PowerPointless

Let’s take a meeting about meeting presentations. A short one. Here’s the take-away:

A slide show is not a presentation.

Q: Says who?

A: Edward R. Tufte, professor emeritus of political science, computer science and statistics, and graphic design at Yale and Dr. T.X. Hammes (Colonel USMC, retired), among others.

Q. I have another meeting in ten minutes. Can you summarize that for visual learners? 

A. Here’s an evil slide by … Darth Vader. The cognitive style of PowerPoint really messed up Abe Lincoln’s Gettysburg meeting. Engineer-turned-comic Don McMillan explains “How NOT to Use PowerPoint.” And beware of Death By PowerPoint.

Q. Does anyone have rules for using slideware like PowerPoint?

A. Plenty of folks. People who do presentation training often have complex systems, but venture capitalist and author Guy Kawasaki has a good rule of thumb: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font.

Meeting adjourned.

 

Image (“Portrait with PowerPoint, after Pieter Jansz van Asch”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Faith On Fire!

Amazing Grace Baptist Church in North Carolina held its annual Bible Barbecue last week, on Halloween.

The Church believes that the 1611 King James Bible (commissioned by the bisexual British monarch) is the only true Scripture. Each year Amazing Grace collects and carbonizes copies of “perversions” like The Good News BIble, New Century Bible, Living Bible, Bible Tales for Tots and works by those heretics Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, James Dobson, and Mother Teresa.

Also incinerated: “Satan’s music such as country, rap , rock , pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contemporary Christian, jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc.” Presumably the music of John Dowland, William Byrd, Thomas Campion, John Bull, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Ravenscroft, and Sir William Leighton escaped the torch, as these gents flourished around 1611.

This year’s incendiary event was not open to the public or the media, so we do not know if toasting marshmallows and roasting weiners were part of the fiery festivities.

 

Image:  Florida Institute of Technology Evans Library “Banned Books” page 

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

New Blogging Accessory

New! Just in time for National Blog Posting Month – a new blogging accessory that banishes blank screens forever.

Perfect for the blogger who has everything but daily inspiration.  This tool of pro bloggers can now be yours. So intuitive it practically posts itself.

What kind of posts does it generate? You’re reading one!

[Batteries not included]

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Economic Recovery Through Zombie Control

Considering October’s unprecedented outbreak of Zombie Behavior Spectrum Disorder (ZBTD), it is not too early to prepare for next year’s seasonal Undead epidemic. This is not just a health or public safety concern. Zombie outbreaks slow the recovery of our economy, but fighting the Undead could provide a living wage for thousands of unemployed Americans. There is no better use for federal Recovery Act funding than Zombie control.

NaBloPoMo

It’s NaBloPoMo – National Blog Posting Month.

“Post every day for a month. That’s all you have to do.”

Read about it here.

 

Image (“Two Bloggers, after Norman Rockwell”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Pork Panic!

What’s in a name? Financial ruin.

USDA and pork producers insist that the current virus outbreak should be called “H1N1,” but the media persist in calling  it “Swine Flu.” Whatever you call it, the virus is not a food-borne illness, but confusion has reduced consumer demand for pork. This comes on top of a huge jump in feed prices, and farmers are losing $23 on each hog. The U.S. pork industry has lost more that $5 billion in the past two years.

“Experts: Swine flu exacerbates pork industry woes,” Fresno Bee

“Editorial: Name that flu — but keep pigs out of it,” Austin [Minnesota] Post-Bulletin

“Flu virus’ name also has its dangers,” Roanoke Times

Day of the Dead – El Día de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) or All Souls Day is November 1st this year, a Sunday. Here in Washington, DC the Mexican Cultural Institute (Instituto de México, 2829 16th Street, NW) commemorates the occasion with a traditional Altar de Muertos, as designed by Mexican paper artist Humberto Spíndola.

The day is celebrated and appreciated throughout the blogosphere. Start with Ladislao Loera, Mary Andrade, Carlos Miller and the staff of the Arizona Republic, or Jo Tuckman of The Guardian.

 

 UPDATE: 

Nice feature on the holiday in Paris, from NPR’s Elinor Beardsley.

Holiday news and photos from the Phillipines, Poland, New Orleans, and Belgium. 

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Seasonal Health Threat: Zombies

This weekend will see a nationwide public health menace. 

Swine flu? Avian flu? No.

Zombie Behavior Spectrum Disorder, ZBSD. Zombie flu.

Don’t panic. The University of Florida has an emergency response plan.

On Books.

Quotation by critic and poet Meena Kandasamy, at The Digital Public Sphere: Books in the Age of New Media, Oct. 15, 2009, Iowa City Public Library as part of the 2009 Obermann Humanities Symposium, “Platforms for Public Scholars.”

 

(Hat tip: Scott McLemee, InsideHigherEd.com)

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments on books and reading are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length. Please post tech product reviews elsewhere.

Distracted Flying

The pilots of Northwest flight 188 told the National Transportation Safety Board that they were so engrossed in their personal laptop computers they lost track of time and overshot Minneapolis airport. A flight attendant on the Airbus A320 finally got their attention an hour later.

Work can be so boring sometimes you’ve just gotta surf the Web.

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.