What has p*ssed you off today?

[EdibleDormouse]

I had an ad pop up on YouTube telling the viewer he/she can earn loads of money teaching what they already know. Someone would have difficulty teaching something unknown to him/her wouldn't he/she?

You'd be surprised. The number of charlatan singing teachers out there where I end up picking up the pieces...

Which brings me on nicely to what has p*ssed me off today. Threw my hat in the ring earlier this year on spec for the Head of Singing position going at a certain major public school. None - NONE - of the women that did so have been shortlisted. I cheekily called in a favour or three to find out who was on the shortlist and I'm horrified. One safe pair of hands (please let them get them job - at the very, very worst they'll be dull), and at least one that's a vocal injury lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[Retiree]

Thinking again ED, I guess what a YouTuber called Mike Winnet entitles 'contrepreneurs' - the fake gurus all over YT ads wanting to teach Amazon selling and so on and so forth often aren't as knowledgeable . I have seen ads for courses teaching how to write courses. YouTube really should screen its ads more stringently I feel.

My singing these days is limited to a monthly online folk night and any choirs I've belonged to didn't have voice test auditions. There was one such choir quite near me which unfortunately clashed with one of the activities I do with U3A. If the candidates listed as ED cites above are so dire I hope vocal chords don't get strained. Parents at such a school would likely have the necessary financial resources to bring a civil suit.

 

[EdibleDormouse]

Thinking again ED, I guess what a YouTuber called Mike Winnet entitles 'contrepreneurs' - the fake gurus all over YT ads wanting to teach Amazon selling and so on and so forth often aren't as knowledgeable . I have seen ads for courses teaching how to write courses. YouTube really should screen its ads more stringently I feel.

My singing these days is limited to a monthly online folk night and any choirs I've belonged to didn't have voice test auditions. There was one such choir quite near me which unfortunately clashed with one of the activities I do with U3A. If the candidates listed as ED cites above are so dire I hope vocal chords don't get strained. Parents at such a school would likely have the necessary financial resources to bring a civil suit.

They would, but I'd rather they'd take things like this to AOTOS and the BVA (Assocation of Teachers of Singing and British Voice Association). Qualifications aren't entirely necessary to teach singing, perhaps, but an assessment of competence - certainly when dealing with young voices - is essential IMO.

 

[Retiree]

I agree, ED. Music isn't a forte of mine. I don't play an instrument and picking out nursery rhymes on the descant recorder doesn't count. I know the memory aides FACE and E(very) G(ood) B(oy) D(eserves) F(avour) {or Fun} for the upper stave but am totally at sea for the lower stave. I can't pitch in my head which limits mnemonics' effectiveness.

 

[EdibleDormouse]

I agree, ED. Music isn't a forte of mine. I don't play an instrument and picking out nursery rhymes on the descant recorder doesn't count. I know the memory aides FACE and E(very) G(ood) B(oy) D(eserves) F(avour) {or Fun} for the upper stave but am totally at sea for the lower stave. I can't pitch in my head which limits mnemonics' effectiveness.

Ah, there are all kinds of ways to help with that for absolutely ANYONE, not just the (usually self-defined) 'musical'. It's one of my 'things' to spread those around where I can to open up music (of all kinds) and make it accessible.

 

[homie]

Price of first class stamps is going up again from tomorrow. I'm sure there was already a price rise at the beginning of the year and now they are going up again by 14% to £1.25 !

 

[Retiree]

Are the powers that be trying to close the Post Office, homie? There is a local(ish) shop to me that is also an Evri drop-off place.

I'm not mentioning any names but it seems that the Amazon selling courses I've seen ads for cost £1000s. I don't know enough on the matter to qualify me to say that no-one has ever gained anything from such courses though I tend to scepticism regarding anything that seems too good to be true.

 

[homie]

Are the powers that be trying to close the Post Office, homie? There is a local(ish) shop to me that is also an Evri drop-off place.

I'm not mentioning any names but it seems that the Amazon selling courses I've seen ads for cost £1000s. I don't know enough on the matter to qualify me to say that no-one has ever gained anything from such courses though I tend to scepticism regarding anything that seems too good to be true.

I dunno, but this price rise isn't going to help attract customers is it?

Most of those get rich selling online courses are a scam. They just repackage information most intelligent people can find out for themselves. In fact if you want to learn more, you can buy my online course "how to make money teaching people that online courses are all scams" Normal price is £1200 but its available for a limited time for only £399. Only a few spaces left and its filling up fast, so be quick!

