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Nov 14, 2023 8:50:12 GMT
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Post by rodge on Nov 14, 2023 8:50:12 GMT
Day 2 of interviewing interns.
Yesterday afternoon was decent enough with some good candidates.
Weirdest moment was at the end of one interview when the candidate started promoting the podcast they were working on for the university!
Another had written an essay about Space X and why the mission to Mars would fail. She made some good points and then started talking about how Elon Musk is a businessman and not an engineer or a scientist.
One candidate was excellent and will probably get offered a position.
His interview was going ok and then he showed us a project he did in 2 weeks, not realising how close it is to the data analysis that we do. The quality of his work and his understanding of the problem was excellent.
Anyway, more to start in half an hour.
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Post by johnc on Nov 14, 2023 9:00:44 GMT
One candidate was excellent and will probably get offered a position. His interview was going ok and then he showed us a project he did in 2 weeks, not realising how close it is to the data analysis that we do. The quality of his work and his understanding of the problem was excellent. Just occasionally you get a nugget like that and you need to do all you can to hold on to them. We employed a girl 3 years ago who fitted that description and the reality of her work was every bit as good as we hoped. Unfortunately, after 18 months a former employer found out where she was and poached her. We couldn't compete with the fact that they were only 5 minutes from her house and we were about 40 minutes away on a good day, if the M8 was behaving itself. |
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Nov 21, 2023 8:00:03 GMT
Post by PG on Nov 21, 2023 8:00:03 GMT
Cazoo, the online car retailer that is in financial trouble has been taken over by its bondholders. This line from the report stands out - "The company is currently valued at $14m. When it listed in the US in 2021, Cazoo raised $1bn to value it at $8bn.". Wow, that's some fall in value!
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Nov 27, 2023 17:19:12 GMT
Post by Tim on Nov 27, 2023 17:19:12 GMT
We've got a tree surgeon/landscaper doing some bits in the garden at the moment and he's currently, I mean right now, taking out some strainer posts (the big end posts that wire fences attach to) with a farm jack and a chainsaw - he pulls them out a foot or so and then cuts the bottom off which goes some way to filling the hole.
Its pitch black outside and has been raining for about 10 minutes and he's doing all this by the light of a head torch!
Who needs H&S?!?!
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Nov 27, 2023 17:29:22 GMT
Post by johnc on Nov 27, 2023 17:29:22 GMT
That, and a lot of smart thinking is what put the Great in Great Britain. Not sure we will ever get back to the "great" days. What is he doing that needs the strainer posts taking out? There's going to be a lot of saggy wire. |
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Nov 28, 2023 8:00:04 GMT
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 28, 2023 8:00:04 GMT
The thing is, in future, when he is having his fingers stitched back on, he can reflect on the many times previously when he got away with it.
Farming in particular has a diabolical H&S record, with many, many people who have got away with it previously, not quite getting away this time. I often think, "there but for the will of God" when I look back to some of the scrapes and near-misses I had.
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Post by Tim on Nov 28, 2023 8:36:09 GMT
That, and a lot of smart thinking is what put the Great in Great Britain. Not sure we will ever get back to the "great" days. What is he doing that needs the strainer posts taking out? There's going to be a lot of saggy wire. We've spent a lot of the summer tidying the garden up and he's been putting some kerb edging in then adding more gravel. I removed all the wire the first summer we were here (3 1/2 years ago, hard to believe) and had dug out 5 strainer posts but they're 3 feet in and the ground is quite stony so it took most of a day for each one. These are the last ones and 3 of them were in the middle of a large grass area. Using a farm jack appears to cut the time taken from a day per post to about 20 minutes, including backfilling, etc. He's already appeared this morning and has all hands and feet still attached  |
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Dec 4, 2023 17:45:23 GMT
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Post by rodge on Dec 4, 2023 17:45:23 GMT
Drove up north today. Uneventful drive with not much traffic.
On the return journey, I left my jacket on- it’s one I bought at Regatta and is fluorescent yellow and black- it was cold and wet out so perfect jacket for the day.
Anyway, on the way home, I was making decent progress and driving a bit above the limit in the outside lane, overtaking traffic, when a car pulled out in front of me.
The driver was behaving weirdly and ducked down to do something then looked up quickly, indicated and pulled over to the side.
