I hadn't realised the US tried to cover up the existence of radiation sickness after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In hindsight, quite absurd - and it also adds some context to the good faith arguments advanced for the use of the bomb.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/science/charles-loeb-atomic-bomb.html ...Historians say General Groves understood the radiation issue as early as 1943 but kept it so compartmentalized that it was poorly known by top American officials, including Harry S. Truman. At the time he authorized the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman, scholars say, knew almost nothing of the bomb’s radiation effects. Later, he spoke of regrets.
Shortly after the atomic strike of Aug. 6, 1945, The Times began covering the radiation dispute between Japan and the United States. In September, the headline of Mr. Laurence’s Page 1 article said scientific readings at the American test site “Confirm That Blast, and not Radiation, Took Toll,” contradicting “Tokyo Tales” of ray victims. The next day, The Times ran an article with a Toyko dateline in which General Farrell’s investigative team, as the headline stated, found “No Radioactivity in Hiroshima Ruin.”...
Madness all around.
Visiting Hiroshima I learned that bomb 2 was destined for Kyoto. However some senior General had spent his honeymoon there and didn't like the idea of the place being obliterated so the bomb was switched to target 3 Nagasaki.The general consensus was Nagasaki was more of a handy scientific experiment rather than an act to end the war, which to all intents and purposes was over after Hiroshima.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
Yep, he choked on a poison Phil and it finished him off.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Tell me about it
I'm trying to fly to Athens today, and the conflicting advice is driving me nuts. The Greek and UK government websites insist that I only need proof of vaccination (plus a PLForm). But BA keeps sending me emails saying No I also need a negative test. Then I call BA and you can't get through because everyone has been pinged home and they have no staff
I'm off to Heathrow in an hour or two, I literally have no idea if I will make it to Greece
I'm going to Greece too shortly. I think it is the carrier's (ie BA's) requirement for a negative test; Greece just needs to know that you are 2x vaxxed for over 14 days before you arrive. I have the same thing (LFT not PCR). Coming back I think you need a PCR on Day 2 if you are fully vaxxed (vs one on Day 2 and one on Day 8) although I'm wondering who checks this.
I am also going to call the carrier.
I just got through to BA. Amazingly. They insist the websites are right and the emails wrong. You DON’T need a negative test for Greece if you’re double jabbed over a fortnight back. This is good as I have no test.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
Has anyone actually done a PhD proving that water is wet?
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
If doing that you could simply give everyone a ranking order, or percentiles. Why have arbitrary grade boundaries?
A lot of denial around today, that 45% of students getting A or A* grades doesn't represent grade inflation, when most 5 year olds would be able to understand that it does.
Of course they would understand it, half of them are probably future A graders themselves...
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
Compared with 30 years ago (i.e. prior to the internet) most people's knowledge was limited to the information available to them at home, school and the local library.
Nowadays the internet contains virtually everything and is available instantly for most people. Which means that you can quickly become a world expert in Disney rides lore were that of interest to you (I say that as Eek Jr 1 bored us with that yesterday while distracting herself to avoid panicking).
So I can easily believe that results are better now than 30 years ago. What is harder to explain is why results in 2021 don't tally with 2019, but that has everything to do with the disaster that has been exams since March 2020...
I hadn't realised the US tried to cover up the existence of radiation sickness after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In hindsight, quite absurd - and it also adds some context to the good faith arguments advanced for the use of the bomb.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/science/charles-loeb-atomic-bomb.html ...Historians say General Groves understood the radiation issue as early as 1943 but kept it so compartmentalized that it was poorly known by top American officials, including Harry S. Truman. At the time he authorized the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman, scholars say, knew almost nothing of the bomb’s radiation effects. Later, he spoke of regrets.
Shortly after the atomic strike of Aug. 6, 1945, The Times began covering the radiation dispute between Japan and the United States. In September, the headline of Mr. Laurence’s Page 1 article said scientific readings at the American test site “Confirm That Blast, and not Radiation, Took Toll,” contradicting “Tokyo Tales” of ray victims. The next day, The Times ran an article with a Toyko dateline in which General Farrell’s investigative team, as the headline stated, found “No Radioactivity in Hiroshima Ruin.”...
Madness all around.
Visiting Hiroshima I learned that bomb 2 was destined for Kyoto. However some senior General had spent his honeymoon there and didn't like the idea of the place being obliterated so the bomb was switched to target 3 Nagasaki.The general consensus was Nagasaki was more of a handy scientific experiment rather than an act to end the war, which to all intents and purposes was over after Hiroshima.
A major reason for dropping the second bomb was to prove that the nukes were on a production line. All the experts not aware of the Manhattan Project believed that the effort to make a bomb would so stupendous that each one would take years.
In fact the Japanese scientists told the Japanese war cabinet exactly that - that Hiroshima might well be a one-off, with no more nukes in the immediate future.
This is why Groves setup a production line - the plan, halted by the end of the war, was to be producing 3-10 nukes. Per month. By December 1945.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
Yep, he choked on a poison Phil and it finished him off.
Moral there.
Interesting* philosophical/medical debate to be had there - is choking on a poison pill better than actually swallowing it? I guess it depends on the poison and how fast acting, availability of someone to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, availability of stomach pumps etc...
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
Has anyone actually done a PhD proving that water is wet?
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
Its bloody preposterous. Had to do it myself a few years ago for a training qualification - doesnt matter if you've been employed for decades or have post graduate degrees, if it says GCSE English and Maths you have to provide that.
I didn't have them and had to check with the school, who didn't have them obviously, but made a guess of which exam boards might, since even during my time some were under different boards.
Some of the boards refund you if they dont find anything, others just take the money regardless. Those are the dickish ones.
Tick box bureaucratic culture is so stupid. And even most bureaucrats aren't that silly.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
All I see there is a company that I wouldn't want to work for, what does a GCSE maths show anyone beyond the fact you could do xyz 30 years ago...
If anyone's considering a career change to teaching...
Entry requirements You must have achieved the following minimum requirements to be eligible to apply for PGCE programmes:
You'll need to hold an undergraduate degree awarded by a UK higher education provider, or a recognised equivalent qualification. You’ll need to have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C/4, or above, in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
That does actually surprise me, I'd assume most animals were like that.
Does this mean the T Rex really did want to hunt not be fed?
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
It explicitly says, if you’re flying to Greece with BA, and you’re double jabbed, you do NOT need a test pre-departure
Yes thanks that I think I knew.
But you/I need to take a test before we return from Greece in the three days before the transport departs and then a PCR test on Day 2 after we return.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
Yep, he choked on a poison Phil and it finished him off.
Moral there.
Interesting* philosophical/medical debate to be had there - is choking on a poison pill better than actually swallowing it? I guess it depends on the poison and how fast acting, availability of someone to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, availability of stomach pumps etc...
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
That's not what happened. It wasn't an argument over Covid19 (I always supported protecting the vulnerable from Covid19), it was an argument over Brexit.
Mr Meeks, in what someone could perhaps term Strasbourg Syndrome, had a rather paranoid delusion that Brexit meant that medicines would cease to enter the UK, which could be fatal for his loved one. In World War Two the UK pulled every string to ensure the country never ran out of tea, yet in peace time he thought for some twisted reason that Brexit would mean that the country couldn't import medicines let alone tea. He attempted to exploit this delusion to win an argument by basically shutting down debate and saying it was unacceptable to risk his loved one's health by proceeding with Brexit.
I completely discounted this argument and thought it was absurd and called him out on it. He took great offence at that and stropped off.
As it happened, his paranoid delusion has been shown as just that. There was never a realistic prospect that medicines would be blocked from entering the UK due to Brexit, it was a farcical thing to get upset over.
