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A sensible pass for S204 (biology)
2011-12-07 12:19:00 As usual, the Open University results were in earlier than planned so yesterday I found out that I’d passed S204 and was well clear of 40% too. Just as well really as there’s no way that I’d have been able to fit in even more revision for the resit in April. From the 297 students around ... Related posts:Finally winding down from the SK277 biology exam Analysing the ED209 course results Getting going on the biology (S204) revision The astronomy (S282) exam Exams are funny old things, aren’t they? More About: Education , Biology , Pass
Adjusting to a new subject
2011-12-01 10:58:00 I’ve been plugging away with biology for a couple of years now. Starting from scratch, biology was seriously difficult at the start but a couple of years down the line I’m thinking like a biologist. Thus, despite having done quite a lot of chemistry a long time ago, it was a bit of a jolt ... Related posts:Getting started on SK185 Using short courses to get up to speed with the long ones Molecules, medicines and drugs: a chemical story (SK185) is here! The first autism (SK124) iCMA Picking up sketching More About: Education , Chemistry
Tidying up the finances when someone goes into a nursing home
2011-11-30 10:09:00 Mum’s journey into a nursing home was largely unplanned for and constantly suffering from delays on the part of social services but she’s been there for several months now. That’s created a much greater involvement with social services and social security than we’ve had up to now and it’s something of a nightmare on the ... Related posts:Finding a nursing home The hot potatoe that’s care for the elderly Are there any sensible lessons being learned following the Baby P fiasco? The knee-jerk reaction following the Baby P fiasco has already started Are the Social Services people a good thing or not? More About: Society , Politics , Family , Finances , Home
Recession or depression?
2011-11-28 19:08:00 Nobody is openly calling it a depression but then it’s a difficult call to say whether you’re in a depression or not when you’re actually in the midst of one. Aside from the obvious financial difficulties that a growing list of countries are finding themselves in, signs this time around are seemingly all around on ... Related posts:So much for the economy picking up Customer service jobs in the hard times Can prices really continue to fall for much longer? Finding a nursing home Tidying up the financial landscape More About: Politics , Economy , Depression
Picking up sketching
2011-11-24 16:21:00 Whilst playing around with book borrowing on the Android, I came across a brilliant little book on sketching: You can draw in 30 days. I’ve always meant to learn how to draw properly and this book is just the ticket for that. Each lesson takes around 20 minutes or so to do though there are ... Related posts:Driving Lessons in Gateshead Finally the world archaeology (A251) website is live Spreading out the psychology books The final week of the astronomy (S282) revision The World Archaeology (A251) research assignment More About: Education
The first autism (SK124) iCMA
2011-11-13 11:24:00 This is the first course where I’ve had an iCMA to do. In principle they’re the same as CMAs but, if the first one is anything to go by, they’re much shorter (only four questions), you have to do them whilst you’re online and you can’t print them out to mull over. Shorter is certainly ... Related posts:Starting off on the autism (SK124) course Oh dear – another slip-up with the Open University TT281 course CMA Adjusting to a new subject Open University open days Are online tutorials worth bothering with? More About: Education , Autism , Psychology
Starting off on the autism (SK124) course
2011-10-26 18:50:00 I’m doing this one basically to ease myself back into the psychology and a brief leaf through the DVD last week showed up a whole bunch of relatively familiar terminology. This is one of the new-style online tutoring courses which in principle should be excellent but, so far, they don’t seem to have hit on ... Related posts:Getting going on the final run of TT280 Starting to relax again with the courses The web applications (TT280) ECA Pretty much back on schedule Racing ahead, keeping ahead or just sticking to the Open University course schedule More About: Education , Autism , Psychology
So what will happen with Greece in the end?
2011-10-20 10:47:00 The basic problem that Greece seems to have is that it has never really properly adjusted from the days when it could devalue the Dracma every couple of years. In such an environment, you don’t really need to worry too much about creating a real economy as you can always pull in more tourists by ... Related posts:Consolidating your business debts Getting a new credit card during the credit crunch Will the euro survive the recession? Some good signs on the financial front Is working from home really viable these days? More About: Economy , Finance
On to chemistry (S205)
2011-10-18 11:47:00 Despite downing tools with everything except preparation for the biology exam for the last couple of weeks I’ve managed to remain broadly on schedule with the chemistry reading so far. Unfortunately, there’s quite a lot of stuff to be done on the DVD as well and some of that is required for the first assignment ... Related posts:The chemistry (S205) course opens up Finally winding down from the SK277 biology exam Coming up to exam time The human biology course vs the cardiovascular diseases one SK277 exam revision strategy More About: Education , Chemistry
The 2011 biology (S204) exam
2011-10-13 19:55:00 This morning saw the final S204 exam as it’s being replaced by S294 from next year plus another course a year or two later. As usual the two short answer questions were all over the place requiring quite a comprehensive knowledge of the course contents to be able to fully answer 12 from the 18 ... Related posts:Finally winding down from the SK277 biology exam The final SK277 (human biology) tutorial SK277 exam strategy On to chemistry (S205) SK277: the 2010 exam More About: Education , Biology , Exam
A slightly more tricky second CMA for the web applications course (TT280)
2010-10-27 10:40:00 The first CMA of the course hardly required any thought at all but this one makes up for it. Not in a big way mind you as I’ve around 1/3rd of the questions completed at the first run through. The remainder will require a bit more thinking about although there’s scope for a fair amount ... Related posts:The web applications (TT280) ECA Moving on through Molecules, Medicines and Drugs (SK185) Towards the end of the Molecules, Medicines and Drugs (SK185) ECA Good progress on the SXR270 ECA The astronomy (S282) exam More About: Education , Applications , Computing , Tricky
Want to know how the universe works?
