tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post6301387022849641437..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: "And They're Telling Me Lies"Steerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-8017187568990603692014-02-28T10:41:16.523+00:002014-02-28T10:41:16.523+00:00It sounds as though your son's already findin...It sounds as though your son's already finding his feet , in his own way and in his own time . <br />Schools have their own agenda . It's unfortunate that this can sometimes have little to do with the development of the children in their care and can make Parents Evenings rather trying .<br /> SmitoniusAndSonatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210817141287881808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-19234662060026202132014-02-27T07:56:55.890+00:002014-02-27T07:56:55.890+00:00Dale - I wish you'd write a blog, as your anec...Dale - I wish you'd write a blog, as your anecdote about Time/Life was really enjoyable to read and left me wanting to know more. Failing that, would you consider a guest post here?<br /><br />The practice of using false names becomes particularly ridiculous when someone from a call centre in India claims that his name is Steve MacDonald. Who do they think they're fooling.<br /><br />It's interesting how lying is so commonplace in the business world, nobody bats an eyelid. But we all seem to become terribly outraged when someone gets caught, as if we'd been labouring under the impression that the company was a philanthropic organisation.<br /><br />Re: Minecraft, my son has been an addict for several years and when he wanted to create some images of the characters, managed to down Photoshop without spending a penny and reach a higher level than me within a few hours.<br /><br />It's a pity that the UK education system doesn't seem to be flexible enough to accommodate my son's quirks. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-78898752394438067662014-02-27T00:12:38.749+00:002014-02-27T00:12:38.749+00:00Another avenue your son might pursue, if the outdo...Another avenue your son might pursue, if the outdoor life does not suit him, is to type "how to cook" in YouTube's search bar.I wanted to cook Tunisian brik and thought that's too obscure even for YouTube - but there were numerous demos of it on there already.There's every recipe you could want there, and also other how tos in any field you can think of.<br /><br />If you type "How to" on its own, you'll be offered some very rum alternatives, including "How to download Minecraft for free" which could occupy him in a non-productive way. <br /><br />On the other hand, I've just read Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson's book MINECRAFT: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything, and now firmly beieve that behind every great modern fortune is a socially awkward bedroom dweller married to his computer. The Steerforth household could be quids in! Try finding this book for him, it's a goodie. ISBN 9780753555750<br /><br />About the fake Mr Helford: I once spent a year I'll never get back working for Time/Life, and learned about the American way of business. All the letters sent out to readers were signed by fake names according to the type of issue they were dealing with. All the names were female, as female names drew less abuse (halcyon days). It backfired on us if an issue was raised more than once by the same person and got replies from another pseudonym, as we were then told to ask our colleague eg Caroline Manne (one of the fake names) what she had done with the information the writer had sent previously.<br /><br />However one crazed or possibly drugged military individual who wrote nonsensical letters from a US Missile Support Base fell in love with one of our pseudonyms and repeatedly sent "her" gifts of money, addressed to "My girl in Time magazine". We had the grace to add the considerable sum to his subscriptions, instead of spending it on gin, but we did worry about the safety of the missiles.Dalenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-79409386626958999662014-02-26T21:00:14.395+00:002014-02-26T21:00:14.395+00:00Richard - That's encouraging. I've seen to...Richard - That's encouraging. I've seen too much emphasis on social skills and team building in recent years, stigmatising anyone who prefers their own company. <br /><br />The working world in the past may have been grimmer in many ways, but there were far more jobs where people with Asperger's and related conditions could blend in without being regarded as a problem. These days, it feels as if the fatuous bullshitters have staged a coup.<br /><br />I hope the I can steer my son towards coding. He's already designing games, so he clearly has an aptitude. His school has said that they won't be able to enter him for GCSEs (a reflection of their budgetry limitations as much as my son's issues), so I'm tempted to ignore the academic subjects and concentrate on IT. I wasted too much of my life trying to do things I wasn't good at rather than pursue the thing I loved.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-26378785216605045762014-02-26T19:12:56.080+00:002014-02-26T19:12:56.080+00:00Conspiracy theorists spend decades honing their fi...Conspiracy theorists spend decades honing their fictions into thrilling, elaborate creations that are as seductive as they are plausible - that’s why they fascinate like Hollywood movies and are designed to play on our fears, although personally I’ve always thought that 9/11 theorists in particular are just reacting with disbelief because it’s easier to believe that your government is corrupt - than it is to accept that actually, it’s just staggeringly incompetent. Try getting him interested in the many de-bunking sites, there are some excellent people out there using science and common sense to bring logic and truth to the matter with really great delivery, if he’s the kind of kid that likes ‘finding out’ - then discovering real truth will eventually win over fiction.