I wish him well and hope he recovers from his Strasbourg Syndrome and ceases to get so upset about these things. Good luck to him, the site is poorer for his absence.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
It explicitly says, if you’re flying to Greece with BA, and you’re double jabbed, you do NOT need a test pre-departure
Yes thanks that I think I knew.
But you/I need to take a test before we return from Greece in the three days before the transport departs and then a PCR test on Day 2 after we return.
Yes you do. But these days it’s quite smooth. Good hotels abroad generally have antigen tests set up for guests - that was my experience in Majorca recently - and it’s easy to book a test when you get back. If you’re coming through Paddington you can get your day 2 test on arrival there
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
It explicitly says, if you’re flying to Greece with BA, and you’re double jabbed, you do NOT need a test pre-departure
Yes thanks that I think I knew.
But you/I need to take a test before we return from Greece in the three days before the transport departs and then a PCR test on Day 2 after we return.
Yes you do. But these days it’s quite smooth. Good hotels abroad generally have antigen tests set up for guests and it’s easy to book a test when you get back. If you’re coming through Paddington you can get your day 2 test on arrival there
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
That does actually surprise me, I'd assume most animals were like that.
Does this mean the T Rex really did want to hunt not be fed?
Birds do (closest living relatives to carnosaurs) - and probably amniotes morw widely, from that summary. So safe option is yes. More fun anyway.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
That's not what happened. It wasn't an argument over Covid19 (I always supported protecting the vulnerable from Covid19), it was an argument over Brexit.
Mr Meeks, in what someone could perhaps term Strasbourg Syndrome, had a rather paranoid delusion that Brexit meant that medicines would cease to enter the UK, which could be fatal for his loved one. In World War Two the UK pulled every string to ensure the country never ran out of tea, yet in peace time he thought for some twisted reason that Brexit would mean that the country couldn't import medicines let alone tea. He attempted to exploit this delusion to win an argument by basically shutting down debate and saying it was unacceptable to risk his loved one's health by proceeding with Brexit.
I completely discounted this argument and thought it was absurd and called him out on it. He took great offence at that and stropped off.
As it happened, his paranoid delusion has been shown as just that. There was never a realistic prospect that medicines would be blocked from entering the UK due to Brexit, it was a farcical thing to get upset over.
I wish him well and hope he recovers from his Strasbourg Syndrome and ceases to get so upset about these things. Good luck to him, the site is poorer for his absence.
That’s how I remembered it. He got way too emotional or at least appeared to, in an attempt to ‘win’ an argument with his personal pain
It was overdone. And beneath him, as he’s so clever.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
All I see there is a company that I wouldn't want to work for, what does a GCSE maths show anyone beyond the fact you could do xyz 30 years ago...
Might be a matter of proving, for instace, they had at least the rudiments of a foreign language; it's quite important in some jobs (e.g. academic, front of house).
Do electric car enthusiasts have any concerns regarding the cost of manufacture and the potential difficulty of disposing of batteries once they're done?
Not a driver, but I am wondering if this is going to be akin to the biofuel situation where something that seems very good environmentally turns out not to be so when the full lifetime (and aftermath) of the car is accounted.
Listened to a professor on that very topic on radio yesterday and he said that in fact a small diesel would be more environmentally friendly over lifespan than EV. Given the battery production / scrapping 8 year life span , electricity usage , they are far from environmentally friendly.
Do you have a link to that? Interested.
I'd expect that equation to shift as electricity decarbonises.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
Compared with 30 years ago (i.e. prior to the internet) most people's knowledge was limited to the information available to them at home, school and the local library.
Nowadays the internet contains virtually everything and is available instantly for most people. Which means that you can quickly become a world expert in Disney rides lore were that of interest to you (I say that as Eek Jr 1 bored us with that yesterday while distracting herself to avoid panicking).
So I can easily believe that results are better now than 30 years ago. What is harder to explain is why results in 2021 don't tally with 2019, but that has everything to do with the disaster that has been exams since March 2020...
Actually it is quite easy to see why 2021 is better than 2019. Suppose you have 10 children in your class, and they are all good but not brilliant achievers who would get a B in any year this millennium. On the day of the exam, one has hay-fever, another a bad period, and a third stayed up all night revising and fell asleep halfway through the exam. So your 10 potential Bs became seven Bs, two Cs and an F. But if the exams are cancelled then all 10 students are given Bs. That's why today's students have done better than their older brothers and sisters, because replacing exams with assessments removes the downside risk.
Incidentally, one group of students will have lost out. Consider poor old @Dura_Ace's tutees. They'd likely have done better in the exams than their teachers expected, because they have had extra tuition unbeknownst to their teachers. As it is, they've wasted their money (unless they really did want to know more foreign words).
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Well obviously you passed English O level too, which is more than 2/3 of pupils of your age would have done back then. So that rather proves my point.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Do electric car enthusiasts have any concerns regarding the cost of manufacture and the potential difficulty of disposing of batteries once they're done?
Not a driver, but I am wondering if this is going to be akin to the biofuel situation where something that seems very good environmentally turns out not to be so when the full lifetime (and aftermath) of the car is accounted.
Listened to a professor on that very topic on radio yesterday and he said that in fact a small diesel would be more environmentally friendly over lifespan than EV. Given the battery production / scrapping 8 year life span , electricity usage , they are far from environmentally friendly.
Do you have a link to that? Interested.
I'd expect that equation to shift as electricity decarbonises.
That is untrue for most countries now.
Though you still get the odd person arguing that "If we assume that 100% of electricity comes from coal...."
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Sometimes a scientific result is so surprising that it upends your entire worldview...
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html ..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
That does actually surprise me, I'd assume most animals were like that.
Does this mean the T Rex really did want to hunt not be fed?
My cat seems to enjoy hunting, and spends a lot of time in pursuit of small rodents, and sometimes scoffs them.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Well obviously you passed English O level too then, which is more than most pupils of your age would have done back then. So that rather proves my point.
Many people demonstrably have problems with geography, logic, and statistical method today. Which proves your point even more.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Well obviously you passed English O level too then, which is more than most pupils of your age would have done back then. So that rather proves my point.
Not really - I may be in the top 40% for English, but that really doesn't put me in the top 0.01% as a Journalist which on your ranking based criteria is where I would have been.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Well obviously you passed English O level too then, which is more than most pupils of your age would have done back then. So that rather proves my point.
Many people demonstrably have problems with geography, logic, and statistical method today. Which proves your point even more.
It was ranked effectively as in 1989 most pupils failed English O level and it was then further ranked by grade amongst those who passed it.
In fact back then fewer pupils passed English O level as a percentage than the percentage of A level pupils who got an A* or A grade A level today
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Ausweis, bitte.
“Du hast ein sniffle, ja?”
Haben Sie, surely ...
But wouldn’t they be slangy and chummy, to try and lull me into a ‘mistake’?
Farage looking to exploit Boris’s comments about pit closures.
I wonder if Sir Keir could do worse than appear on Nigel’s show on GB News, ‘Talking Pints’
You've got to admire Nigel's chutzpah. For years he's been selling himself to the British Right as Maggie's true heir ('Thatcher would have voted UKIP' etc.). Now, in a trice, he's posing as son of Scargill. Nevertheless, he's probably on to something - many working-class conservatives sympathized with the miners' plight even when they thought union domination needed to be countered. So Boris's remarks offended everyone and endeared himself to no one.
Yes, plenty of northern and midlands working class ex Labour, then UKIP, Leave and now Tory voters have great sympathy with coal miners and coal mining communities.
