FTP Action. Safely Home

[beko1987]

 Crikey, just woken up and read this, did you get home? 

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, dozeydustman said:

This sounds like an arduous evening. Are you back home now?

Well, the yellow bus was alternating between 03:45, 01:30, and not at all. I called up a friend to pick me up, made the car safe and put the keys through the letterbox of a garage in Wincanton which also does recovery. I've given them the reg and they're getting the car recovered after lunch.

[Fumbler]

Here's the summary of the phone call with the garage. My father kindly did this as I'm still trying to wrap my head around calculus at college... with only 5 hours' sleep beforehand.

Quote

 

Hi there,

Confirmation of telephone call with James earlier.

Please arrange recovery of Red Citroen BX reg F273TKV from layby on A303 Westbound about 3 miles short of Wincanton.

Car was left there at around midnight last night following FTP – possible foreign object in a cylinder (advance nozzle)?

***Please do not start engine!*** Take care if towing – handbrake operates on front axle etc. Best to lift on flatbed?

Advise Alfie Woolard (number) when collected for further info, or call Richard Woolard (number).

James has found the ignition key (posted through door) and the car has no alarm/immobiliser.

Please could you acknowledge this email and call us if there any further details you need. We will need to get the engine inspected/part removed once it is in your garage.

Many, many thanks for your assistance – Alfie will be able to settle your bill directly over the phone.

 

Apart from the mileage discrepancy, they shouldn't be able to miss the car.

[Fumbler]

Called them up, they're recovering it as I type. It turns out I was dead opposite them, separated by a few houses and a treeline.

I forgot to mention that their carpark contained a crash damaged Moggie van, ancient Integra and J reg Starlet. I think it's in good hands.

[Dave_Q]

Calculus is useless and nobody will ever make you do any of that fourier or euler business with a pen and paper (or possibly at all) once you finish college.

HTH

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, Dave_Q said:

Calculus is useless and nobody will ever make you do any of that fourier or euler business with a pen and paper (or possibly at all) once you finish college.

HTH

This is part of this weird BTEC that doesn't really fit in with my apprenticeship at all. Unfortunately it's assessed so I sort of have to understand it so I can complete this complicated assignment I've been handed.

[Dr_Slow]

2 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

Calculus is useless

Rubbish!

Anyway, @Fumbler I hope you get away without any significant damage to the engine!

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Fumbler said:

This is part of this weird BTEC that doesn't really fit in with my apprenticeship at all. Unfortunately it's assessed so I sort of have to understand it so I can complete this complicated assignment I've been handed.

Welcome to why I got kicked out of university after year 1.

No math grading as an entry requirement for the course I was going into (AI & Robotics), and on day 1 were chucking things like advanced vector calculus at us in the maths (or as they called it, quantitative methods) class.

Nobody could be bothered to even try to help me find my footing there, so I failed that class.  Passed everything else with absolutely flying colours, yet as a result was shown the door day after the final exam results came out - and because of how things were credited there, have absolutely *nothing whatsoever* to show for that year. 

Year after they changed the entry requirement to include a B or better in Higher (Scottish equivalent to A Levels) mathematics.  I'd only done maths at Intermediate 2 level (albeit passing the exam with the top possible grade, and I think a mark of something like 98%) so had never touched calculus as that was only covered in the Higher level course.

In hindsight I was a bloody idiot and should have gone back to secondary school for sixth year, twiddled my thumbs in probably 2/3rds of the classes and just concentrated on getting maths and some further IT related qualifications under my belt...

Especially as the idiots who had spent the last five years making my life hell that I was trying to get away from by leaving of course all left that year anyway so I'd never have seen them again anyway if I had stayed on!

[Fumbler]

When I called they said they'd call back when they begin work. No call means they probably haven't, which is understandable as they're apparently busy and short-staffed. Hopefully I get a call tomorrow.

58 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Welcome to why I got kicked out of university after year 1.

No math grading as an entry requirement for the course I was going into (AI & Robotics), and on day 1 were chucking things like advanced vector calculus at us in the maths (or as they called it, quantitative methods) class.

Nobody could be bothered to even try to help me find my footing there, so I failed that class.  Passed everything else with absolutely flying colours, yet as a result was shown the door day after the final exam results came out - and because of how things were credited there, have absolutely *nothing whatsoever* to show for that year. 

Year after they changed the entry requirement to include a B or better in Higher (Scottish equivalent to A Levels) mathematics.  I'd only done maths at Intermediate 2 level (albeit passing the exam with the top possible grade, and I think a mark of something like 98%) so had never touched calculus as that was only covered in the Higher level course.

In hindsight I was a bloody idiot and should have gone back to secondary school for sixth year, twiddled my thumbs in probably 2/3rds of the classes and just concentrated on getting maths and some further IT related qualifications under my belt...

Especially as the idiots who had spent the last five years making my life hell that I was trying to get away from by leaving of course all left that year anyway so I'd never have seen them again anyway if I had stayed on!

This qualification I'm doing is basically for no real benefit apart from around 3 units. The rest of the job is great and I couldn't think of anything better. Only got a month more (excluding holiday) before I have December at work.

[loserone]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

No math grading as an entry requirement for the course I was going into (AI & Robotics), and on day 1 were chucking things like advanced vector calculus at us in the maths (or as they called it, quantitative methods) class.

You are me, with no familiarity with stats, doing comp sci in 2003

[wuvvum]

4 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

Calculus is useless

[Dave_Q]

To clarify, obviously a level of understanding of how it works is required in some jobs (probably including mine) but nowhere in any industrial setting are they going to sit you down with a biro and a Casio and ask you to  find the integral of 4x^5 - 3x^2 + 41 within the limits 0>40000, or the slope of the graph 4t^3 - 9t where t = 10 because computers are a thing.

