Category: Data Matters

  • Bletchley Park: The Birthplace of Artificial Intelligence

    Bletchley Park: The Birthplace of Artificial Intelligence

    We started Datagami because we wanted to highlight positive uses of data. This month I was thrilled to be able to visit Bletchley Park – one of the most impressive and positive uses of data I know of. The town of Bletchley is just about an hour’s train ride north of London and Bletchley Park…

  • How does your vote count in the Electoral College based on where you live?

    This article is a collaboration with my daughter, Meghan Bailey. Each state gets an allotment of electoral college votes based on their population. States with a higher population get more electoral votes such as Texas’ 38 (based on July 2019 estimated population of just under 29 million). Those states with a smaller population are allotted…

  • Catfishing Data

    Catfishing Data

    The above graph was on the Georgia Department of Public Health site and it shows the top 5 counties with the greatest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. At first glance, it appears that their case counts have been on the decline. That’s great news! Except that it’s not quite correct. Look closely and you’ll see…

  • A Literal Pie Chart

    A Literal Pie Chart

    I’m so excited! 314 Pie just delivered my dinner and it’s baking as I write this. I ordered several different pies and was wondering how I was going to tell them apart. Then I noticed some shapes on the top of the crust – diamonds, rectangle and a triangle. Their cooking instructions showed the legend:…

  • Morning People vs Night People

    Morning People vs Night People

    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…

  • Perspective

    Perspective

    Today, President Trump tweeted out an image of a map with county shapes that looked Republican red. I was curious where this map originated from. There was an article back in 2016 by the Washington Post that provided some perspective. This was by county, the 2016 election results. However, the FLAT red county level map doesn’t…

  • Road Trip with Google Maps

    Road Trip with Google Maps

    My daughter got accepted to a summer program at MIT for women in engineering. So we thought since we’ll already be on the east coast, why not extend the trip into exploring colleges in the Northeast. Now, being from the Pacific Northwest, my geography skills for anything east of the Rockies starts to get a…

  • Burgernomics

    Burgernomics

    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…

  • Where are all the Salmon?

    Where are all the Salmon?

    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…

  • When the next big one hits Seattle

    When the next big one hits Seattle

    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…