Quantifiably Good
I'm that annoying morning person who pops out of bed, ready to take on the day. My husband needs to hit the snooze button over and over again until I literally pull him out of bed. I'm happy, he's groggy. The day becomes night and we reverse. I need to go to bed early while... Continue Reading →
This morning, I was perusing an article on NPR about humanitarian icons. The short of it is - UNOCHA (United Nation's Humanitarian Agency) has created 295 icons to help convey useful information. 295? Wow! That does seem excessive. Why not create a new icon language and stack a few icons together to communicate? Oh wait,... Continue Reading →
We often ask children what they want to be when they grow up. I have no idea what my answer was when I was a kid – some people have memories of wanting to be a doctor or fireman but I was in high school before I decided and then I changed my mind 100... Continue Reading →
A few months ago I interviewed for a job in London. I’ve always wanted to live in Europe and this role seemed made for me. But moving from the U.S. to London is a big step, so when I was offered the position I of course turned to data to help me decide if I... Continue Reading →
City governments have accumulated enormous amounts of data, and up until the last decade, accessing it was a challenge, even for those working in city governments. With more information going digital, many cities now share datasets publicly. The potential civic benefits are huge: greater government transparency and trust, better-informed decision-making, large-scale efficiencies, and more. Seattle... Continue Reading →
Wendy's recent article about migrating salmon got me thinking about our local Orca population and how these magnificent creatures have been struggling of late. Killer whales like to snack on salmon. And with all the news stories about emaciated Orcas, where's their salmon? What was the salmon tally this year? Is there a decline in... Continue Reading →
When the next big earthquake hits Seattle, chances are we'll be out and about, whether at work, school, or an evening event. There are over a thousand reinforced brick buildings in Seattle that the city is targeting for retrofitting. Which buildings, where, and how risky are they? Here they are, courtesy of the city Constructions... Continue Reading →
In the last article in our disinformation series, we focused on things that we as individuals can do to prevent the spread of disinformation -- false information that is intended to mislead its consumers. A better solution then would be to stop disinformation BEFORE it proliferates.
My 16 year old daughter recently participated in the Western Aerospace Scholars (WAS) sophomore program. She spent 3 days researching, learning and designing a rover for a robotic mission to Mars. What fun! I was curious about the demographics of her co-participants, specifically, how many other young ladies were participating in the program. Reason for my curiosity;... Continue Reading →