Are you going to Denver, Colorado, and wondering what fun/interesting/eclectic things you can do there? Then this is the map for you! For the past couple of years, I've made maps of the city SAS Global Forum is in, pointing out some of the attractions that conference attendees might want
Quick Quiz! Where might you hear the following conversation? ... Waitress: "What would you like to drink, honey?" Customer: "I'll have a coke." Waitress: "What kind?" Customer: "Diet Pepsi." If you answered somewhere between Texas and Georgia, you would be correct! To those of us not from that area, it
I recently took a trip to Scotland, to attend the Highland Games! (ok - that statement might be a tiny bit misleading) It was a very cool and interesting event, and I wondered where and when other such events might be happening. What better way to analyze this kind of
How do the North American amusement parks compare in popularity? If this question was to come up during a lunch discussion, I bet someone would pull out their smartphone and go to Wikipedia for the answer. But is Wikipedia the definitive answer - how can we tell if Wikipedia is wrong?
Hopefully if you're viewing the eclipse today, you'll be using one of the safe methods that won't harm your eyes! ... But if you're somewhat of a trickster, here's an optical illusion you can send your friends after the eclipse, that might make them wonder (just for a second) if
With all the recent talk about some people wanting to move from the US to Canada, I got to wondering how cold, and how far north Canada is. And after a few Google searches, I was surprised to learn that 27 US states are actually farther north than the southernmost point
In the spirit of my Forecasting Sharknadoes blog post, I now bring you Sunsquatch! In this blog post, I create a map that helps you find a location where you can see the total eclipse *and* have a chance of seeing Bigfoot (aka, Sasquatch)! But before we get into the nitty-gritty
A lot of tourists flock to North Carolina. We have beaches, wreck diving, and lighthouses. We have the Great Smoky Mountains with whitewater kayaking, colorful fall leaves, and snow skiing. We have hot air balloon festivals & Scottish highland games. Oh, and some of the best barbecue you've ever tasted! But
A lot of my friends seem to be getting married these days. Which got me thinking about wedding parties. Which then got me wondering what songs DJs do/don't play at weddings these days. And what was the outcome of my meandering thoughts ... a fun & interesting graph, of course! It
An idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. For example, "don't cry over spilled milk," or "the cat is out of the bag." Idioms are fun to use, and fun to hear - don't you agree? And
Are you one of those people who get easily bored at amusement parks? Would you like something to do while your friends/family are waiting in line for a ride? Perhaps I have an alternate idea, to keep you busy - survey markers! When surveyors are measuring and marking areas for
They say "a picture is worth 1000 words" - and I think it might be more like 2000 when it comes to planning out fun/interesting things to do in a new city! I'm going to the SAS Global Forum (#SASGF) conference in Orlando this year, and I was wondering where
Were you the kid who sat there analyzing the amusement park map before entering the park, planning out how you could visit the most rides in the least amount of time? If so, then this blog's for you, my data analyst kindred spirit! And to get you in the mood,
Menschen suchen Big Data Analytics. So finden sie in Warenkörben längst: „Mann klickt Pampers – bieten wir ihm noch Dosenbier an!”. Das ist irgendwie gewohnt und ethisch harmlos, weil ja rein kommerziell. Wie aber sieht das im Privaten beim Online Big Dating aus? Hoffentlich anders, denn…
When using visual analytics, it's important to realize that WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) is not always true. By recognizing a few optical illusions and tricks, you might become a better data analyst ... and have some fun along the way. Let's start with the Koffka Rings
Do you need help picking a summer vacation destination - one that's not just great, but surreal? If so, this blog's for you! It's that time of the year again - I've got gobs of vacation time saved up, but I was drawing a blank on where to go... So I turned
While you're at SAS Global Forum (or any conference) in Las Vegas, you might have a bit of spare time to do some sightseeing. Therefore I've put together a list & map of interesting things you might want to experience! Below is a snapshot of my map - click it
The East Coast is having lots of snow and ice storms today, and SAS headquarters is officially closed. But I thought it would be a great day to get a few things done! And among those few things is "write a snow-related blog". Hope you enjoy it! After 21 years of
Do you have fun being a computer geek, and programmatically creating holiday images? If so, then this blog's for you! In this example, I demonstrate how to take simple x/y coordinates, and create map polygons shaped like holiday images, that can be plotted using SAS/Graph's Proc GMap. Once you learn the
When I was a kid, I always found it difficult to pick a Halloween costume. Now that I'm older, perhaps I can use computers & analytics to make my decision (and yours) easier! ... There are several different schools of thought on Halloween costumes - for example, some like to
It's that time of year again - time to choose what Halloween candy to buy for the trick-or-treaters! This is always a tough decision that has me angsting in the candy aisle. And if selecting the perfect candy wasn't enough pressure, my city (Cary, NC) was recently recognized as #1 on
Fun ideas for Children and Older Adults to do Together When my daughter was a year old my mother had a stroke. Since my mother was my child care and then she needed help, I stopped working so I could care for them both. My daughter got to spend most of
Update: This blog has been updated with the 2016 map. You can use SAS for just about anything - that includes finding a great fireworks show to watch during the US Independence Day holiday! Here's a fireworks-locator map I created using SAS (see technical details below). The red dots represent
As a kid, I was always intrigued with UFO sightings and I guess I'm still a little that way ... therefore how could I not jump at the opportunity to explore some UFO sightings data! I guess "UFO" doesn't necessarily imply that something is an alien space ship - just
Would you rather see a list of the world's 50 best roller coasters, or an interactive map? (... how about both!) Before we get started on this ride, here's a picture of my friend Jennifer's daughter, getting an early/young start on riding roller coasters (she's in the back, with her
How does Santa keep track of everything on his big night? I can't confirm or deny that he uses SAS software -- but if he does, it would look a lot like this! ... A couple of years ago, I blogged about a prototype dashboard that I wrote for Santa. This
Find out which state you'll live in, if the US state borders are redrawn so we have 50 states with equal population! (Don't worry! - This is just a fun/hypothetical "what if" blog!) To get you in the mood for this topic, here's a picture of one of the many
In this blog post, I put some classic rock song data under the SAS Analytics microscope, to see if I could get a better picture of exactly what is considered 'classic rock' these days... Michael Raithel recently pointed me to an interesting article/study about 'classic rock' music, and invited (or is
This blog post describes a neat example of some cool SAS capabilities, and also teaches you a little more about the state where SAS software is made... Here at the SAS headquarters in Cary, NC, the main TV news channel is WRAL TV5. And my favorite segment during the news is Scott
Every day of the year is an official 'national day' for something - here's a SAS chart to help you find which bizarre 'national day' falls on your birthday! I recently read an article that lists weird and unconventional national days. It was very interesting, but I found the data