2010-10-27 10:25:00 S197 is one of those Open University courses that people are rather put off by as it’s acquired a reputation of being one of the most difficult of the science short courses. There’s reason behind that view too. It seems to have a fair amount of both mathematics and weird terminology if the extract from ... Related posts:Shifting sands with the Open University courses More difficult than expected course decisions Even more course options Doing courses in a peculiar order Mulling over several competing options for 2010 courses More About: Education , Universe , Physics , Works
Tidying up the unfinished car administration from years back
2010-10-26 21:32:00 When we moved to France we drove our car there with the intention of officially importing it at some stage. However, we were rather busy in the first few months in France setting things up, then spent the rest of that first year trying to catch up on various bits of administration that we’d put ... Related posts:Buying a house in France: Part 22: French administration Where is “home” when you’ve moved to live in France? Crazy car insurance companies in France Extricating oneself from the French administration Buying a house in France: part 23: French documentation: ID card, Livre de Famille and proof of address More About: Back , Administration , Years , Unfinished
Into week 3 of World Archaeology (A251)
2010-10-26 10:16:00 Since I finished reading the week 2 material so early in the week, I’m making a small start on week 3. This moves on from consideration of the invention of agriculture in south west Asia to look at how it developed in south-east Asia. For the first time this highlights some differences in how things ... Related posts:SK277 exam revision strategy The web applications (TT280) ECA A bit of handholding at the start with World Archaeology (A251) Time to make a start on World Archaeology (A251) The final week of the astronomy (S282) revision More About: Education , History , Week
The web applications (TT280) ECA
2010-10-25 10:03:00 I left this course to the one side for a couple of weeks whilst revising for the astronomy exam so it was Saturday before I found that I’d my expected two weeks worth of work to be done (which took a couple of hours) and that the ECA had arrived the day before. In terms ... Related posts:Towards the end of the Molecules, Medicines and Drugs (SK185) ECA Into week 3 of World Archaeology (A251) TT280 Web Applications : Design, Development and Management A slightly more tricky second CMA for the web applications course (TT280) ED209 revision notes: messing up the Open University More About: Education , Computing
Missing the Kumon, adjusting to Kip McGrath
2010-10-23 10:44:00 Probably the biggest plus point of the Kumon is that you need to sit down five nights a week with the kids to get the homework done. It was, of course, the biggest minus point too as it’s a 365 day a year deal which meant that, in practice, one or other of the little ... Related posts:Exit Kumon and enter Kip McGrath Off to Kip McGrath Kumon or Kip McGrath? Getting carried away with Kumon Is Kumon getting too popular? More About: Education , School , Missing
Commission in the not so good times
2010-10-22 10:14:00 The biggest problem with commission payments is that they’re dependent on transactions taking place. That’s fine during good economic times. Nobody minds too much paying the estate agent a few thousand to sell their house when house prices are rising and houses are selling in a reasonable time. Moreover, when the estate agent values (ie ... Related posts:Just how bad could a real recession actually get? So how bad might the economy be…? Will the housing market ever get out of this nightmare market? May you live in interesting times Can prices really continue to fall for much longer? More About: Economy , Finance , Commission , Times , Good
Towards the end of the Molecules, Medicines and Drugs (SK185) ECA
2010-10-21 18:47:00 Although we’re constantly reminded that the Open University has all kinds of checks in place to detect plagiarism, there’s a constant stream of hits on this site around TMA/ECA submission time looking for “SK185 answers”, “molecules medicines and drugs answers” and all kinds of variations on those. Since SK185 is a short course there’s getting ... Related posts:Moving on through Molecules, Medicines and Drugs (SK185) Molecules, medicines and drugs: a chemical story (SK185) is here! The web applications (TT280) ECA Getting started on SK185 Good progress on the SXR270 ECA More About: Education , Chemistry
Which travel money card is the best?
