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Michael Gumbrell

Tutors and tutorials

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Got an email from my tutor, so that is sorted and tutorials are at southampton again this year, same venue as 2 years ago with DD211.

So thats sorted.

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Michael Gumbrell

Half way through the working week...again

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Half way done with the working week again.

Need to punt my c.v out there to try and find a job where i spent less time counting the days away..

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Michael Gumbrell

Woah-- DD209

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Wow, DD209 chapter one is hard... CPI,GDP calculations, inflation, real wages verses monetary wages..

Formulas, difference between percentage point change and percentile change.

From week one the first thing that becomes clear is that notes are going to be important, i am going to have to add in 3-4 hours every week to produce the revision notes... they do provide a downloadable revision note template, i am going to be using that plenty.

But wow, what a lot of algebra and formula's to take in...

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Michael Gumbrell

Fairly bombing along now

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Well the views counter is fairly bombing along now...

35,000 views.

I am made up by that, thank you everyone.

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Michael Gumbrell

And now the Mrs is back at uni..

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I also found out the my Mrs is going back to uni on a part time basis on Wednesday.

Her work are paying for her to do a ASYE this year, so that she can assess and mark social work students in the workplace.

So whilst son #1 and i lurge through our undergraduates degrees, the Mrs is doing post graduate!!

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Sunday, 16 Sept 2018, 19:28)
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Michael Gumbrell

Family induction day

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So Son #1... starts Portsmouth University tomorrow.

Having attended the open day... today is family induction day... i have no idea what that is, but we are doing it at the uni this afternoon.

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Michael Gumbrell

OU facebook groups

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Each year i join the facebook group for the module and each year i rage quit them by Christmas...

This year i have joined the DD209 october start group.

Yesterday i nearly quit on the first day of the module start date.

Some smart arse posts, on the day the module planner opens, about some thing they don't understand in chapter 3...

FFS, no one is impressed by your passive aggressive gloating about chapter 3 on day 1 of the course... thats 48 hours of study, or 3 weeks, away... of course you didn't understand it, you have compressed 48 hours of study into an 8 hour period....just because you think it will impress your fellow cohort... it does not impress us... some of us work full time,study and have 3 kids...

Did not rage quit the group, despite the gloating first post...  

Permalink 11 comments (latest comment by Jacob Taylor, Monday, 25 Feb 2019, 23:20)
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Michael Gumbrell

34,000

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Wow 34,000 views.

Thank you everyone.

34 is sarm,sap,say in phonetic Cantonese.

Enjoyed the crickets highlights yesterday, Cook retiring as englands leading test batsman and Anderson becoming the fast bowler with the most ever wickets.

With Cook retired i wonder if Jimmy Anderson will also call it a day or if he will go on the winter tour. 

He might go and pick some wickets...just to give Stuart Broad an even bigger total to chase. 

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Michael Gumbrell

Work

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Sitting here at lunch break from work.. and its only Tuesday... fed up already.

Might be time to chuck my c.v out there again and see if i can land a new job.

Contract management is very boring... and i am very bored doing it.

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Michael Gumbrell

Readings

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Working through chapter 1 of book 1 for DD209.

Lots of mentions of JM keynes being a key topic is book 2.

So have set text book 1 aside for 2 weeks and am reading Kenyes' General theory of employment, money and interest.

Its a good book... no honestly it is...and because i bought the Wordsworth classics version, it also has the book economic consequences of peace printed in it as well.

So that is now my pre-reading, will need to get a move on though, the module opens in 2 weeks

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Michael Gumbrell

Got to a double carpet !!!!

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33,000 views or as it is known in slang ' a double carpet... in the old days if you had done 30 years in the nick, the guards would buy you a 3 feet square roll of carpet for your cell. Hence 3 is known as a 'carpet' so 33 is a double carpet..

So i have hit a double carpet of bags...

A bag of sand... a grand.. one thousand.

Hence 33,000 is a double carpet of bags.

Stick another neves on and it would by big plymouth of bags...

Anyway i want to say thank you to everyone who has visited my blog.

For 34,000 thousand we can go with some more details about slang counting, perhaps look at jacks, stripes, bottles, scores, ponies and cockles...or even half'a'bar.

For advanced counting slang we could switch for phonetic Cantonese?

Yat = 1

Ee= 2

Sarm= 3

Say=4

Mmm=5

Low=6

Chat=7

Bah=8

Gow= 9

Sap=10

It goes in the 10 unit style... so for example 33 is said as 3 10 3... so 33 is sarm,sap,sarm...

Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog.. it makes me happy to know that you do...

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Michael Gumbrell

No smoking

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Well the vape machine is alright.

Keeping me off the fags.

No change in health yet, give it a couple of weeks.

I don't feel quite so tired all the time, i used too.

Lets see if reintroducing 2 hours of study every evening affects my energy levels...

