What was I thinking?

I've been perusing the net, and came across a website that I haven't been to for a while, an editorials like this: What difference does make? [And no, that is not grammatically incorrect.] ... makes me wonder why on Earth I stayed away. And this guy certainly hit the nail on the head.

Its always the way in society - people with unusual interests are marginalised, and subjected to the pressure to 'conform' to what is perceived as 'normal'. I know what that is like. I watch Desperate Housewives (Ok, its not that bad and its beginning to grow on me), Eastenders, and a variety of other soaps. I enjoy Sci Fi and crime drama. It takes a lot for people to get inside my comfort zone where I will openly talk about what I am actually interested in.

And I know that's wrong.

A few weeks ago this kind of conversation came up, and I discovered (maybe the wrong word because I've know these people for ages), two Trek fans, an SG-1 fan and a group of people who knew what we were talking about. It's a pity the topic didn't come up sooner.

Oh well, lesson learned this time I think.


Random Note: Check out SF Crowsnest . Its a really cool site with loads of news and reviews all on the Sci Fi, Horror, and Fantasy theme.

Back to random browsing ...

Back to the grind...

Well, for one day at least. (or half a day if you are going to be pedantic!)

This also translates as: despite my love of having a day off work, sometimes I hate bank holidays. You'd think that people want to enjoy having the long weekend off, so then I have to wonder why the world and his wife think the world is going to stop if an office is shut for two weekdays. I suppose its just a pity that Easter Saturday isn't counted as a bank holiday as well. Because our office was incredibly busy today. God, if I didn't work there, I wouldn't be there at any point on a Saturday morning!

Random confusing thing. I understand the who idea of the procession on Good Friday, the one think I really wonder is: why my local town seemed to be having a service outside the public library. Not really very significant is it?

Random comment of the day: Remember: You are not a salmon.

Apprentices.... or how not to act

So because the normal discussion board where I usually post on this subject is down, I'll have to think about The Apprentice here instead.

The task this week was relatively straightforward, designed to demonstrate ability to delegate and manage a team with different projects, alongside a fundamental understanding of marketing. In my opinion, the winning team deserved their win, whilst, to be honest, the entire losing team were appalling.

• Paul offered no sense of direction to his team. He got completely immersed in 'his' part of the project, and didn't control what the other team members were doing. And he was so arrogant about 'the best part of the whole thing' which in his opinion was (suprisingly!) his part.
  



• Siara - Was very dominating, always interrupting. Got way too involve in meaningless things like setting up the room, and had the gall to blame the Mac-man (sp?) for the pathetic advertisement he came up with due to lack of direction. She also completely cut out Rachel, and didn't exactly do the best possible job.



• Rachel - wasted so much time, complained of being 'tired', then spent ages cutting and pasting useless 'ideas' board that served no purpose other than to make her look like she was doing something. She distanced herself from the team and didn't really try to get involved. I wasn't surprised that she got fired, because she made very little contribution to the team.

• Raj - Not really sure because he didn't seem to be doing anything. In my opinion, he got off very lightly.

• Impact -Zero direction, zero communication, zero commitment. 100% blame. Zero ability to accept responsibility = 100% Failure!

On the other hand, First Forte, maintained good communication, maintained direction, and had a very effective team leader in Miriam. She kept an eye on the major aspects of the project, managed to delegate, and was able to problem solve and think around the problems that arose.

All the team members played their part, and contributed.

The result - a campaign that looked good, and was integrated across the whole 'campaign' with a relevant strapline. I was quite impressed.

What is really good is that it demonstrates good and bad behavior qualities and provides a useful look at what is expected of people in the business world. - And I think that is where some of these people have fallen down.

Roll on next Wednesday!

Sometimes you just gotta love the BBC !

Tonight I watched a really cool programme on the BBC. Well, at least I thought it was cool. It was the TV adaptation of Robert Harris's Archangel. It was really good and I was really impressed.

