Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Small Margins Don't Bother Me

I was reading an article on outcome assessment today. It was about how sensitive the OQ (Outcome Questionnaire) is. Then I realized that whoever made that questionnaire up probably didn't do a bunch of tests on it before using it with real clients. Werf probably came up with those questions on a whim, a hunch, and now we're using sophisticated analysis to tell us that some of the questions aren't sensitive to change in client outcome. Who would have guessed? I'm actually really glad this study (by Lambert and Okishii) was done, because I was thinking how necessary it was.

I finally saw Pirates 2 last night. Now I feel like I'm in on pop culture. It was about time that someone had a movie with a really cool-looking sea monster in it. You know, something that wasn't JUST teeth. Oh wait...

There's something about the ocean that is especially frightening... the mystery it hides, the terror of never knowing what is directly beneath you. It would take me a long time to get used to being a sailor. The fact that I'm a lame swimmer doesn't help. I used to fantasize that on another planet I was a unicorn who sharks ate, which would explain why I dislike aquariums. I was pretty strange in my childhood... every night I would hope that some portal to a fantasy world would open and I would be transported out of my then boring life. I don't really know why I wished to be elsewhere; I had a pleasant childhood. If you ignore the teasing at school that most kids suffer, I had an extremely pleasant childhood. I had friends who I played with, and I read books (I probably did more pleasure reading then than I do now). Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again, just for like three hours, so I could see if it's really any better than my present life, or if I'm just sugar-coating my past.

6 comments:

Nectar said...

Yesterday I saw a video on msn video, produced by National Geographic. It was about a giant octopus catching and eating a shark. The managers of the aquarium had been wondering what was happening to their sharks. They were surprised to learn the octopus was not so helpless. Personally, I think it serves the sharks right.

Rachel Helps said...

I wonder if the other sharks suffered any psychological harm (can fish remember long enough to retain learned fears?).

Nectar said...

Good question. In the video it appeared that the shark didn't seem to have any fear of the octopus. The shark swam right by it as though it wasn't there. So, if the shark had seen what happened to the other sharks, and could remember, you'd think the shark would stay well clear of the octupus.

Maybe they are all forgetful, like Dorrie (?) in "Finding Nemo."

ahem. said...

I still haven't seen Pirates 2. *Sigh.*

Curtis and Shae said...

Ah...the good old OQ test. I too am glad they did a study to see how relevant some of the questions are to the actual outcome of clients. Good ol' John....what a great guy.

Thirdmango said...

I'm a film major and I still haven't seen Pirates 2.