Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: The Roaming Life of Rev. Dr. Stephen Remington
As many of you are aware, one of my personal interests is in genealogy and my family history. And sometimes, data visualisation can help make sense of my research. This past weekend, I was looking through some of my notes on my great-great-great-great-grandfather, a man named Stephen Remington. One of the outstanding questions is who was his wife, a woman…
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Westerns
Read on…: WesternsNext week I am heading west. And by west I mean Austin, Texas. I mean you could argue that Austin is more south than west, but if you throw a “×” in there you get South × Southwest. Anyway, the allure of the western remains strong and that reminded me of an old xkcd piece reflecting on the relative length…
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Urban Heat Islands
Read on…: Urban Heat IslandsYesterday was the first day of 32º+C (90º+F) in Philadelphia in October in 78 years. Gross. But it made me remember this piece last month from NPR that looked at the correlation between extreme urban heat islands and areas of urban poverty. In addition to the narrative—well worth the read—the piece makes use of choropleths for various US cities to…
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Brexit Trilemma Update
Read on…: Brexit Trilemma UpdateThis week is the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where the Tories unveil their government programmes and platforms. Naturally it has been overshadowed by allegations that Boris Johnson groped one (maybe two) reporters at a dinner in 1999. Just prior to that scandal, however, there was another. In this, Johnson was allegedly having an affair with an American businesswoman for…
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Baby You Can Drive My Non-automobile Personal Mode of Transportation
Read on…: Baby You Can Drive My Non-automobile Personal Mode of TransportationLast week was the climate summit in New York, and the science continues to get worse. Any real substantive progress in fighting climate change will require sacrifices and changes to the way our societies function and are organised, including spatially. Because one area that needs to be addressed is the use of personal automobiles that consume oil and emit, among other things,…
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Consumption Junction
Read on…: Consumption JunctionThe week of the climate summit in New York and the revelation of the whistleblower complaint against the president seems to make it an ideal Friday to share this graphic from Wednesday by Jessica Hagy at Indexed. So it’s less of a graphic and more an if then statement. But if the average designer codes the occasional if then statement,…
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Brexit Crazyness Continues
Read on…: Brexit Crazyness ContinuesThe British Supreme Court ruled today that Boris Johnson unlawfully advised the Queen to prorogue Parliament. And because the advice was unlawful, the act was therefore unlawful. And because the act was unlawful, the effects of said act were unlawful. And because the effects were unlawful, said effects are null and void. So, you know, prorogation never happened. So the…
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It’s Getting Hot in Here
Read on…: It’s Getting Hot in HereThe UN climate summit begins in New York today. So let’s take a look at another data visualisation piece exploring climate change data. This one comes from a Washington Post article that, while largely driven by a textual narrative, does make use of some nice maps. There is nothing too crazy going on with the actual map itself. I like the…
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Wicked Hot Islands
Read on…: Wicked Hot IslandsThough the temperatures might not always feel it, at least in Philadelphia, summer is ending and autumn beginning. Consequently I wanted to share this neat little work that explores urban heat islands. Specifically, this post’s author looks at Massachusetts and starts with a screenshot of the Boston area. The author points out that the Boston Common and Public Garden are…
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The Map
Read on…: The MapI mean come on, guys, did you really expect me to not touch this one? Well we made it to Friday, and naturally in the not so serious we have to cover the sharpie map. Because, if the data does not agree with your opinions, clearly the correct response is to just make shit up. By now you have probably…