 

[Retiree]

I dunno, but this price rise isn't going to help attract customers is it?

Most of those get rich selling online courses are a scam. They just repackage information most intelligent people can find out for themselves. In fact if you want to learn more, you can buy my online course "how to make money teaching people that online courses are all scams" Normal price is £1200 but its available for a limited time for only £399. Only a few spaces left and its filling up fast, so be quick!

There was an ad - not recently that pertained to women having enough confidence to write courses. So it seems that there are even courses claiming to teach how to write courses. One such ad had Davina McColl as its mouthpiece so that was enough to put me off. She's okay in the panel for The Masked Singer and the like. Sorry if any of her friends/relations read this blog!!!

In my previous statement I was trying to choose my words in a way that couldn't come across as defamatory. You have to take care saying things that are less than positive even if what you say is true. I think there are some online courses that are okay though they don't necessarily claim to help you find work - more teaching O/A level subjects and the like. Amazon has some free videos regarding selling on that platform and there is an article concerning doing so in The Money Shed - though selling on Amazon isn't something I'm planning on doing currently.

If I were contemplating taking an online course I would look on review sites such as Glassdoor or trustpilot to see what people who had already dipped their toes in the water say.

 

[jungkook]

Again... Driving. So many idiots about, i've never had to undertake so many people because they insist on driving at 20mph on the right lane of a dual carriageway.
Also had someone casually driving on the motorway at 45mph (no speed limit on). Get off the ******* road

 

[EdibleDormouse]

I have been a professional singer for over 25 years. My biography - in the programme the person that enthusiastically came to speak to me after last night's opera gala was holding - clearly indicates that I sing some big stuff in some pretty big places, all over Europe (well, before...THAT happened, anyway).

So why in the hell was their first question "what do you do for a real job"?

The temptation was to reply "surveys on the internet, mostly".

 

[Retiree]

I won't name it but a survey company asked me to update my profile. That's fair enough but I got a bit of a snarky message (who'd o thunk computer generated messages could be snarky?) that my status was "Fair". I got in touch to ask what the problem was and received a reply that my answers were copied and pasted. I'd love to know where they get that idea from when I was working through an online form. I'm not a rogue and the payments from some of these surveys are less than minimum wage.

 

[Sherliarty]

I won't name it but a survey company asked me to update my profile. That's fair enough but I got a bit of a snarky message (who'd o thunk computer generated messages could be snarky?) that my status was "Fair". I got in touch to ask what the problem was and received a reply that my answers were copied and pasted. I'd love to know where they get that idea from when I was working through an online form. I'm not a rogue and the payments from some of these surveys is less than minimum wage.

I find a lot of these companies quite rude. The one where I get my main source of money from is incredibly snarky at times. I do wonder why they think this is motivating, it isn't, and honestly when you factor in the pay I am surprised they think it's ok to ask us for more than what we are already giving them.

 

[Retiree]

Agreed Sherliarty. If it's for a survey that pays higher than the norm maybe asking for extra info could be excused. Surveys are only as good as the people who set them. I don't own a vehicle and I have started surveys which don't give the option "I don't own or rent a car" when asking about cars/motorcycles etc. In that instance I've exited the survey myself. I think they are trying to weed out bots and such the like. The guilty till you are proven innocent attitude is aggravating.

I've edited my earlier post ...."payments ______are" not "payments is". What am I like? No, don't answer that!

 

[Retiree]

I'm annoyed with myself because I got asked to vote on whether the YouTube ads I've been getting are relevant to me (I don't remember the exact wording) and I hit the button to say they are relevant rather than they are irrelevant. I don't mind ads for Hobbycraft and the like but those flipping courses to help you make money ads nigh on give me the screaming habdabs. They send me those ads when I say I hate my YouTube ad experience so will they be even more prone to send those ads....Ugh.

 

[Retiree]

The advert about being able to book train tickets on Uber irritates me.

 

[EdibleDormouse]

The advert about being able to book train tickets on Uber irritates me.

Fabulous, however. Have only been doing that for a month, and will be having a moderate grocery drop tomorrow for free.

 

[Retiree]

I'm not opposed to the idea of booking trains on Uber per se, ED, but I think the advert(s) is/are asinine. They project me into Grumpy Old Woman mode (even more than usual).

 

[EdibleDormouse]

I'm not opposed to the idea of booking trains on Uber per se, ED, but I think the advert(s) is/are asinine. They project me into Grumpy Old Woman mode (even more than usual).

They're pretty awful, granted.