thursday beside reality and outside sanity

Morning, it’s more like a monsoon season here rather than Christmas season, more shopping to do , there’s just 7 of us for Christmas , we already have enough food for 20 people.
Hoping this rain is going to stop some time soon

Bb fitted into new TT bike. What a productive morning.

I may get around to fitting my luscious carbon Fulcrum cranks in at some point.

Work at home today so bit of a lie in, last trip to the dentist for the year so I now have a fully reconstructed molar rather than a gap.

Doing a bit of tidying up work-wise and making sure things are suitably teflon desked, delegated or put on hold over Christmas. Should be quite relaxing but can't have coffee until late morning when the bonding on the tooth has set properly. Ho hum.

Starting to feel quite festive now despite the greyness outside.

Veronese68 wrote:

hopkinb wrote:

Ping pong with school dads later.

Piña can give you some instruction if you ask him nicely.

Depends whether it's the version of ping pong that Pinno teaches, or the Thai version

hopkinb wrote:

Train w@nkered to work with MiniH3 to drop her with grandmother. They're going to the nutcracker at the ROH.

Ping pong with school dads later.

Ooh ping pong! Iove ping pong, I spent 5 years training at a Buddhist temple in Siberia, but instead of wooden bats we had to hunt and kill vampire bats with our bare hands, which we would then fashion into bat shapes. We used hand grenades instead of balls which made the rallies really short and exciting. Needless to say I'm
Pretty awesome 8)

Picking up the in laws from Gatwick this evening, think I'll need a holiday after this week.

oxoman wrote:

Certainly surprised me looking online how many engineers required. Feeling wanted for a change.

What sort of engineering if you don't mind me asking? My dad and the OH's dad have retired from aerospace companies in the last 5 years and been contracting on and off since. They were both quote surprised at the amount of work there was going, especially the OH's dad working in the North of England.

Last day today, then off down to my brother's to see his new house and get hammered in celebration of his recent engagement. Also, finally being paid my first time home buyers ISA bonus today despite moving in in February, complete shambles

HaydenM wrote:

Also, finally being paid my first time home buyers ISA bonus today despite moving in in February, complete shambles

At least you're getting it. Eldest son and his GF both had them, but ended up having to pay considerably more than £250k for their first home* and so don't qualify for a penny. And then to rub salt in the wound they completed the month before the stamp duty bung. Annoyed doesn't come close.

*due mainly to it having to be near a station since she won't drive and works in London

oxoman wrote:

My eldest is currently doing C&G electronic and electrical engineering at college and trying to get an apprenticeship, nobody will take kids on till they're 18 and the governments paid for the first 2 yrs of their training. He will effectively come out as qualified but with no experience. Hopefully he will pick something up, he was advised away from degree level as the biggest shortage is for hands on apprenticeship trained engineers.

Get him to join the RAF - they will get him through everything, it’s a brilliant life and he’ll meet top people and make great contacts while seeing the world from the luxury of a 5 Star hotel and a 4 day working week.

No brained when it comes to this sort of stuff.

oxoman wrote:

My eldest is currently doing C&G electronic and electrical engineering at college and trying to get an apprenticeship, nobody will take kids on till they're 18 and the governments paid for the first 2 yrs of their training. He will effectively come out as qualified but with no experience. Hopefully he will pick something up, he was advised away from degree level as the biggest shortage is for hands on apprenticeship trained engineers.

We're just not very joined up in the UK. Too much emphasis on getting as many young people as possible to university and in to debt rather than preparing them for the world of work. Bugger all in terms of vocational training, apprenticeships etc. And then we wonder why we have graduates working in McDonalds, and we don't have enough tradesmen and engineers.

My German colleague says it's all more cohesive over there. Youngsters are streamed according to their merits, abilities / skills, interests etc. Only the most academic go on to university, but there's a wide range of less cerebral and more practical options to choose from, and courses / apprenticeships seem to be linked to jobs / employers. You could dismiss it as elitist, but I just think it sounds sensible.

His own son did something like an HNC in electronic engineering, which included some time working in industry, and he knew he had a (well paid, apparently) job with Siemens at the end of it. Something to do with the safety and signalling on the railways.

HaydenM wrote:

Sorry about the diversions...

We were wondering where the forest had gone.

The fence at JJs was flattened and ended up going straight over it, but decided it probably wasn't the best place for an "oh sh*t tree" moment. The one at the start of the back was OK, just like the ultimate CX swamp.

How come 500 m of trail is closed for months because of 2 fallen trees, but you can clear half the forest in 2 weeks?

Matthewfalle wrote:

oxoman wrote:

My eldest is currently doing C&G electronic and electrical engineering at college and trying to get an apprenticeship, nobody will take kids on till they're 18 and the governments paid for the first 2 yrs of their training. He will effectively come out as qualified but with no experience. Hopefully he will pick something up, he was advised away from degree level as the biggest shortage is for hands on apprenticeship trained engineers.

Get him to join the RAF - they will get him through everything, it’s a brilliant life and he’ll meet top people and make great contacts while seeing the world from the luxury of a 5 Star hotel and a 4 day working week.

No brained when it comes to this sort of stuff.

Nailed on. Used to advise people who wanted this or med to look at the forces, especially if they were concerned about money

Matthewfalle wrote:

Get him to join the RAF - they will get him through everything, it’s a brilliant life and he’ll meet top people and make great contacts while seeing the world from the luxury of a 5 Star hotel and a 4 day working week.

No brained when it comes to this sort of stuff.

Sums up the military quite nicely I think. :twisted:

oxoman wrote:

Having a couple of lads I work with being ex raf and army they suggested navy as a more all round training with more how to make something out of nothing rather than wait for the correct parts. Will see how he goes.

Yep, modern times means they are fitters rather than fixers.
However, from my experience at RAF Aberystwyth when I went there for my interview, some of the apprentices were making 2 stroke engines from scratch and basic jet turbines, so i;m not sure they can say that unless things have changed.