Random Thought Thread, aka The RTT (**possible spoilers**)
11-06-13, 08:53 AM
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You know I must say I right pretty good and often wonder what is being taught in school. Its almost like their not teaching kid's the right way to write an essay or the teacher's themselfs lack the skillz to teach/correct the written word.
I have actually sent some of my kids' assignments back with circles around grammatical. There teachers probably don't think its funny...
I have actually sent some of my kids' assignments back with circles around grammatical. There teachers probably don't think its funny...
lol ... i thought justkeepspelling took over your account for a minute there
11-06-13, 08:55 AM
In the Pain Cave
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[/begin old man rant]:
for anyone under let's say 30 who went to college, do you folks actually have to write reports or is everything a bubble sheet now? i have hired multple people over the past 15 years from natural sciences backgrounds from schools ranging from random small state schools to Duke, and noticed a steady erosion of writing skills to the point that new-ish hires dont seem to be able to formulate a basic paragraph that opens with a position, supports that position, and compels the reader to a conclusion. they're more like incoherent thoughts with a conclusion that isnt really supported. I have talked with others in similar positions as myself in my company and we all have noticed the same thing, so I'm not totally alone in this.
dear colleges: your graduates can't write, despite whatever you're requiring.
[/old man rant.]
for anyone under let's say 30 who went to college, do you folks actually have to write reports or is everything a bubble sheet now? i have hired multple people over the past 15 years from natural sciences backgrounds from schools ranging from random small state schools to Duke, and noticed a steady erosion of writing skills to the point that new-ish hires dont seem to be able to formulate a basic paragraph that opens with a position, supports that position, and compels the reader to a conclusion. they're more like incoherent thoughts with a conclusion that isnt really supported. I have talked with others in similar positions as myself in my company and we all have noticed the same thing, so I'm not totally alone in this.
dear colleges: your graduates can't write, despite whatever you're requiring.
[/old man rant.]
Then again one could argue if tests are even valuable, if content is being grasped.
11-06-13, 09:01 AM
fuggitivo solitario
11-06-13, 09:09 AM
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11-06-13, 09:13 AM
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Meant to comment in followup to some of the heated posts from last week. Wife showed me some stuff on FB last night. I'm patiently waiting for some guys from my gym to get into it. The trash talk, insults and jabs did nothing but fire up a couple of heavyweights. I had hoped that one of the other guys would jump in and say simma down but nope it just continued, someone is going to throw some haymakers I suspect.
Don't these idiots realize that their feuds are public and that they see each other in the gym almost daily? ****tards...
Don't these idiots realize that their feuds are public and that they see each other in the gym almost daily? ****tards...
11-06-13, 09:14 AM
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Sorry to drop in just to whine, but... Orthopedist appointment in a couple hours, thank goodness. A plan for fixing my poor, shattered collarbone would be good for morale. Almost as good as actually fixing it! Hopefully very soon; I'm pretty tired of bones crunching around in my shoulder whenever I move a bit too incautiously.
11-06-13, 09:17 AM
soon to be gsteinc...
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Sorry to drop in just to whine, but... Orthopedist appointment in a couple hours, thank goodness. A plan for fixing my poor, shattered collarbone would be good for morale. Almost as good as actually fixing it! Hopefully very soon; I'm pretty tired of bones crunching around in my shoulder whenever I move a bit too incautiously.
If you were a crossfitter you would be out doing some heavy Oly lifts right now - beast mode...
Good luck to you at ortho...
11-06-13, 09:31 AM
These Guys Eat Oreos
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[/begin old man rant]:
for anyone under let's say 30 who went to college, do you folks actually have to write reports or is everything a bubble sheet now? i have hired multple people over the past 15 years from natural sciences backgrounds from schools ranging from random small state schools to Duke, and noticed a steady erosion of writing skills to the point that new-ish hires dont seem to be able to formulate a basic paragraph that opens with a position, supports that position, and compels the reader to a conclusion. they're more like incoherent thoughts with a conclusion that isnt really supported. I have talked with others in similar positions as myself in my company and we all have noticed the same thing, so I'm not totally alone in this.
dear colleges: your graduates can't write, despite whatever you're requiring.
[/old man rant.]
for anyone under let's say 30 who went to college, do you folks actually have to write reports or is everything a bubble sheet now? i have hired multple people over the past 15 years from natural sciences backgrounds from schools ranging from random small state schools to Duke, and noticed a steady erosion of writing skills to the point that new-ish hires dont seem to be able to formulate a basic paragraph that opens with a position, supports that position, and compels the reader to a conclusion. they're more like incoherent thoughts with a conclusion that isnt really supported. I have talked with others in similar positions as myself in my company and we all have noticed the same thing, so I'm not totally alone in this.
dear colleges: your graduates can't write, despite whatever you're requiring.
[/old man rant.]
11-06-13, 09:46 AM
soon to be gsteinc...
