K's Learning Diary

A friend told me today that their company's financial year starts and end in October. He reassured me this is actually quite common (is it?), I am not quite convinced. There are obvious reasons why most would choose April to be the month to end the financial year as many new tax changes introduced by the government starts from the government's own start of the fiscal year, which is at the beginning of April. Otherwise, companies may need to incorporate new tax changes half way through the financial year. There too are obvious reasons why the end of December would be a bad choice (unless your accounting staffs enjoy the thrill of having big Christmas deadlines every year!). However, after doing some quick searches online, the exact date doesn't seem to matter a great deal (at least in the UK), it seems to depend on when the company was formed. There are some considerations as to when the corporation tax is due and the company's cash flow through out the year

Data Analytic doesn't have to be complicated, or be too big to manage; what you need is to have the relevant data for the decisions you want to make. This pub business is a perfect example of how quickly data supported decisions can be implemented and immediately start to make a real difference. When the underlying data of the business is presented in digestible formats fit for human consumption, the solutions become obvious. The trick is to use technology (but not over complicate things) to help us see those patterns that we could not track before. 

I do like these promotional videos, it gives kids something else to think about when deciding what they want to do in the future. One of the things that I found  incredibly frustrating when I was a teenager (and perhaps still do) was the lack of visibility of what different jobs and career paths actually entails. Sure, you can sign up for internships and work placements, apprenticeships...etc (if you know about the jobs in the first place), but more often than not (which you realize later in life) you were not even aware of those other options out there, let alone going out there to look for opportunities to learn about them.  There should be more of these videos from different industries aiming at young audiences. So that when the time comes, young adults can have more confidence in the career decisions they make, knowing that these decisions were based on the wide variety of options that they have considered.

I was introduced to Git recently.  Git is a repository software that people use in the Unix/Linux environment to keep track of file versions as they work on those files. (very handy for recovering files, I wish I knew Git when I was writing my thesis back in school) I did some quick search online. There are numerous resources introducing Git and its capabilities. One of those sites stood out in particular- called tryGit by Code School . Code School teaches you how to program by using interactive and fun examples. all self contained within the web browser and does not require you to install any additional software. This learning by doing approach is very effective. In 15 minutes, I was able to go through the basic Git functions and felt ready to use it right away. And it felt like playing a game!

A sad story on bbc news this one. This type of poor care really need to stop. Personally, every time I visit a hospital, I usually have very little confidence in the health professionals other than an experienced doctor. I wonder if it's something to do with the way they interact with patients, because I don't experience similar doubts when I go to see my dentist, who I know is very good and will personally carry out most of the treatment. In a hospital, you are passed from one person to the next and to be honest, I would not hire some of the staffs I have previously interacted with for my own company, let alone trusting them to look after my health. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some truly exceptional nurses, therapists, technicians...etc, but patients should not have to expect anything less or be exposed to accidents as the result of any sub-standard care or poor management. Despite telling staff that he was allergic to iodine, Peter suffered an adverse reac

Popped into my local Oxfam shop this morning and overheard a conversation at the counter. A gentleman holding a bag of used home items seemed to be having trouble getting his donations accepted. I didn't know that charity shops actually turn down donations. I was surprised, I have always thought that charity shops are very good at redistributing second hand goods to those that need them the most. It turns out that there are items that even charity shops do not take. The reason given to the gentleman why his kettles and lamps could not be accepted were due to safety reasons. There were also limited information at the shop about where these items may be accepted instead.  So, before leaving the shop, with a sad tone the gentleman commented that he then had no choice but to throw away the perfectly usable and beautiful appliances. A hundred and one alarms went off in my head at this point. Something is seriously wrong here, surely this is a sign that something is not func