Strange behaviour, but my wife pointed out that I probably looked like a policeman.
Unmarked Mondeo, dayglow jacket, over 6’ tall with a short haircut.
Maybe I should dress like this on long journeys more often.
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Dec 4, 2023 21:00:36 GMT
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rodge likes this
Post by Roadrunner on Dec 4, 2023 21:00:36 GMT
Drove up north today. Uneventful drive with not much traffic. On the return journey, I left my jacket on- it’s one I bought at Regatta and is fluorescent yellow and black- it was cold and wet out so perfect jacket for the day. Anyway, on the way home, I was making decent progress and driving a bit above the limit in the outside lane, overtaking traffic, when a car pulled out in front of me. The driver was behaving weirdly and ducked down to do something then looked up quickly, indicated and pulled over to the side. Strange behaviour, but my wife pointed out that I probably looked like a policeman. Unmarked Mondeo, dayglow jacket, over 6’ tall with a short haircut. Maybe I should dress like this on long journeys more often. Back in the 70s my dad drove a white Rover. He found that if he drove with the headlights on, everyone got out of the way and let him through. |
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Dec 5, 2023 8:32:18 GMT
Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2023 8:32:18 GMT
I remember experiencing something similar a few times while going to work in a white shirt with a dark tie.
It was even more effective if there were 2 of us similarly dressed in the car.
Not sure what the other road users were thinking though because it was back when I had a Punto, not a car known for its undercover plod usage!
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Dec 14, 2023 18:01:43 GMT
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Post by rodge on Dec 14, 2023 18:01:43 GMT
Passport was within 6 months of expiring so I ordered a new one on Monday evening.
It arrived by post today.
Don’t think I’ve ever had one arrive within 72 hours of ordering!
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Dec 18, 2023 15:56:29 GMT
Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 18, 2023 15:56:29 GMT
OK - my sister just mentioned that one of her clients has bought this at auction - what is it? And how much did it go for?  |
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Dec 18, 2023 17:23:52 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 18, 2023 17:23:52 GMT
Freddie Mercury's shower door?
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Dec 18, 2023 19:00:31 GMT
Post by Boxer6 on Dec 18, 2023 19:00:31 GMT
Freddie Mercury's shower door?  |
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Dec 18, 2023 19:10:16 GMT
Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 18, 2023 19:10:16 GMT
Freddie Mercury's shower door? Spot on! She wants it mounted on her wall. Guess how much she paid for it? |
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Dec 18, 2023 19:14:06 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 18, 2023 19:14:06 GMT
No idea. You've got to log in to Sotheby's to see the result. Guide was a few hundred.
I did Google art deco glass door FM and that was in the list of pictures.
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Dec 18, 2023 19:38:53 GMT
Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 18, 2023 19:38:53 GMT
No idea. You've got to log in to Sotheby's to see the result. Guide was a few hundred. I did Google art deco glass door FM and that was in the list of pictures. £16.5k 😀 |
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Dec 18, 2023 19:45:10 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 18, 2023 19:45:10 GMT
Bloody Hell! 😂
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Dec 18, 2023 20:01:35 GMT
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Post by bryan on Dec 18, 2023 20:01:35 GMT
No idea. You've got to log in to Sotheby's to see the result. Guide was a few hundred. I did Google art deco glass door FM and that was in the list of pictures. £16.5k 😀 Bloody hell but If that door could talk.... |
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Dec 18, 2023 20:20:06 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 18, 2023 20:20:06 GMT
Yeah, no thanks. 😂
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Dec 19, 2023 21:59:47 GMT
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Post by rodge on Dec 19, 2023 21:59:47 GMT
Work Christmas lunch today.
Won a hamper- happy with that!
However, there were Christmas crackers and the jokes were as bad as usual, until this one.:
What’s E.T. short for?
Because he’s got tiny legs…
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Dec 22, 2023 18:23:54 GMT
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Post by rodge on Dec 22, 2023 18:23:54 GMT
Left the house late as usual this morning and the news was just starting.
They announced that today is “national go slow day” and for people to watch their speeds as the police will be out and about.
I was in the car on 4 occasions, all involved motorway driving, speeds varied from 30-75mph depending on the roads.
Amount of drivers with no lights on was surprisingly low, although this seems to be a thing with taxi drivers.
Amount of speeding vehicles was about zero.
