Although he claims to feel uncomfortable with the label, patrickab earned a Genius certificate in our Excel TA yesterday. Tenacity is probably the first quality that comes to mind when you think of Patrick. Everyone gets his share of softball questions. But by persevering with a smile or a quip when the Asker keeps changing the problem, Patrick is often earning points at the end of some lengthy threads.
Tenacity also means that Patrick never gives an inch when he believes he is right. Unless the Asker clarifies the issue, there is no way to know for sure in many situations. This lack of clarity can lead to epic (but highly entertaining) disputes when the other side is equally unyielding.
One of the lessons I continually relearn from Patrick is the importance of posting a sample workbook. When carefully crafted words just don't do for a befuddled Asker, the sample workbook deserves to carry the day. The picture really is worth the proverbial 1000 words, and at the current exchange rate of 1/2 p per word, that can really add up over time.
Despite his continual plaints about losing grey matter, Patrick is a remarkably literate person. While some of us speak best in formulas or VBA (even when English is our mother tongue), Patrick talks knowledgeably about a wide range of subjects. Whether it be the best way to prepare rice or how a speed encoder works, Patrick will have both an opinion and the facts to back it up.
When I sent him a congratulatory note, here is how Patrick responded: "Thank you so much, you are most kind. However I really don’t think the title (of Genius) fits me at all. There are many, many people, who really do know one hell of a lot about Excel. I do not. I fit into the category which you so succinctly encapsulated for Wayne with the phrase “Some people earn their points by answering a lot of easy questions.” That is me in one. I may have learned a little VBA, but it is at a very low level. Sure there have been a few occasions when I get the points on a VBA question rather than say Kevin, but that is very rare indeed. So I wish there was some other title that could be awarded for sustained effort – that would sit more comfortably with me.
"In large part, I learn, I help and I get some enjoyment from doing those two things. I am lucky that my wife rarely complains about the time I spend at the computer! Mind you in recent times the list of DIY items has multiplied because of the post-tradesmen work needed after a re-build of approx 25% of our house. The list is endless so I do need some Excel respite from the work!
"I have been struggling with a 56k modem for the last 3 weeks as my telecoms carrier and my ISP cannot agree whose responsibility it is to sort it out. So it’s been rather harder work to even get on-line as my 56k modem only links up about 50% of the time. You can imagine the sort of things I say to them…"
Congratulations, Patrick! Despite the declining number of grey cells, stiff competition from people who know a lot about Excel, and a modem on the fritz—you really have earned a Genius Certificate. Feeling chuffed is in order.
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Congratulations, Patrick. You may claim not to suit the title Genius, but I reckon that anyone who can rack up 1m points in here deserves that epithet. It is, as Brad said, not just a question of knowing and coming up with the answers, but also doing so in such a way that people can work out what you're on about! That is a true talent and one at which you, if you'll pardon the pun, excel. Good going, Mr. Genius, sir.
Regards,
Rory
Way to go, Patrick! Your learning curve has been great, especially for someone so hesitant to admit they might know what they're doing with VBA.
http:Q_21250581.html#12882
http:Q_21346762.html#13514
"That VBA thing is bugging me"
"the moment I stop learning I'll be seriously bored so there is some hope for that VBA"
http:Q_21577240.html - Wizard Congrats - Sep 28, 2005
"I guess Wizard is going to be my ceiling without VBA"
"VBA is still that distant country with odd customs, strange lingos and even odder syntaxes. Maybe I'll learn how to do the equivalent of asking the way home! But so far I feel dyslexic over it - or something pretty close to that"
http:Q_21760770.html - Sage Congrats - Mar 4, 2006
"Perhaps I can achieve 1m points - I will see how I feel about it in the next few weeks"
"VBA is still pretty arcane to me"
"As for the Genius Certificate I am still not sure that it is achievable in this life" - Rather amusing to me as you got the next 500k points in 8 months!
From Patrick(M): "Your 2006 rate is a little under 40k / month; if you maintained that rate, by my estimation it would take a whisker more than a year to get there"
Still, one of my favorite lines (and threads) from you is http:Q_21150712.html#12191
"I am not bothered about points but I am bothered by an incorrect attitude towards those that attempt to help"
Huzzah!
I hope you do not stop learning VBA, which by your posts would mean you would leave EE. You are an asset, whether you want to believe it or not!
Cheers
Matt
Patrick,
You've added a lot of value to the Excel TA by taking a different aproach, both in your inimitable answering style, and personality. I've enjoyed seeing you learn and thrive over the time you have spent here - well done.
Your exchanges with FredUG were a highlight in the lounge
Great job
Cheers
Dave
I knew it all along that the two guys were close relatives. The names are so similar. Patrick-Sumproduct.
I am certain when he gets to serious VBA programming Sumproduct would be there too.
I wouldn't be surprised if that guy is helping patrick with the plumbing too.
Honestly, I have started using the sumproduct function instead of array functions only in the last few months and that is only because Patrick has surprised me with the types of solutions he has been achieving without haveing to press the extra Shift-Ctrl with Enter. I take you, Patrick, as my teacher in this respect.
Thank you, Patrick, and many congrats....
Saqib
Thank you all for you most generous comments and your encouragement. To reach the 1M milestone and receive such great comments from you all is encouragement enough to make it all worthwhile. I'm not going to single out anyone but I do learn from the compact code that many of you write. I have no doubt none of you think of it as anything special but for me I need to go through mental hoops to unscramble your thought processes. That's fun even though there are many occasions that I completely fail to decode your work.
