It is now the waning hours of 7/29 in the United States (that's 29/7 in many other parts of the world).
One of the reasons for my fascination with dates and times and other units of measure stems from just trying to be both accurate and understood. In grade school, it didn't matter as much- if you weren't understood in English, then everyone switched to Polish. That was the sort of neighborhood I grew up in.
Later on, I joined the Air Force, and not only had to contend with cultures, I had to deal with time zones. Jennifer had some related experiences, and we're pretty much both in tune with time zones, measurements and cultures.
So there I was on the morning of the 28th of July, trying to finish one more blog entry for the month. I eventually decided that the last theme for the month of July was going to be "fitness". Specifically personal fitness (i.e. my fitness).
A couple of days ago, I had announced to my SIL Donna that I was joining her on a weight-loss quest. I'm no stranger to this, but I've not tried very hard in the past, either, so this time, I'm starting out with a very concrete, attainable goal: I want to drop ten pounds in four weeks (28 days). Now, most things I've read say one pound per week is perfectly safe and attainable. Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that 2.5lbs (1kg== 2.2 lbs) per week is safely doable. My biggest concern is whether I'll hit that target.
Now, as all of this is PII (personally identifiable information), I may not be able or willing to share all of the data even after I'm done with the process. However, ... getting back to Donna.
We had had a small text convo about my goals, and she said something to the effect of, "Oh, you're going keto!" To which I replied, "No, I'm going carb restriction." We pretty much agreed to disagree at that point.
After further research, though, I'm fairly certain that my new diet is not "keto". It's merely carb restriction. Keto is actually the addition of fat to replace carbs. At this point, I do not intend to do that.
In fact, for the first week or two, I don't plan on doing much of anything resembling what is conventionally referred to as a "diet," although I understand that anything one ingests is one's "diet."
Like nearly everything else, keto comes in a wide variety of forms, and there is a "bit" of disagreement of the proponents (a.k.a. "True Believers") in each plan as to what actually constitutes keto. In my early research, I was much surprised to learned that keto seems to have started as an epilepsy treatment rather than a weight loss treatment.
But-as far as my goals go- I'm not doing a strict keto regimen. Keto seems to do a direct substitution of fats for carbs, with the goal of training one's body to get accustomed to using fat for energy rather than carbs. My plan doesn't go that far, at least initially, and is really not that structured. I start out sensible rather than radical: elimination of pasta and packaged foods. No chocolate or sweet snacks. More exercise.
So, basics for a week or two is the final operational plan. We'll see how that goes, and then tweak as necessary. Numbers will be posted on a "need to know" basis.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Say no more, say no more. (Python and data!). :)
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data management and analysis so you don't have to.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
July- the writing Intertropical Convergence Zone
This is almost the most nonwriting month ever for me, hence the Intertropical Convergence Zone (a.k.a. "the Doldrums").
I suppose this needs a bit of explanation.
In the e-world, I probably have a slightly larger-than-average footprint in the arenas in which I choose to engage. I say this from the perspective of one who aspires to have a relevant e-footprint in these certain arenas. I also say this from some purely gut feelings based on relevant new Twitter followers, favorites and adds to lists. For me, rightly or wrongly, I do not include e-spaces that are not on my personal e-radar. These spaces include Instagram, Pinterest, Imgur, Snapchat and more than likely a few others which are currently popular but do not come to mind immediately for me.
Now, to claim a larger-than-average e-footprint in the E-VENUES WHERE I CHOOSE TO BE NOTICED, I need to have a game plan of sorts. And I do.
Pretty bloody simple, right? Well, I'm fairly certain the best plans of battle are often the simplest. Yamamoto, the genius Japanese Admiral who commanded the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) Combined Fleet in the first part of the Second World War, was know to be brilliant. However, he was also known to be a gambler, and seemed to love intricate plans. His greatest plan was his greatest failure: Midway.
Which was an incredibly costly, miserable failure.
