Re: Huf Haus on last night's Grand Designs

[Toby]

True. How many here would actually consider the 'Eur Ing' prefix on their business cards, instead of the 'CEng MIEE' suffix? A doubt anyone in the UK would consider it worth the confusion.

[Capitol]

I'm not sure that we shouldn't think in "Yes Minister" terms Why would you wish to increase the price of a "free" product? Obviously to reduce the demand. This achieves three objectives:-

1) Fewer poor students who you have to finance. 2) Less demand for university education, less demand for lecturers, so you can reduce their budgets. 3) It's a tax increase, so you can pay politicians more money!

Regards Capitol

[IMM]

Is there such a thing?

[Capitol]

My experience in industry is that this has already happened. The chance of engineers having a sound understanding of design and analysis has become much worse in the last 10 years. Good people IME come from a relatively small number of old established universities and polytechnics who still have rigorous and high teaching standards. A few come through on basic high innate ability from the dross institutions. Contrary to IMM's beliefs, the Oxbridge engineering graduates I've come across have all had outstanding intellect and ability. Can't speak for the arts lot though. I'll always hire the graduates who can think, sadly many can't.

Regards Capitol

[Colin Wilson]

The show on C4 (?) a while ago was quite enlightening where it put new school leavers "back to school" to 1950`s standards.

The shock on the faces of the kids when the "hard" exam they took they assumed must have been something akin to A-levels turned out, in fact, to just be the 11+

Elsewhere (uk.legal I think) it was revealed that the pass mark for one particular subject was about 12% IIRC, and about 40% got you an A

[IMM]

How do you know they can think?

[Toby]

Well that depends on what institution you belong to (no jokes in the back please), but education, experience & training to the required level are prerequisites. It will be of use if you need quick recognition of your abilities in France & Germany particularly: "ah Herr Engineer Mystery, my colleagues and I are looking forward to your presentation" at german conferences etc. Has a regard equivalent to doctor over there.

[IMM]

Do you mean doctor, as in medical doctor, rather than in science doctor?

[Andy Hall]

You should know this. It doesn't really matter. The kind of reverence that Frau Farbissina has for Dr Evil.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[derek]

No it is the "Erics" capitalising on the "Wirtschafts Wunder" boost they got after WW2 when we were paying for the defence of Germany and our armies in Germany were spending money contributing to the German economy but were a burden on our own/The Amercan's.

Where I worked in Germany (Wildblad im Schwarzwald) the hours were as we worked in the UK, and every afternoon at 3-00pm a trolley came round loaded with a selection of beers (up to one litre!). Hardly surprising they couldn't get a delivery right, or within 1 month of the right time.

No we don't that was 1965 when Grundig was a quality brand differentiated from the cheap mass market "Empire Made" crap we had in the UK, but SONY was already an worldwide international brand leader

We *are* just as efficient. Better in some respects. Don't you know the German shops shut at lunchtime just as the German workesr have some time to go shopping? I won't mention universal closure on Sundays.

Correct.

Correct.

"Sort of" Correct

No we can't. We've given up. Meanwhile the Germans are still in a "Miss Marple" '60s time warp. Even my kids come back from school exchange visits saying the Germans are living in a mid '60s time warp.

And I can remember the days when BMW were a laughing stock motor bike factory. which made the "Isetta" bubble car with the assistance of "ISO" of Milan. And even more recently when BMW was an "Engineering Eutopia" car manufacturer but the cars still had 6 volt batteries. Recent BMW's are just a Turkish made Ford Taunus. :-)

An optical illusion/triumph of marketing.over common sense

Now you are challenging me to extoll the versions of the "Prefabs" the best of which are still standing.

[derek]

INSTW

DG

[derek]

This, I don't understand. My point is they must have their share of bad old vehicles.

It wouldn't change the validity of my point if I was would it?

I've worked in .de intermittently since since 1979 BTW.

I've travelled in .de on holiday by car for the last 17 years,

My point is "The German Way" is "The same way as everywhere else" nowadays. You try getting an exhaust fixed in Cassel with a RHD car. It's not a magical experince of smoke and mirrors, it's more a case of taxis and jubilee clips.

DG

[IMM]

And half days on Saturdays.

And what does that mean?

And being pulled down as they are full of asbestos.

[IMM]

It is?

[IMM]

SEE:

[PoP]

And not only that, it's a planned future tax increase. Just for once Herr Brown is thinking ahead, and he's figured out a way of imposing a tax increase on students ahead of time.

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

[PoP]

I understand the pass mark for C&G2381 (16th edition wiring regs) is

40%, and that everyone passes. If you think about it you'd get 25% just by ticking "A" for each of the 60 questions, so assuming there's 20 easy questions which you can get right without thinking you would be on 33% - just tick the A's for the remaining 40 questions and you are in.

Kinda worrying though that we've got sparkies wandering around the country with 60% lack of knowledge ;)

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

[PoP]

I've already told my kids to do just that. It will also give my wife and I a place to visit on holiday each year.

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

[Andy Hall]

No, don't worry about it. As long as they are card carrying NICEIC members there won't be a problem. .andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Andrew]

- Or where the local scrotes would take pleasure in throwing a paving stone through it. An office building I used to work in had tinted double glazed aluminium windows facing south. Occasionally they would crack and would takes 3 months to get a replacement from the continent