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[Barmymoo]

I think that's probably closer to other UK universities too. At Cambridge 70% is a First (the highest grade, only 5-15% of people get that) and 80% is a Starred First, which is very rare.

[Carl-E]

Here, 75% is considered "average", a C, while the top grade of A only goes to those over 90%. 

90 - 100% = A (Excellent)
80 - 89% = B (Above Average)
70 - 79% = C (Average)
60 = 69% = D (Below Average)
Below 60% = F (Failing)

One guy I worked with would regularly remind students to "...remember, D stands for Diploma!" 

[Thrillho]

Then I sincerely hope that everything you guys do is easier than what we do. The idea that 70-79% is average sounds preposterous to me.

Saying that, I got a lot of firsts on assignments at uni, but it did mean that it seemed basically impossible to excel at anything.

[idontunderstand]

So.. I'm done with Christmas shopping for this year.

A cigar and a CD for dad
Headphones and a book with art by Lars Lerin (GOOGLE IT! You won't be sorry you did, unless you, like, hate art) for mum
Make-up stuff for little sister 1
Bunch of comics for little sister 2, which she will love, guaranteed
and some music I recorded for the girlfriend.

If this doesn't result in at least 5 happy faces this Christmas, I will crap my pants.

[Barmymoo]

Ugh. I have to get up at 5.45 tomorrow to catch a 6.30 train to get arrive an hour early at an interview for a course I probably couldn't do even if I got a place. This seems like much less of a good plan than it did last month.

[Bluesummers]

Here, 75% is considered "average", a C, while the top grade of A only goes to those over 90%. 

90 - 100% = A (Excellent)
80 - 89% = B (Above Average)
70 - 79% = C (Average)
60 = 69% = D (Below Average)
Below 60% = F (Failing)

One guy I worked with would regularly remind students to "...remember, D stands for Diploma!" 

I remember doing the CT Mastery Tests in sixth grade...the reading comprehension passing grade threshold was a 59/100, and our school's goal for all students was 62 (Way to raise the bar, school). My teacher said that anyone who got 90 or better would get taken out for ice cream, and anyone who scored perfect would get taken out to dinner at the restaurant of our choice.

It took two years of reminding her, but my classmate and I did get that dinner. Yay, literacy!

[Carl-E]

Of your choice?  I hope you took advantage of that...

Steak and lobster? 

[Bluesummers]

Of your choice?  I hope you took advantage of that...

Steak and lobster? 

Well, seeing as I was 14 when I got to choose, I could think of nothing better than Ruby Tuesday. In hindsight, It was a damn big burger, so no regrets.

[Papersatan]

When I was in high school our teacher promised free dinner to whoever scored the highest on the World History RCT (the old NYS standardized tests).  I got a 98.  I never collected my dinner because I was at a socially anxious place and could not bear the thought of that sort of interaction. 

Also, I use that story as anecdotal evidence that standardized tests don't test knowledge learned in school.  I took world history 1 twice because I hated the world history 2 teacher.  I never learned about Asia or Europe. I did well because I am a good test taker. 

Standardized tests are testing at least 4 things:

1. performance under pressure: I believe I am a good test taker and this is to a degree a self-fulfilling prophesy. I don't panic which increases my chance of success.

2. reading comprehension: I have always had excellent reading skills.  While most test makers strive to prevent questions from answering each other (though on this exam two of them did) a good reader can still infer a lot from the way a question is written.  The language of the author frequently betrays their deeper understanding, and even if it does not help on that question, it may elsewhere.

3. knowledge of the subject: some of my answers came from general knowledge I gleaned from PBS and the History channel, but this could have come from paying attention in class too.

4. puzzle solving: putting these pieces together to make good guesses on questions you don't know an answer to is what I think most tests, particularly multiple choice ones, but even short answer ones, test.

[Bluesummers]

I always wondered how I scored a 5 on the AP physics exam, then was fucking clueless in Engineering Physics at uni.

...It also could have been the professor...he had a stutter worse than Ozzy, didn't understand anything not spoken to him in his native Liverpool accent (he told us "it's not insensitive, unless you intentionally talk like Americans to me"), and drank strange liquids out of Erlenmeyer flasks on hot plates in his lab (Trust me, it wasn't coffee).

[Carl-E]

The AP exams are curved.  Basically, getting a 5 (top score) means you can skip the course because you know as much as a good student coming out of one of those courses. 


This doesn't account for horrible professors...

[Bluesummers]

That's why I was a little confused when the course advisor told me I still needed "Engineering Physics" for my Comp.Sci major...I qualified to skip the year of "physics needed for liberal arts majors" (Like philosophy majors know anything about math)...But apparently Murphy's Law came back to haunt me when I needed the "conversion course" to satisfy the physics requirement for the School of Engineering.

I also failed the AP Calculus exam...I dunno what to think anymore. @_@ But that was seven years ago.

[Carl-E]

Well, it's ultimately up to each school whether to accept the AP credit or not.  Sounds like this one wanted the engineers to know a little bit more than your average physics student...

