545: quantum of sollazzo
#545: quantum of sollazzo – 26 December 2023
The data newsletter by @puntofisso.
Hello, regular readers and welcome new ones :) This is Quantum of Sollazzo, the newsletter about all things data. I am Giuseppe Sollazzo, or @puntofisso. I've been sending this newsletter since 2012 to be a summary of all the articles with or about data that captured my attention over the previous week. The newsletter is and will always (well, for as long as I can keep going!) be free, but you're welcome to become a friend via the links below.
This issue was ready about a week ago but... I forgot to hit the "send" button -_-
I'm writing this issue on Saturday 23/12 – the first day off before the festive season. I'll actually be working a little over the next week, but most of you will likely not, so enjoy the break if you celebrate. See you in 2024!
The most clicked link last week was my LinkedIn update about my 3-month new job milestone (seriously!? You definitely have better things to read... :P)
'till next week,
Giuseppe @puntofisso
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✨ Topical
1,374 Days – My Life with Long Covid
A beautifully illustrated article about the impact of COVID.
(via Lisa Riemers)
Why are things expensive?
Google Trends data, design by the amazing Federica Fragapane, and development by Paolo Corti – a recipe for great stuff :)
Just over half of U.S. residents can leave the U.S.
Datawrapper's Rose Mintzer-Sweeney takes a look at how many US citizens hold passports and how that number has drastically increased over the past 30 years (although there is a little data caveat).
Over 18,000 annual ER visits linked to Christmas decor incidents
USAFacts: "Incidents peak in the weekends following Thanksgiving"
November 2023 Temperature Update
"The following is a summary of global temperature conditions in Berkeley Earth’s analysis of November 2023."
Interesting update with a few pretty good charts attached – I particularly liked the one below.
(via Peter Wood)
Etse-Ada: all in one suite of customisable web tools and support for managing your business operations - including websites, professional emails and an ERP consisting of CRM, accounting, project management, service/product management, and many more features. Learn more & Start a free trial.
🛠️📖 Tools & Tutorials
Svgl
A useful collection of SVG logos.
SQL Polyglot
"Run a query and get results from postgres:15.4 mysql:8.1 sqlite:3.44 mssql:2022 mariadb:11.2 clickhouse:23.10 duckdb:0.9".
This is a pretty good tool to see if a "particular SQL feature is supported in different database systems."
Four pitfalls of spatiotemporal data analysis and how to avoid them
"Weather station measurements are so-called “spatiotemporal” data, meaning each data point is associated with a point in time and space. And you can’t just aggregate spatiotemporal measurements without risking falling into one of many traps."
Year in Review: Rise of the Machines
A good look at the tools that have been getting attention in Journalism in 2023.
Statistical Rethinking (2024 Edition)
"This course teaches data analysis, but it focuses on scientific models. The unfortunate truth about data is that nothing much can be done with it, until we say what caused it. We will prioritize conceptual, causal models and precise questions about those models. We will use Bayesian data analysis to connect scientific models to evidence. And we will learn powerful computational tools for coping with high-dimension, imperfect data of the kind that biologists and social scientists face."
Getting started with Web Performance
"But web performance is also quite tricky! Let us go through some of the reasoning, jargon, metrics, tools, and some top tips on how you can improve the performance of websites you look after. Whether you’re a practised performance prophet, dipping your toes into the river of load times, or are desperately hoping someone will explain what an FCP is and why Google wants one, let’s all dig into web performance together!"
🤯 Data thinking
Programming Sucks
It's not about data per se, but some of the issues discussed here somewhat resonate. Also, it pre-dates ChatGPT and could do with a review. But... it's a fun rant to read :)
"So no, I’m not required to be able to lift objects weighing up to fifty pounds. I traded that for the opportunity to trim Satan’s pubic hair while he dines out of my open skull so a few bits of the internet will continue to work for a few more days."
(via Alex Wrottlesley)
📈Dataviz, Data Analysis, & Interactive
Google Trends
I've seen a few if these. This one is for Germany, with the R code released here. This uses the same code but for Sweden.
MB-707 - an HTML drum machine
Matt Ballantine (of WB-40 podcast fame) played with ChatGPT to create a drum machine. He released the ChatGPT conversation that allowed him to create the machine.
How Many Hobbits? 3,000 Years of Middle Earth Population History
"This is the third post in my series on the demography of Middle Earth. The first piece introduced some methods for estimating the population of Middle Earth in TA 3019, the year that most of the Lord of the Rings is set. The second piece provided more details, estimating TA 3019 populations for some of the major people groups of Middle Earth."
I mean... why not? :D
🤖 AI
Should we even care about using LLMs to query enterprise data?
"It's looking like we'll be able to. Does it matter?"
Good insight here. I particularly like the end – pretty much what I advocated for when I ran the NHS AI Skunkworks (with extra safety and regulatory controls added, in that case!).
"The best way for us to figure this out? Try things! Share learnings, ideas. Talk to your peers. Ask questions. Be skeptical! And together - we’ll get there."
quantum of sollazzo is also supported by Andy Redwood’s proofreading – if you need high-quality copy editing or proofreading, check out Proof Red. Oh, and he also makes motion graphics animations about climate change.
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