746 replies to this topic

[LJ]

Ok let me rephrase, resistive heating is the least efficient of all heating types!

 

You are right, lots of people don't even realize that when it gets cold the resistive element in their heat pump kicks in.

That's not quite the case. Every heat pump installation also has a backup heat source, be it electric or gas. In electric, there is a heating coil in your air handler, not the heat pump. Some people with gas backup just switch to that if it gets cold, otherwise your heat pump is working steady to try to maintain temp.

[Mike K.]

And making an annoying hum! ☝️

[Matt R.]

I love the amount of experts on this forum, it’s what keeps me coming back. That, and the BOGO coupons for Brown Bros.

[Victoria Watcher]

Ottawa girl set to become the youngest university graduate in Canadian history

 

OTTAWA — Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis is not your typical 12-year-old. She is a child prodigy who's about to become the youngest Canadian to ever graduate from university.

https://www.timescol...history-7120547

[Matt R.]

^ don’t peak too soon!

[Victoria Watcher]

I have to agree, university makes little sense the way it is done still today.  For most disciplines.

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 July 2023 - 09:28 AM.

[Mike K.]

They were places for gifted people once, as a means of introducing them to other gifted people. The standards are so low now, that as long as you pay, you get in.

Back when I was at UVic there were 18,000 students. There are 22,000 as of 2022, and on Vancouver Island there are now three universities (UVic, Royal Roads, and Vancouver Island).

[Victoria Watcher]

You can directly DM a gifted person today. And join online groups that will also introduce you. I simply can’t understand how attending a UVic lecture in Political Science for example makes any sense when you can watch superior lectures online.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 July 2023 - 09:54 AM.

[Nparker]

Online experiences for almost everything tend to be inferior to in-person attendance. This is not an endorsement of UVic or its politicization of all disciplines, just a fact. 

[Mike K.]

It’s your opinion, it is not a fact.

I’ve learned more about more things from YouTube, than I ever did in university.

I can fix things I never knew I could, via YouTube. I can build things I never knew I could, via YouTube. I watch lectures and debates and topic experts on YouTube, from whom I learn a great deal more, than I did at UVic.

There is no drawback to a YouTube production, compared to a lecture at a lecture hall.

[Victoria Watcher]

Online experiences for almost everything tend to be inferior to in-person attendance. 

 

 

Oh I agree for example that Zoom meetings are useless.  But for one-to-many lectures (where individuals will not be asking questions, or very few will), it makes little sense for 300 to gather at a UVic lecture hall to hear some lame local.

[Sparky]

I teach an online course that is applicable to tradesmen across the province.

They are presented in segments where students can do as much or as little as they want when they want it.

Distance education…any time…any place…any path …any pace.

This can be more valuable than classroom education for a growing number of students.

[Victoria Watcher]

When radio and records became popular and within the budget of many, lots of local orchestras went out of business. Since people could tune or play records of the very best bands from big cities.

The same idea should follow with universities.

[AllseeingEye]

For some people and for certain courses I can see the value in distance/online learning for sure. Times and attitudes change of course and I know for a fact our daughter enjoyed distance learning online at Camosun during the pandemic. To each their own naturally.....

 

However for me and remember my higher learning experiences occurred 35-40 years ago, I always believed and will continue to believe even today that an integral part of the 'university experience' was the on-campus component: actually meeting and mingling and physically interacting with people literally from all over the world from different cultures and backgrounds; when I went to UVic there were < 10,000 students and I am very grateful I attended when I did. Attending all my courses online? Face down in a monitor all day without the physical sounds and sights and stimulation of actual on-campus, in classroom - and of course in pub - socializing and contact? Boooooooooooring. 

 

Even when I got to UBC to do my grad work on a campus with close to 35,000 students that was an experience I wouldn't trade for all the online coursework on the planet. The intellectual interaction in class with the others in my grad cohort, beers with my sponsor prof in the the UBC Faculty Club - not to mention rollicking nights in the UBC Pit Pub, the crazy parties on fraternity row.....can't do any of that chained to a keyboard.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 01 July 2023 - 11:15 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I do believe there is some value to what you say in paragraph #2 there.

 

But it's probably not worth the cost. 

[AllseeingEye]

I do believe there is some value to what you say in paragraph #2 there.

 

But it's probably not worth the cost. 

 

Different strokes, different folks and all that, not to mention a different era too: "cost" then was nothing. My total cost all in for my undergrad was about $5k.

 

Again though for me even if I paying costs in 2023 dollars I would still infinitely prefer the on-campus in person experience. Remember too my entire working life has been spent on computers glued to screens. My tolerance for that environment is therefore not surprisingly finite; being a boomer I will happily ditch staring at a monitor any chance I get in exchange for real world interactions.

 

After spending nearly eight hours every day five days a week on a computer I cannot fathom or conceive why anyone would then willingly spend yet another 3-4-5 hours doing the same each night. But that's me. Before subjecting my brain cells or eyeballs to one moment more looking at a screen I will happily go on a date with my wife, go to the gym - leaving my phone in my locker, turned off, since I am there to work out and not strut around texting or chatting online - or walk the dog, or go for a swim at the local pool or go for a coffee with a friend etc. Speaking of which its time to walk the dog then go to the Canada Day party on the gorge so Happy Canada Day y'all....

[Victoria Watcher]

Poor quality university courses face limits on student numbers (UK)

 

 

 

The government said courses that do not have "good outcomes" for students would include those that have high drop-out rates or have a low proportion of students going on to professional jobs. It will also look at potential earnings when deciding if a degree offers enough value.

 

PM Rishi Sunak said: "The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world and studying for a degree can be immensely rewarding. But too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor-quality course at the taxpayers' expense that doesn't offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it."

 

Nearly three-in-10 graduates do not progress into highly-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after graduating, according to the OfS.

 

The OfS already has the power to investigate and sanction universities which offer degrees falling below minimum performance thresholds - but the new rules would permit the regulator to limit student numbers for those courses.

 

The current thresholds for full-time students doing a first degree are for:

• 80% of students to continue their studies
• 75% of students to complete their course
• 60% of students to go on to further study, professional work, or other positive outcomes, within 15 months of graduating.

This announcement does not change these criteria, and other aspects of the policy are unclear, such as how many students may be denied a place at university in future.

 

 

https://www.bbc.com/...litics-66216005

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 July 2023 - 07:03 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Today's TC:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My arts degree is not a waste of time and money

 

Being able to connect with others – to feel heard, is an integral component of what I wish to do in the future. My degree helped me find my voice.

 

https://www.timescol...d-money-7487732

 

Now, you might be eager to ask me, “So, what did you end up doing with your degree?”   (VW - the article never says, I had to look it up, see below)

 

Although I am on a different path than I originally envisioned, there is no doubt in my mind that my English degree has given me a set of invaluable skills, as I embark on a new adventure of combining my passion for mental health, writing and working with children and their families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same author:

 

 

 

 

I thought real Chinese food could help me reconnect with my roots

 

https://www.theglobe...-with-my-roots/

 

 

 

 

 

 

I lie to my mom because she will worry. Some things I need to fix on my own

 

My mother is a good mother. She is also a mother to a child who wants to die and who has tried to, many times. I can imagine it must be unbearable to know that your eldest child no longer wishes to be on this Earth, with you by their side.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.theglobe...d-to-fix-on-my/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.linkedin...nalSubdomain=ca

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 September 2023 - 09:39 AM.

[Nparker]

Future welfare recipient.

[Barrrister]

My undergrad lectures allowed me to meet a steady stream of cheerful girls who had dubious tastes and low morals. On the other hand my dog had more common sense than any of the profs.