[Barmymoo]

I had my second midwifery interview today at what was my second choice university (out of two), but actually I think the interview went far better than the one for my first choice, which is only my first choice because it would mean staying in the same city. I will find out before Christmas whether I have a place, have been rejected or am "on hold". I think it will either be the first or the last; I think it went well enough that I shouldn't have been turned down but it's hard to know.

I did only get 75% on the maths test though, which I'm annoyed about (sample question, with calculator provided: 5 x 3 + 12). It's not impossible that I could have got one or two questions wrong, but five seems unlikely. I suspect it was because the computer cannot actually tell whether you have the right answer, simply whether you have entered the exact series of characters it has as the "correct" answer. For instance, when I got the answer 8/5 it would not let me enter it as 1 3/8. Some of the other girls entered it as a decimal instead, and we don't know which answer was correct.

[Carl-E]

...when I got the answer 8/5 it would not let me enter it as 1 3/8. Some of the other girls entered it as a decimal instead, and we don't know which answer was correct.

Well, for one thing, 8/5 = 1 3/5, not 1 3/8.  But most simple computer data reading can't handle mixed numbers anyway, and would probably reject either of those.  Since a calculator was allowed, 8/5 = 1.6 would probably be the only "acceptable" form.  (unless it really was 1 3/8 = 11/8 = 1.375)


[/grading final exam mode]

[Barmymoo]

Yes, you're right - 1 3/5 is what I tried to enter. I put 8/5 in the end but you might well be right that it was wrong. It did specifically say "express as a fraction" such and such.

[Welu]

Went to the Christmas Market in Belfast with the hope of taking photos. My camera battery was dead, somehow the camera was left on. I didn't bring the charger since I thought the battery was fully charged. I did finally have a second battery to always have one spare at least now.

Still had fun, had an impromptu meeting up with my brothers and listened to one be catty about the other's sex life when the other was away from the table.

[Patrick]

I'm cleaning my room. I didn't even bother taking pics of the "before" because I am that ashamed of how fucking disgusting it was. It's still pretty nasty, but it's a few orders of magnitude better than it was before.

[Jace]

Apparently I am supposed to spend like 30 minutes on my rounds checking the parking ramp. There's only like 20 cars up there all parked in the same area so I'm not entirely sure how it is supposed to take me 30 minutes.

[Jace]

Yeah, I even went up the stairs and that only took me 12 minutes.

[Papersatan]

I bought a dress!

)

I am also going to get these two, but I am waiting until the first arrives to make sure it fits well.




Also I really want this one:

but my shopping buddy made me agree it was of the lowest priority because it is less versatile.  Gonna be hard to resist it when the next bump of financial aid comes in though.

[Carl-E]

Interesting neckline on that last one...

[tucks tongue back in]

[Akima]

It is not called a "sweetheart neckline" for nothing... 

[nekowafer]

I really love eShakti dresses and I want one so badly! But I almost never wear the dresses I have...

[Lines]

I bought one for graduation and I LOVE it. I don't have any pictures of me in it, but let me see if I can find it...



And it has pockets. Effing love dresses w/ pockets.

[BeoPuppy]

I just put up 40 odd versions of Hallelujah on facebook and I watched my friends go apeshit over the spamming and the songs and the annoyance.

Fun!

Also, jesus, there are some truly shit covers of that song.

[Bluesummers]

Also, jesus, there are some truly shit covers of that song.

Opinions on Rufus Wainwright version?

[BeoPuppy]

I do not like his voice much. I experience it as ... grating.

[Lines]

If you want the worst Christmas song ever, listen to this one!

Yes, Busta Rhymes rhymes vanilla with chinchilla.

[pwhodges]

You've made my ears hurt 

[Lines]

I warned you. I actually do think it's the worst Christmas song ever. Ever ever. Worse than Celine Dion's cover of O Holy Night.

Like. Drummer Boy and O Holy Night are two of the best Christmas songs ever written, but when they are done badly, they are the worst. (Really, I only like most Christmas songs when they are done by choirs, are instrumental, or are sung by the people who perform them in the style they should be in.)

Here, I'm sorry, let me make it up to you. This is one of my favorites. Better?

[valley_parade]

Right song, Linds, but wrong artist.

[pwhodges]

I only like most Christmas songs when they are done by choirs, are instrumental, or are sung by the people who perform them in the style they should be in.

I don't know if you look in Band; so in case you've missed them, here's a couple of Christmas Concerts by my choir:  2010: An American Christmas; 2012: An English Christmas.

Here, I'm sorry, let me make it up to you. This is one of my favorites. Better?

Thanks!

[LTK]

Bad news: Someone's washing machine had a bad power cord that was leaking current for months, but never actually enough to blow out the fuse. Until I went in there and reset it, then it burned through. Now I told the landlord that not only the fuse needed to be replaced, but the contacts as well, because they were sparking so much I could hear it in my own electronics. I have no idea if the contacts did get replaced, but the power failures haven't gone away. So I have no power from any grounded plugs, and everyone on the opposite side of the hallway has no power from any non-grounded plugs.

Good news: I can switch all my devices over to the non-grounded plugs, and with three extension cords I have just enough length to connect my oven to a plug in the hallway, allowing me to cook my pizza. Starvation averted!

