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So. I shall blather on a little about politics while being a complete Pollyanna, because while I am very disappointed, there's really no sense in my sitting here bitching about it. I did, however, curse a lot at the TV and probably scared the boy, who leans slightly Republican on some issues (but I heard him say he supports gay marriage, so hurrah). The one thing that really, really pisses me off is the multiple gay marriage bans. I mean, it was fairly expected given the political climate, but I am still very angry about that. Ok, not just one thing. I am also personally very scared about drafts and war and whatnot, and I feel slightly guilty, but I'm happy that the boy quit ROTC. Very, very happy. And I am scared about the Supreme Court and Roe vs. Wade. And though I am not political in the slightest means or ways, that (and the gay marriage issue) makes me want to get out in the streets and yell. So, we'll see.
But. Things I refuse to be sad about: I don't care if my vote didn't matter in the slightest, given that I am in California. I voted for the first time, and I am still disproportionately proud of it. Plus, my sticker makes me smile (even though it's kind of ugly, to tell the truth). I still feel very civic, and the ending of Eminem's Mosh made me cry because it was about the democratic process.
I'm also glad about the giant voter turnout. My friend said, "So what? They voted for the wrong person!" but I don't think that's the point. They still voted. And I might think their choice was stupid, and they might thing my choice was stupid, but when it comes down to it, we still made a choice. And lots more people did this time than last time.
Also, it was horrible to watch the numbers, but still. Kerry got almost half of the popular vote, and that does mean something.
And now, back to my boring life. Coming up: a rant on Powerpoint, in which I take off the Pollyanna hat.
After sitting through two and a half days of Powerpoint presentations yesterday, I have come to the conclusion that Powerpoint presentations are one of the most horrible business tools ever.
This may be because I am totally not a visual learner -- I can't read maps, I sucked at geometry and stats (too many graphs), and I can't read graphs for the life of me, which proved rather fatal during econ.
But gah, I hate Powerpoint and all those stupid bullet points. I hate the presenters who read straight off the slides even more. If I had wanted that, I would have just read the slides by myself! But the absolute worst ones are the ones who drone on and on and on and then go overtime into my lunch hour. Ugh. They should be stabbed to death with blunt sporks.
To be more serious, I dislike how the entire point of Powerpoint is to simplify complex information into little bullet-sized sound bites. I was annoyed about this in ibanking (and by the manipulation of statistics), but here, it's even worse. These people have no Powerpoint skills to think of. One can only hope that client presentations are done better. At least in ibanking, they tried to take advantage of the graphical nature of things. While I understand the need to make these instead of slapping down a giant binder of information, I still don't like it. I would so much rather read the giant binder of info and get the details instead of just having the surface level that Powerpoint does. I think maybe the problem isn't Powerpoint per se; it's that people seem to think that Powerpoint is an adequate substitute for actual information. Plus, they spend five minutes on something I can read in five seconds.
I'm a reader. I read for details and nuance and all that good stuff. I like knowing how people got their graphs, because I've had to manipulate enough myself to know how untrustworthy they are. I'd like to think that I am smart enough to draw my own conclusions, and I resent having that process taken away and fed back to me as bullet points and simple charts.
But. Things I refuse to be sad about: I don't care if my vote didn't matter in the slightest, given that I am in California. I voted for the first time, and I am still disproportionately proud of it. Plus, my sticker makes me smile (even though it's kind of ugly, to tell the truth). I still feel very civic, and the ending of Eminem's Mosh made me cry because it was about the democratic process.
I'm also glad about the giant voter turnout. My friend said, "So what? They voted for the wrong person!" but I don't think that's the point. They still voted. And I might think their choice was stupid, and they might thing my choice was stupid, but when it comes down to it, we still made a choice. And lots more people did this time than last time.
Also, it was horrible to watch the numbers, but still. Kerry got almost half of the popular vote, and that does mean something.
And now, back to my boring life. Coming up: a rant on Powerpoint, in which I take off the Pollyanna hat.
After sitting through two and a half days of Powerpoint presentations yesterday, I have come to the conclusion that Powerpoint presentations are one of the most horrible business tools ever.
This may be because I am totally not a visual learner -- I can't read maps, I sucked at geometry and stats (too many graphs), and I can't read graphs for the life of me, which proved rather fatal during econ.
But gah, I hate Powerpoint and all those stupid bullet points. I hate the presenters who read straight off the slides even more. If I had wanted that, I would have just read the slides by myself! But the absolute worst ones are the ones who drone on and on and on and then go overtime into my lunch hour. Ugh. They should be stabbed to death with blunt sporks.
To be more serious, I dislike how the entire point of Powerpoint is to simplify complex information into little bullet-sized sound bites. I was annoyed about this in ibanking (and by the manipulation of statistics), but here, it's even worse. These people have no Powerpoint skills to think of. One can only hope that client presentations are done better. At least in ibanking, they tried to take advantage of the graphical nature of things. While I understand the need to make these instead of slapping down a giant binder of information, I still don't like it. I would so much rather read the giant binder of info and get the details instead of just having the surface level that Powerpoint does. I think maybe the problem isn't Powerpoint per se; it's that people seem to think that Powerpoint is an adequate substitute for actual information. Plus, they spend five minutes on something I can read in five seconds.
I'm a reader. I read for details and nuance and all that good stuff. I like knowing how people got their graphs, because I've had to manipulate enough myself to know how untrustworthy they are. I'd like to think that I am smart enough to draw my own conclusions, and I resent having that process taken away and fed back to me as bullet points and simple charts.
no subject
Sorry, not thinking v clearly right now.
power pointless
That essay as a PowerPoint presentation (http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000931)
Of PowerPoint and Pointlessness (http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54675,00.html)
PowerPoint Is Evil (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html)
The PowerPoint Amateur Hour (http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,16834,00.html)
Re: power pointless
Re: power pointless