Well that's a shame.

One of my study group, who has been a friend for years and who started the OU at the same time as me, has jacked the OU in 

He does have another course and placement to go too, which is great, but sad because it is the end of our OU journey together 

I think the last two modules, which i have moaned about plenty on here, have taken there toll on quite a few people on the Politics, Philosophy and Economics pathway.

So i will be plowwing on minus a good friend and good study partner.

I am still ahead of the study planner  but i am stuck in a funk.

All my motivation for my course has drained away.

Been thinking alot lately if it is worth carrying on with my degree.

I am 52, so it is hard to see how gaining a non vocational degree with help my job prospects.

If i graduate i will be 54 years old. I don't think it is going to really help my career that much, and i am already 12k in student debt, rising to 18k if i complete the course.

I really have not enjoyed this module or the previous one, i feel like i am just grinding on because it's become habit, more habit than enjoying learning.

I really don't know what the best thing to do is.

What to do...

Is it really that much of an achievement to gain a degree? Employers are know to not have as much respect for an open university degree as one's from bricks and mortar uni's... couple that with my age when i graduate and i often feel like i am engaged in a pointless exercise.

So i got 81% for tma 3.

That is my best score, so far this module.

Happy days 

Not many posts from me this week.

I have been busy writing my tma 03.

Tma 03 requires a post on the tutor group forum about an MPC decision, and requires my reply to another post plus a self reflection to score marks.

I put my post up 2 weeks ago, and responded to another post, to give everyone time to respond and get their own self reflections set up.

So far only 3 of us have bothered to do this, leaving another 12 students who think it is okay to leave it till the day the tma is due in, to post a comment, reply to a comment and write a shelf reflection about the comments on the forum.

That is bad form.

Hi every one,

no blog posts from me for one month, January is social media break time in our house.

All five of us took a 30 day break from the social media throughout January. January is often the hardest month of peoples mental health, so getting through that is supported by staying away from the social media mire as well.

So I am back now, I am continuing to leave Facebook alone, I have a ration of 1 hour a month going forward, as time to spend on the facebook. I think I will do my one hour in a single hit, I might even let myself post a picture on my time line.

Study is drudging along, it is now Tma 3 time, so the inflation targeting model, the Phillips curve, the virtual Phillips curve and Bank of England MPC decisions. The biggest consideration is really how inflation and the monetary measures to control it will create a negative output gap. A negative output gap is a trite phrase... given a formula (Ye-Y1). Left of the Virtual Phillips Curve (VPC) reduces inflation.  Such a simple little phrase, Negative Output Gap... what it really means to most people is unemployment, struggling to pay bills, debt, harm to mental health and heartache. But that is not as catchy as negative Output Gap, so economists stick to N.O.G. 

So the Virtual Phillips Curve, is a thing to aspire to. Hit it and you should have full employment, 2% inflation and savings and investments in parity. Fall short of it and you have a falling rate of inflation, unemployment and a shrinking economy. Go over it and you will trigger an inflationary cycle, which unchecked will lead to hyper inflation. Which will lead to economic collapse unemployment, heart ache and suffering.

So unemployment occurs either side of the VPC, got to get the MPC decisions right, to hit the VPC.

Which brings me to wonder, in any financial cycle, how many economist's are unemployed?

anyway, whilst I was away the counter hit 67,000 views, which is amazing. thank you to everyone who takes the time to visit me blog.

i will not be around tomorrow, so I want to take the opportunity today, to wish all my OU cohorts a happy Christmas and a peaceful new year.

hopefully 2019 will bring us all good grades and light at the end of our degree pathway tunnels.

It looks like my blog views will pass 60,000 by tomorrow, so thank you to everyone for that, I think 60,000 is an excellent achievement and I thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog.

I will be using the Christmas break to try and get ahead of the study planner, I usually do and in previous year it has given me some much needed breathing room leading up to the last section of the course.

So thank you for 2018 everyone and I will see you all in the new year,

Have a cool yule you all...

Wow, it gets harder every week!!!!

This week has been the Phillips curve and the Inflation curve.

Must not get confused by the fact that the IS and Phillips curves are not curves  just angled lines, in fact when output is in equilibrium with inflation, the Phillips curve is a straight vertical line.....

Simple really.

So I got the TMA 2 score back- 65%.

So I am averaging 60% so far for DD209.

I won't complain, it is a pass mark so far, considering how hard it is and how challenging fitting it all in is with working full time, I think I am at the limit of my abilities averaging 60%.

So no complaints from me, all is good.

Son #1 has just started University, doing Politics and international relations.

his first module on this course is... Philosophy...

He comes home and moans, it is useless, needless, ridiculous and many other negative impression's of studying Philosophy.

I try to be empathetic, understanding and helpful.

I has motivated me to come and blog this post, having listened to him moan about studying Philosophy,

I can only say sorry to all of you for moaning on here so much about studying Philosophy last year.

I now know you pain for having to listen to me banging on about it, in some form of karmic retribution, I now have to listen to son #1 bang on about it to me.

Thanks Karma... lesson learned.

Well the first tutorial was good. Lots of people turned up, the most i have ever seen at a tutorial.

One thing that came out is that everyone is finding DD209 really hard. Hence the big turnout at the tutorial.

Lots of interesting content and helped my understanding a  great deal.

Glad i went.

Wow, the view counter passed 49,000, by the end of the week it will get to 50,000.

Thank you very much everyone.

Son #2 is an RAF Air Cadet, so this morning we all went down to Horndean village so he could march with his squadron in the remembrance parade.

My grandfather, George Gumbrell, served in the first world war. He was in the Royal Air Corp, which went on to become the RAF. George was a flight mechanic, keeping the engines running.

My grandfather survived the first world war, to old to serve in the second world war, he was in the Voluntary Corp, he drove all over Hampshire and West Sussex, delivering aircraft parts and ammunition for RAF bases, such as Tangmere.

Lest we forget.

I have registered with the week long careers fair, which is running all this week.

When i get home tonight i can log in and see what is going on in there.. 

Been a bit lazy with the blog, have not posted for a couple of weeks, been busy writing my TMA01.

Pop back on here to find the view counter has shot up by 6000 !. So now it is up to 46,000 views.

Thank you everyone.

Moved onto block 2 of DD209-economics... Keynes theories of unemployment... it is still really hard to get my head around, lots of reading and rereading required...

Just keep plugging away at it  thats all i can do.