A New Window Into the World
Posted 08-17-2008 at 05:01 PM by Pyrotex
Last week, my new section manager gave us all a pep talk and mentioned some problems he had in learning how to manage a section at SAIC, given that he had never worked for this company before.
One of the posed difficulties appertained to a spreadsheet that I had developed some years ago, and which is available here at Hypography: Waterfall. So after the meeting, I showed him the spreadsheet and suggested it could help him manage the perennial problem: how many people are working how many hours on which tasks, and are we under budget?
His response was, it was great. It was glorious. He was impressed. But it wasn't good enough. He wanted to answer the diurnal problem: WHO is working how many hours on which tasks, and are we under budget and on time?
Me and my big mouth. So, Saturday morning, I got up (late) swilled some java, and began working on my prototype. After a few hours, I found a trick that just might expand the functionality down to the individual employee. But it meant really WIDE spreadsheets.
To repeat a quote from Star Trek TNG: "I need a better interface".
On impulse, I went to Quizno's and got a sandwich. I went to The Hairplace and flirted with my hair cutter while she trimmed me. I went to Office Depot and got me a Samsung 22 inch flat panel display. I'm using it right now as I write this.
WOOF! WOOF! HUNKA! HUNKA! ZOWIE!
I can SEE. No. Really!! I mean it. My aging eyes have lost a bit of resolution over the last dozen years and I didn't notice it. Now at 1680X1050, I still see TWICE as MUCH!! The text is larger. I can drop spreadsheet zoom down to 60% and STILL see more than at 75% on my old 17" flat panel.
It's like being reborn. It's like getting a brain transplant at Frankenstein Mnemonics, Inc. It's like seeing a double rainbow right after having your profound color blindness cured.
This has added 30 IQ points to my already awesome intellect. [well... *I* think it's awesome] Why didn't I do this years ago?
WOOF! WOOF! HUNKA! HUNKA! ZOWIE!
One of the posed difficulties appertained to a spreadsheet that I had developed some years ago, and which is available here at Hypography: Waterfall. So after the meeting, I showed him the spreadsheet and suggested it could help him manage the perennial problem: how many people are working how many hours on which tasks, and are we under budget?
His response was, it was great. It was glorious. He was impressed. But it wasn't good enough. He wanted to answer the diurnal problem: WHO is working how many hours on which tasks, and are we under budget and on time?
Me and my big mouth. So, Saturday morning, I got up (late) swilled some java, and began working on my prototype. After a few hours, I found a trick that just might expand the functionality down to the individual employee. But it meant really WIDE spreadsheets.
To repeat a quote from Star Trek TNG: "I need a better interface".
On impulse, I went to Quizno's and got a sandwich. I went to The Hairplace and flirted with my hair cutter while she trimmed me. I went to Office Depot and got me a Samsung 22 inch flat panel display. I'm using it right now as I write this.
WOOF! WOOF! HUNKA! HUNKA! ZOWIE!
I can SEE. No. Really!! I mean it. My aging eyes have lost a bit of resolution over the last dozen years and I didn't notice it. Now at 1680X1050, I still see TWICE as MUCH!! The text is larger. I can drop spreadsheet zoom down to 60% and STILL see more than at 75% on my old 17" flat panel.
It's like being reborn. It's like getting a brain transplant at Frankenstein Mnemonics, Inc. It's like seeing a double rainbow right after having your profound color blindness cured.
This has added 30 IQ points to my already awesome intellect. [well... *I* think it's awesome] Why didn't I do this years ago?
WOOF! WOOF! HUNKA! HUNKA! ZOWIE!
Total Comments 1
Comments
 |  I'm sitting here at work chuckling at your post, and viewing it on the left one of my 22" flat panels. On the right one still sits my notes from the meeting this afternoon that I SHOULD be working on (yes - it's all your fault  )Let me just say... 2 is SO much better than one. So keep that in mind for later. Granted I still have to go home to my "little" 17" laptop. But at least during the day I am cooking with Crisco! Things are at least good in this work place. Basically anyone that requests it can get the extra video card and monitor to have two screens. The $300 investment by the company probably has an ROI of about a month I would guess. You might see if you can run that through your spreadsheet and see if it will get you another one at work (if you don't already have it). |
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