Unlike Yamamoto- who truly was a genius in his field- I am not a genius and I base my e-plan on the tried-and-true KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) methodology. And although I don't even think I'm anywhere near Yamamoto's intellect or skill, I think I stand a better chance at success in my chosen endeavor- and here's the how and why:
As stated, "ENGAGE PhD's" is my plan. How and why? Well, the platform I've chosen as my e-soapbox is Twitter, and the venue I've chosen to play in is DATA SCIENCE. For those uninitiated, this is not a field for the clueless, the uninitiated, the easily intimidated by technical terminology or the unenthusiastic. To that end, I follow stuff that many would find boring: the Internet of Things (a.k.a. The Internet of Everything), agriculture, petroleum, manufacturing, education, and retail (in fact, anything that generates large numbers tends to interest me).
So, why engage PhD's? Especially if you're not even an achiever of a bachelor's degree?
Well, for starters- times have changed. Sometimes the best person for the job doesn't have quite have the qualifications your Dad or Mom's generation would have required- especially when it comes to data. In the "good old days", a "college degree" was a "must", and data used to be pretty black and white. For example, in my industry, the typical (and most critical) pieces of data might be:
"Mr. John Smith
"123 Main Street Apt 1
"Anytown, ST, 12345-6789
In direct mail, we take these bits of data, assign each one a length (in bytes)- as well as a starting position and an ending position- and define them as variables, thus the data becomes something like this in our software-
<prefix>|<fname>|<lname>
<address1>|<address2>
<csz>
This is the second simplest form of direct mail, with the simplest being a blanket mailing like this:
"Resident
"Chicago, IL, 60606
This is almost the equivalent of the "relative of" direct mail that no one talks about. This is pure saturation mail; the intent is getting the mailpiece in every mailbox in a given ZIP code. It's brute force mail, and as the cheapest postage out there for mass-mailings- it can be pretty cost effective. I see this class of mailpiece come through our office once or twice- maybe- in a year. Most of our mailings, though, have a certain amount of customization (personalization) that is a value-add for our clients.
That's an insight into what we do, but what does that have to do with "Engage PhD's"?
Quite simply, even though we do a good job at what we do, oftentimes the data we receive is so crummy that I have to ask myself what the point is.
And this is where PhD's and data come in. In direct mail, a very large paintbrush is used, and generally without any logic other than "demographic" == "ZIP code". In the "good old days", this was probably good enough. Today, though, data can be simply and effectively parsed, so that even though Robert Smith lives in a predominantly Hispanic ZIP code, he can receive a mailing in English touting the benefits of a product in English rather than in Spanish, which is what his neighbor Jorge Rodriguez might receive.
Now, honestly, I don't really know what Robert Smith and Jorge Rodriguez like to watch on TV. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to watch Formula One racing or Rally on any given Sunday afternoon. But I get an odd feeling in my gut when I'm working on a mailing that touts Mexican league football to Robert and an NFL package to Jorge... based solely on a single data point: ZIP code.
I don't control the data; neither does my employer. The owners of the data, though... with one or two filters, could make their databases so much more powerful! Lead off with NFL for Richard, and then offer futbol, and then likewise offer Jorge futbol and then offer an NFL package. It's not "rocket science"... it's simply a bit of science applied to marketing.
But it can mean increased $$$'s for everyone.
And this is one reason why I aim to "Engage PhD's". Examine the friends you interact with on a normal basis. Are they like you? Probably. Do they share your beliefs? Probably Are they better than you in some way? Probably NOT.
And here's where the tough get going. I've stated I'm not degreed. I do, however, have a ridiculously high proportion of Twitter followers that are PhD's- offhand, I'd say close to 3%. I'm fairly certain that even among college graduates, 3% of one's contacts being PhD's would be a huge number.
Why, again?
To be candid, a person with a PhD has achieved something and unlocked a few doors that would be inaccessible to most "normal" people. It's just plain fun when someone like D J Patil mentions something you've tweeted in a note (and if you don't know who D J Patil is, look him up)! And as much as I cherish those, the real kicks come from folks who post back to, thanking me for a retweet of something they're passionate about.
