Mahone

Is it sad that the geek in me makes me keep thinking you've typed "sAMAccountName" when you capitalise his username like that?

The response time is one of the questions being raised, and I'm sure the met will respond to that question in due course.

Yeah, they carry pretty much all of those, just not firearms. Chances are, it wouldn't have been any different at all. They ran him down in a car first. I'd like to see anyone try to put up a defense against two armed men after just being run over, regardless of what weapons they have. Lets not turn this into yet another thread about whether citizens should be armed or not, please?

Yes. The UK is an entirely different society to the US :)

The Metropolitan Police stated that police were at the scene within 9 minutes of the first 999 call, and armed officers were there within 14 minutes.

Agree with Pam, there way too many variables in what you plan on doing to get an accurate answer here. Some advice though, don't rely entirely on what the company tell you over the phone. Read the terms and conditions of the travel insurance options offered to you fully. You might be surprised at the amount of ways you can exclude yourself from being able to claim, if you should ever need to.

It's difficult to argue about what defines shouting, but to me personally and the way in which I was brought up, that was shouting. According to at least one definiton I found, I'm not the only one with this opinion: It's nothing to do with the message they are trying to get out, which may be perfectly valid. It's the way it's said/done. He is a teenager, not a child, he is more than capable of controlling himself and what he says. I was a teenager myself not too long back, I know what it's like. He wasn't merely offering her his opinion of how she should be teaching, he was aggressive about it. Some choice phrases: "I'm TELLING you what you need to do" - Not suggesting, TELLING. He is in control. "When I'm not B****ING" - Aggressive and expletive "And NOW I will leave" - Making it his choice to leave, not the teachers. Control. "And if you would like, I'll teach you a little more so you can actually learn how to teach a fri**in class" - Reversal of roles, demeaning the teacher. "So don't try to take credibility to teaching me jack" - Insulting It's great to provide constructive criticism where necessary, but it's incredibly important to learn how to do it appropriately. I honestly can't believe behaving in that way at work, where you're supposed to be a professional, would garner any support. And if it hasn't been recorded, his little temper tantrum wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference to the teacher or her methods. Regardless of the reasons for him acting like this, I think he (and everyone else that saw it) needs to be taught that it's not appropriate, otherwise this is the method the rest of them will choose to protest next time they disagree with any authority figure.

Of course, but you've once again missed my point. It's not about whether or not to take a stand, it's about how that stand is taken. Irrelevant. That wasn't part of the question.

Mexico

I don't see the teacher shouting at him in the same way he was shouting at her. Do you? In fact, I think she remained very calm throughout the whole thing. It was the student that was out of control. Because she is his teacher, whether he liked that or not. By virtue of the position alone, she deserves to be treated with more respect than she was shown, regardless of whether or not he liked her methods. I haven't for one moment suggested he shouldn't have complained, I'm only referring to the method he chose to complain. Okay so lets say we think the way he acted was acceptable. Do we allow this to set a precedent? Is it now acceptable for students to shout their personal opinions and criticisms of the teacher from half way across the classroom, in front of anyone that just happens to be present? Should this become a de facto standard? If one is allowed to get away with it, why not all of them? What happens when they reach employment? Shouting out their disagreements with their boss from half way across the office in this manner like they've been taught at school won't get them any support, they'd get fired the same day. I could continue, but I think you see where I'm going with this. I will ask this again though: If you were home schooling your children, would you allow them to talk to you in this manner if they disagreed with your teaching methods? If not, why is doing the same to the teacher acceptable?

Happy birthday :)

That makes two of us I am genuinely surprised at how polar people's definitions of "respect", "articulate" and "courage" can be. If the video shown is all of those... well I'm just surprised. How many of us would allow our own children to speak to us like that (regardless of what in their opinion we have done incorrectly)? If not, why is it okay to talk to his teacher like that? For me, it'd have taken a lot more courage to not lose my temper and walk away. But hopefully that's what I'd have done, and dealt with it more appropriately once I'd calmed down.

What's the difference? I think most people would be humiliated if they were criticised in public when it wasn't expected or asked for. I just don't agree with this at all. The line he went down was neither, in my opinion. The "respectful" method would be to approach the teacher in private, and then the prinicpal if necessary. There is also a right way to stand up to it, and a wrong way. I can't accept that his chosen method was right, unless the circumstances were extenuating. To me, it looks like an immature student who was unable to control his temper. From that video alone, I've lost respect for the student, but not for the teacher.

