Sometimes I need to "disassemble" a SAS data set into a DATA step program. It's kind of like creating a "freeze-dried" version of the data that you can carry around and use anywhere, re-hydrating it in the SAS session where you next need it. Some example uses for this: Build
I used "Dropbox" in the title for this post, but these techniques can be used for other cloud-based file sharing services, such as GitHub and Google Drive. Using PROC HTTP (added in SAS 9.2), you can easily access any "cloud-based" file as long as you have a public link to
I live in the South, but was raised by Midwestern Catholics from rural Minnesota. Think Jeff Foxworthy meets Fargo. A few of the great things that I have learned about folks in the South is their incredible politeness even when they are really saying, "Wow, what in the world are
Sunny days, keeping the clouds away, can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?? Oops, sorry, was just day dreaming about younger days and the magic of an eight foot talking yellow bird. How great was Sesame Street? I learned counting, my abc’s, sharing, diversity,
I vividly remember the process of changing TV channels when I was a kid. Turn the channel select knob, turn a dial to rotate the antenna, then make fine adjustments to tune in the channel. This process usually resulted in an adequate picture, but it required considerable effort, the quality
Last week in my post, Revenue Management vs. Price Optimization: Part One, I explored the practice of practice of hospitality revenue management, its origins in the airlines and how it was changed for use in the hospitality industry. This week I will explore how price optimization has evolved and how
US Presidential Race Going to the Dogs Mitt Romney transporting his dog on the roof rack. Barack Obama eating dog meat as a child in Indonesia. Former candidate Rick Santorum overwrought about man-dog love. Is this what the US Presidential race has turned into -- one dog attack after another? Back in
We've introduced the topic of the Four E's and discussed the role of analytics in Enforcement and Engineering. Now let's delve into Emergency Response. A quick emergency response can make all the difference in saving the lives of crash victims. Many vehicles can now communicate directly with emergency responders immediately after
You know this always happens. You try to plan for everything. You make lists and check them off and still, you forget something. Well, SAS Gloal Forum is a big event and you are probably thinking of a thousand things at once. Here's some last minute information to help you
The leading cause of death for Americans between 5 and 34 isn’t what most would expect. It’s not disease or acute illness. It’s traffic crashes. The good news is that the number of highway deaths has steadily decreased the last few years, yet crashes still cause more than 30,000 fatalities and
A few weeks ago, in Northern Virginia, a 30 foot highway sign fell onto I-66 and landed on a passing pickup truck. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it drew media attention and caused motorists in the area to wonder about the safety of other signs and the transportation network
During one week in December, two separate transportation agencies within the federal government made two major announcements. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – the government agency responsible for guiding traffic safety initiatives on the nation’s highways announced that crash fatalities had declined to record low rates. Just
When I moved last year from Denver to the Washington, DC area people told me to prepare myself for the long hours I would spend in my car. I had no idea. It takes forever to get anywhere. Once, during a snowstorm it took me 9 hours to drive 10
In 2009, SAFETEA-LU—the legislation that outlines federal transportation funding for the states—expired. Since then, members of Congress have been kicking the can down the road, passing funding extensions instead of passing legislation. The major impact of this failure to act is that the U.S. continues to slip further and further
Bengt Persson, the Senior Vice President of Quality and Tech Support, presented a session about driving quality across the globe during the 2011 Premier Business Leadership Series in Singapore. Persson told the story of how Volvo Trucks uses analytics and data flow to standardize and optimize warranty claims across Volvo’s
The highway system traversing the United States quietly hit a milestone last month with the 55th anniversary of the Federal Aid Highway Act. In 1956 President Eisenhower had a vision for our nation’s infrastructure; he knew that building an interstate highway system was vital, and expressed that “Together, the united
The new, third edition of Frederick Pratter’s Web Development with SAS by Example recently came out to great fanfare. Updated for SAS 9.2 and SAS Enterprise BI Server 4.3, Web Development with SAS by Example, Third Edition, introduces readers to Web programming using real-world examples and SAS Web programming tools. So
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about the budget problems running rampant across all levels of government. Federal, State and Local Governments are all facing historic budget shortfalls due to the economic crisis and decreased tax receipts. This has led to a much closer examination of services
The Winter 2011 issue of Foresight is now available. Here is Editor Len Tashman's preview: This issue of Foresight—our 20th since the journal’s genesis in 2005—begins with a new feature, Joe and Simon Sez. Joe is Joe Smith of Dean Foods and author of three valuable Foresight articles on forecast
Contributed by Bruce L. Stegner, Ph.D My grandmother was from Tennessee and she came fully equipped with the accent and the ability to cook. Sadly, her fried chicken undoubtedly shortened my grandfather’s lifespan. For me, her apple pie was Nirvana on earth. One day I asked her how she learned
With the exception of the occasional James Bond movie that proves the rule, we don’t as a matter of course combine our modes of transportation into one all-purpose vehicle, and we even tend to park our cars, boats and planes in separate facilities. But when it comes to financial management,
Today is World Statistics Day, an event set up to "highlight the role of official statistics and the many achievements of the national statistical system." I want to commemorate World Statistics Day by celebrating the role of the US government in data collection and dissemination. Data analysis begins with data.
Wubbo Ockels was the first Dutch astronaut in 1984. His flight aboard space shuttle Challenger motivated him in propagating a sustainable futuristic view. He spreads this idea as professor at the Aerospace Engineering faculty of the Technical University (TU) Delft and via innovative transport and energy concepts. Well-known examples are
Meet the 2010 Enterprise Excellence Award Winners Want to cut processing time from hours to seconds? Save millions in operating costs? Then take a lesson from our 2010 Enterprise Excellence Award winners. Congratulations to these outstanding SAS customers who each took the stage last night to describe what they’ve accomplished
Welcome back to our green enterprise checklist for retailers. In my previous posts, I described how to create a vision for sustainability and how to evaluate your operations, merchandise, supplies, advertising and marketing. The final area on our checklist is to evaluate your people. Your People Employees must be trained
With increased customer awareness and consumer demand about the virtues of going green, getting your company to become more environmentally friendly is a winning strategy. But sustainable business practices are relatively new to many companies. The most common question I get is: “Where do I start?” There is no direct
As we learned from SAS program manager Donna Daniels, in Episode 2 of Inside SAS Global Forum, there are lots of ways to get to SAS Global Forum this year. In addition to the usual modes of transportation, you can take the King Street Metro Station and shuttle from there,
