What I Learned This Week 20130427

What goes well with that first cup of coffee in the morning? Internet articles on my RSS feed! I find Excel stuff, web design ideas, small business tips, and lots more.

On the Contextures blog, I’ve listed a few interesting articles about the Excel formula fiasco. Here are a few other things that I found interesting this week, during my morning read.

Programmer Skill People Rarely Ask About

At the_codeist(), Andrew Wulf writes about an important skill that programmers need these days – the ability to find information online, and select the best option from a wide variety of posted solutions.

“You have to be able to enhance your brain with the collective brains of millions of fellow programmers, yet still pick the right brains to build on.”

Access 2013 Bible

Dick Kusleika was too tired to write anything more than, “It’s here”, after he and Mike Alexander finished their epic book – Microsoft Access 2013 Bible.

No wonder Dick is tired – the book runs 1296 pages, and it weighs 1.6 pounds! I’ve written books that were much smaller than that, and am still recovering from exhaustion.

Congratulations to Mike and Dick, and if you buy this resource, I’m sure you’ll get far more than your money’s worth.

14 Ways to Acquire Knowledge

At the Brain Pickings blog, there is a list of 14 ways to acquire knowledge, from a 1936 book, You Can Do Anything! Apparently the author, James Morgan, was a bit eccentric – “in 1948, he publicly claimed to own outer space and went on to found the micronation of Celestia.”

The list has some sound suggestions though, such as “Walk Around It” and “Put in Order”. Of course, Excel is the obvious tool for that, but it hadn’t been invented in 1936.

Dandelions Will Grow Anywhere

Finally, I also learn things when I’m not at the computer. On a walk through the local conservation area yesterday, I learned that dandelions will grow anywhere, even under a rock. And they look pretty, when they’re not in your front lawn.

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