/firstworldproblems

[Lines]

Right song, Linds, but wrong artist.

Please don't tell me you just called Ella Fitzgerald the "wrong artist". No. Bad Shane. Bad!

I don't know if you look in Band; so in case you've missed them, here's a couple of Christmas Concerts by my choir:  2010: An American Christmas; 2012: An English Christmas.

I haven't looked in Band in ages, so thank you! I'll definitely give them a listen.

[Thrillho]

I decided today that fuck it, I feel like singing. Recorded one of my favourite Ryan Adams songs into my phone, singing at the top of my voice like I used to because my flatmate isn't in and... well, I don't suck. It's still not a song that's quite in my key, but I feel like I've got my voice back for the first time in three or four years. Shame I'm about to go away for two weeks and not record anything.

[ackblom12]

The only good christmas songs are those that praise the true lords of the stars!

[The Seldom Killer]

Am suffering mental scarring through having to respond to emails written to the council by outraged Daily Mail readers.
I don't get paid enough for this.
I don't think anyone gets paid enough for this.

[valley_parade]

Please don't tell me you just called Ella Fitzgerald the "wrong artist". No. Bad Shane. Bad!

IT'S THE DANG VENTURES.

[Lines]

IT'S ELLA FREAKING FITZGERALD!

[Patrick]

Guys, my job has ruined my appreciation for anything jazz, swing, or bebop that isn't from Cowboy Bebop. Sorry, I'm with Shane on this one.

At work yesterday, we had a visit from the district manager, who is one rank above my boss. My nemesis/manager tried her absolute best to make me look like an idiot in front of the DM, and in doing so she completely forgot to do anything to make herself look good. Around noon, she called over the walkie for a specific employee, and after about 4 or 5 attempts was unable to raise her. After her final attempt, she called out, "Marsha, you need to put a walkie on RIGHT NOW." Spotting a golden opportunity, and having had enough of her shit, I called back, "You know, since we've already demonstrated that she is offline, that really isn't going to help anything."

30 minutes later, she calls me over the walkie, and without hiding any of her anger, she says "Patrick, we need to have a private talk about your conduct over the walkie earlier." Now, I don't know about you guys, but to me, "private" means behind closed doors, away from customers and other employees.

Not today. She tried chewing me out in front of everybody. "YOU AND YOUR SMART MOUTH MADE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL IN FRONT OF EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE IN THIS STORE, NOT TO MENTION THE DISTRICT MANAGER. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?  "

"No, you did."

Silence from her for 3 hours.

Then she tried to fuck my day up by scheduling a delivery each at 2 loading zones on opposite ends of the mall from each other, 15min after my shift ended, so I loaded both orders onto separate carts, delegated one to the new stock guy, brought the other to the store, and told the acting store manager about it. He told me to clock out and delegated my delivery to her. Knowing this, I waited for her in the loading zone, which happens to be the designated smoking area for employees on our side of the mall. She comes out with the order, and I say "O HAY, fancy meeting you here," open up my Zippo, spark up my Parliament, flick the lighter shut, and say "You have yrself a good one now!" and walk off to catch the bus.

Best part is, she doesn't have the power to hire or fire anyone, and nothing I did could get me fired anyway. In fact, I proved myself capable of maintaining consistently above-average productivity, training newbies, delegating tasks, and going out of my way in the middle of everything to help outside of my department.

I'm the fuckin boss, bitchezzz

[valley_parade]

Whoa, I didn't say I didn't like jazz. I love Brubeck, Getz, and Mulligan.

[Patrick]

I never said that. I said I was with you on this one.

[nekowafer]

Went to my first driving class last night. Thankfully I was not the oldest one there (at 27). I expected it to be mostly teenagers.

[VonKleist]

Ugh.. I went to driving school too many times. It always sucked and I never got a license.


Old friendly russian man subaltern at work yesterday:
"You remind me very much of my son"
(aww, how nice of him)
"He looks worn out and tired all the time too"
(I..uh.. okay, nevermind -.-)

[Jace]

Started working on a new set of elbow and knee cops because fuck you I want more armor and also because I need couters and polyens without wings for Dagorhir, since the wings have a chance to cut into the foam weapons and I want to wear my metal armor. I am sore and I smell like kerosene but I got one of the couters dished.

In January gonna probably spend $70 on a sheet of kydex (a type of plastic) and make fake splinted stuff for my SCA kit. Light weight and it'll look badass and match my coat of plates.

[Welu]

Neighbour woke me with music again but it was only on for one song and it was some dance version (I think, the original song might be dancey) P!nk song that he always plays. Actually it's Kelly Clarkson - What Doesn't Kill You, I guess he needed to pep himself up for the day. You'd think a fucker who loves to enjoy the ear-breaking decibels would have more than one playlist.

[nekowafer]

Got my learner's permit! For the first time, at age 27. But hey at least I finally got it. Also my picture looks derpy.

[Welu]

Everyone's picture looks derpy, that's half the fun of having a licence.

[Patrick]

Man, I look high as fuck in mine. I'll post later.