Today...

[Ginger_Warrior]

Today, my ulcer's gone down so I can talk properly again. We had a seminar on how important play and rest is as an Activity of Daily Living to human beings and, therefore, patients in hospital. It definitely challenged how I think about video games, or rather how seriously I should take them in contrast to whether I find taking games that seriously 'fun' at all.

 

Speaking of which, an interesting article today reflecting on video game addiction. I don't have the balls to post it on the General Board, but I know the audience on this board will be more open to reading it. :^_^:

[MuffinMaddy]

Thank you, everybody for letting me vent here.

The situation is finally sorted, and the exam board decided not to take any action against me.

I had a thought deep down that this would be the outcome, however, it never stopped me panicking that this would be the day that the exam board would be harsh and penalise everybody involved.

My friends have told me I haven't smiled for a week. Nothing I was studying for was going into my head, I thought I wouldn't be at school in a month if they penalised me. That would be the end of it, everything I'd worked for in the past 2 years, and for what? Something I simply have not done.

There's no record system either, so the exam board keeps no record, as thousands sit these exams

and they don't really have time to take records and tally people's offenses.

The letter of complaint about the staff's behaviour still was sent to the headteacher, which she probably received today.

She'll read it some point, but yeah.

 

So I was walking away to a shop and I happened to leave at the exact same time as the members of staff who accused me.

I was like "Just my timing" in my head and pretended to be on my phone and behaved as if I hadn't noticed them.

I began to change route when one of them approached me and was like "Maddy, Can I have a word?"

I gave him a look that sort of said "What do you want?" And as a sort of reflex, I put my phone in my bag, and he was like

"No, don't worry, you can have your phone out" and he looked almost apologetic. He then said "I have some news for you. Don't worry"

I snapped: "I'm not worried." even though, I predictably was. And he said "The exam board have decided to take no action against you."

I snapped again and was like "Too late. You've done the damage. People see me and call me 'the cheater'. TOO BLOODY LATE" and I walked off.

He tried to reason with me but I stopped hearing as I continued to walk off.

 

I felt such satisfaction, a sort of 'yes. I've done it' feel. Goodbye to the 'Yes sir, thank you sir' polite Maddy, I felt that he had to know that I was angry and shaken by the whole ordeal. You cant play with an emotional person like this and expect me to revert to the little polite, 'yes, no, thank you, please' me.

Nope. I'm going to use this to get stronger.

I don't know where the snappy me came out from, but I'm happy it came out just in time. I'm never letting this happen again.

I turned the corner and started skipping, though. I called my mother and she was so relieved. I texted all the friends who supported me, and I was just so glad...

Got back to school and emailed my Chemistry teacher thanking him profusely for everything. He emailed me back saying that he's very happy for me and he bumped into the member of staff that told me the news. This evening, we finally spoke face to face and he told me that he questioned the member of staff,

"Do you know how hard Maddy works? Do you have any idea? She has 12 hours of Chemistry, comes for extra lessons, stays after school, asks for help whenever she needs, does loads of extra work? Did you have any idea before you treated her that way? No wonder she's angry with you"

The guy had gone to complain to my Chemistry teacher that I didn't seem happy when he told me the news.

And to my Chemistry teacher's questions, he said "Wow.... That's dedication"

and he was like. "Well yeah. It's Maddy. She works HARD" and he went back to teaching his class. So basically, he's got a beating from me, my Chemistry teacher.

And my mum wrote a complaint to the headteacher about the situation anyway, so that'll probably be being chased up soon as well.

 

Also, the invigilator is leaving. Win win for me. At least she can't do this to anybody any longer. I found out pretty much all her details last night. I was walking and thinking to myself, "Whenever he sees me, what must he be thinking?" But I stopped thinking like that and thought "Well. I'll just be a symbol that no matter who you are, you can't abuse your power like that and get away with it. It's just not on"

 

I've looked at the answers of the exam I did which was under threat, and I'm very pleased with the mark scheme.