Wealthy left liberal diehard Remainers who live in London and the South generally could not care less, they hate Boris regardless so he is not going to win them over
Wheels within wheels.
He many not get far in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire posing as "Son of Scargill", I suspect. But I wouldn't try to call it, depending on who the exact group are.
The bonkers thing is that the govt won't accept an NHS test taken abroad before you return as proof that you have tested negative. The NHS which we know and love and all clapped for is deemed as not able to provide a test for return to the UK.
Of course we know it's because people will lie like cheap naafi watches if they have to self-certify with a brought-along test but even still.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
That's not what happened. It wasn't an argument over Covid19 (I always supported protecting the vulnerable from Covid19), it was an argument over Brexit.
Mr Meeks, in what someone could perhaps term Strasbourg Syndrome, had a rather paranoid delusion that Brexit meant that medicines would cease to enter the UK, which could be fatal for his loved one. In World War Two the UK pulled every string to ensure the country never ran out of tea, yet in peace time he thought for some twisted reason that Brexit would mean that the country couldn't import medicines let alone tea. He attempted to exploit this delusion to win an argument by basically shutting down debate and saying it was unacceptable to risk his loved one's health by proceeding with Brexit.
I completely discounted this argument and thought it was absurd and called him out on it. He took great offence at that and stropped off.
As it happened, his paranoid delusion has been shown as just that. There was never a realistic prospect that medicines would be blocked from entering the UK due to Brexit, it was a farcical thing to get upset over.
I wish him well and hope he recovers from his Strasbourg Syndrome and ceases to get so upset about these things. Good luck to him, the site is poorer for his absence.
That’s how I remembered it. He got way too emotional or at least appeared to, in an attempt to ‘win’ an argument with his personal pain
It was overdone. And beneath him, as he’s so clever.
Come back MR MEEKS
The problem with Alastair was always that he didn't hate the idea of leave so much as he hated the people who voted leave. And he really hated us, with a burning passion. That's ultimately his choice, however, it did rather make his posts a bit single track.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Ausweis, bitte.
“Du hast ein sniffle, ja?”
Haben Sie, surely ...
But wouldn’t they be slangy and chummy, to try and lull me into a ‘mistake’?
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Ausweis, bitte.
“Du hast ein sniffle, ja?”
Haben Sie, surely ...
But wouldn’t they be slangy and chummy, to try and lull me into a ‘mistake’?
I might pretend I’m blind.
You can get sewing kits from the airport for your needle if you decide to play it the other way.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
How does a ranking system pick the brightest candidates?
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
Well obviously you passed English O level too then, which is more than most pupils of your age would have done back then. So that rather proves my point.
Not really - I may be in the top 40% for English, but that really doesn't put me in the top 0.01% as a Journalist which on your ranking based criteria is where I would have been.
Being a successful journalist does not necessarily mean you have a great understanding of English grammar and literature, see Piers Morgan.
Being a successful lawyer or doctor however tends to correlate with those who did best at school and got the highest marks in their law and medical exams
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Just seen your posts from earlier @Leon . You def don't need negative test to leave UK to Greece. You need confirmation that you have completed Greek Passenger Locator Form and that you are vaccinated fully plus 14 days. Confirmation of the latter can be by NHS App or NHS paper letter. (BTW I recommend that everyone gets a paper letter. It is easy and will be with you in a week approx https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/get-your-covid-pass-letter/ .)
You will need four additional things to get back into UK:
1) a negative test. This can be LFT or PCR. The company I have used twice for this is Qured. You set up a video call (make sure you have good wifi where you are going) and they video call you at the allotted time and watch you take the test. Ten minutes later you message them a photo of the result. They will then message/email you the result in certificate form half an hour later.You have to order before you go away and take test in case with you of course. Alternatively you will be scratting around in your destination wasting time looking for a local test provider; 2) UK's Passenger Locator Form; 3) Evidence of vaccination status; 4) evidence that you have booked and paid for a Day 2 PCR test.
The above applies whether you are visiting a Green or an Amber country.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
That's not what happened. It wasn't an argument over Covid19 (I always supported protecting the vulnerable from Covid19), it was an argument over Brexit.
Mr Meeks, in what someone could perhaps term Strasbourg Syndrome, had a rather paranoid delusion that Brexit meant that medicines would cease to enter the UK, which could be fatal for his loved one. In World War Two the UK pulled every string to ensure the country never ran out of tea, yet in peace time he thought for some twisted reason that Brexit would mean that the country couldn't import medicines let alone tea. He attempted to exploit this delusion to win an argument by basically shutting down debate and saying it was unacceptable to risk his loved one's health by proceeding with Brexit.
I completely discounted this argument and thought it was absurd and called him out on it. He took great offence at that and stropped off.
As it happened, his paranoid delusion has been shown as just that. There was never a realistic prospect that medicines would be blocked from entering the UK due to Brexit, it was a farcical thing to get upset over.
I wish him well and hope he recovers from his Strasbourg Syndrome and ceases to get so upset about these things. Good luck to him, the site is poorer for his absence.
That’s how I remembered it. He got way too emotional or at least appeared to, in an attempt to ‘win’ an argument with his personal pain
It was overdone. And beneath him, as he’s so clever.
Come back MR MEEKS
The problem with Alastair was always that he didn't hate the idea of leave so much as he hated the people who voted leave. And he really hated us, with a burning passion. That's ultimately his choice, however, it did rather make his posts a bit single track.
I think he said at one point (in reference to his original stance not the aftermath of the vote) "there was a version of brexit I could have supported", but he didn't elaborate.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
I shopped about and got the PCR from Randox and the pre-departure from Qured. The latter has the advantage that you can do the test from anywhere with an internet connection and they supervise you remotely, avoiding having to make an appointment in France or Germany, which as well as easier gives me added flexibility if my plans have to change.
AFAICS no-one takes much notice of your doing the actual PCR test after return, the check being whether you can produce a booking code to show you have bought one, before they let you back in.
The bonkers thing is that the govt won't accept an NHS test taken abroad before you return as proof that you have tested negative. The NHS which we know and love and all clapped for is deemed as not able to provide a test for return to the UK.
Of course we know it's because people will lie like cheap naafi watches if they have to self-certify with a brought-along test but even still.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Ausweis, bitte.
“Du hast ein sniffle, ja?”
Haben Sie, surely ...
But wouldn’t they be slangy and chummy, to try and lull me into a ‘mistake’?
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
All I see there is a company that I wouldn't want to work for, what does a GCSE maths show anyone beyond the fact you could do xyz 30 years ago...
If anyone's considering a career change to teaching...
Entry requirements You must have achieved the following minimum requirements to be eligible to apply for PGCE programmes:
You'll need to hold an undergraduate degree awarded by a UK higher education provider, or a recognised equivalent qualification. You’ll need to have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C/4, or above, in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this now necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
Why?
And I'm being serious here - once you've got your first or second job which employer really looks at your GCSE or A level results.
They will at best look at your highest qualification (so Uni for most people with A levels) and most of the time will only care that you can do the job they are asking you to do.
All I see there is a company that I wouldn't want to work for, what does a GCSE maths show anyone beyond the fact you could do xyz 30 years ago...
If anyone's considering a career change to teaching...
Entry requirements You must have achieved the following minimum requirements to be eligible to apply for PGCE programmes:
You'll need to hold an undergraduate degree awarded by a UK higher education provider, or a recognised equivalent qualification. You’ll need to have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C/4, or above, in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.
