AndrewKoch.com

Excel Isn't Infallible?

mrshafrir emailed me this link: Microsoft Excel Fails Math Test

It turns out that Excel isn't perfect after all. I feel like I've been betrayed.

Dreaming in Excel

I have been using Microsoft Excel for a long time, but before last night, I don't think I ever had visions of sugar plum spreadsheets dancing in my head. I guess there's a first for everything, but what does it mean?

People say you truly understand a foreign language when you start speaking and hearing it in your dreams. So, does this mean I'm fluent in excel now? Has anyone else experienced this?

Well, it turns out, I'm not totally alone. Google has 10 matches for "dream in excel" or "dreaming in excel":

• Teaching Basic Excel to Adults: "I ... dream in Excel models, so there's a downside"
  
• F1 Get the Most out of Excel! The Ultimate Excel Tip Help Guide: "I DREAM in Excel (yeah, I know, I'm a sicko)"
  
• Profitability Data Mart: Using Oracle 9i Windowing Functions in Cost of Funds and Interest Expense Calculation: "[Finance people] dream in Excel. If you ask them what they had for lunch, they quickly open an Excel sheet in their minds, put all the courses with all the ingredients and prices, draw a pivot table, apply a standard deviation and a variance and will give you not only the price per calorie but the trends in the food industry in the next five years."
  
• When the going gets tough...: "[Statistics] is driving me insane... Seriously. Sometimes I dream in excel spreadsheets."
  
• USNEW Rankings & UG Business Programs - Page 4 - College Discussion: "Banking is very very simple and boring .... You will dream in Excel."
  
• Slashdot | Upcoming SuSE 9.0 Professional Reviewed: [no good quote]
  
• Part of OSS Movement Is Seeking "World Domination;" Like All Battle Planners, the Commanders Appear to be Fighting the Last War: [no good quote]
  
• Accounting Manager on Monster: "Do you dream in Excel spreadsheet format, but crave working with fun and creative people?"
  
• {not crazy}: "Sleep deprivation is bad for you. Dreaming in Excel ... [is not healthy]."
  
• My Mind on Kamchatka: "They are doing a good job, I just have to be nit picky. I'll be dreaming in Excel again."
  

I think this must mean I'm one of the 11 biggest Excel nerds in the world. I'm not sure whether I should be proud or concerned. Probably concerned.

Don't Get Ahead of Yourself

Over at 6-4-2, they're celebrating the Angel's division title, and looking ahead to an admittedly bright future. But as a bitter A's fan, I take issue with the idea that Angels fans have seen "a division winner, year after (mostly) year."

The Angels have won the AL West three of the last four years, but before that, they hadn't won their division since 1986. And they won the 2004 division title by only a single measly game over the A's. Flip one game in the 2004 standings and the A's and Angels have split the last four division titles. Even without any revisionist history, the A's and Angels have each won the AL West three times in the last six years. That's hardly "a division winner, year after ... year."

And while the Angels do have an admirable farm system and quality young talent in their organization, success is no gimme. I say we hold off on crowning the Angels as AL West champions through 2015...