On Being An Observationalist
SUMMARY: Being an “observationalist” isn’t hard work; in fact, it’s fun! You just have to look around and see the patterns in your natural world. First there was “The Mentalist,” the hit CBS series that focused on Patrick Jane’s (played by Simon Baker) ability to use his mind to find
Read DetailsGetting Around To Pi Day (Again) (H. Michael Mogil, CCM, CBM, NWA-DS*)
The clock was ticking yesterday, figuratively and literally, as I finalized this article. The first Pi Day event had taken place some twelve hours earlier (3:14:15 a.m. on 3/14); the second occurred this past evening. With such a special day in progress, I made sure to get around to do
Read DetailsOn Misrepresenting Hurricane Statistics (H. Michael Mogil, CCM, CBM, NWA-DS*)
There’s data and there’s statistics. There’s also the misrepresentation of these. We all know that statistics themselves don’t lie, but the people who use statistics may intentionally or unintentionally do so. A Tweet late yesterday by Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) was the most recent example to catch my eye. With the
Read DetailsTHEWEATHERMOGIL:: NOAA completes major supercomputer upgrade
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today the completion of a major upgrade of its weather and climate supercomputer capabilities. The two supercomputers involved in this upgrade – called Luna and Surge (and built by IBM and Cray Computing) – are located at computing centers in Reston, VA
Read DetailsA twice in a lifetime Pi Day (3.14.15)
The clock was ticking, figuratively and literally, as I finalized this article. And then, the first event in a “Once in a lifetime Pi Day” celebration took place. The second event will be this evening, twelve hours later. With such a special day…To read the entire feature, click here. Originally
Read DetailsA Million Steps
On Feb. 28, 2015, I broke through the one million-step level on my iPhone6 pedometer (Fig. 1). I had been tracking my steps for approximately 5 months and become fascinated by the number of steps one takes each day…To read the entire feature, click here. Originally published 3/2/15
Read DetailsThe Polar Vortex returns and then hangs tough
Happy 2015! Most likely, many folks can’t wait to clean the weather palate from 2014 and get rid of the bad weather they experienced (namely the “Polar Vortex”). Yet, when considering all events, 2014 wasn’t really that bad weatherwise…To read the entire feature, click here. Originally published 1/4/15
Read DetailsThe consummate consumer wins big on Black Friday 2014
T’is the season to be frugal, fa la la la la la la… sung to the tune of “T’is the season to be jolly,” of course. It’s also the time of year to learn more about consumerism and how math and solid thinking can stretch anyone’s budget…To read the entire
Read DetailsDate-time organization and ordering
Ever since my computer science instructor at Florida State University (circa 1970) explained how best to handle organizing/ordering date-time information, I have been the poster child of sharing that approach. As we get close to changing from 2014 to 2015, the issue has resurfaced. So, I’m taking a few moments…To
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