Why do you need a degree? OK I can see you might need to be of that calibre, but what good does actually having a degree do? Especially as they don't specify the subject. My rule of thumb is, if you don't need a degree in X, you don't need a degree.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Just seen your posts from earlier @Leon . You def don't need negative test to leave UK to Greece. You need confirmation that you have completed Greek Passenger Locator Form and that you are vaccinated fully plus 14 days. Confirmation of the latter can be by NHS App or NHS paper letter. (BTW I recommend that everyone gets a paper letter. It is easy and will be with you in a week approx https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/get-your-covid-pass-letter/ .)
You will need four additional things to get back into UK:
1) a negative test. This can be LFT or PCR. The company I have used twice for this is Qured. You set up a video call (make sure you have good wifi where you are going) and they video call you at the allotted time and watch you hake the test. You have to order before you go away and take test in case with you of course. Alternatively you will be scratting around in your destination wasting time looking for a local test provider; 2) UK's Passenger Locator Form; 3) Evidence of vaccination status; 4) evidence that you have booked and paid for a Day 2 PCR test.
The above applies whether you are visiting a Green or an Amber country.
Excellent thanks that's great. I wondered how the govt would check about the Day 2 PCR test. But I can't find specifically that measure on the govt's website.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
I shopped about and got the PCR from Randox and the pre-departure from Qured. The latter has the advantage that you can do the test from anywhere with an internet connection and they supervise you remotely, avoiding having to make an appointment in France or Germany, which as well as easier gives me added flexibility if my plans have to change.
AFAICS no-one takes much notice of your doing the actual PCR test after return, the check being whether you can produce a booking code to show you have bought one, before they let you back in.
"got the PCR from Randox and the pre-departure from Qured. "
Ha - that's exactly what I've done twice - worked perfectly.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
I shopped about and got the PCR from Randox and the pre-departure from Qured. The latter has the advantage that you can do the test from anywhere with an internet connection and they supervise you remotely, avoiding having to make an appointment in France or Germany, which as well as easier gives me added flexibility if my plans have to change.
AFAICS no-one takes much notice of your doing the actual PCR test after return, the check being whether you can produce a booking code to show you have bought one, before they let you back in.
Thanks.
For the event research programme (eg Ascot and some other sports) I think only 15% of people ended up taking their post event PCR test.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
It explicitly says, if you’re flying to Greece with BA, and you’re double jabbed, you do NOT need a test pre-departure
Yes thanks that I think I knew.
But you/I need to take a test before we return from Greece in the three days before the transport departs and then a PCR test on Day 2 after we return.
Yes you do. But these days it’s quite smooth. Good hotels abroad generally have antigen tests set up for guests - that was my experience in Majorca recently - and it’s easy to book a test when you get back. If you’re coming through Paddington you can get your day 2 test on arrival there
AIUI you need to show that you have already booked a day 2 test and provide the booking number, as a condition for being let back in.
Why do you need a degree? OK I can see you might need to be of that calibre, but what good does actually having a degree do? Especially as they don't specify the subject. My rule of thumb is, if you don't need a degree in X, you don't need a degree.
Oh but I have that up on my wall (Maths). It's the B I got at GCSE in English I'd struggle to find
just been sent a mail by eurostar saying, in essence, come and use eurostar.
Here is the text from the "coronavirus information" page. 2 years ago this would have seemed like the precursor to a mediocre Black Mirror episode (and there are no mediocre Black Mirror episodes). Now we just say yes fine got it.
"You must follow specific rules and complete mandatory forms in order to travel. Our teams are legally required to check COVID-19 documents and may refuse travel to anyone without the correct forms. You must comply with all the travel rules in place in our destination countries. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you must comply with all travel rules and keep wearing a mask at the station and on board in all our destination countries. If you are travelling to Germany via Brussels, you must comply with the Belgian travel rules.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your reason for travel is permitted by the country you are visiting, as the rules differ for each destination.
As regulations can change at short notice, please ensure you check the latest official government information of your departure and arrival destination before travelling and read the ‘Travel’ sections below."
JFC
Travel is like planning a military operation right now. My paperwork checklist for my forthcoming road trip:
DONE:
- complete vaccination and health declaration for Eurotunnel - Apply for Green Card for the car - purchased day 2 testing pack for return - purchased pre-departure testing pack to take with me - obtained NHS vacc certificate with covering letters in French and Italian - obtained German low emission sticker
TO DO:
- health certificate for the dog (appointment booked) - complete and print sworn declaration for France - online registration before entering Italy - book video call slot for the pre-departure covid test - apply for an IDP (optional, may not bother) - book German vet appointment for the dog - keep checking for any changes to the rules - buy Swiss motorway pass - pay online for a Austrian motorway pass
TO DO while away:
- complete online UK passenger locator form - complete return covid declaration for Eurotunnel - vet appointment to complete the AHC
Other travellers with animals are warning to allow two to three hours for all the admin checks both sides of the channel.
Bloody hell.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
I shopped about and got the PCR from Randox and the pre-departure from Qured. The latter has the advantage that you can do the test from anywhere with an internet connection and they supervise you remotely, avoiding having to make an appointment in France or Germany, which as well as easier gives me added flexibility if my plans have to change.
AFAICS no-one takes much notice of your doing the actual PCR test after return, the check being whether you can produce a booking code to show you have bought one, before they let you back in.
It's Covid theatre again. This time by our government. Day 2 test on return may as well be binned. It is in essence a return-to-the-UK tax.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
The stakes for them were a tad higher, as I recall.
Do electric car enthusiasts have any concerns regarding the cost of manufacture and the potential difficulty of disposing of batteries once they're done?
Not a driver, but I am wondering if this is going to be akin to the biofuel situation where something that seems very good environmentally turns out not to be so when the full lifetime (and aftermath) of the car is accounted.
I'm sure the curse of the new thread will get me, but Nissan is doing a great thing with their old Leaf batteries. You see, old Leaf batteries (after 7 years on the road) probably only get 80% of their initial charge if they've been well driven. But that's fine for a lot of other applications. So, they're working on using those batteries for emergency back up for homes and offices: in the new application, they're not being cycled (they sit at full charge 99% of the time) and the fact they take up a little more space (because they're not getting original rated capacity) is of little importance.
The reality is that EVs are still for many people an expensive novelty. Almost everyone I know drives a cheap petrol car. An EV is going to cost you £300 plus per month in leasing/depreciation costs. A decent second hand petrol car is closer to £100 per month. Old petrol cars can be kept going for 10-20 years. EV's are not going to last as long as the battery will go and will be uneconomic to replace. For a new vehicle the argument for EVs is strong but a large proportion of people wouldn't consider buying a new car particularly as they have significantly risen in price in recent years. The demand for used cars is growing and EV's are >2% of this.
I do not buy the saving the world argument at all. The benefits of EVs are simply to do with air quality and possibly noise. However. there is nothing at all virtuous about driving a 1.5 ton lump of metal 1 mile to work or school. When you think about it, it is absurd. Walk, cycle or get an electric scooter.
The fundamental reason for replacing ICEs with EVs is to reduce CO2 emissions. Yes, it makes good sense to walk, cycle or use public transport if you can, but sometimes you need a car. It's those cases we're talking about.
Isn't the argument diminished when you look at the CO2 emissions over the whole life of the car (from being built through to its recycling?). We had a petrol toyota until recently, which ran with no problems at all, did 40+ mpg and would continue to run for another 14 years as it was so well built. The idea being pushed that it should be scrapped for environmental reasons was nonsensical. We sold it because it was too large and wanted a smaller car.
It's not controversial to say that walking or (e-)biking is best, or that the environmental benefits of early scrappage are dubious. But lots of people (a) don't live somewhere where they can manage without driving (e.g. it would take me 45 minutes to walk to a supermarket from where I live, and then have to carry the stuff home) and (b) need to change their cars. The environmental case for switching to at least a hybrid is then very strong and it's mainly the price factor that's the problem.
