Nerd Guru

I find it inspiring that you emphasize soft skills...

noreply@blogger.com (Brock Roth) — Sun, 18 May 2025 04:03:07 +0000

I find it inspiring that you emphasize soft skills as crucial for success in engineering.

到處逛逛來繞繞留個言囉~~....................................

noreply@blogger.com (RoseH_Huls21365) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:02:34 +0000

到處逛逛~~來繞繞留個言囉~~~~.................................................................

A really useful feature of PowerPoint is the abili...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:35:00 +0000

A really useful feature of PowerPoint is the ability to use a multiple monitor mode, where the presentation slide is shown on the projector screen, and where the slide together with speaker notes is visible only on the laptop.

To use this feature, go to SlideShow>SetupShow and change the settings in the 'multiple monitors' box. You also need to set up the projector to be your primaty monitor with your laptop screen as the secondary monitor using the display settings from the control panel.

Warning: make sure you practice this before the audience shows up!

That's hilarious, Kaila. It's one thing to have t...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:22:00 +0000

That's hilarious, Kaila. It's one thing to have the pronunciation of your name butchered (which, understandably, never happens to me) but to have the introduction not even be close is just plain absent mindedness on the part of that other person. Giggles are understandable at that point 8).

Back in 2000, I traveled around the US with my bus...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Back in 2000, I traveled around the US with my business partner Ken doing stage shows to teach kids about the Internet. We had a big set with a giant screen and costumes and we'd run out on stage, this real high-energy production, and I'd grab the mike and go, 'Hey everybody! I'm Kaila, and this is Ken. How are you all doing?' As if they cared. We thought we were rock stars or something.

Anyway, one day the woman introducing us to the crowd totally screwed up our names. I can't remember what she said, but it was something like, 'And now here's Justine and Peter!' or something just completely off the wall. And I thought that was funny, but I also thought it would be kinder to let her save face; after all, it shouldn't really make a difference to our presentation if the kids know our real names. So I tried to go with the flow.

Big mistake. I got as far as, 'Hey everybody! I'm Justine, and this is Pe...' and then I just lost it completely. I was laughing so hard I was snorting and crying and couldn't breathe and I had to leave the stage. Ken, bless him, picked up the baton and kept the show going for the 15 minutes it took me to get my act together.

Lesson learned: being a public speaker and a chronic giggler can be a dangerous combination!

I love this post. I am pretty sure I read the one...

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:26:00 +0000

I love this post. I am pretty sure I read the one about the haunted mansion before...but its great to see it again. Good job.

That's actually the same technique I use, which an...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:44:00 +0000

That's actually the same technique I use, which anybody into speed cubing would tell you takes too many moves. Still, its requires the least amount of memorization. Nice video link Esmit, thanks.

Funny, this is the second Rubik Cube related artic...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Funny, this is the second Rubik Cube related article I come across this week.

Here's a guy documenting his algorithm:

Instructables

Well, now, that's a dream job for ya' (Sabol, not ...

noreply@blogger.com (Wendee) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Well, now, that's a dream job for ya' (Sabol, not Brady. Well, okay, maybe Brady, too). Nice story, Pete. Here's to taking chances and pursuing hobbies and work that you love. *clink!*

And one more day of football! Woo!

@ anon - Yeah, I hate to resort to the CC the boss...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:23:00 +0000

@ anon - Yeah, I hate to resort to the CC the boss thing, but if you can't get them to pick up their phone either and they are located half the world away, there are few tactics that remain. I agree it feels childish. Unfortunately it is sometimes necessary.

Awesome tip, Tac! Thanks for sharing.---Pete

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:56:00 +0000

Awesome tip, Tac! Thanks for sharing.

---Pete

I personally dislike the "applying subtle pressure...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:32:00 +0000

I personally dislike the "applying subtle pressure to someone by CC'ing their boss". It feels rather childish, like telling tales. Much better to solve the issue person-to-person.

If I have an email that may in anyway be negative,...

noreply@blogger.com (Tac Anderson) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:04:00 +0000

If I have an email that may in anyway be negative, I make myself send it to an alternate email address. If I'm at work I'll send it to Gmail.

This makes me look at the email in the same format that the receiver(s) will be getting it. It also forces me to re-read it. I have always made changes to the email when seeing it this way.

The times I have skipped this rule, I have always regretted it.

Howdy all,Apparently the tool I was using to creat...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:25:00 +0000

Howdy all,

Apparently the tool I was using to create the crossword puzzle didn't spell check it for me and I've outed myself as a spelling moron. From a devoted reader:

"I was trying to do the puzzle and notice #9 across appears to have a problem--

'tobacco' only has 7 letters--your puzzle has 10 spaces across.

Unless you meant 'tobbacco'--an incorrect spelling?"

So, yes, I misspelled "tobacco" in my own puzzle and the answer to #9 across is "tobbacco". Sorry for my temporary insanity and reliance on automated tools.

---Pete

Pete,I agree only the past few jobs are relevant t...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:01:00 +0000

Pete,

I agree only the past few jobs are relevant today, especially if those jobs were 20 years ago.

I like these kinds of advise posts, but people need to see some real life examples. Books are OK, but most are so generic, and dated too. Maybe some of your readers would be willing to give us a link to their winning resume? What about yours Pete?

What? There'll be no pouting allowed around here, ...

noreply@blogger.com (Wendee) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:21:00 +0000

What? There'll be no pouting allowed around here, MisterNG.

This sounds awesome! I've never actually read you...

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Flusche) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:28:00 +0000

This sounds awesome! I've never actually read your blog, but Jason Alba twittered about your contest, so I had to check it out.

I'm inpsired to participate, if I don't have to be out of town on Thursday morning.

Pete,Congrats on your first anniversary! I hope yo...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Pete,

Congrats on your first anniversary! I hope you'll have many more!

Bob Andelman
Mr. Media
http://www.mredia.com

Thanks for the love, Jason, I really appreciate it...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:44:00 +0000

Thanks for the love, Jason, I really appreciate it!

Pete, all I can say is, you have made the blogosph...

noreply@blogger.com (JibberJobber Guy) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:59:00 +0000

Pete, all I can say is, you have made the blogosphere a richer place for me, and it's been great to get to know you. Keep it up!

Happy holidays to you, too! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Wendee) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:58:00 +0000

Happy holidays to you, too! :)

Thanks Liz! You beat me by a day, I've got a brie...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:29:00 +0000

Thanks Liz! You beat me by a day, I've got a brief holiday message planned for tomorrow and a teaser for a contest I'm running in January to commemorate a year of blogging.

I have no particular comment related to this blog ...

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:14:00 +0000

I have no particular comment related to this blog but I did want to say Happy Holidays! Also you have done great things with your blog this year and I look forward to seeing where you take it in 2008.

Liz

It is amazing that the softer skills were not emph...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:17:00 +0000

It is amazing that the softer skills were not emphasized during our tertiary education. They mostly focused on the engineering topics. While these are important, it does not created a well rounded graduate engineer when they exit the academic world.

Hey Wendee,I agree that everybody could use the he...

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Johnson) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:08:00 +0000

Hey Wendee,

I agree that everybody could use the help, but I've got more street cred with the techie set. Or is that keyboard cred? I probably better not over analyze that, but your point is very valid.