Runnin' with the Excel

Excel is really cool, and I'm not just saying that. I mean it because I am a nerd. I have had previous experience with Excel. When I was in the Air Force, I ran a clinic's budget using an Excel file that I created myself. I even made graphs and charts to give to the Officer In Charge along with a printout every month. However, that was Excel 95, I believe; roughly the equivalent of cave paintings by my fellow students' standards ("Excel 95? Didn't you have to keep that running by shoveling coal into the computer?"). Even then, I thought Excel was cool.

Now, of course, Excel 07 is the programme du jour (that means "complicated geek stuff" in French), and it's much cooler than any previous version. I am just getting to know it through this class, but I am very impressed with how intuitive it is relative to its ancestors. I knew a few formulas before, but I am now a lot more efficient with them. I can use them in conjunction with conditional cell formatting and other tools to do a lot more, which allows me to more effectively communicate a lot more. I have just created a home budget for my wife and I. We are able to keep track of bills, expenses and spending very quickly and easily, as well as quickly and easily adjust certain elements of our budget throughout the month as it becomes necessary.

Obviously, there are uses for Excel in the work place as well (besides budgeting). If I were a History professor (a future possibility), I could keep a beautiful record of my students' grades. Not only could I see instantly what had been completed and what hadn't, the effect of each grade on their overall average could be noted immediately. I could also demonstrate hypothetical scenarios to students, letting them know what they need to do to get the grade they want. I wish my professors were that cool to me...