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mohrorless · Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:17 am Post subject:

[quote="Michelle"]

Michelle · Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:34 am Post subject:

Other way around. My kids won't go and it's been really difficult. It's a vicious circle. The more they've done it, the more behind they've become with their schoolwork, and the harder and more embarassing it is for them to walk into a classroom when I've managed to get them to go. It's so frustrating because they are very intelligent, mostly well-mannered, helpful young teens who just hate school. My son is actually old enough to leave now anyway, but I'd like him to do another year at least and focus on IT as he is a computer and gaming nerd. With home-schooling the students have phone contact with their subject teachers, so after a good talk with the IT teacher my son is enrolling in Cerfiticate III in Multimedia as part of year 11 for next year. (Our school year is late Jan/early Feb to December). My daughter is in her second year of high school next year, and she has said that she wants to go to a regular school after we sell the house and move back down towards Brisbane (currently looking at the Gold Coast area). I'm keeping my fingers crossed because she really needs to have friends her own age to socialise with, but I've enrolled her for home schooling again just in case.
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mohrorless · Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:55 am Post subject:

If certification there is anythig like certification here then that is the way to go. What kind of multimedia is your son into?

Good Luck! You can always lean on us if you need to.....
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Michelle · Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:09 pm Post subject:

Games, Sir John. Bloody games. Laughing

He wants to make games. He's had a free game maker program that he downloaded and has been fiddling with, but he's done mods for games that he already has and is quite proud of himself for changing all the music on one of them (I think GTA) and putting in songs that he prefers.
He also wants to learn how to repair computers. That will be good. Very Happy

He's already enrolled in the Certificate II in IT, but is bored with it because it starts off with fairly basic stuff like Keyboarding. He doesn't care if isn't using the right fingers. Laughing

I think the IT teacher recognised the computer nerd in my boy, and gave him quite a lot of good advice. At least my son is feeling a bit more positive now.
The ex wanted him to be a mechanic or plumber, but now wants him to be an electrician as mechanics and plumbers don't earn enough money. Rolling Eyes

That's the last thing my son wants, and seems quite proud to refer to himself as a nerd. Laughing

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mohrorless · Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:42 am Post subject:

Mechanics and plumbers don't make enough money? Not here. You should see what they bill here....they live quite comfortably.

Games is good. If he gets good at it, he can make plenty of money - especially if he gets into the gaming department for Sony or Microsoft.

Being a computer programmer, I make a decent living. I'll never be rich, but of course I work at a local government agency, so I don't get paid a lot of money but I get pretty decent benefits and good vacation time.

The problem with the being the programming market it ebbs and flows a lot with the stock market. When everything is going well, companies are more willing to pour more money into the computer department, when the market is not so good, the computer department is the first place that most companies will start cutting back.

There is a market for repair, but with the rate that new computers come out, some people/companies will just get a new one then take the time/spend the money to fix the old one.

Just encourage him, if he finds a job doing what he loves to do then he will have a happy life.

There is nothing wrong being a nerd.
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Michelle · Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:32 pm Post subject:

Mechanics and plumbers make good money here too. Laughing

It's just that the ex is an A-grade mechanicby trade, and no amount of money is ever enough for him so he's been mostly overseas for years and has now worked his way up from Engineer to being an 'Executive Vice President' of this company. He's also a fill-in 'Captain' since the other captain quit but does not have any qualifications, and he's still complaining about not getting enough money. Rolling Eyes

Oh looky, he's on this page but I guess it's an old pic because he is still being shown as Chief Engineer. They've misspelt his surname and got the wrong DOB. I don't know if that would have been deliberate or not.

mohrorless · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:28 am Post subject:

I tried to write this last night, but my computer at home is having "issues". I am on vacation next week and I will have to wipe it out and reinstall everything. Figures. That machine is my workhorse for shrubbing too, so you might not see me lurking around for a few days.

Michelle, if your son is good at making video games maybe he could get into the role playing games, the ones that everyone goes online with. Or he could come up with some new games. He could make a Mel Gibson Driving Game, or possibly Russell Crowe Slug Fest. I bet those would sell pretty good down there.
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Tenebra · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:55 am Post subject:

You mean MMORPG and MMOG John Wink

MMORPG (or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) are very popular, especially World of Warcraft nowadays. I have played a few games myself and tried some online ones, and actually love them but do not have enough time to play.

Michelle John is right. Those are the trends of today and tomorrow as well. Online games are the future (although I do like the occasional single player one), and your son might consider those.
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mohrorless · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:31 am Post subject:

Michelle · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:11 am Post subject:

mohrorless · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:57 am Post subject:

Sir Hamster of Elderberry · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 5:59 pm Post subject:

Michelle,

I doubt there is anything I can offer that will persuade your children that more school is a good thing, but I can point out that a better education leads to better jobs, with more free time (and free income) to spend on playing games. If he really wants to get into writing games, then ought to study programming and math. Either way, a better education gives him a better shot at what he wants.

I've been know to play a few games myself. Smile

ni! i!u

mohrorless · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject:

I'll second SHoE's opinion. Heck, tell the kids that an actual programmer agreed with the opinion, the more you know the better off you are.
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Michelle · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:14 pm Post subject:

I agree too. They've both been lectured, counselled, yelled at, talked to quietly, had advice from teachers. My daughter is very clingy with me, and was diagnosed a few years ago with separation anxiety. That is probably part of her problem as far as school is concerned. My son has never been a good sleeper and this has contributed to his problems. He goes through cycles of being awake all night and sleeping half the day. Then he goes through the getting up early, sleeping early which is great until the cycle starts all over again and he lies in bed for hours and can't get to sleep until 4, 5 or 6 am. Rolling Eyes

Another big part of the problem - They're both bigger than me now and can run faster.
Laughing

They both need to be mixing with kids their own age, and going to movies etc. Neither of them have really tried to make friends since we've been here, because they reckon the local kids are all too rough. That's true to a certain extent. The more decent kids who attend the expensive private schools all go home for the holidays. A lot of the local kids who live here don't seem to have anything to do so they're shoplifting, getting drunk etc. and just wandereing around. Not all of them are like that, but a lot of them are.
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mohrorless · Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 6:14 am Post subject:

Wow, sounds like the something right out of a Mad Max movie.

Might I suggest heavy doses of drugs? Not for them, for you! #ni-1

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jbyram2 · Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:44 pm Post subject:

A friend of my daughter apparently makes quite a bit of money creating characters for online games, playing them out to buildup their attributes until they are very powerfull, and then auctioning them off on Ebay.
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Michelle · Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 8:14 pm Post subject:

Really? Good luck to him/her if it works.
#ni-1

I'm amazed how people come up with these ideas. Maybe I could auction off the NFH. Laughing

A Shrubbery · Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:46 pm Post subject:

Mercury. Still in wide use in third world mining operations.

No comment on Australia and third world status. Rolling Eyes

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Michelle · Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 1:09 am Post subject:

Excuse me?

Have you been here? Have you ever visited any of the major metropolitan and/or tourist areas?

Third world? You have got to be kidding!
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A Shrubbery · Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:41 pm Post subject:

I specifically didn't say anything about Australia being a third world country. Laughing

Pretty sure I even made a point of not saying so. Of course my presentation may have been aimed at alluding to such a thing, but then you'd have to prove my intent. And, as the great Bart Simpson says: "If you can't prove it, I didn't do it."

But they do use mercury for gold mining in third world countries. Child labor too, which makes it all the more damaging to the miners, minors, umm, whatever.
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