The appropriate OMG reaction to the IPCC report contrasts with the very considerable reluctance of most individuals to do more than token gestures if it will cost money. I do think that we need to be government-led on this, with a serious national spread of high-speed chargers (otherwise people who live in flats are basically unable to take part) and a mixture of seriously high road tax for ICE cars and masively subsidised road tax for electric. It needs to be made worth individuals' while to change - hoping everyone will do it out of concern for the planet won't work. Which is not to say we shouldn't try individually.
There are no environmental benefits of early scrappage.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Just seen your posts from earlier @Leon . You def don't need negative test to leave UK to Greece. You need confirmation that you have completed Greek Passenger Locator Form and that you are vaccinated fully plus 14 days. Confirmation of the latter can be by NHS App or NHS paper letter. (BTW I recommend that everyone gets a paper letter. It is easy and will be with you in a week approx https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/get-your-covid-pass-letter/ .)
You will need four additional things to get back into UK:
1) a negative test. This can be LFT or PCR. The company I have used twice for this is Qured. You set up a video call (make sure you have good wifi where you are going) and they video call you at the allotted time and watch you hake the test. You have to order before you go away and take test in case with you of course. Alternatively you will be scratting around in your destination wasting time looking for a local test provider; 2) UK's Passenger Locator Form; 3) Evidence of vaccination status; 4) evidence that you have booked and paid for a Day 2 PCR test.
The above applies whether you are visiting a Green or an Amber country.
Excellent thanks that's great. I wondered how the govt would check about the Day 2 PCR test. But I can't find specifically that measure on the govt's website.
I believe the passenger locator form you have to complete before return asks for confirmation number.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
When you book the test you have to declare where you would be isolating, in such a case. I just gave the address of the hotel I expect to be in at the time.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
Yes a doctor ideally would be good with people too but if they have no medical knowledge then they would be pretty useless on the operating table or in terms of accurately diagnosing illness and treatment.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
Put simply, as I see it cars have at least three downsides: One, They contribute to climate change. Two, they pollute. Three: Often misused, they contribute to accidents, obesity and general un-fitness.
Lacking exhaust in their use electric cars will pollute less on the streets, though they will still contribute to pollution from their tire dust. But their production still involves applying industrial processes to natural resources just as before.
I think it is flaccid self-indulgence to imagine that shifting to electric cars is a particularly big contribution to the climate change problem.
On the other hand, if we shift to electric cars and cut their overall number on the road as well to, say, by a factor of ten then that might help.
I wonder if all the stuff together will cause car mileage to fall much further? It is already down 10-15% in the UK in the last 20 years or so. Which has to be offset against increased population.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
When you book the test you have to declare where you would be isolating, in such a case. I just gave the address of the hotel I expect to be in at the time.
Interesting thanks and that makes sense so presumably you can say "at home" also.
And is £75 from Qured the going rate for the Day 2 test?
Sorry to treat PB as my own personal Simon Calder session it's much appreciated.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Just seen your posts from earlier @Leon . You def don't need negative test to leave UK to Greece. You need confirmation that you have completed Greek Passenger Locator Form and that you are vaccinated fully plus 14 days. Confirmation of the latter can be by NHS App or NHS paper letter. (BTW I recommend that everyone gets a paper letter. It is easy and will be with you in a week approx https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/get-your-covid-pass-letter/ .)
You will need four additional things to get back into UK:
1) a negative test. This can be LFT or PCR. The company I have used twice for this is Qured. You set up a video call (make sure you have good wifi where you are going) and they video call you at the allotted time and watch you hake the test. You have to order before you go away and take test in case with you of course. Alternatively you will be scratting around in your destination wasting time looking for a local test provider; 2) UK's Passenger Locator Form; 3) Evidence of vaccination status; 4) evidence that you have booked and paid for a Day 2 PCR test.
The above applies whether you are visiting a Green or an Amber country.
Excellent thanks that's great. I wondered how the govt would check about the Day 2 PCR test. But I can't find specifically that measure on the govt's website.
I believe the passenger locator form you have to complete before return asks for confirmation number.
My daughter lives in Charminster in Bournemouth. A nice place to live. However there is absolutely no off road parking. The Council have instigated a one way system as with cars parked either side of the road there is only room for one car to pass. There are literally thousands of houses with no off road parking. If they all had electric cars how would they charge them. A charger unit would have to installed for each house, but then there is no guarantee that you could park outside your house. Are we going to have hundreds of cables draped across pavements? And what a laugh it would br for teenagers to unplug the chargers.
Well, electric cars clearly aren't for everyone right now.
But this is a continuum: every year, every bit of the electric car ownership equation gets better.
So, prices get lower. A brand new F150 Electric pickup is $45,000. That's barely any more than the regular one. Compare that to six or seven years ago, when Teslas were at least 50% more than equivalent petrol cars.
And range is only improving. The Tesla Model S Long Range will do 420 miles to the... errr... tank. That's almost twice the range of the first Model S (250 miles) from 2013, and that increase has come in seven years.
And the charging infrastructure is going to get better and better. Chargers in street lamps. Chargers in parking garages. Chargers at supermarkets.
And the speed of fast charging has also increased enormously. The first generation of Tesla supercharger would add 80 miles of range in 20 minutes (and that seemed like magic). Current 350KW chargers can add 240 miles in the same time. How long before a complete charge is just 10 minutes? At that point, petrol stations start adding electric car charging facilities, because why not?
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I suppose you take it on the morning of departure? Not sure how it works in the event of a positive result.
The bonkers thing is that the govt won't accept an NHS test taken abroad before you return as proof that you have tested negative. The NHS which we know and love and all clapped for is deemed as not able to provide a test for return to the UK.
Of course we know it's because people will lie like cheap naafi watches if they have to self-certify with a brought-along test but even still.
I understood this was so that the NHS couldn’t be accused of using its resources helping people travel for leisure, when it has so many other pressures. And of course there was a time when testing capacity was severely limited.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I suppose you take it on the morning of departure? Not sure how it works in the event of a positive result.
Especially as hotels will usually refuse to take you back if you have CV19.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I suppose you take it on the morning of departure? Not sure how it works in the event of a positive result.
Especially as hotels will usually refuse to take you back if you have CV19.
Well indeed. Thank goodness Three is not yet charging for EU roaming...Might need a bit of hotspot action.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
Yep, he choked on a poison Phil and it finished him off.
Moral there.
Interesting* philosophical/medical debate to be had there - is choking on a poison pill better than actually swallowing it? I guess it depends on the poison and how fast acting, availability of someone to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, availability of stomach pumps etc...
*well, maybe not interesting
Yes it depends on all those things. You're spot on.
The bonkers thing is that the govt won't accept an NHS test taken abroad before you return as proof that you have tested negative. The NHS which we know and love and all clapped for is deemed as not able to provide a test for return to the UK.
Of course we know it's because people will lie like cheap naafi watches if they have to self-certify with a brought-along test but even still.
I understood this was so that the NHS couldn’t be accused of using its resources helping people travel for leisure, when it has so many other pressures. And of course there was a time when testing capacity was severely limited.
Interesting. I mean it's just taking the tests along with you. I'm guessing it's because they don't trust people to tell the truth. Which is probably a fair enough estimation.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
When you book the test you have to declare where you would be isolating, in such a case. I just gave the address of the hotel I expect to be in at the time.
Interesting thanks and that makes sense so presumably you can say "at home" also.
And is £75 from Qured the going rate for the Day 2 test?
Sorry to treat PB as my own personal Simon Calder session it's much appreciated.
