Big Data, Small Data, and 42 Data

Its been a bit since I've written, so a quick update is in order.

Work had not been particularly busy as of late; my reason for the delay in writing has more to do with software than anything else. I finally had the opportunity to upgrade my laptop to Microsoft Office Pro 2010 from 2007, which has been on my to-do list ever since the hard drive replacement a while back. With the installation of 2010, I've FINALLY gotten back to working on the database.

I seem to be unable to stop referring to von Moltke the Elder, and I'm not stopping now. I found an older, saved version of the database, and decided it was not usable, so I'm starting afresh (again!) with Forty-Two, with a much-improved (I hope!) design.

Before I got too deep into this database, I thought I'd do a bit of web scraping and see if I could find a "music template" for an Access database. After a fair amount of searching, I discovered that Access templates- generally speaking- do not exist... at least not in the same league as Excel or Word templates. The best explanation that I've found for this was on an Access board, and I paraphrase here: "Access is pretty much a sandbox developer's environment. You won't find many templates. Period."

So, I'm back to doing it the way I've always done it: making it up as I go. Well, LEARNING as I go.

I suppose I should take this opportunity to make once of my periodic disclaimers: I'm not an expert, but I have a deep interest in Big Data, the Internet of Things (sometimes referred to as the Internet of Everything), data analysis, databases, STEM and the Maker Movement. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Some time ago- not long after I'd discovered the joy of caring for and feeding databases- I ran into a statement which I thought was a bit curious. It was about database design, and the author stated that the best way to design a database is with pencil and paper. I eventually understood his premise and agreed with him up to a point. My personal perspective is that this can be a great starting point, especially if you're completely new to databases, are looking at a completely new database, or if you're designing with a certain goal in mind. I've built small databases, for example, that were for crunching data in a small project (<200 data points) of mostly text. I've used existing databases and added my own queries to provide quality and efficiency reports for ISO 9001:2008 (at least, I THINK that's the spec!). There have been others as well, but my project....

Let me introduce (or reintroduce) everyone to my pet project, Forty-Two. It's called that quite simply because its ultimate function will be to answer the question, "What is the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything?", which, for those who who are not immersed in in-print memes, is a reference to Douglas Adams' "The Hitchikers' Guide to the Galaxy".  And this was before I had even heard of Python, and Guido van Rossum's homage to Monty Python's Flying Circus. This is THE truth that I have found: I.T. and literature are strange bedfellows.

So here I sit writing about the database.

Once again back to von Moltke: the best plan can fail. Vis à vis my database. I had a grand thought for normalization: make a names table.The names table is as simple as it sounds: first name, middle name or last name- all are contained in one table.  The problem with this theory reared its ugly head almost immediately: music groups do not fit this model. So, there is a new- unplanned  table: music groups. Although the individual members of said groups may be part of the database at some shining point in the future, for now there is a groups table that just lists the names of groups- its the only way to make soundtracks and other compilations work.

That's it for now- I want to publish this entry.

As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.

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No plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy

Well, that's how I learned this particular truism. According to von Moltke the Elder, "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" (or "no plan survives contact with the enemy"). His idea of warfare seemed to be plan, plan and then make some more plans- maybe not too bad an idea for business? Such has been my experience with the first day of Mr. T's and my grandiose plan to bring Order and Balance to the Chaos which is currently the Secret Underground Lair (SUL) in only seven days. Monday is done, and quite honestly, our chances for success are looking rather bleak.

Still, I'm an optimist.

We've decided to tackle the project in fairly easily manageable stages. The first stage involved the relocating of a small bookcase and its base from the east wall (next to Mr. T) to the west wall. Not a big deal, but Jennifer is also moving things outside of the SUL. What she is doing is important in our little world and needs to be done, but our home is not large (by American standards) so my progress was greatly hindered, but in a good way. I ended up tackling another area in the SUL, which needs to be tackled and will help out with the upcoming work of the next few days. Still, at the end of the first day, I had hope for more progress. But, as Vivien Leigh (as Scarlett O'Hara) said in "Gone With the Wind", "After all, tomorrow is another day". And Tuesday is done.

It's Wednesday evening, and this is my last SUL update for this entry. Jennifer and I got up early today and took our trusty Subaru Outback, Meerkat, for a Springtime checkup. We drove down to Grand Subaru for an oil change, tire rotation and a surprise complimentary wash- which included our epically salt-encrusted floor mats. On the way home, Jennifer heard about a special sale a local bakery was having, and although we knew of them both by their reputation and having sampled their products, we had never been there before. We decided to check the sale out, as it was not too far out of our way home.

Chicago's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Blackhawks, is in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup- the League championship. So, Central Continental Bakery is having a merchandise promotion: when the Hawks win, Continental Bakery will have a special discount on one of their items the following day. The Hawks won last night, so today's special was a 20% discount on eclairs. Let me state firmly and without reservation that I love eclairs. As a family, we seldom have desserts, and when we do they are generally something Jennifer has made.  So, to go out of the way to actually purchase a dessert is nearly unheard of.

The bakery is commonly known as Continental Bakery, and features a dizzying variety of what seems to be primarily pastries of central European origin (Danish, German, Polish, Austrian, Slovak, Moravian, Czech, Swiss). When we first walked in, our experience was this: we were smacked upside the head with EUROPE. It was like walking into Dr. Who's Tardis in Chicago and stepping out in Hochspeyer, Echternach or Tønder. The bakery's customer area is laid out in an L shape, and not a bit of space is wasted- even the decor drew us into a happier time across the Atlantic... had I looked out the window, I would not have been surprised to see a German vendor selling Itälienisch Eis from his little truck or a Citroën 2CV idling at the stoplight.

I said I had tried their wares before. Continental Bakery is famous throughout Chicagoland as THE baker and purveyor of pączki. The interesting thing about this pastry is that it is only available on one day each year at Continental Bakery: the day before the Catholic feast of Ash Wednesday, or "Fat Tuesday". On this day, the bakery is open and operating for twenty-four hours, cranking out pączki. This event is often featured on local television news.

So, we walked into the bakery with very high expectations and were not disappointed. The eclairs were beyond my words to describe, and we also picked up some soft cheesy garlic breadsticks, as well as sampling a few of their butter cookies. To quote Arnold; "I'll be back".

This is a bit lengthier than my usual posts, so I'm calling this a wrap- data next time! 

As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.