I don't think it was respectful at all. I've never considered public humiliation respectful. If it was one of my future children that lost control and offloaded in public I'd be highly embarrassed and I'd demand that he apologised to both the teacher and principal. As above, if he had a concern or complaint, he should have used the official channels for doing this. She is his teacher, and he is her student - he seemed to have forgotten that hierarchy for a moment.

Yep. I've always said that if you see a procession of 8 or 9 cars speeding down the M6 in the direction of the preston temple at 80MPH on a Saturday afternoon, you're probably looking at a typical mormon wedding day in the northern half of the UK. I've attended many of these weddings, and that last minute dash to the temple really ruins the day for everyone, let alone the bride and groom. Luckily, I got married abroad, so didn't have to go through all of that.

Why? Those of us with AS tend to have a different mindset to most NT people. This mindset isn't "wrong", just a different perspective on life. Usually the perspective of AS is more logical/analytical and less emotional when compared to that of NT, this can cause some social interaction issues. You're probably of above average intelligence (statistically most AS are), you likely have a limited scope of interests, but those interests that you do have are strong and you're probably very good with them. Work to your strengths, and you'll make something of yourself. And stop talking and thinking about aspergers as if it's something to be ashamed of - it's not. The sooner you realise that, the better.

Good question, and one that I asked myself not too long back. I chose to take my computing degree, not because I believe it has anything to offer in terms of knowledge that's of real value in my career (certainly not anything that's worth the time and money that's put into getting a degree), but to workaround those headhunters that won't even look at the rest of your resume if you don't have a degree or above in a related subject, regardless of what work experience and certifications you might have. I'm almost up to 1/3 of the way through now. When I've finished it, we'll see if that opinion has changed :)

If you want to go into programming, research the various languages, pick a couple and learn. The knowledge is free, and there is plenty of it online. Then find someone that needs a programmer, but can't afford one and offer to work for free (local small schools, charities etc. are always in desperate need of IT help here in the UK). This will allow you to build up your resume, experience and eventually one of them may offer you a job. Or find someone that's advertising for an apprentice - it's very low money, but they'll teach you on the job.

Have you considered just going straight into the IT work field? It'll be low paid initially, as you don't have any prior experience or qualifications (I don't think) in the field, but at least that way you can determine whether it's something you want to do for a living, and if you decide that it is, you can then start working on the qualifications. I started work in IT (network/server infrastructure) at the age of 18 without a degree, the work experience enabled me to work my way up the ranks as quickly as anyone with a degree would, and I'm currently in the middle of completing a computing degree during my evenings, whilst continuing to work full time - this removes any concerns about being able to pay for the qualification, and I continue to gain work experience throughout the time it's going to take me to complete the degree.

I understand what the point was, but the statement "The poorest people in the USA, are happier than richer people who live in..." was too vague to be true, according to that graph.

True, but the further up the UK line you go, it rises well above the lower parts of the US line. It's not accurate to say that the richer people in the UK are not happier than the poorer people in the USA. It could be said that when comparing people/families of equal income in both countries, the people in the USA would be happier.

Not strictly true. Looking at the UK vs USA, it'd be more accurate to say that the poorer in the USA are happier than the poorer in the UK and the richer in the USA are happier than the richer in the UK. It doesn't work if you say that the poorer in the USA are happier than the richer in the UK. My wife (being American) and I (being British) have discussed/argued the reasons for this at length. Once I've spent some considerable time in the states, I might be able to come up with some reasons based on experience as to why this might be the case.

This thread wasn't based around a standard sales call. It's based around those many telemarketers that are invasive, stretching the truth or blatantly lying in order to get through to the optimum person for their selling needs. If our missionaries behaved in this manner, I would expect them to get treated in exactly the same way, and in my opinion, they'd deserve it. I would hope no mission president would encourage or condone these tactics.

This would probably work with a company that only received one or two sales calls a day. There is not a chance I'm going to be able to spot a good deal via the phone with the sheer volume we receive.

I understand what you're saying, but it wouldn't just be through research as and when I want a product. Most people in my field regularly attend conferences as part of their career. Conferences are a great way of learning about the most recent advances, and what others are doing. Sales teams are usually all over these. Online forums and communities dedicated to this field are also popular, not just for resolving issues but for keeping up with day to day relevant information. One forum I regulate in particular has paid sponsers, that are well respected within that forum community, and I often look at their lastest offers simply because of the feedback others are giving about them online. Both of the above are non-intrusive, but effective ways of marketing. A phone call is simply not necessary.