Looking like about 80-90% which is much better than my initial score of probably a bit under 40%

I can confidently say that my grade in Chemistry A Level has changed as a result of this exam. What a transformation in a week...

Glad it's all over.

[Randox]

Good news all around Maddy :)

 

 

I'd forgetten how much I don't care for walking long distances on snowy sidewalks. I have a few sore muscles from the exercise, though all in all, probably a decent work out compared to normal walking since your doing more work to move half as fast. Stuff is work to walk in than sand sometimes. I also hear that the public system had a snow day. I figure the roads were in pretty rough shape out in the rural areas. It's a nice bonus for the urban and sub-urban schools being in the same district as a number of rural ones, so they often get snow days together, although sometimes they just cancel buses instead.

 

I also got a probably explanation for why my hands go stone cold at the drop of a hat, sometimes at random, often in total disproportion to the actual temperature. They figure I probably have Raynaud disease, which essentially causes the veins in certain parts of your body (particularly fingers) to constrict far more than usual when exposed to cold or sudden changes in temperature, and in response to stress. There isn't really anything you can do about it, other than being aware of the triggers and taking physical measures to deal with them. I was already thinking about getting heated gloves anyway, so I'll definitely be pursuing this now. Not entirely pleased to have another disease to add to my medical CV, but the good news is that the veins in my hands should be just fine, and under normal conditions I probably don't have any chronic circulation problems or nerve issues, which is great to hear.

 

 

EDIT: Thanks for the article Ginger. While I am well aware of the machanisims used to keep people hooked, and I'm sure these do work quite well on most people (since the gaming industry exists). But the level of obsession where people let their lives disintegrate around them seems more like a gambling addiction. I figure with any behavioral addiction, there are certain circumstances and personality requisits you require before you can develop such levels of obsession with a game. While I applaud (and secretly went YESSSS!) when I say them talk about bringing in laws to prevent things like the squeal of fortune, I don't think that the game causes a gambling addiction at all. I think it highlights the people who are predisposed to gambling addictions, and would have been at risk one way or another. If someone is able to realize that their obsession with the wheel, or duel arena is unhealthy, better to learn it in a virtual world than in a casino when you gamble away your retirement fund, the kids college money, and another stack of money you don't actually have. On the other hand, you could rope people in that might have never otherwise been caught up in gambling, so it's hard to say what the net is.

 

Either way, I do think the law has it right in it's current format, that predisposition or not, you shouldn't be finding out until your old enough to understand the consequence of your actions, and we can be fully justified in turning you into a pariah if you gamble you children's college money away.

 

For general gaming addiction, I'm not so sure what to do about that. Right now might be the best scenario as long as there are people in their lives who can recognize when things are out of control and step in, because it seems to be zooming and and highlighting other issues. For the girl who was obsessed with COD, she sort of demonstrated that if it hadn't been games, it would have been something else anyway, and short of throwing her in a padded cell and letting her rot in her own misery, there isn't a whole lot you can do to deal with that, except time until you have a different perspective on the world, and whatever you can do in the mean time to restore some sembalence of self esteem.

[Estonian dude]

Maddy is insane.

For studying that much.

OK, now not insane, but I would never be able to force myself to do anything like this. Kudos to you for that.

And glad you got it worked out.

 

And Randox, my hands and feet get ice-cold aswell. But I think I don't have any medical conditions since I simply spend hours at my computer without gloves, when there is only like 5-6 degrees Celsius in my room. It would cool anyone down.

And I've had moments when liquids have frozen on the floor of my room.

And that's how lazy I am, since I have a fireplace which would heat the room to around 15 degrees Celsius if it burns for 5-6 hours, but I am too lazy to use it...

Oh, it is -15 degrees Celsius outside right now and my room is uninsulated practically.

[Sbrideau]

For the first time my car almost didn't start at -24C today. It's supposed to be -35C tomorrow so I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't start tomorrow morning.

[Randox]

For the first time my car almost didn't start at -24C today. It's supposed to be -35C tomorrow so I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't start tomorrow morning.

