the area.
Not sure I would go too far out of my way though.

Thanks, Pepy. I'm not a Prisoner-fan, but do I have an interest in odd buildings, and pottery (boy, do I sound interesting!), so maybe I'll have to do as Alice says and go and report back with pictures.

Let's see what Mrs BB thinks. Bearing in mind that I also want to drag her around Port Sunlight, it might all be a bit too much.

Well then next time I feel like a ride out in the mild Alice shall I give you a bell ?

Yes I know I'm a bit weird but is there anyone else out there that smiles at the gocompare.com advert in the coffee shop ?

Bill X

Please do! Bear in mind I work till 6 and don't get in till gone 7, though (and sod's law dictates I'll be out at karate or something when you do call).

I prefer comparethemeerkat.

That's OK I won't usually ride out until 8pm plus anyway.

I could collect you at the usual place on the way through.

I just went a little stir crazy last night and felt the Hornet could do with an airing.

Now there's no Alcohol,Drugs,Chocolate or Nuts in my life I've not got much left apart from a swift ride out once in a while.

Bill X

No nuts in your life? Are you no longer a member of the DSSC?

I don't know if any other members of DSSC like esoteric pop music but I'm currently listening to "Saint Etienne Present - Songs For the The Dog & Duck".

It is grate. The juxebox for your pint.

like them a lot. used to friends with debsey who sang the vocals on 'who do you think you are' and got hitched to one on them.

I'm still playing Gary Go's TV album and the Feelings Join with us at the moment.

And there's always Take That's Beautiful CD.

I'll get me coat.

Bill X

The Wombats are bringing me joy today.

i was listening to the VU "rock and roll" in the car on the way to work this morning.

5 minutes after arriving i was chairing an imprompu clinical discussion about a depressed lady who was coping remarkably well with looking after her double - amputee husband.

during the meeting all i could hear were the words "despite all the amputations, you know you could just go out and dance to the rock and roll station. it was alright!" ringing in my ears.

slightly surreal.

well i'm not coping well today. here's why [warning, moaning ahead]:

for a few years now we've been requiring students to submit some of their coursework electronically. despite the fact that the process is only slightly more difficult than adding an attachment to an email, they have a lot of problems with it. sooooo.... i've written a detailed set of step-by-step guidelines, with pictures. it's even got a troubleshooting section covering most of the commonly encountered problems. I've demonstrated the process in class, twice. as if that weren't enough, i've set up a 'drafts' folder that they can submit work to, just so they have a chance to run through the process before submitting their final version. it's clearly labelled: THIS FOLDER IS FOR DRAFTS ONLY!!!! DO NOT SUBMIT FINAL VERSIONS HERE!!! PLEASE SUBMIT FINAL VERSIONS TO THE FOLDER LABELLED 'FINAL VERSIONS'!!!!! the 'final versions' folder has a similar set of warnings on it.

sooooo.... i open my emails this morning, and what do i find but a load of messages from students saying 'i think i submitted a draft to the finals folder by mistake, can you check/move/delete it for me?'



it's taken a great deal of restraint simply to respond with a 'no, sorry, i'm afraid i can't'

And I thought I was having a bad day.

Not as bad as yours it seems.

Bill X

Go on, group hug.

I've got the opposite problem. Mine has to go in as a hard copy, so it can be marked anonymously, and that doesn't seem to find its way to the proper people or they don't acknowledge it. At least if I have sent an email i have e-proof it has been sent!

Prob'ly far too late to add my bit but I bought a pair of overgloves from GetGeared in Leatherhead.
They're crab-claw style, keep gloved hands warm and dry and aren't in the least cumbersome.

These ones:

http://www.getgeared.co.uk/REV_IT_Treo_H2O_Motorcycle_Over_Gloves?sc=16&category=148

Plug for GetGeared -

I spotted a nice leather jacket on their site on a Tuesday and phoned to say I'd be over on Friday and would like to try it on.
The young chap to whom I spoke said they had only one of the possibly right size and that they'd put it on one side for me.
I thanked him and said I looked forward to seeing him, to which he replied that he wouldn't be there but that he'd make sure his collegue knew the score.
When I walked in on the Friday and mentioned the jacket, the very nice lady said,
"Ah! You're the chap from Belgium."
Could've knocked me down with a feather!
Anyway, she was ultra-helpful and nice and I shall buy from there on line and visit again if the opportunity presents itself......and the jacket's fab!
This one:

http://www.getgeared.co.uk/HELD_5322_Guard_Motorcycle_Cruiser_Leather_Jacket?sc=15&category=133

I'm diggin Lee Dorsey today folks....... 8)

Is it the majority of the group who don't get it? At work I encounter the same no matter times you explain stuff like this point out instructions, write it in module guides, put up pop up messages, write it on their foreheads backwards, send smoke signals etc... there are gonna be those who just don't get it...

It's understandable that there are gonna be those with genuine difficulty, but the lazy idle asses, wtf is wrong with them and to have that attitude at uni level, they may aswell just give me their 3 grand a year for fees, I'll put it to good use.

oh... sending a virtual hanky for you to dry those tears

I'm still trying to figure out the instructions on a packet of Cup-a-soup

Tomato flavour just in case you were wondering.