This sounds like IRL Pokemon, but the folks I'm engaged with on Twitter- I really want to engage with. So thanks, to Carla, Kirk, Lee and a few others who got me started down this road.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging about data analysis and management so you don't have to.
I suppose this needs a bit of explanation.
In the e-world, I probably have a slightly larger-than-average footprint in the arenas in which I choose to engage. I say this from the perspective of one who aspires to have a relevant e-footprint in these certain arenas. I also say this from some purely gut feelings based on relevant new Twitter followers, favorites and adds to lists. For me, rightly or wrongly, I do not include e-spaces that are not on my personal e-radar. These spaces include Instagram, Pinterest, Imgur, Snapchat and more than likely a few others which are currently popular but do not come to mind immediately for me.
Now, to claim a larger-than-average e-footprint in the E-VENUES WHERE I CHOOSE TO BE NOTICED, I need to have a game plan of sorts. And I do.
Gameplan:
* "ENGAGE PhD's" *
Pretty bloody simple, right? Well, I'm fairly certain the best plans of battle are often the simplest. Yamamoto, the genius Japanese Admiral who commanded the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) Combined Fleet in the first part of the Second World War, was know to be brilliant. However, he was also known to be a gambler, and seemed to love intricate plans. His greatest plan was his greatest failure: Midway.
Which was an incredibly costly, miserable failure.
Unlike Yamamoto- who truly was a genius in his field- I am not a genius and I base my e-plan on the tried-and-true KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) methodology. And although I don't even think I'm anywhere near Yamamoto's intellect or skill, I think I stand a better chance at success in my chosen endeavor- and here's the how and why:
As stated, "ENGAGE PhD's" is my plan. How and why? Well, the platform I've chosen as my e-soapbox is Twitter, and the venue I've chosen to play in is DATA SCIENCE. For those uninitiated, this is not a field for the clueless, the uninitiated, the easily intimidated by technical terminology or the unenthusiastic. To that end, I follow stuff that many would find boring: the Internet of Things (a.k.a. The Internet of Everything), agriculture, petroleum, manufacturing, education, and retail (in fact, anything that generates large numbers tends to interest me).
So, why engage PhD's? Especially if you're not even an achiever of a bachelor's degree?
Well, for starters- times have changed. Sometimes the best person for the job doesn't have quite have the qualifications your Dad or Mom's generation would have required- especially when it comes to data. In the "good old days", a "college degree" was a "must", and data used to be pretty black and white. For example, in my industry, the typical (and most critical) pieces of data might be:
"Mr. John Smith
"123 Main Street Apt 1
"Anytown, ST, 12345-6789
In direct mail, we take these bits of data, assign each one a length (in bytes)- as well as a starting position and an ending position- and define them as variables, thus the data becomes something like this in our software-
<prefix>|<fname>|<lname>
<address1>|<address2>
<csz>
This is the second simplest form of direct mail, with the simplest being a blanket mailing like this:
"Resident
"Chicago, IL, 60606
This is almost the equivalent of the "relative of" direct mail that no one talks about. This is pure saturation mail; the intent is getting the mailpiece in every mailbox in a given ZIP code. It's brute force mail, and as the cheapest postage out there for mass-mailings- it can be pretty cost effective. I see this class of mailpiece come through our office once or twice- maybe- in a year. Most of our mailings, though, have a certain amount of customization (personalization) that is a value-add for our clients.
That's an insight into what we do, but what does that have to do with "Engage PhD's"?
Quite simply, even though we do a good job at what we do, oftentimes the data we receive is so crummy that I have to ask myself what the point is.
And this is where PhD's and data come in. In direct mail, a very large paintbrush is used, and generally without any logic other than "demographic" == "ZIP code". In the "good old days", this was probably good enough. Today, though, data can be simply and effectively parsed, so that even though Robert Smith lives in a predominantly Hispanic ZIP code, he can receive a mailing in English touting the benefits of a product in English rather than in Spanish, which is what his neighbor Jorge Rodriguez might receive.