If possible, put it in the garage possibly with a portable heater aimed at the engine to keep it nice and toasty through the night. Pity gasoline engines never come with an injection port for Ether (which is an acceptable way to help a commercial diesel engine get going with a bang). You could try to heat it outside as well. Might do well enough to give it some help in the morning.

[Kaida23]

Mere words cannot express how happy I am to hear everything worked out for you Maddy. :thumbup: You've worked far too hard to have everything ruined by an idiot. There's plenty of time for that once you enter the workforce. :P

 

My hands and feet get ridiculously cold as well, but that's due to poor circulation in my extremities (a genetic trait I inherited from my mother's side of the family). That's why I have $180 boots and several $10 pairs of insulated socks. If you live near a Mark's Work Wearhouse, I highly recommend picking some up. My neighbor is a linesman for Hydro One and he gave me a pair of their gloves. Best. Gloves. Ever. I have no idea what they cost or where they get them, but my fingers don't get cold. :grin:

 

If possible, put it in the garage possibly with a portable heater aimed at the engine to keep it nice and toasty through the night. Pity gasoline engines never come with an injection port for Ether (which is an acceptable way to help a commercial diesel engine get going with a bang). You could try to heat it outside as well. Might do well enough to give it some help in the morning.

Two words: Block heater (I have yet to see a car in Canada without one). I plug my truck in every night and I never have trouble starting it even on the coldest days. You also might want to consider running ethanol blended gas in the winter (that's all we have in Ontario, but I don't know about the Maritimes). The ethanol acts as a gasline antifreeze.

[Serpent Eye]

Mere words cannot express how happy I am to hear everything worked out for you Maddy. :thumbup: You've worked far too hard to have everything ruined by an idiot. There's plenty of time for that once you enter the workforce. :P

Sums up my thoughts as well! :D I'm terribly happy everything was sorted out.

[Randox]

Do they still have block heaters in cars? I assumed they stopped putting them in since it's been like a decade since I saw a car with the cord sticking out through the grill. It's also never occurred to me to check for one under the hood. We might have ethanol in our gas, but if we do it's purely an environmental thing. It hasn't gotten cold enough here to freeze gasoline since the last ice age.

 

As for my fingers, right now if I am going to be outside for a long time, I wear my mittens. My fingers in a group can still stay warm enough to be comfortable (and a heat pack works a lot better if it can get to my fingers). My thumb is typically fine all on it's own, or at least much slower to cool down, which is apparently the norm for the diagnosis.

[Kaida23]

It's the not gas you have to worry about freezing, it's any water/moisture that gets into it as that will freeze (well, start to gel). It doesn't take much to start gumming stuff up.

[Sbrideau]

Yeah the water is why I never go under half a tank of gas in the winter even when I'm broke. And I usually get the gas at Sobeys which does have ethanol in it. The block heater plug was lost in an accident that happened before I owned the car, but it was never needed. Since I'm in an appartment I don't have a garage either lol. Guess I just have to hope for tomorrow, but I think it's the battery that's too old now, since it's the original and the car is 12 years old. When it gets warmer I'll clean the poles on the battery, might be what's causing my car to not react for the first couple of times I turn the key.

[RpgGamer]

I'm 6.5 years older than my brother and he's in a harder math course than me. Yes he's smart, but this is what I get for taking an intro math course for easy credits haha

[Randox]

Actually, that gives me an idea. Take the battery out of the car and bring it in for the night. The colder the battery the less power it can put out (slows down the chemical reaction). If you put it in and start the car while it's still warm, it will have a bit more juice to give you. Your going to lose all your presets though.

[obfuscator]

YOU'RE

[Sbrideau]

Actually, that gives me an idea. Take the battery out of the car and bring it in for the night. The colder the battery the less power it can put out (slows down the chemical reaction). If you put it in and start the car while it's still warm, it will have a bit more juice to give you. Your going to lose all your presets though.

 

Lol everything is basic in my car, the only thing it would reset is the check engine light LOL. Already got the part I need to replace though, just too lazy to get the college Mechanic students work on it as of yet. And yes, I'm broke because Im a student so saving as much as I can is what I currently do :P.

