This semester I'm taking a public speaking course, because somebody apparently thinks giving speeches is a critical skill to have in the IT world. Regardless, we had our second meeting on Saturday, and there's one thing I've noticed.
I've gotten over most of my fear to speak in front of people. Over the years I've adopted this idea that no one person is really more or less important than another and that everyone feels some degree of anxiety when giving speeches, and I've mixed it with a general lack of giving a fuck. I'm in my twenties, a recently discharged war vet, and it's really time for me to stop fucking around. This gets me through most things, honestly.And I've learned to control the signs of my anxiety. I can control the speed of my speech, my fidgeting is almost non-existent, and eye contact is no problem. But the one thing that always happens is the fucking dry mouth. Immediately after beginning my first sentence, someone comes along and pours a bucket of sand in my mouth and it never fails. It's hard to speak clearly when your tongue is sticking to your teeth, so now I have to take a few awkward moments to salivate and moisten my mouth so I can continue. It's terrible. But I suppose like most things, it will dissolve over time. I've only got two more speeches to give this semester, so I'm not very concerned about it. =======================================My quest to learn Java continues. I'm working on a "game" now and found a sticking point with refining collision detection. Mostly I'm just trying to detect collisions before they happen and move objects to the point just outside of contact. I remember this being much easier in GameMaker. Coincidentally, I've named a few of the methods I've written to detect collisions after similar functions in GML. I figure it will help me remember what they do better. Is it sad that I still remember a lot about GML? In any event, tell me about your experiences in public speaking, game programming, or both.
At my old IT job I gave a presentation on computer viruses and phishing schemes to a bunch of Chinese employees. I really hated doing it, but I was tired of wiping computers and changing passwords.
@fb: well you didn't really answer my question, but I can see I'm not going to convince you so I guess we'll just agree to disagree.
@Ferret: I know how you feel. I once had to explain to my company CO, a freaking MAJOR about how he needed to keep track of his own password because he couldn't just keep relying on us comm guys to come in a sign him in every morning.I used to care what people thought, but now I care more that nobody out here's got it figured out. So, therefore, I've lost all hope of a happy ending, depending on whether or not it's worth it - so insecure, no one's perfect.