What are the odds?

$1.3 billion!  That’s quite a hefty jackpot for the next Powerball drawing, even if the number is deliberately inflated to raise the hype.  Still, the lump sum payout is estimated to be $806 million; not a bad day at the office. The odds are posted around the web, but how are they determined? The updated version of…More

Similes and Alt+Esc

Occasionally, from the mind fog of an early morning, a jumble of words makes its way out of my subconscious.  Observe: He has the charisma of a bowl of shredded wheat. Sadly, Ron Weiskind of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette can lay claim to an earlier rendition of the phrase.  Curse you Google…  As useful as a simile, as…More

12/27/2015 = 42365?

Happy third day of Christmas!  ‘Tis the season for celebrating with friends and family, a bit of introspection, and a good a cup of coffee.  Best wishes to you and yours! And now, for something completely different. What is 12/27/2015?  My calculator tells me 0.000220567962503446.  My calendar tells me there are four days left in the year.  Half…More

Control + Arrow

An easy way to appear to have ninja skills in Excel is to skip around a spreadsheet without a mouse.  With this easy trick, you can channel your inner Kal-El and leap 16,833 columns or 1,048,575 rows in a single bound. Open a new spreadsheet Hold down the “Ctrl” button (and don’t let go!) Hit the right arrow key “→”…More

Hello World

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu Here’s to first steps and stumbling our way into what may be.More