OU DD303

This course is my final course on my BSc Psychology, so with any luck I will be walking away in November of this year with another degree to my name, to add to the BSc Software Engineering I have back from 1995.

When you look at the two degrees, they really don't have anything in common, and are from wildly different areas of life.

I still think that in the future I might use my BSc Psychology in practice, but I think for the time being that will be on the back burner.

This course DD303 is a cognitive psychology course, lots of stats, lots of SPSS, which don't really interest me that much and so far I am finding the course like treading through treacle, bloody difficult.

By the end of the year I will be taking a break before embarking on more studies.

I found out that to go any further with Psychology one needs an MSc, which means more money and lo and behold not something I have much of to be honest. I also found out that the MSc for Psychology is more expensive than for Computers. So in my desire to upgrade my taught skills to a higher level, I will embark when I get the money and that could be a way off at the moment on doing an MSc in Computers. All to help me further ones career and skills.

So if anyone finds a spare £5K lying around, I would happily take receipt of for you and put it to good use ;o))

Flamenco Dance Lesson

Tonight I am going to a flamenco dance lesson.

This is going to ensure hilarity, especially for Z, as she has never seen me dance. I have done very well to keep my lack of dance skills hidden for a long time, but after prodding and finding that Z would like to really do something like flamenco or salsa, I found a place that is offering a free lesson tonight, so we are off on Good Friday to have a nice time out. Well I am hoping that is the case, I know with my two left feet and knobbly knees, I am unlikely to win any prizes for dancing.

I am hoping the place holding the dance lesson will be able to take my rendition of what I am being taught, without kicking me out, or laughing so hard.

I am not sure what Z is expecting from me, I have warned Z that I am not classed as a dancer in any manner or form, and that to expect so would be to lead to disappointment.

I guess by tomorrow we will know whether I can show my face in public again or have to hang my head in shame because of my two left feet.

Online Focus group

Last Sunday I for the first time did an online focus group. It was an odd experience to say the least. I got paid of course, which is always a good thing, but it was certainly very different to anything I had done before and you certainly get very different views on a single subject, which surprised me, though with me doing a psychology degree, I shouldn't be that surprised.

It started late for those who arrived late, there is always one or two, or three in this case....

We were asked about a supermarket and their marketing and how believable, etc we found it. Oddly enough most of us were very cynical in what we were reading to start with, by the end though; most had changed their position and were believing more. Though whether that translates to more sales for this particular supermarket who knows.

I will do it again, it wasn't too bad, and for the reward I got, worth it. An hour or so of my time and an hour I possibly wouldn't have been productive doing anything else, so why not.

If you get offered the chance and can do these things, do it, even if you only do it once, it is worth it

Changing Mobile Number

I in the past week changed my mobile phone, which for me is very unusual, especially as I had the previous one for about 18 months and the one before that for about 4 years until it broke. I moved over 3, which despite the problems my other half has had with them offered a £15 a month for life deal as long as I don't change the price plan, easily done for me. Thus saving me money on the PAYG I had with vodafone.

Well 3 did what they always do, not follow the sell they have on their website, I got no memory card as they claimed I would, though after complaining, they credited the account with the money so I could buy one, too right in my mind.

What I didn't do that was clever was to notify those who needed to know that I changed my number in a good manner. I managed to send a text saying my number had changed, but didn't say who I was, ensue masses of texts asking who the hell I was. I have no idea why I didn't put my name until afterwards, but I didn't, must have been half asleep, but when people realised it was me, plenty of laughs, etc as to how I managed to screw up what is a simple operation.

So if you do change your mobile phone and number, don't do what I did, be a clever person and add your name to a text.