I'm not sure Ian is right on that. I think he means where you would isolate in your destination if you test positive before return to UK but I've ordered Qured tests 8 times for my family and never given the foreign address we would in theory be isolating at. I think the question is intended for Amber countries under old rules when you had to quarantine.
Re Day 2 test - I've only used Randox and from memory I think £48 but some airline discounts may be available - not sure.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
When you book the test you have to declare where you would be isolating, in such a case. I just gave the address of the hotel I expect to be in at the time.
Interesting thanks and that makes sense so presumably you can say "at home" also.
And is £75 from Qured the going rate for the Day 2 test?
Sorry to treat PB as my own personal Simon Calder session it's much appreciated.
I'm not sure Ian is right on that. I think he means where you would isolate in your destination if you test positive before return to UK but I've ordered Qured tests 8 times for my family and never given the foreign address we would in theory be isolating at. I think the question is intended for Amber countries under old rules when you had to quarantine.
Re Day 2 test - I've only used Randox and from memory I think £48 but some airline discounts may be available - not sure.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
Yes a doctor ideally would be good with people too but if they have no medical knowledge then they would be pretty useless on the operating table or in terms of accurately diagnosing illness and treatment.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
Yes, you need knowledge (and a sufficient degree of intelligence to apply and understand that knowledge). However, we're talking about school exams and there are no A levels in law or medicine (or are there? not common anyway?) so A levels are just a clue as to who might have the ability to do well in those professions. My issue was with you saying that we want doctors etc to be the brightest - I disagree, but it does depend on how you define 'brightest', i.e. what % that covers. I'd want my doctor to have done well in med school, I'm not to bothered if they flunked their A levels.
As for you last question, 2018 (as I recall it was two Cs and a D, certainly nothing above C). The person in question wanted to be a doctor at the time, but failed to get the grades. Went into nursing instead and through that into research. Now a Senior Research Fellow (equivalent grade to Senior Lecturer, one below Professor). I only remember because she was - rightly - proud of how she'd turned things around, we wouldn't ordinarily have looked much at the A level results, but her letter highlighted them, the experience was relevant to the job.
My daughter lives in Charminster in Bournemouth. A nice place to live. However there is absolutely no off road parking. The Council have instigated a one way system as with cars parked either side of the road there is only room for one car to pass. There are literally thousands of houses with no off road parking. If they all had electric cars how would they charge them. A charger unit would have to installed for each house, but then there is no guarantee that you could park outside your house. Are we going to have hundreds of cables draped across pavements? And what a laugh it would br for teenagers to unplug the chargers.
Well, electric cars clearly aren't for everyone right now.
But this is a continuum: every year, every bit of the electric car ownership equation gets better.
So, prices get lower. A brand new F150 Electric pickup is $45,000. That's barely any more than the regular one. Compare that to six or seven years ago, when Teslas were at least 50% more than equivalent petrol cars.
And range is only improving. The Tesla Model S Long Range will do 420 miles to the... errr... tank. That's almost twice the range of the first Model S (250 miles) from 2013, and that increase has come in seven years.
And the charging infrastructure is going to get better and better. Chargers in street lamps. Chargers in parking garages. Chargers at supermarkets.
And the speed of fast charging has also increased enormously. The first generation of Tesla supercharger would add 80 miles of range in 20 minutes (and that seemed like magic). Current 350KW chargers can add 240 miles in the same time. How long before a complete charge is just 10 minutes? At that point, petrol stations start adding electric car charging facilities, because why not?
I agree. The future isn't a charger for every house. Much as petrol cars began with the owner sourcing the petrol but moved to petrol stations, EVs are undergoing the same shift. But since cars are already mass-market, the shift is happening faster.
My brother bought one a year or so ago, and has had no problem charging it. He lives in a flat, no charger at home, but nearby streets and supermarkets especially provide ample coverage for him. He says that what others told him was true: For the first month you constantly worry about charging it, and then you never think about it again.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I suppose you take it on the morning of departure? Not sure how it works in the event of a positive result.
No. Take it 72 hours before return to UK. If you get an unexpected positive result you at least have two of three days to figure out what the heck you are going to do.
Unbelievably, I still have friends who are even now frightened to travel abroad even though they are fully vaccinated, tested the fuck out of and will likely be visiting a country with lower Covid prevalence than they are living in at home. They are more at risk in a UK supermarket (or any other indoor UK space). Pea brains.
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
It’s a shame Alistair Meeks left us. He’s having an interesting debate about Clanchy with @cyclefree on Twitter
Brexit sent him partly bonkers, but his departure from PB lowered the average IQ here by several points
So that's tim and Alistair you've got as notches on your flint dildo scabbard? Good work.
Alistair left because of ME?! He's far too smart to be scared off by badinage and bantz. I think he wisely realised that he was losing his cool, too often (which he was) on a site that is at least half Leaver. So he Meexited
I recall he took particular offence at one of our most prolific poster's cavalier attitude to protecting those particularly and specifically vulnerable to Covid19. Mr Meek's took umbrage due to a family member being vulnerable.
The poster in question always has a defence of the Johnson Government, however witheringly foolish the policy might be, unless it relates to lockdowns, when he goes all Nigel Farage on us.
Yep, he choked on a poison Phil and it finished him off.
Moral there.
Interesting* philosophical/medical debate to be had there - is choking on a poison pill better than actually swallowing it? I guess it depends on the poison and how fast acting, availability of someone to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, availability of stomach pumps etc...
*well, maybe not interesting
Yes it depends on all those things. You're spot on.
Never look a gift horse or put Das Gift in the mouth.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
Yes a doctor ideally would be good with people too but if they have no medical knowledge then they would be pretty useless on the operating table or in terms of accurately diagnosing illness and treatment.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
Yes, you need knowledge (and a sufficient degree of intelligence to apply and understand that knowledge). However, we're talking about school exams and there are no A levels in law or medicine (or are there? not common anyway?) so A levels are just a clue as to who might have the ability to do well in those professions. My issue was with you saying that we want doctors etc to be the brightest - I disagree, but it does depend on how you define 'brightest', i.e. what % that covers. I'd want my doctor to have done well in med school, I'm not to bothered if they flunked their A levels.
As for you last question, 2018 (as I recall it was two Cs and a D, certainly nothing above C). The person in question wanted to be a doctor at the time, but failed to get the grades. Went into nursing instead and through that into research. Now a Senior Research Fellow (equivalent grade to Senior Lecturer, one below Professor). I only remember because she was - rightly - proud of how she'd turned things around, we wouldn't ordinarily have looked much at the A level results, but her letter highlighted them, the experience was relevant to the job.
You can do A-level law, although it’s horribly dull.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I'm just not bothering until next year. I can't bear things in my orifices. Rather have 10 jabs than 1 test.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
I'm just not bothering until next year. I can't bear things in my orifices. Rather have 10 jabs than 1 test.
You are doing the tests yourself - it's not really much different to picking your nose.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
Yes a doctor ideally would be good with people too but if they have no medical knowledge then they would be pretty useless on the operating table or in terms of accurately diagnosing illness and treatment.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
As a retired physics teacher I would say that you need to be a graduate physicist to be able to teach A level physics, and a graduate maths/scientist to teach GCSE or lower, mainly to be able to provide all the extra facts thataren't mentioned in syllabuses, but are assumed to be relevant knowledge. However, I would say that you don't need to be super bright top of the pile. More importantly the teacher needs to be interesting and resourceful and able to teach and help students at all levels to improve. If a student at university never struggled how to do something they would find it difficult to help their pupils to find the correct strategies.