<br /><br />One of the joys of the creative industries is that anyone can play their part - it really does not matter who or what you are, or what level of communication you prefer - there will be a place for you, as long as you can do your job and have something to contribute - I’ve never met a coder that was anything other than detached from polite society - most live of the furthest fringes of the autistic spectrum - it goes with the territory, we have one at the moment who is so staggeringly good we can overlook his stranger than strange perspective on the world and total inability to scope social situations like a normal person (whatever that is….), - one of his most invaluable qualities is that he is part of a massive online community of coders who freely exchange problem solving and innovation - the other coder at work is 10 years older at 28 and cannot fathom how this youngster repeatedly creates elegant, unique, problem solving solutions in a fraction of the code anticipated. I also think he’s capable of earning far more if he’s any good, without having to compromise and.. fit in.Grey Areahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18240869670530738753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-54580143535198812322014-02-26T14:51:16.978+00:002014-02-26T14:51:16.978+00:00George - The challenge is to curate the content, b...George - The challenge is to curate the content, but I'm encouraged by the growing number of intelligent, thought-provoking videos.<br /><br />Rog - But can you do <i>Goodnight Saigon</i> on the spoons?Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-80261132552438713062014-02-26T12:29:07.191+00:002014-02-26T12:29:07.191+00:00That was actually me, Steerforth.
Pre-internet d...That was actually me, Steerforth. <br /><br />Pre-internet duplicity once again.<br /><br />(I used to be able to knock out a passable version of Billy Joel's "Piano Man")Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-56809276535385329642014-02-26T11:33:14.939+00:002014-02-26T11:33:14.939+00:00Also, I meant to remark that YouTube has many pres...Also, I meant to remark that YouTube has many presentations about this or that aspect of programming. A co-worker is in the habit of going to YouTube whenever she has questions about some task or another: how do I deploy this kind of web server? How do I make this or that happen? I don't spend a lot of time there, but I can definitely see its uses.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-66796341337486299052014-02-26T09:00:40.600+00:002014-02-26T09:00:40.600+00:00Anonymous - Thank you! If this blog was a book, yo...Anonymous - Thank you! If this blog was a book, your quote would be my blurb of choice on the back. It's really gratifying to read a comment like yours and when I have doubts about the point of keeping a blog, they persuade me to keep going. <br /><br />George - That's interesting, as my son has a very good grasp of grammar and finds mental arithmetic generally easy, so perhaps he is suited to programming. His problems give him a "spiky profile" in which he can seem as daft as a brush in some areas and very mature in others. But I can think of many successful figures who have struggled to cope with ordinary life.<br /><br />Tim - In France he was probably also confused with Monsieur Le Pen, although Irwin is a little slimmer.<br /><br />I used to enjoy the customer comments on the back page, with photographs of rather odd-looking people called Keith, Linda and Gary. Bizarrely, one glowing endorsement came from the acclaimed concert pianist, Stephen Hough.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-26027850974278978652014-02-26T05:22:39.669+00:002014-02-26T05:22:39.669+00:00I too was traduced by the duplicitous Hughie Green...I too was traduced by the duplicitous Hughie Green lookalike "I" Helford. I seem to remember that on the French Viking site he didn't have a name at all.<br /><br />I've spent too much of my life ordering stationery, haven't I?Tim Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14681067872556519250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-54691425412451376562014-02-26T02:35:42.763+00:002014-02-26T02:35:42.763+00:00E.W. Dijkstra said that the requirements for progr...E.W. Dijkstra said that the requirements for programming were mathematical maturity and the ability to express oneself clearly in one's native language. (Being Dutch, he did not stop at one language: a lot of people disagreed with much of what Dijkstra wrote in English, but none ever doubted what he meant.) There are quite successful programmers who didn't bother with college, and some extremely rich ones who started and dropped out.<br />Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-56020085633045253012014-02-26T00:07:41.461+00:002014-02-26T00:07:41.461+00:00Yours is actually the first blog I have read, stum...Yours is actually the first blog I have read, stumbled upon when Googling 'oldest buildings' I read your '2nd oldest building' and was hooked and read every entry. Such gentle,insightful and downright laugh out loud musings. <br />Wonderful stuff and after a particularly rough day, a joy to read. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-79658367469637341092014-02-26T00:03:18.559+00:002014-02-26T00:03:18.559+00:00Carol - Yes, I'm familiar with the "Your ...Carol - Yes, I'm familiar with the "Your call is very important to us..." routine. Thank God for hands-free phones, as at least we can get on with other things. <br /><br />But sometimes I've completely forgotten about the phone call and can't understand why a voice is suddenly blaring out of the speaker.<br /><br />Universal Acknowledgement - I've heard about this from a friend who worked at the National Austistic Society. It sounds like a rare win-win situation in which the employer gets hard working staff with a high boredom threshold and the employees are spared the ordeal of the usual stresses of the workplace.<br /><br />Oddly enough, my parents' jobs at the National Savings Bank in the 1950s were very austism-friendly, whereas today's supposedly more tolerant workplace forces social misfits to endure the horror of team-building exercises.<br /><br />Martine - You had daylight? That's unusual. Out of interest, what's the worst job you've ever had?<br /><br />By the way, I've just been looking at your blog and have bookmarked it, as I'm very interested in your experiences of children's education at school and home. I'm less than enamoured with the education system.