Amount of police seen, despite being within a mile of the station, was also zero.
Very successful day.
I did manage to clock 39 kph on the speed display in the work car park today in a 20kph zone, while approaching a sharp speed bump.
Proud of that.
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Jan 11, 2024 7:31:07 GMT
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Post by Andy C on Jan 11, 2024 7:31:07 GMT
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Jan 11, 2024 8:57:14 GMT
Post by Tim on Jan 11, 2024 8:57:14 GMT
I've seen ads on TV for 0% on all Cupras too, I think it includes the petrol ones although the ad shows a Born.
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Jan 21, 2024 9:20:32 GMT
Post by rodge on Jan 21, 2024 9:20:32 GMT
Work Christmas do was on yesterday so a bunch of us met in the pub at 2pm.
The company booked it in the new year last year too as there’s a lot more available to choose from, location wise.
The food was great (Ham hock for starter, feather blade of beef followed by sticky toffee pudding, and the cheese cake that the coworker beside me ordered but disappeared when it was served), although I could have done with eating earlier- starting the day off by doing my local parkrun and another 5k on top of that probably didn’t help.
The bar was free but limited- no good whiskey available, but whiskey sours were.
As a result, I ended up drinking 2 pints of Guinness, 8 whiskey sours, a baby Guinness and a glass of red wine.
I left at around 9pm, walked the 1.8 miles to the city centre as for some reason, there were no busses running down that way, grabbed a takeaway as I was still hungry, got the bus home and walked the remaining mile to my house.
Didn’t feel drunk, no difficulty walking, or speaking.
Woke up this morning with no hangover.
I think at almost 50, that’s not a bad return for the day.
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Jan 22, 2024 17:49:10 GMT
Post by PG on Jan 22, 2024 17:49:10 GMT
....As a result, I ended up drinking 2 pints of Guinness, 8 whiskey sours, a baby Guinness and a glass of red wine. ..Didn’t feel drunk, no difficulty walking, or speaking. Woke up this morning with no hangover. I think at almost 50, that’s not a bad return for the day. Blimey! If I made it to the end of that lot (which I doubt) I'd need a week to recover. |
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Jan 22, 2024 19:26:21 GMT
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Post by rodge on Jan 22, 2024 19:26:21 GMT
....As a result, I ended up drinking 2 pints of Guinness, 8 whiskey sours, a baby Guinness and a glass of red wine. ..Didn’t feel drunk, no difficulty walking, or speaking. Woke up this morning with no hangover. I think at almost 50, that’s not a bad return for the day. Blimey! If I made it to the end of that lot (which I doubt) I'd need a week to recover. I’m not a big drinker. We reckon the whiskey sours although nice, were possibly weaker than they should be. Most people who were on them didn’t have much of a hangover the next morning. I’d be in bits after that much normally too. |
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Jan 23, 2024 8:20:03 GMT
Post by Tim on Jan 23, 2024 8:20:03 GMT
A colleague at work left their laptop bag (containing the laptop and various other items) on a bus before Christmas.
In their defence they had a lot on their mind that day.
Imagine everybodys surprise on Friday when she got a call from the police to say it had been handed in and even more suprisingly everything was still in the bag.
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Jan 23, 2024 8:52:05 GMT
Post by johnc on Jan 23, 2024 8:52:05 GMT
A colleague at work left their laptop bag (containing the laptop and various other items) on a bus before Christmas. In their defence they had a lot on their mind that day. Imagine everybodys surprise on Friday when she got a call from the police to say it had been handed in and even more suprisingly everything was still in the bag. There are still good people in the world |
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Jan 23, 2024 19:20:34 GMT
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Post by rodge on Jan 23, 2024 19:20:34 GMT
That’s great to hear. Sadly not a common story anymore either.
In other news, I’ve just fallen victim to a salesman who called to my front door.
Selling broadband fibre.
I’m currently with Virgin who once the 12 month wooing period was up, pushed my 500mb from €45 to €70 a month.
Vodafone is my new suitor.
Also using fibre, but discounted as I’ve 2 business phones with them, giving me 1Gb for €30, rising to €40 after 6 months.
I had been planning to move provider anyway and Vodafone have better customer service than most over here.
Twice the speed for half the price isn’t bad, although the reality will probably be closer to the previously quoted speed for half the price.
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