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Aren't you in Engineering of some sort?
Last edited by rkwaki; 11-06-13 at 09:51 AM.
11-06-13, 10:12 AM
These Guys Eat Oreos
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Not so much. My freshman year I was in Mechanical Engineering, but after the first year I was like WTF AM I DOING THIS IS SO HARD AND IM BARELY PASSING. So I bailed.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
11-06-13, 10:28 AM
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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The importance of writing in daily life...
I write flyers and emails for distribution. I keep them short enough that you can get the message without really reading more than the headers of each area.
And then my idea gets passed around to a bunch of facility managers who can barely read, and they all add 500 words. It ends up looking like the dead sea scrolls and we're constantly amazed that our message is lost.
Practice writing, but work on persuasive reasoning too.
I write flyers and emails for distribution. I keep them short enough that you can get the message without really reading more than the headers of each area.
And then my idea gets passed around to a bunch of facility managers who can barely read, and they all add 500 words. It ends up looking like the dead sea scrolls and we're constantly amazed that our message is lost.
Practice writing, but work on persuasive reasoning too.
11-06-13, 11:30 AM
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Not so much. My freshman year I was in Mechanical Engineering, but after the first year I was like WTF AM I DOING THIS IS SO HARD AND IM BARELY PASSING. So I bailed.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
11-06-13, 11:41 AM
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11-06-13, 11:47 AM
Making a kilometer blurry
Not so much. My freshman year I was in Mechanical Engineering, but after the first year I was like WTF AM I DOING THIS IS SO HARD AND IM BARELY PASSING. So I bailed.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
11-06-13, 11:47 AM
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The past few years my writing has regressed. More social writing and less formal writing have caused a more haphazard style and less proofreading. Social media has made 'writing like you talk' more acceptable, and it ends up spilling into professional careers. My grammatical skills were never great, however diligent proofreading helps, something I often fail to do when posting here. In the workplace my writing has been relegated to emails. I rarely having to write any professional documentation.
Like Ygduf, I've submitted documents which my supervisors would 'clean up' and turn it to garbage. Some of them feel obligated to edit something, adding clutter. Getting into management around here is more about who yells the loudest, not silly things like grammar.
Like Ygduf, I've submitted documents which my supervisors would 'clean up' and turn it to garbage. Some of them feel obligated to edit something, adding clutter. Getting into management around here is more about who yells the loudest, not silly things like grammar.
11-06-13, 11:47 AM
Making a kilometer blurry
11-06-13, 11:52 AM
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Not so much. My freshman year I was in Mechanical Engineering, but after the first year I was like WTF AM I DOING THIS IS SO HARD AND IM BARELY PASSING. So I bailed.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
I finished up with a BS in Geography w/ minor in US History and GIS Certificate. I work in software doing the Geography/GIS thing.
27 year old here. No formal college (no degree, anyway). It always amazes me how few people are able to write a decent, grammatically correct email. Especially at a company that prides itself on being so scholastically-centric. Brevity is fine but be coherent, make a point, support your point, and proofread!
11-06-13, 11:53 AM
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It's good! I love GIS! I wouldn't do it as a specific field though. Definitely specialize in something and learn GIS to go a long with it. That will make you much more valuable in the field, and even just learning GIS on the side will give you enough background to do it in another field if you ended up wanting to do more GIS stuff. Doesn't really require a degree pursay as much as just knowledge of the software and understanding of how it works.
11-06-13, 11:54 AM
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Like Ygduf, I've submitted documents which my supervisors would 'clean up' and turn it to garbage. Some of them feel obligated to edit something, adding clutter. Getting into management around here is more about who yells the loudest, not silly things like grammar.
These same people are also so technologically backwards that they come to me for help with excel (I just google "how-to xyz" if I don't know) and outlook stuff like "why is my inbox sorting by sender?"
I'm torn between advocating for competent peers or just enjoying the job security.
11-06-13, 11:54 AM
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My early rides consist of being up by ~4:45, out the door by 5:15, and at the meet-up spot by 5:45. I'm finally getting the hang of being in bed by 9:30-10pm on those days.
11-06-13, 11:57 AM
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I work for a software company that develops application for gas/oil pipeline management. I deploy and implement our software to the clients. Everything is based on ESRI technology. I mainly work with ArcGIS Server/SDE, SQL Server or Oracle, and Windows Server stuff these days since our main application is web based.
11-06-13, 11:57 AM
My idea of fun
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While I support our vets, and believe everyone deserves a second chance for some mistakes in life, if you plead guilty to raping a thirteen year old after you were discharged from the military, do not claim veterans preference when applying for a job.
11-06-13, 12:00 PM
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Don't be crazy. Those guys are HEROS.
11-06-13, 12:01 PM
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With the time change over the weekend I was hoping that it was going to get light early enough to ride a couple hours before work, but it's still dark until 7 or so. Stupid winter