To receive kind comments despite my 'feisty' ways is truly generous and really much appreciated. I think I can now claim to be the oldest in the category and that gives me a smile as well. When a third of my age I can remember thinking that the life of people of my current age was all but over. I am learning that actually it is far from the truth and that it can be the opportunity for new things to learn and enjoy - easily as much as when I was in my 20s. In fact I reckon I am far better at many things now than I was then.
I need to round this off by saying, despite not being the first to say it, that the reason that this TA is such a pleasure, is that it is lead and guided by a true leader - Brad. His courteous manner and his firm and subtle ways maintain us on an even keel. Amazingly, he exercises all of that whilst maintaining pole position - thank you Brad and again thank you all for your excellent comments.
Patrick
What? There is a "compact code" method? Is that on the Application object? ;)
...I will be back (before a Terminator character) later, Mr Starfish, to offer my best wishes & take on your previous accomplishments, but due to a deadline for a heap of work getting very close I'll just had to offer a "well done" for now. But by no means does this lessen your achievement :)
Hope to see you around in another 1 million...
BFN,
fp.
[ http://www.1upgamers.com/i
Patrick,
Much congratulations to you! You may not think you fit the Genius label, but I see no contradiction. You are a heck
of an asset to our little community. You still are a whiz at formulae, and all your protests aside, you are fast becoming
a very capable VBA guy yourself. Indeed, comparing where you are now with where I stood after a comparable amount
of time trying to VBA, you are *way* ahead of where I was.
Back in March, I had you pegged as crossing the Genius line in April 2007. On 1 Oct, I revised that estimate to 17 Nov
(http://www.experts-exchan
So, enjoy the label. You certainly earned it! And stay your same feisty self. I love it :)
And remember, those pictures are For Geniuses' Eyes Only!
Best regards,
Patrick
Weird, looks like a new email format. Possible solution? After a comment was accepted? Messed up an outlook thing I have that opens the first link found in the message. Email text:
Experts Exchange ( http://www.experts-exchang
*************** POSSIBLE SOLUTION ***************
Hello, mvidas!
A possible solution has been added to this question:
QUESTION: Congratulations to our new Genius—patrickab
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ANSWER FROM: jeverist
DATE: 11.15.2006 06:44PM PST
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Matt,
If you want to add to the chorus, you can send comments to beta1@experts-exchange.com
Be advised, however, that there has been extensive commenting already in one of the Page Editor TA threads.
I think that the new template will be a good improvement once they fix the bugs. And if you like that, wait until you see the new user interface.
Brad
http://beta1.experts-excha
He should be able to see this -> http://arrival30.experts-e
:)
Luckily it's no longer a secret -> http:/Q_22062518.html
I am confused....
http://mark.experts-exchan
Who's this "mhenry" ?
Is a zone advisor different from page editor ? Or is it just a testing page ?
[ http://arrival30.experts-e
[ http://mark.experts-exchan
Ouch! I have a headache from that colo[u]r scheme, and it is *so* much slower to load now.
I pity those still on dial-up modems...
BFN,
fp.
Nigel,
I'm on a dial-up at the moment as there's a line problem from our exchange to our house, so it took a long time to load the page - and when it did I discovered it's too wide for my screen. Haven't they heard of interrogating the screen resolution and adjusting the image size to suit? Even I could do that in C let alone professional programmers using more modern programming languages.
As for that hairy guy who can't afford a new razor blade - do me a favour the good looking women are far preferable. I don't want some facially challeged git on my screen...
Patrick
PS. The above links now prompt for authentication with user name/password.
Yes, Patrick, screen resolution is easy to interrogate with server (or client) side web technologies. Perhaps the E-E site authors need to ask a few questions in the respective Topic Areas! ;)
Sorry to read of your dial-up issue.
Hope things improve s---o---o---n.
BFN,
fp.
PS. Matt: Care to comment?...
[ http://www.1upgamers.com/s
:)
It's probably against E-E rules, but if you wish to use me as a referral:
[ http://www.1upgamers.com/i
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: zorvekPosted on 2006-11-07 at 23:55:04ID: 17896174
>Tenacity also means that Patrick never gives an inch when he believes he is right.
Yup. First hand experience with that charming Patrickism. And, with me being just as stubborn, we had a jolly good time.
Patrick (Star)...We have had a few run ins between the two of us but it's hard not to admire shear tenacity as you attack problems. You may not be a technical whiz but you sure know how to bring a point home. For those uninitiated with what Brad is talking about you can get a real dose of Patrick's veracity in the lounge. What is really funny is watching Patrick berate an asker for not putting everything on the table in a timely fashion. I've seen that happen a few times and had to call the police to clean up the mess. I wonder what would happen if we stole the exclamation mark key from his keyboard...
I remember some time ago when Patrick changed professions and rather abruptly had a good deal more time on his hands...he expressed a desire to learn VBA. I and others encouraged him to ask us questions. It took a number of months but he slowly started pushing his comfort zone (one such period of increased activity was when Nigel was about to cross over into genius land but I never did figure out the correlation). Gradually over time he has become increasingly aggressive with the VBA and is now giving some of the more seasoned VBA jocks a run for their money. I for one have started to think twice about that example workbook posting just for extra measure in case Patrick is awake and between plumbing assignments.
Then there is SUMPRODUCT. Patrick has a love-hate relationship with the little guy. Just when he thinks he knows all about it some bobby comes along and makes silliness out of Booleans and values. But it doesn't stop there - Patrick's own computer is now possessed and messing with Patrick's sense of reality and the SUMPRODUCT function. Knowing Patrick he will figure it all out in the end - sometime between tea and the kitchen plumbing.
Woo hoo Patrick!
Kevin