Now, honestly, I don't really know what Robert Smith and Jorge Rodriguez like to watch on TV. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to watch Formula One racing or Rally on any given Sunday afternoon. But I get an odd feeling in my gut when I'm working on a mailing that touts Mexican league football to Robert and an NFL package to Jorge... based solely on a single data point: ZIP code.
I don't control the data; neither does my employer. The owners of the data, though... with one or two filters, could make their databases so much more powerful! Lead off with NFL for Richard, and then offer futbol, and then likewise offer Jorge futbol and then offer an NFL package. It's not "rocket science"... it's simply a bit of science applied to marketing.
But it can mean increased $$$'s for everyone.
And this is one reason why I aim to "Engage PhD's". Examine the friends you interact with on a normal basis. Are they like you? Probably. Do they share your beliefs? Probably Are they better than you in some way? Probably NOT.
And here's where the tough get going. I've stated I'm not degreed. I do, however, have a ridiculously high proportion of Twitter followers that are PhD's- offhand, I'd say close to 3%. I'm fairly certain that even among college graduates, 3% of one's contacts being PhD's would be a huge number.
Why, again?
To be candid, a person with a PhD has achieved something and unlocked a few doors that would be inaccessible to most "normal" people. It's just plain fun when someone like D J Patil mentions something you've tweeted in a note (and if you don't know who D J Patil is, look him up)! And as much as I cherish those, the real kicks come from folks who post back to, thanking me for a retweet of something they're passionate about.
This sounds like IRL Pokemon, but the folks I'm engaged with on Twitter- I really want to engage with. So thanks, to Carla, Kirk, Lee and a few others who got me started down this road.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging about data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Monitoring progress in the SUL
monitors.
The next photo shows the old monitors which, to be fair, were never intended to be more than an interim monitor solution for these workstations.
Other than that, I guess it's been a pretty slow week for news, blogging, tweeting- pretty quiet both on- and offline for me.
Amanda and Mike (daughter and son-in-law) came to visit this past weekend. We had a great time- played Cards Against Humanity, Settlers of Catan, had many conversations and some excellent food. Mike and Amanda are now official denizens of the menagerie!
Nothing else is new. Well, except for the story. Y'all remember my e-friend in Japan J.S. Frankel? Well, he and I have been chatting on and off over the past few months about writing, and so I'm once again taking a stab at fiction.
Lastly, J.S. Frankel and I met on a bodybuilding site a few years ago. I'm not sure what his commitment to bodybuilding is today, but mine is down near zero. It's something I want and need to change. To that end, I purchased a genuine Wham-O Super Ball last week at Aldi. Actually, its a Super Duper Ball. It's about twice the size of the original, and I don't think its as dense or bounces as high as the original. Still, it's a pretty nifty all-in-one workout device... I'm not going to get Arnold-sized using it, but I'm using it, and this is important in the calorie burning/muscle building department.
One more bit of news, and then I need to put this blog to bed. Jennifer and I were out shopping yesterday, and wouldn't you know it but the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) warning light came on. We were able to drive Meerkat, our trusty Subie, home without incident. The thing that's mildly amusing about this is my history with flats: I've had four- exactly four- in over thirty years of driving. My first occurred in Chicago on my Chevy Nova in a slightly rough neighborhood of Chicago. Mark, Dr. Dave and I were on our way back from a concert with The Alarm and The Pretenders at the Aragon Ballroom. I turned a corner on a sidestreet, and one of Chicago's famous potholes blew out a tire- that was college days. Flat #2 occurred at high speed on I-355 on my way home from work, pre 9/11. It was the left rear tire of our 1999 Escort... the same car I drove to work last night. I remember this flat because although it was rush hour, no one stopped to see if I needed assistance. I changed that tire with my butt facing traffic. It was not pleasant. Flash forward to Meerkat. We've had Meerkat for 15 months, and I've gotten two flats, and I'd bet both of them were due to construction in the area... I know for a fact the first one was, because the technician that repaired the tire showed me the offending piece of metal.
That's it for now. As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
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