Murphy Strikes Back
"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong"
- Murphy's Law
"Anything that can go wrong, will - at the worst possible moment"
- Fingale's Corollary
After another long absence, I'm back again. Well, after finally finishing my dissertation, Tuesday (November 21st) was the day to defend it. I've decided to avoid Power Point, since many times I've seen (or experienced myself) some problems when loading a presentation: figures that don't load, fonts that change style unexpectedly and some other problems that I really didn't want to happen this time.
So, I've prepared a presentation in LaTeX. Since the presentation file would be in .pdf format directly from LaTeX, nothing could go wrong, right?
Wrong.
First, I brought the presentation within a floppy disk (aka diskette) and a USB flash drive. I didn't use CDs because I ran out of them, but the other two would suffice, right?
No.
The computer to be used for the presentation had a Windows 98 as OS (Operating System). That alone discarded the flash drive (Windows 98 doesn't have plug-and-play feature, and install the drive was out of question). But there's still the floppy! It'd save the day...
Nope.
Mysteriously, the floppy couldn't be read. A problem that I also have seen many times before, but didn't take into consideration (actually, I was confident about the flash drive...)... Ok, now there's trouble. No fear yet! A friend that was watching suggested that I use a laptop that she'd brought (wasn't hers actually, but that's out of the subject). Nice! So now things are settled...
Soooo wrong...
Remember when I said that my presentation was in .pdf format? So, although that laptop was prepared for her presentation (she'd presented just before me), it was a Power Point presentation... and there wasn't an Acrobat Reader or anything that could read pdf files installed on that laptop!!
Fortunately, one of the examiners also had a laptop, this one able to run my presentation. The only problem is that I got (more) nervous because of all those problems, so that I made some slips...
Although I think that my presentation wasn't good, guess I redeemed myself answering questions from the examiners (and some from other professors that happened to be watching...). My monograph was accepted.
Whew... So, I'll enjoy it a little. Over and out.
- Murphy's Law
"Anything that can go wrong, will - at the worst possible moment"
- Fingale's Corollary
After another long absence, I'm back again. Well, after finally finishing my dissertation, Tuesday (November 21st) was the day to defend it. I've decided to avoid Power Point, since many times I've seen (or experienced myself) some problems when loading a presentation: figures that don't load, fonts that change style unexpectedly and some other problems that I really didn't want to happen this time.
So, I've prepared a presentation in LaTeX. Since the presentation file would be in .pdf format directly from LaTeX, nothing could go wrong, right?
Wrong.
First, I brought the presentation within a floppy disk (aka diskette) and a USB flash drive. I didn't use CDs because I ran out of them, but the other two would suffice, right?
No.
The computer to be used for the presentation had a Windows 98 as OS (Operating System). That alone discarded the flash drive (Windows 98 doesn't have plug-and-play feature, and install the drive was out of question). But there's still the floppy! It'd save the day...
Nope.
Mysteriously, the floppy couldn't be read. A problem that I also have seen many times before, but didn't take into consideration (actually, I was confident about the flash drive...)... Ok, now there's trouble. No fear yet! A friend that was watching suggested that I use a laptop that she'd brought (wasn't hers actually, but that's out of the subject). Nice! So now things are settled...
Soooo wrong...
Remember when I said that my presentation was in .pdf format? So, although that laptop was prepared for her presentation (she'd presented just before me), it was a Power Point presentation... and there wasn't an Acrobat Reader or anything that could read pdf files installed on that laptop!!
Fortunately, one of the examiners also had a laptop, this one able to run my presentation. The only problem is that I got (more) nervous because of all those problems, so that I made some slips...
Although I think that my presentation wasn't good, guess I redeemed myself answering questions from the examiners (and some from other professors that happened to be watching...). My monograph was accepted.
Whew... So, I'll enjoy it a little. Over and out.
2 comments:
Ohh... you know Murphy? Yeah, I know him too... last Friday I went to Ribeirão Preto (a city far 100km from here) and Murphy went there with me. I wanted to fullfil all the documents for my visa, but the consul wasn´t there, and I couldn´t do anything. Yeh.... Murphy is a nice guy... Good for the later stories...
Oh poor honey! well done for surviving. I'd have sat down on the floor and cried until someone sorted it all out for me.
BUT thats my answer for a lot of things. LOL
Glad i went well hon.
xx
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