kingswood

Two problems with this: 1. I may be away on holiday when the training is on so would need to send a bod in my place. 2. I have no documents etc with information about this. Who do I talk to at the school about this and who else needs to know/should know about it? Thanks! Paul

Good overview of the course- thanks!

Perhaps. I am sure there is a lesson in that for both of us Paul

...and that was my ending point actually. The skeptic will claim idiocy and the person of faith turn and look outwards knowing that this is the human paradox. Good discussion! Take care!! Paul

I think when you talk about justification of laws etc., you have to realise that they are all based on some kind of world view. Whether that view is formed through a skepticism or religious belief makes no difference. You still require some foundation on which to base a moral or practical law. Some Christian groups in the USA (as an example) have laws pushed through their legislative process that promote their beliefs and I guess that is what you are referring to. That is wrong. But it is only wrong if you don't believe what they do- and when you really think about it (properly) you have to finally admit that they wouldn't like your laws for the same reason. So it's an acceptance really that the framework through which you see the world exists and that it influences your perception of politics and life and the way in which you view justice and skepticism and all those things. In addition to all of that you really have to show that "intention" was warped in the first instance before calling them "idiots". Even in UK law we have some precedent for making conclusions based on pre-meditation etc. The fact that people follow them and that their arguments resonate with some probably indicates something more than idiocy at work. Look at Hitler and his justification of war and genocide and the way people followed him. And then we have to admit that beliefs do (and by their nature *should*) influence the things around us. Otherwise they would be pretty pointless. Take, for example, Christianity. If you believe in an all-powerful creator God who is interested in His creation at every level and a person believes this it will indeed have an impact across all facets of their lives - and those around them. Some of the greatest social work has been carried out under the "influence" of such a faith and its action- and paradoxically some of the worst of human nature displayed. And that is the paradox. Whether you are a "skeptic" and hold no "faith" except in man's prowess and ability to push forward you inevitably mess with this paradox- that people of faith and people of no faith (questionable) have the ability to cause suffering or improvement. That is fact. Those a bit more skeptical (and there's nothing wrong per se with skepticism) will admit that bad things happen and people twist truth and lie for their own ends and will use this as a further evidence that Christianity (or any other faith) is false and indeed empty; whereas those who have genuine faith (which is something you at least allow) will realise that this is why they look to someone outside of themselves for hope... I'm not sure that my writing style says I have an issue with anything other than your assertion that people you disagree with- or who disagree with you or your own thought system- are idiots Take care, Paul

Ironically you mention "idiots" when in fact the video was partly about people who make those kinds of judgments about other people based on their scientific position. Would you care to classify what you mean by "idiot" and who exactly (with examples) you are talking about? If by "idiots" you mean people (yes- scientists and historians) who have valid PhDs and research degrees in their area interpreting evidence through the lens of a different framework, then I think you need to take the guy's advice. There are many scientists who are not "skeptical" (whatever you mean by that) and yet never go as far as making judgments against other people based on religious belief or scientific position. There might be a lesson there. I will wait for your reply. Paul

Completed

Hi, We are looking for some compliant disposal of our (very) old kit (we have just had a new school built and need to get rid of some ancient computers). I noticed Virtue's 'box' system but their location is a bit of a negative (we are in northants). Anyone know of companies locally who provide this service- and dare I say it- at least 'nearly free'? Thanks! Paul

I think more tangible information is needed before saying we will/will not help? What can the system do? What can't it do more importantly? How does it stack up against our pretty solid implementation of SIMS? At the moment this sounds like a political manifesto- lots of words but no substance! Also, having a look at a website would be good and possibly getting our hands on a demo of some kind without playing with live data (a Bad Thing ™).

Yep- no SOLUS or Supportnet for us either. Just when I have been having issues running the latest SIMS update too and have been going backwards and forwards with support!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Mumble. Census. Mumble...

I take it you are using the Windows AIK? If so what happens when you run a validate test against the XML file? Any errors being flagged? Paul

I disagree with abullett. No surprise there since we run a fairly large (soon to be 160 system) Apple integrated network. The only argument you may have that would hold any kind of technical or TCO point with SMT or teaching staff in general is the cost of software and/or training. That's pretty weak reasoning since software costs *anyway* for either OS and training is pretty standard. For specialist departments such as media there is nothing better than Final Cut. It's probably that simple. Since we are an arts specialism college it's probably easier to justify than if you were, say, a sports specialist place. But even so I haven't found any issues technically or financially with Apple systems on our Windows network. I also don't follow the line of thought used that 'keeping everything uniform increases your resilience to change'. I find that a little strange in this brave new world of ICT in education (and industry) where networks consist of often disparate bits and pieces from myriads of vendors and the network manager's role is to make them fit together. Interoperability. It's horses for courses. Our Apple network is amazingly happy and staff and students find it fun and efficient to use. Integration is easier than it used to be, software licensing costs won't go away no matter which platform(s) you adopt and the key is to make everything work for the education of the students. If it's for *their* best that you want to move the school away from Apple systems (though I doubt that could be a unilateral decision) then do it. But if there is a niggling doubt (which there obviously is otherwise you wouldn't be opening this up) then I would talk to your senior leadership team and have them consider the impact on the school and make a more balanced decision based not on bias towards a particular technology but instead the educational needs of the environment you are in. Good luck! Paul

I would second this- and also the advice to uninstall your VBox additions before carrying out the conversion (although I have actually carried out a conversion without doing this and without anything bad ™ happening). Paul

Don't use .local! It might cause you more problems than you hoped for with Apple integration Paul

On a postcard you say? Darn. And I wanted to post them on here