[Tim]

I. So hate autobidders on ebay. I'm trying to bid on a replacement film camera, but the prick (a classic "I'll buy collector items to flip for a quick buck") keeps bidding $1 on top of me. so now I'm waiting until last minute in 5 days and bidding. I want a replacement Pentax K1000 for mine since mine is starting to play up and it'd be cheaper to get that then refurbish. Otherwise I'm looking at paying ~$200 for a 100% refurbished one.

 

god damn you society. ;__;

 

 

EDIT: And I've sent a email to the guys I bought my GPU off, and EVGA. since day one it's been a pain in the arse, and it's now getting so bad, that one stupid GPU is killing off my PC, overheating everything and whatnot. The dreaded... GTX480.

 

So I'm seeing if I'm covered by warranty.

[jasignhagj]

The dreaded... GTX480.

 

Enjoy your housefire :P

[Distracted]

Apparently 30% of teachers in training couldn't indicate the US on a world map, 64% didn't recognize a picture of Mao Zedong and 10% actually situated WW2 in the 19th century. And we're supposed to have one of the best educational systems in the world... Worst of all, it was actually a multiple-choice test.

 

I'm really hoping the figures are somehow wrong, because this just made me lose my faith in our education system.

[decebal]

Apparently 30% of teachers in training couldn't indicate the US on a world map, 64% didn't recognize a picture of Mao Zedong and 10% actually situated WW2 in the 19th century. And we're supposed to have one of the best educational systems in the world... Worst of all, it was actually a multiple-choice test.

 

I'm really hoping the figures are somehow wrong, because this just made me lose my faith in our education system.

Source?

[Distracted]

I could give you lots, but they're all in Dutch so I doubt you'd learn any more from them.

[champion]

My high school just got evacuated because two "suspicious devices" aka bombs went off, and on Facebook I'm seeing they just found a 3rd. No one is seriously injured so far, I guess some teachers got treated for some minor medical stuff. There are police, firefighters, medics, and media everywhere.

 

Pretty scary shit, the worst part is that allegedly the bottles that were used had metal in them so shrapnel could have flown. Obviously no one knows all the details for sure though.

 

Dang.

[decebal]

I could give you lots, but they're all in Dutch so I doubt you'd learn any more from them.

Try me, it's amazing how useful Google Translate is.

[Estonian dude]

I got invited to a party hosted by minors. About 300 people are invited and I only know about 20 of them. Apparently I have left a really good impression on one of the hosts.

Now I am at a dilemma, to go, or not to go. I would meet boatloads of new people, interesting, different people. Most people are artists of some kind. They have also hired a live band.

Then again, as it is a minor party, there is most likely going to be trouble. And as I said I don't know most of the people and if there is so much of those people I tend to keep myself at only the people I know at some quiet spot.

[Distracted]

I could give you lots, but they're all in Dutch so I doubt you'd learn any more from them.

Try me, it's amazing how useful Google Translate is.

This is the original source, but the full article is in the magazine the site's for. A respected Belgian newspaper, and the reaction from the minister of education. For added believability, the study was performed on about 1000 students by a university that's grouped up with the Catholic University of Louvain.

[TTanT]

Apparently 30% of teachers in training couldn't indicate the US on a world map, 64% didn't recognize a picture of Mao Zedong and 10% actually situated WW2 in the 19th century. And we're supposed to have one of the best educational systems in the world... Worst of all, it was actually a multiple-choice test.

 

I'm really hoping the figures are somehow wrong, because this just made me lose my faith in our education system.

 

Saying WWII was in the 19th century sounds like a brain fart to me. I mean it's easy to think "oh so the 1900's" if you're rushing through the test or in general not paying enough attention.

And heck I doubt I'd recognize Mao Zedong either. If there were other famous dictators from the area and time period listed with him I'd be guessing.

 

Mind, not finding a country as large as the US on a map IS intriguing. I'll run the article through a translator later.