A pal of mine wrote an interesting article here about personality tests and how useful they are in determining salesmanship abilities (i.e. they ain't). I thought it was interesting, because it takes me back to when I was a kid and I submitted my name to the "amazing handwriting analysis computer" at the Arkansas State Fair. In 1972, it was the first honest-to-goodness computer I'd ever seen, or so I thought. For a buck, a big box blinked lights after the attendant fed in my card with my signature, eventually spitting out a card filled with stuff that would apply to anyone (you'd like to have more time to do the things you want to do, you consider your sense of humor to be above average). Basically, it was a horoscope. Interestingly, a lot of those tests that people are giving management trainees aren't much better, but they're costing hundreds of dollars.
BTW, yes, this is also the guy who's running my Java applet that tests your salesmanship abilities. It's not based on personality, though. It basically presents a few dozen scenarios and asks you how you'd handle 'em. It works much better than the personality tests, and it actually has lots of success stories to back it up.
. . .and it's about a quarter the price of other tests.
. . .and I get a buck or two every time somebody takes a test.
So, if you work for a big company, print out this article and leave it on the desk of the boss of personnel. If you do, and they sign up for some tests, I'll give you a handsome reward, like a sock-monkey!
I just read that George Lucas is planning to add even more computer-generated footage into the original Star Wars movies and release 'em as "The Final Edition", which is why you still can't get any of 'em on DVD. It's sad because the stuff they added to the originals the first time was basically pointless eye-candy and scenes that were deleted from the originals for good reason.
It used to be a cut above the rest, but I'm afraid to say that Star Wars has just joined Star Trek, Batman, Nightmare on Elm Street, Highlander, and Jaws in my list of film franchises that have sacrificed quality for marketability and interest me no longer. I gave the franchise another chance after Return of the Jedi, which was more of a toy commercial than a good movie, but I'm done with it now.
Sorry, George, but Star Wars Episode 2 is probably gonna wait until video for me. You blew it.