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-44932814989266413672014-02-25T20:46:46.659+00:002014-02-25T20:46:46.659+00:00Having worked in a call centre I can honestly say ...Having worked in a call centre I can honestly say it's not the worst job I've had and although the booths were small we did have natural light and scheduled breaks and we could chat or play solitaire when there were no calls.martinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-38020458603535861392014-02-25T20:17:53.689+00:002014-02-25T20:17:53.689+00:00Have you come across this company? http://special...Have you come across this company? http://specialistpeople.com/specialisterne/<br /><br />There could be an element of cynicism in leveraging "the characteristics of people with autism as a competitive advantage" but in fact the story behind the company is a little more enlightened.Georgiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10593853562772898834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-26099243709874702972014-02-25T18:58:07.339+00:002014-02-25T18:58:07.339+00:00What a great post, Steerforth. Your blogs really ...What a great post, Steerforth. Your blogs really are some of the most interesting I've ever read.<br /><br />One thing about call centres that you failed to mention: in the USA, they give you a wait time, pronounced by a cheery voice that says something like, "Your customer satisfaction is very important to us. Today's average wait time is 47 and a half minutes." I'm always left expecting Mrs. Bales to give me the weather forecast for the English Channel! Canadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-85569501227338299672014-02-25T16:47:10.378+00:002014-02-25T16:47:10.378+00:00Laura - Nobody in this house reads my blog, which ...Laura - Nobody in this house reads my blog, which is probably a thoroughly good thing, but I think my son's becoming receptive to the idea of turning his IT skills into a career. I've made sure that he's fully aware of what happens to people who hack into the US military. We're also watching <i>Breaking Bad</i>, so the "Crime doesn't pay" message is coming across loudly. <br /><br />Re: cyber-bullies, he's remarkably feisty when dealing with them and gives as good as he gets, so that's encouraging.<br /><br />I also worked in a call centre for a market research company. As it was based in Richmond, most of the staff were out of work actors and it was quite funny listening to someone reading out a questionnaire in an absurdly thespain voice.<br /><br />Brian - The Stepford element is absurd isn't it (over here, Amazon UK is showing an advert that suggests that a rather gorgeous Irishwoman is waiting to help me deal with any Kindle-related issue, but I know that if I dial the number, I'll get a man whose accent is so strong I'll end up saying yes to the wrong thing).<br /><br />It's all part of a trend that values fake enthusiam, 'passion' and excitement over genuine politeness, competence and professionalism. I can't bear going in clothing stores any more because the staff are so desperately manic it feels as if their loved ones are being held somehwhere at gunpoint.<br /><br />Josh - Thanks for the tip. I've just watched one on climate change and it was wonderfully clear-headed and succinct. I'll see if I can get my son interested.<br /><br />Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-11444447662244442342014-02-25T13:01:28.016+00:002014-02-25T13:01:28.016+00:00I don't think I watch a lot of YouTube but I d...I don't think I watch a lot of YouTube but I do subscribe to one channel that may be of interest to your son. Look out for just about any of potholer54's videos. He's a british journalist called Peter Hadfield. He's based in Australia and has spent the last few years debunking pseudo-science and creationists.<br />Even if your son is not keen he's great to listen to hen you're in need of some level-headed reasoning with a good helping of humour thrown in.<br /><br />JoshAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-65083120525593297962014-02-25T12:36:38.169+00:002014-02-25T12:36:38.169+00:00Never was offered a dental plan in my call centre ...Never was offered a dental plan in my call centre Brian. If only!The Poet Laura-eatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07779308486569849157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-68995961837603705992014-02-25T12:09:53.802+00:002014-02-25T12:09:53.802+00:00The thing that strikes me most about those call ce...The thing that strikes me most about those call centre employees is their impeccable grooming - that, combined with uniform cheery expression remind me more of a cult than anything else. On the positive side, it would appear that call centres have extraordinarily generous dental plans. <br />Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-90994494966338216512014-02-25T11:20:16.822+00:002014-02-25T11:20:16.822+00:00I hope your son reads this posting to give him an ...I hope your son reads this posting to give him an overall picture of what he needs to be wary of in life. But he could well make a fortune as a computer hacker or programmer, so don't be too quick to doom him to a future in call centres. In any case call centres require you to talk to customers, which doesn't sound like his metier. I worked in a call centre with 150 other people and fewer than half a dozen looked anything like the 'lying' photographs you so insightfully highlight. And of course many are based abroad as we know so probably have no white middle-class model types working in them at all, much though white model-types should not be influencing anyone's choice of bank or insurer. A sublime post Steerforth and so true. Good luck with your son's quality control filter development. He is certainly not too young to know that the world is full of liars and crazy people but that there is honesty and truth out there too. I hope he stays right away from those cyber-bullies as well and learns how to recognise them and cut them off. Evil people.The Poet Laura-eatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07779308486569849157noreply@blogger.com