Controversially I also think that a medical or veterinary degree is waste of 3/4 good A*s at A level. Intellectually, all you need is a good memory and the ability to pass exams as well as a new copy of the BNF in their pocket. Then you need the bedside manner and strength of mind and body to do the hours on the wards.
Half of all students getting an A is more than a tad of grade inflation.
Indeed.
We’ve done a huge disservice to past and future students. I don’t see how they can fix this now. I wouldn’t be surprised if this necessitates a complete reworking of the grades. Replace A-E with a new 1-10 national ranking system, perhaps?
How about
Exams for all. Students ranked from 1 - 10, 1 = top 10%, 2 = 11 -> 20%............
Yes, even 19% got an A* grade so even the A* does not distinguish the top 10% now.
A ranking system sounds much more sensible
No. A ranking system is only more sensible if what you want is a ranking system.
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
What we do want is a ranking system. Otherwise what is the point of competitive examinations? They are supposed to enable universities and top employers to pick the brightest candidates.
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
Even if you accept that an exam-based ranking system would enable picking the 'brightest' - why do we want the 'brightest' to be doctors, lawyers and teachers?
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
Yes a doctor ideally would be good with people too but if they have no medical knowledge then they would be pretty useless on the operating table or in terms of accurately diagnosing illness and treatment.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
Yes, you need knowledge (and a sufficient degree of intelligence to apply and understand that knowledge). However, we're talking about school exams and there are no A levels in law or medicine (or are there? not common anyway?) so A levels are just a clue as to who might have the ability to do well in those professions. My issue was with you saying that we want doctors etc to be the brightest - I disagree, but it does depend on how you define 'brightest', i.e. what % that covers. I'd want my doctor to have done well in med school, I'm not to bothered if they flunked their A levels.
As for you last question, 2018 (as I recall it was two Cs and a D, certainly nothing above C). The person in question wanted to be a doctor at the time, but failed to get the grades. Went into nursing instead and through that into research. Now a Senior Research Fellow (equivalent grade to Senior Lecturer, one below Professor). I only remember because she was - rightly - proud of how she'd turned things around, we wouldn't ordinarily have looked much at the A level results, but her letter highlighted them, the experience was relevant to the job.
You do need reasonable command of English to be a lawyer and an advanced knowledge of science to even get to medical school and be able to cope.
So 3 years ago and not a single successful candidate with C or D grades since. Of course there are always avenues for exceptional late developers as per the case above but in general it is clear the vast majority of doctors and lawyers are A grade candidates not C or D grade or below
My daughter lives in Charminster in Bournemouth. A nice place to live. However there is absolutely no off road parking. The Council have instigated a one way system as with cars parked either side of the road there is only room for one car to pass. There are literally thousands of houses with no off road parking. If they all had electric cars how would they charge them. A charger unit would have to installed for each house, but then there is no guarantee that you could park outside your house. Are we going to have hundreds of cables draped across pavements? And what a laugh it would br for teenagers to unplug the chargers.
Well, electric cars clearly aren't for everyone right now.
But this is a continuum: every year, every bit of the electric car ownership equation gets better.
So, prices get lower. A brand new F150 Electric pickup is $45,000. That's barely any more than the regular one. Compare that to six or seven years ago, when Teslas were at least 50% more than equivalent petrol cars.
And range is only improving. The Tesla Model S Long Range will do 420 miles to the... errr... tank. That's almost twice the range of the first Model S (250 miles) from 2013, and that increase has come in seven years.
And the charging infrastructure is going to get better and better. Chargers in street lamps. Chargers in parking garages. Chargers at supermarkets.
And the speed of fast charging has also increased enormously. The first generation of Tesla supercharger would add 80 miles of range in 20 minutes (and that seemed like magic). Current 350KW chargers can add 240 miles in the same time. How long before a complete charge is just 10 minutes? At that point, petrol stations start adding electric car charging facilities, because why not?
I agree. The future isn't a charger for every house. Much as petrol cars began with the owner sourcing the petrol but moved to petrol stations, EVs are undergoing the same shift. But since cars are already mass-market, the shift is happening faster.
My brother bought one a year or so ago, and has had no problem charging it. He lives in a flat, no charger at home, but nearby streets and supermarkets especially provide ample coverage for him. He says that what others told him was true: For the first month you constantly worry about charging it, and then you never think about it again.
Everyone with a smartphone will have had times when their battery failed at an inconvenient moment and that will affect confidence in relying on battery power for cars, until people have contrary experience with battery cars.
Does anyone know how long the batteries hold charge for, if a car is unused for a week or two?
Comments
Visiting Hiroshima I learned that bomb 2 was destined for Kyoto. However some senior General had spent his honeymoon there and didn't like the idea of the place being obliterated so the bomb was switched to target 3 Nagasaki.The general consensus was Nagasaki was more of a handy scientific experiment rather than an act to end the war, which to all intents and purposes was over after Hiroshima.
Moral there.
I do sometimes wonder how I'd get on applying for a 'proper' job as I've almost only ever been self-employed.
Here goes. Off to LHR
And what does the article say? UK will be rescuing the EU.
What PCR test are you going to buy? Recommendations?
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cats-free-meals.html
..."There is an entire body of research that shows that most species including birds, rodents, wolves, primates—even giraffes—prefer to work for their food," said lead author Mikel Delgado, a cat behaviorist and research affiliate at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "What's surprising is out of all these species cats seem to be the only ones that showed no strong tendency to contrafreeload.”…
If, instead, A-levels are supposed to reflect how much a student knows about a subject, then it is quite possible that today's students really can speak Italian better than their predecessors, because of cheaper holidays and easier access to Italian videos on Youtube.
Looked at another way, if someone said there were more 18-year-olds with driving licences than 30 years ago, you'd not be too shocked. But if someone said they were twice as intelligent, you would smell a rat. So are A-levels supposed to be like driving tests or intelligence tests?
Nowadays the internet contains virtually everything and is available instantly for most people. Which means that you can quickly become a world expert in Disney rides lore were that of interest to you (I say that as Eek Jr 1 bored us with that yesterday while distracting herself to avoid panicking).
So I can easily believe that results are better now than 30 years ago. What is harder to explain is why results in 2021 don't tally with 2019, but that has everything to do with the disaster that has been exams since March 2020...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-33755182
A major reason for dropping the second bomb was to prove that the nukes were on a production line. All the experts not aware of the Manhattan Project believed that the effort to make a bomb would so stupendous that each one would take years.
In fact the Japanese scientists told the Japanese war cabinet exactly that - that Hiroshima might well be a one-off, with no more nukes in the immediate future.
This is why Groves setup a production line - the plan, halted by the end of the war, was to be producing 3-10 nukes. Per month. By December 1945.
https://apply.joinsherpa.com/map?affiliateid=ba
It explicitly says, if you’re flying to Greece with BA, and you’re double jabbed, you do NOT need a test pre-departure
*well, maybe not interesting
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.accounts.5b00214
If everyone is getting more intelligent and knowledgeable about the world all to the good. However there are still only about the same number of doctors and lawyers and teachers we need percentage wise as 50 years ago.
There is no reason why everyone should not be able to drive, so all you need is a mere pass to be safe on the roads that is all. The driving test is not equivalent
I didn't have them and had to check with the school, who didn't have them obviously, but made a guess of which exam boards might, since even during my time some were under different boards.
Some of the boards refund you if they dont find anything, others just take the money regardless. Those are the dickish ones.
Tick box bureaucratic culture is so stupid. And even most bureaucrats aren't that silly.
Entry requirements
You must have achieved the following minimum requirements to be eligible to apply for PGCE programmes:
You'll need to hold an undergraduate degree awarded by a UK higher education provider, or a recognised equivalent qualification.