Bill XX

And very good you look in it too, Mike. That's good. I'd lose that bit. Do not mix negative and positive instructions in the same message. Speed readers and illiterates may just read:

PLEASE SUBMIT TO THE FOLDER LABELLED 'FINAL VERSIONS'!!!!!

So they do, even if it's only a draft, and vice-versa.

A good one for comp.risks - does anyone else subscribe to that?

Anyone know what to do with a tub of Pot Noodle ?

Serving instructions anyone ?

Bill X

actually jim, the folders were labelled with 'positive' instructions only - i added the extra for dramatic effect

@muad'dib ... the students who supposedly need extra help - i.e. the ones with dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc. - rarely screw up simple tasks like electronic submissions. it's the lazy ones who think they know everything and can do it all at the last minute

Bill ... tomato cuppa soup is tricky. the mug must first be washed in a detergent containing biological surfactants, and the handle needs to be facing east. the water needs to be 2 degrees off a full rolling boil at sea level (you will have to compensate for your elevation; there should be a chart on the packet), and must be deflected off a saucepan lid (to prevent negative ionization, which interferes with the tomato flavour) before entering the mug. under no circumstances must an aluminum saucepan lid be used. oh, and you should probably do this with the lights off, as the powdered soup solution is subject to severe degradation on exposure to incandescent light. a candle is fine, as is the dim glow off a firefly's bum.

Dammit. Cream of Mushroom anyone ?

Crying with laughter now.

I tried some pot noodles many years ago. Two whole mouthfuls! Never, ever, again. Yes I had followed the instructions, no, I did not eat them dry.

Who remembers the 'Vesta' meals of the late '60s?

Yes I remember those one but I can't recall actually "making" one.

I'll freely admit to being a rubbish cook but I'm slowly learning.

Food always tastes better when someone else makes it anyway.

Crap excuse.

Portmeirion is a nice way to spend a couple of hours, nothing more, and I've never seen The Prisoner. If you're heading that way from Liverpool, there's plenty of great places to visit in North Wales (if you avoid the hellhole that is Rhyl), the Horseshoe pass down into LLangollen is one of my favourite rides, you'll wish you were on your scooter though. Betws-Y-Coed is lovely as well, as are any number of places in Snowdonia. All pretty much on the way to Portmeirion.

Bugger the entire thing, £1 will get you a 7" pizza from a chicken shop. no washing up. no confusing instructions and if you're real lucky you'll not get a hair in it.

Genie, beat one of the perps half to death with a bat in front of the others, no-one will ever fail to comply with your instructions ever again

Thanks for the info, Halijaro.

genie-

You have not been singled out as the recipient of this type of mindlessness.

In the military, we had a well proven maxim:

There is always that 10% who regularly do not get "the word", completely misunderstand "the word" and/or simply choose to ignore "the word". ("The word" being jargon for any and all instructions)

Thus, we referred to them as "The 10%" as a group, or "10%-ers" as individuals. In my tenure in academia, I found that 10%-ers were not confined to the military, and general experience finds it applicable to the broader population as well.

Doesn't make it easier to tolerate, but it does make their behavior less of a personal affront. Perhaps a visit to The Hitchhiker's Guide is in order to help you regain perspective?

I've only ever looked at GetGeared's website but they seem to have a decent range and good prices. Nice to know the service is good too!

I went to see Dar Williams last night, got the Decemberists coming up tonight. Rock and indeed roll. Where's a good place to park near Elephant & Castle where my ET4 won't get nicked? Other than BB's place?

I think Genie is very kind to her students, because in the olden days, you used be failed or marked on what you submitted and that was it. They need to realise that submitting academic work is serious - I would never have dreamed of phoning up my tutors and casually asking them sort out my work for me. Plus how pathetic is that students don't know where they put their work, or even if it is final or not?! This does not demonstrate much precision of mind.

I occasionally recruit new graduates and this sort of attitude shows up a lot. Their application goes in the bin. There are too many good grads with better skills, better organisation and academics to bother with people like this.

You can leave it at ours, of course, even if we're not there. Bike shed will be locked but you can leave it in car park space no 50 (on the inside of the sq) and stick a note on the scoot in case the (quite rare occurence) clamping people come (tbh, I can't imagine anyone clamping a scoot, but I'm often wrong.) Or you could probably chain it to the rails by the bike shed (and risk a snotty note from a busybody resident, but that doesn't matter).

Other than that, the only places I can think of with rails to chain scoot to are where you used to park, by the Oak or the Dover Castle.

HTH

Thanks! I was wondering if I could get away with parking it outside the venue (Coronet) or whether this would leave it vulnerable to a) traffic wardens or b) drunks.

I'll see how dodgy it looks this evening, and probably end up parking down where I used to work...

pm sent, with our number, in case you want to leave it at ours.

oooooooh! the decemberists!

Lucky devil

thank you kate for that truly masterly understatement

and in fact i'm not that kind - the ones who've submitted the wrong file, or uploaded it to the wrong folder, will lose 10 percent of their grade. if this was actually rocket science perhaps i'd show a bit more leniency.

have just got back from a fast belt up and down the A13 to try and take some of the sheen off my new K61 hurrah. i've kept the old one in case anybody wants to have a practice session of tyre plugging.

Genie, may I be so curious to ask you in what academic field/subject you 'manage' students?

i teach 'photographic theory and criticism' - visual and cultural theory, broadly speaking. i'm meant to be developing their critical skills. sometimes i despair