My point is the hand methods they make you do at college/university are unlikely to ever be used again once you have completed the module, I certainly can't remember any of it although I suppose I can begrudingly admit that it did teach me enough to folow along where required.

[Fumbler]

Just now, Dave_Q said:

To clarify, obviously a level of understanding of how it works is required in some jobs (probably including mine) but nowhere in any industrial setting are they going to sit you down with a biro and a Casio and ask you to  find the integral of 4x^5 - 3x^2 + 41 within the limits 0>40000, or the slope of the graph 4t^3 - 9t where t = 10 because computers are a thing.

My point is the hand methods they make you do at college/university are unlikely to ever be used again once you have completed the module, I certainly can't remember any of it although I suppose I can begrudingly admit that it did teach me enough to folow along where required.

Although this is a mixture of hand and computer work. I still can't see any of it being of use, save for some electronics stuff I may do in future on site.

[Mrs6C]

2 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Although this is a mixture of hand and computer work. I still can't see any of it being of use, save for some electronics stuff I may do in future on site.

It may be the technique that is being taught here rather than the actual topic... to hone analytical skills and take a systematic approach to solving problems...

At Uni. I learned how to model glaciers with blancmange. It remains a good laugh for parties, but I think the purpose of learning how to do it was more about the principles of modelling reality using a variety of media, rather than making edible scientific experiments...

[mintwth]

mmmmmm blancmange 

[Fumbler]

3 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

It may be the technique that is being taught here rather than the actual topic... to hone analytical skills and take a systematic approach to solving problems...

At Uni. I learned how to model glaciers with blancmange. It remains a good laugh for parties, but I think the purpose of learning how to do it was more about the principles of modelling reality using a variety of media, rather than making edible scientific experiments...

The context of the qualification is engineering principles, which is probably why calculus is in it. It's certainly interesting but far fetched for what I'm doing. I can see it's use in electronics for sure, but on the top end of the scale which I rarely tap into.

[High Jetter]

What % of the population will ever use calculus in their daily lives, compared with the many thousands it has been thrust upon? (Yes, slight pun there)

[mintwth]

7 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

What % of the population will ever use calculus in their daily lives, compared with the many thousands it has been thrust upon? (Yes, slight pun there)

For full marks show the equation used and your workings

[Dr_Slow]

1 minute ago, High Jetter said:

What % of the population will ever use calculus in their daily lives, compared with the many thousands it has been thrust upon? (Yes, slight pun there)

These days it isn't part of the Maths GCSE in England and Wales (at least the Edexcel version), so a lot fewer than in the past. 

[bezzabsa]

7 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

What % of the population will ever use calculus in their daily lives, compared with the many thousands it has been thrust upon? (Yes, slight pun there)

same percentage that use Latin after being forced to learn it....Same as Religious Education...WHY??? I never wanted to be a kiddy fiddler church person so why did I have to sit through 2 years of the shit11

[Dr_Slow]

Just now, bezzabsa said:

same percentage that use Latin after being forced to learn it....Same as Religious Education...WHY??? I never wanted to be a kiddy fiddler church person so why did I have to sit through 2 years of the shit11

Maybe this is something for another thread to avoid derailing this, because there's potentially a lot to unpick there...

[wuvvum]

6 minutes ago, Dr_Slow said:

Maybe this is something for another thread to avoid derailing this, because there's potentially a lot to unpick there...

Very diplomatically put.

[Fumbler]

Insert differentiation of topics pun here.

[Sloth in a bowl]

If somebody had just said. The line is how fast you are going, the differential is your acceleration or braking and the integral is how far you have traveled then calculous would have been far easier for me to grasp as a student.

[High Jetter]

19 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

same percentage that use Latin after being forced to learn it...

Incredibly, some has been useful. I got 29%  in German O-level with nothing useful from it. Latin, 11%, gives word roots to answer some quiz questions.

[bezzabsa]

8 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Incredibly, some has been useful. I got 29%  in German O-level with nothing useful from it. Latin, 11%, gives word roots to answer some quiz questions.

useful for Plants diseases and strange Animals...and for watching Life Of Brian and understanding the Graffitti 

[Dr_Slow]

Maybe we can discuss less BX and more educationally related issues here?

 

12 minutes ago, Sloth in a bowl said:

If somebody had just said. The line is how fast you are going, the differential is your acceleration or braking and the integral is how far you have traveled then calculous would have been far easier for me to grasp as a student.

If only you'd studied physics back in the day when O-levels were still around...

[Mr Pastry]

1 minute ago, High Jetter said:

Incredibly, some has been useful. I got 29%  in German O-level with nothing useful from it. Latin, 11%, gives word roots to answer some quiz questions.

The curriculum at my school was divided about equally between Latin and football, neither of which I could do.  This only left me fit to be a motor mechanic.  Tbf. Latin is more useful than you might think.  

[High Jetter]

7 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Called them up, they're recovering it as I type. It turns out I was dead opposite them, separated by a few houses and a treeline.

I forgot to mention that their carpark contained a crash damaged Moggie van, ancient Integra and J reg Starlet. I think it's in good hands.

Back to topic. Have you pics of this emporium?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

4 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

The curriculum at my school was divided about equally between Latin and football, neither of which I could do.  This only left me fit to be a motor mechanic.  Tbf. Latin is more useful than you might think.  

Romani ite domum!