You’ll need to have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C/4, or above, in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.
https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1425090045103509515?s=20
Does this mean the T Rex really did want to hunt not be fed?
But you/I need to take a test before we return from Greece in the three days before the transport departs and then a PCR test on Day 2 after we return.
Mr Meeks, in what someone could perhaps term Strasbourg Syndrome, had a rather paranoid delusion that Brexit meant that medicines would cease to enter the UK, which could be fatal for his loved one. In World War Two the UK pulled every string to ensure the country never ran out of tea, yet in peace time he thought for some twisted reason that Brexit would mean that the country couldn't import medicines let alone tea. He attempted to exploit this delusion to win an argument by basically shutting down debate and saying it was unacceptable to risk his loved one's health by proceeding with Brexit.
I completely discounted this argument and thought it was absurd and called him out on it. He took great offence at that and stropped off.
As it happened, his paranoid delusion has been shown as just that. There was never a realistic prospect that medicines would be blocked from entering the UK due to Brexit, it was a farcical thing to get upset over.
I wish him well and hope he recovers from his Strasbourg Syndrome and ceases to get so upset about these things. Good luck to him, the site is poorer for his absence.
Bon voyage.
It doesn't. It picks the ones most able to answer the questions in the way they are presented.
For instance I won an award a national Journalism back in 1989. Given that the previous year my English Teacher announced the O level results with the statement "Congratulations, you've all passed English Language O level, yes that includes Eek" you can see why it doesn't work.
It was overdone. And beneath him, as he’s so clever.
Come back MR MEEKS
I'd expect that equation to shift as electricity decarbonises.
https://twitter.com/LasVegasLocally/status/1424972869943971845?s=20
ARE MY DOCUMENTS IN ORDER
This must be what it felt like for the guys in The Great Escape. I wonder if a BA spy will try and catch me out with a trick question as I board the plane, and I will be hauled away and silenced forever.
Incidentally, one group of students will have lost out. Consider poor old @Dura_Ace's tutees. They'd likely have done better in the exams than their teachers expected, because they have had extra tuition unbeknownst to their teachers. As it is, they've wasted their money (unless they really did want to know more foreign words).
Though you still get the odd person arguing that "If we assume that 100% of electricity comes from coal...."
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/07/electric-cars-have-much-lower-life-cycle-emissions-new-study-confirms/
'Why thank y...oh shit.'
It is indeed part of his job description.
In fact back then fewer pupils passed English O level as a percentage than the percentage of A level pupils who got an A* or A grade A level today
I might pretend I’m blind.
He many not get far in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire posing as "Son of Scargill", I suspect. But I wouldn't try to call it, depending on who the exact group are.
Is this on the podcast?
Of course we know it's because people will lie like cheap naafi watches if they have to self-certify with a brought-along test but even still.
Being a successful lawyer or doctor however tends to correlate with those who did best at school and got the highest marks in their law and medical exams
You will need four additional things to get back into UK:
1) a negative test. This can be LFT or PCR. The company I have used twice for this is Qured. You set up a video call (make sure you have good wifi where you are going) and they video call you at the allotted time and watch you take the test. Ten minutes later you message them a photo of the result. They will then message/email you the result in certificate form half an hour later.You have to order before you go away and take test in case with you of course. Alternatively you will be scratting around in your destination wasting time looking for a local test provider;
2) UK's Passenger Locator Form;
3) Evidence of vaccination status;
4) evidence that you have booked and paid for a Day 2 PCR test.
The above applies whether you are visiting a Green or an Amber country.
AFAICS no-one takes much notice of your doing the actual PCR test after return, the check being whether you can produce a booking code to show you have bought one, before they let you back in.
Ha - that's exactly what I've done twice - worked perfectly.
For the event research programme (eg Ascot and some other sports) I think only 15% of people ended up taking their post event PCR test.
I want my doctor to be smart enough to make the diagnosis/perform the treatment, but I also want them to care, want to help people, be good with people.
I want my teacher to be smart enough to understand the things I need to be taught and to give useful answers to my questions - at GCSE and A level that's not that high a bar, but I also want them, perhaps more so, to inspire me, care and be good at communication.
I want everyone else's lawyers to be as thick as two short planks
We've interviewed smart people (on paper) and found them incurious and poorly suited to the research we do, which involves working with and communicating with doctors and patients.
Exams are the thing that make people work (mostly) at school and probably the best tool to decide who is suited to higher education, who not so much etc etc. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the object of the exercise is to teach people about the world and equip them to go and do useful things. Too much focus on exams risks losing focus on the actual teaching and learning.
The risk, of course, is the 72 hour before return to UK test. What if you test positive! Travelling as a family we have to have contingency plans thought out for the eventuality.
Same with lawyers, if you do not have a knowledge of the law you cannot advise on the law.
Same with teachers, yes inspiring is good but at the end of the day you are a teacher transferring knowledge not an actor giving a performance.
As a matter of curiosity when was the last time you employed candidates with C or D grades or lower across the board?
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/823068/national-travel-survey-2018.pdf
And is £75 from Qured the going rate for the Day 2 test?
Sorry to treat PB as my own personal Simon Calder session it's much appreciated.
But this is a continuum: every year, every bit of the electric car ownership equation gets better.
So, prices get lower. A brand new F150 Electric pickup is $45,000. That's barely any more than the regular one. Compare that to six or seven years ago, when Teslas were at least 50% more than equivalent petrol cars.
And range is only improving. The Tesla Model S Long Range will do 420 miles to the... errr... tank. That's almost twice the range of the first Model S (250 miles) from 2013, and that increase has come in seven years.
And the charging infrastructure is going to get better and better. Chargers in street lamps. Chargers in parking garages. Chargers at supermarkets.
And the speed of fast charging has also increased enormously. The first generation of Tesla supercharger would add 80 miles of range in 20 minutes (and that seemed like magic). Current 350KW chargers can add 240 miles in the same time. How long before a complete charge is just 10 minutes? At that point, petrol stations start adding electric car charging facilities, because why not?
Re Day 2 test - I've only used Randox and from memory I think £48 but some airline discounts may be available - not sure.
As for you last question, 2018 (as I recall it was two Cs and a D, certainly nothing above C). The person in question wanted to be a doctor at the time, but failed to get the grades. Went into nursing instead and through that into research. Now a Senior Research Fellow (equivalent grade to Senior Lecturer, one below Professor). I only remember because she was - rightly - proud of how she'd turned things around, we wouldn't ordinarily have looked much at the A level results, but her letter highlighted them, the experience was relevant to the job.
My brother bought one a year or so ago, and has had no problem charging it. He lives in a flat, no charger at home, but nearby streets and supermarkets especially provide ample coverage for him. He says that what others told him was true: For the first month you constantly worry about charging it, and then you never think about it again.
Unbelievably, I still have friends who are even now frightened to travel abroad even though they are fully vaccinated, tested the fuck out of and will likely be visiting a country with lower Covid prevalence than they are living in at home. They are more at risk in a UK supermarket (or any other indoor UK space). Pea brains.
Controversially I also think that a medical or veterinary degree is waste of 3/4 good A*s at A level. Intellectually, all you need is a good memory and the ability to pass exams as well as a new copy of the BNF in their pocket. Then you need the bedside manner and strength of mind and body to do the hours on the wards.
Slowly, the horrors abate
So 3 years ago and not a single successful candidate with C or D grades since. Of course there are always avenues for exceptional late developers as per the case above but in general it is clear the vast majority of doctors and lawyers are A grade candidates not C or D grade or below
Does anyone know how long the batteries hold charge for, if a car is unused for a week or two?