Excel Pivot Tables

Years ago, a friend introduced me to Microsoft Excel pivot tables. This is one of the most powerful and easy-to-use features of Excel, yet the vast majority of employees that work with spreadsheets know nothing about it. I am convinced that training employees to make use of this one feature could revolutionize the way that an organization looks at data.

Some of the immediate benefits include:

• Quickly analyze spreadsheets and provide summarized, meaningful reports and graphs
• Quickly identify data trends
• Quickly identify data issues

Microsoft has a no cost, online course from which anyone can benefit:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/pivottable-i-what-s-so-great-about-pivottable-reports-RZ001013617.aspx

Excel Formulas for Finding Column Letters and Numbers

Formula to return the column letter for any cell.
=SUBSTITUTE(ADDRESS(1,COLUMN(E3),4),"1","")
This formula will produce the result: E

Formula to convert a column letter into the column number:
=COLUMN(INDIRECT(CONCATENATE("E","1")))
This formula will produce the result: 5

The Bible on Alcohol

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Proverbs 21:17
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

Proverbs 23:21
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 23:29 – 35
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Proverbs 31:4 – 5
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

Isaiah 5:11
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Isaiah 28:7
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble [in] judgment.

Mark 15:23
And they gave him [Jesus] to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

Luke 1:15
For he [John the Baptist] shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

Romans 14:21
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

1 Corinthians 6:9 – 10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:18 – 21
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1 Peter 4:3 – 5
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

Lights, Camera, Action...

As a full time information technology professional, there seems to be little time to pursue life long passions like filmmaking. However, in the past few years technological advances have brought what was once out of my financial reach a little closer to home.

With a growing interest in my own children for the creation of modern media, I have found that blending my passion with theirs has created a vehicle for experimenting with film production once again. Here are a few of our recent endeavors...

Are You Paid An Unfair Wage?

Do you feel that you are paid unfairly for the job you are doing? Does someone else make more money for the same type of work? Are you concerned about the so called "golden parachutes" of corporate executives?

Next time these thoughts come to mind, consider the following parable...

"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." Matthew 20:1-16