See, usually I hate TV adaptations, because they have a tendency to ruin the book. Not this time. The dialogue was right, the events were right, it had the right 'feel' which was the same as came from the book. The scenes were just how I saw them my mind when I read the book. And I loved the book in the first place.

With the Sum of All Fears (another one of my favourites) They completely changed the story. Aside from the basic 'Nuclear weapon goes off in the United States' and the bit about how the weapon came to be lost. It was totally different. It didn't fit into the 'Ryan-verse'. It was all out of sync (even with the previous Jack Ryan films) and it omitted some of the best bits of the book.

Which was why I was a bit dubious about Archangel. And I was very pleasantly surprised. I just hope that the second part is as good.

Up and down and round and round

Its been a pretty hectic two days. The main theme has been the search for the missing passport. Having spent two days turning my room upside down, it turns out that my parents had posted in to me all along. Even though we all thought they had sent my old one. So panic over. I'm ready to fly.

And now back to the Uni work I should have been doing. Which has become rather involved and long winded. Who would have though there were so many books on one topic.

And this one goes out to the librarian who told me when I placed and inter-library loan "this one is five volumes. That takes five requests" My response " I finish in June. I'm not going to need any more" What I wanted to add "I only just found out you could do this.[inter library loans] Do you just not tell students that as a library, you can get books from external sources if you haven't got any in the library?"

Anyway rant over. Got my passport now so "we're off to see the wizard..."

To do....

Goals are something that I never really think about. They are just there, in the back of my mind. I try to relate what i am doing each day to how these fit with my long term goals. A lot of my Uni work at the moment is based around the idea of goal setting and purpose. It's made me think. Which I suppose was the plan.

I spoke to someone today who said that "goals should be as specific as possible" otherwise you'll stagnate, never knowing quite what you are aiming for.

So, in no particular order, (and not exhaustive) my goals are:

• Graduate.
• Achieve Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
• Achieve Black Belt.
• Write a book.
• Travel the world.
• Own a Peugeot 206.
• See a shuttle launch.
• Visit Disney World in Florida.
• Retire to Exmoor.
• Own an Old English Sheepdog.

TBC...

The next step, of course, is to work out how to get there... So watch this space!

Time flies...

I graduate in July. It's a terrifying thought. I finish Uni in June. Where have the last three years (nearly) gone? How is it nearly April already?

These are life's eternal questions.

I think uni has changed me. Tomorrow I have to host a visiting speaker. Introduce him to the class, prompt the questioners, and play 'host'. Two and a half years ago, the though would have terrified me. Last week I volunteered. I am a new person. I even surprised myself with that.

I have hope for the real world after all.

Opportunity Knocks...

A while back I received the best piece of advice ever:

"take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you"

Its true. A random conversation at the weekend, and I've been offered the opportunity for a work placement. I know it will cut short my Easter break, but at the end of the day, if it helps in the future, then its worth it.

All of life is experience. Every little thing builds on another. If you don't seize opportunities, you can be certain someone else will. There are so any students who graduate with nothing on their CV. No hobbies or skills. It show that all you did at uni was read books, or that you were too lazy (like a lot of students are) to get up and do something with your time. This was my problem in my first year, however in my second year I joined a society, got involved with volunteering and Tae Kwon-Do and haven't looked back. I realised that my CV needed to say more. And that is the most important thing about going to university - life experience. (Oh, and the degree as well!)

And that, said John, is that.

Timewasting...

Isn't the internet a timewaster. My expereince of the internet can be split into two catagories:

• Before Broadband (until two weeks ago)
  
• Post Broadband

I now laugh at how slow dial up is. But I really don't miss it! On the negative, side I spend even more time on the net now than I used to. Which is a scary thought.

But seroiusly, I'd recommend Broadband to anyone. There was an article on BBC news about a man whose got rid of broadband. My reaction: "Are you nuts!?" Maybe its how you use it, but, still... Getting rid of Broadband.

Big Bonus: part of the assesment I have to do is actually posting on a discussion board - How cool is that!

Anyway, back to the Uni work I should be doing...

Note to self: Do not get distracted.