2010-10-21 10:55:00 Prepaid cards seem to be breeding like rabbits around the world and every single one is different from the others in terms of charges, features and general usability. Rather than trawl through all the cards that would pay me to recommend them to you as the majority of card comparison sites do, I’m just going ... Related posts:Taking your holiday money to America A drift from Visa to Mastercard: holiday implications How should you take your holiday money? Cash? Travel lers Cheques? Credit Card s? Debit Cards? Where can you find the cheapest travel money card? Picking the best credit card More About: Money , Banking
A bit of handholding at the start with World Archaeology (A251)
2010-10-20 13:30:00 I’m nearly through the first week of the course now which hasn’t taken quite so long as the 16 hours it suggests. It looks like about two to three hours will be enough to complete although the course hasn’t really quite started in the first unit of the course so that could change. The first ... Related posts:Time to make a start on World Archaeology (A251) Into week 3 of World Archaeology (A251) The web applications (TT280) ECA Roaring ahead with TT280 Shorter Open University courses More About: Education , History , Start
Is the Euro just too strong for the good of the European economy?
2008-06-08 19:13:00 The actions that the American, British and Euro pean central banks have taken have all affected their respective exchange rates of course. We’ve seen the pound move from a typical $1.50 to more like $2 these days and that’s obviously had quite a considerable effect on international trade between the two countries which has always been substantial. ... More About: Business , Economy , Finance , European
Facing foreclosure and want some help?
2008-06-08 19:04:00 With the credit crisis in full swing there are a lot of people out there in need of some foreclosure help. Fortunately, that crisis has spawned a whole industry aimed at helping those in financial difficulties. Help and advice abound if only you know where to look for it. Time might well look pretty bleak but ... More About: America , Finance , Foreclosure , Facing
Want to speed up your computer?
2008-06-08 18:58:00 If you just want a bit more oomph out of your computer then the best approach is to look at the amount of swap space that’s being used. Eh? Don’t worry about the terminology, it’s just a number! Just right click on an empty bit of the task bar at the bottome of the screen and ... More About: Technology , Computer , Computing , Speed , Speed up
Almost into the summer toy buying time
2008-06-08 18:50:00 As the summer holidays approach, so too does the time when you’ll be looking for stuff to fill up the hours that the school used to wear out the little guys. These days the assumption that everything is electronic is deeply ingrained, but it doesn’t need to be that way. For instance, our little guys were ... More About: Shopping , Buying , Summer , Time
The easiest and cheapest upgrade
2008-06-08 18:44:00 When your computer is running slowly the tendency is to think that it’s time you needed one with a faster processor but often that’s not the problem. In fact, the laptop memory is by far the most important factor in affecting the speed at which your laptop runs. It’s also about the cheapest upgrade you can do. ... More About: Computing
Why is it that the diesel in Spain lasts longer than the diesel in France?
2008-06-08 18:28:00 One thing that constantly confuses is that whenever we have a trip to Spain the diesel that we’ve bought there seems to last considerably longer than when the diesel that we ordinarily buy in France . A LOT longer too. For example, we filled the car up Friday a week ago in Spain, have been running around ... More About: Diesel
Cash advance loans
2008-06-04 20:39:00 These come under all kinds of different names but basically they’re an advance on your salary. That means that obviously you need to be in employment to get one and usually for at least three months. You’ll also need a bank account as payment is directly into your bank account. Finally, as they’re effectively an advance on your salary you need to pay them back when your salary next arrives in your account. Payday loans tend to look as though they’re incredibly expensive when you look at the rate of interest but then that’s calculated on an annual basis and these loans are for less than a month so, yes, the interest rate looks high but the amount actually charged isn’t as bad as you might think. Cash advances couldn’t be called cheap but are a useful way out to fill in the gap that most of us get towards the end of the month and before the next payday. More About: Loans
Overlapping courses
2008-06-04 20:31:00 Of the two courses that I’m seriously thinking of doing next year, both overlap the English course that I’m doing at the moment. The problem isn’t so much that I’d be doing two courses at once for a long time but the reverse of that as the new courses start just one week before the current course ends. That means that, of course, I’d be starting the new course one week behind the course schedule. Would it matter though? I actually started my current course two days ahead of schedule and find myself around 10 weeks ahead at the moment so it’s certainly possible to pick up speed. However, on other courses I’ve started anything up to a month ahead and finished up behind schedule. In that Engineering the Future is a 30 point course and Exploring Psychology is a 60 point one it sounds like it would be easier to pick up lost time on the engineering one. However, I gather that it’s quite an addicting subject and I definitely want to be doing ...
Looking for a car loan?
2008-06-04 19:59:00 Thankfully this year we’re not looking for another car loan although, despite the credit crunch, they’re still fairly easy to obtain. Even if you’ve got so-called bad credit, it’s usually still possible to get one and surprisingly it doesn’t mean that you need to choose some old clunker because the car loan people tend to prefer you to get something that’s going to be fairly reliable when they’re offering you a used car loan. As always, of course, these loans are usually cheaper when you get them online. Things to look out for are offers for first time buyers and whether they’ll take your existing car as a trade-in. More About: Loan
What course next?
More articles from this author:2008-06-02 21:37:00 Although I never thought the day would come when I’d be talking of completing my modern languages degree, I find myself on the final course of that at the moment. That means that after six years I am in the position of looking around for something to do that doesn’t fall under the heading of “modern ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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