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Michael Gumbrell

Views

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Thank you everyone... the counter just rolled through 32,000. How amazing is that !

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Michael Gumbrell

So if it is a time for new beginnings...

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Well since it is all change in September, new modules, son starting university etc...etc.

I have decided to stop the smoking... 51 years old, been smoking again for 10 years after having stopped for 11. Started when i was 14.

So 14-29.....smoker

       29-40... non smoker

       41-51.... smoker.

I bought one of those vape machines at christmas, and it has sat on my shelf for 9 months gathering dust... whilst i tried to gather will power.

Today the vape machine is out of the box, getting charged, oil soaking the wick and will be ready to go at 5pm.

Here goes again at knocking the fags on the head... before they knock me on the head...

At £ 8.50 a packet of fags... i smoke cheap fags, if you smoke a big brand name they are £ 10.00, so saving the money would be handy too...

Permalink 8 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Sunday, 2 Sept 2018, 21:40)
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Michael Gumbrell

The book delievery..

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The books arrived... only two of them and no other materials..  so thats good DD209 must be a newer module where most of the material is on the module website, just like DD103 and DD211.

Only the exception was #bloodyA222 with its 6 books and 7 audio CD's. Oh t and the Access module YO32, that some 2 books and 2 CD's.

So pleased to be back to a modern module again.

I will have a glance through book 1 of DD209 in the morning.

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Michael Gumbrell

And so it begins again...

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Well, it all begins again tomorrow.

The DD209 books will be sent out tomorrow and the module website will open in 2 weeks tomorrow.

So off we go again, for me this will be year 4 of study out of 6 and my last level 2 module.

So as i sit here now i am 50% done and after this upcoming module it will be 66% done 

Starting to get a view of the home straight now.

So roll on DD209- Economics, lets get level 2 done. Getting level 2 complete means i will have completed diploma level. Happy days.

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Michael Gumbrell

BBC 4

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Does watching the programme ' the science of winning' count as preparation for DD209?

It was all about game theory and in particular evolutionary game theory.

It was an interesting watch, turns out i am one of the 66% of the population who have dove behavioural chatacterists, i am not a hawk. 

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Michael Gumbrell

31,000

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Gosh 31,000 came round quick...

Thank you everyone

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Michael Gumbrell

Best movie ever

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Just watched Groundhog day on Dave. There is a split in our house. Ella and I love the film. We think it is the best film ever, and watch it together whenever it is on. Ros, James and William think it is a good film, but can't understand why Ella and I love it so much and are happy to watch it again.

Do any of you share my and Ella's opinion, that Groundhog day is the best film ever made?

Permalink 6 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Thursday, 30 Aug 2018, 08:48)
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Michael Gumbrell

Uni registration

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Son #1 just finished all his registration stuff for the university of portsmouth.

So he inducts on monday 17th of spetember, they even have a parents induction day of the sunday 16th.

So thats all sorted then. Just have to book an appointment with the accountants departed to pay the first year fee's.

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Michael Gumbrell

29,000

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Wow, 29,000 views.

The counter is fairly racing along now.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to visit and hopefully read this blog.

It has been a funny few days.

The 12th of August would have been my dads birthday, and it is 18 months now since he died.

Son #1 turned 19 on the 15th of August, and got his A-level results on the 16th.

It turned out that when he went onto UCAS to be cleared, the university of Portsmouth had upped his unconditional anyway.

So i have had a week off from work, but am now emotionally exhausted and have to go back to work tomorrow 

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Michael Gumbrell

Clearing day

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Well that was a busy few hours.

Son #1 got his three A-levels and cleared for his international relations and Politics course at Portsmouth University.

So that's all sorted and he starts on the 17th of September.

What a relief for me and what an achievement for him.

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Michael Gumbrell

Getting marked

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Just got the email to say that how my upcoming module is being marked, is being changed.

Apparently it will now be a weighted average of everything lumped together, including the exam 

So no more OCAS and OES just a lumped together average.

Will have to take a closer look at this later on to see if it is a positive change.

Permalink 14 comments (latest comment by Pui Lee, Monday, 3 June 2019, 00:35)
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Michael Gumbrell

DD209 books

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According to my study planner, my text books for DD209- Economics will be arriving with me in 10 days.

How exciting, the cycle begins again 

I must see if there is a DD209-September start Facebook group i can join for a couple of months and then leave because i find the comments so frustrating.

So lets see - books, apathy quitting a facebook group and probably finding out the tutorials are 60 miles from where i live... yep i am ready to get this academic year under way...

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Simon Reed, Tuesday, 14 Aug 2018, 16:42)
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Michael Gumbrell

Views...

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Blimey, that went to 28,000 quickly.

Thank you everyone.

The counter is speeding up quite quickly now.

There must be some formula somewhere that predicts the growth in views... but i am a social science student.. so no maths for me.

Well not too much in the way of maths, heading into an economics module is September, so there might be maths.

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