Using Python to Cheat at Scrabble
My New Year’s Resolution was to learn Python. After taking a few online courses, I became comfortable enough with the language to tackle a small side project. Side projects are great for learning a...
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Choroplethr v3.6.4 is now on CRAN (and the Future of Choroplethr)
Choroplethr v3.6.4 is now on CRAN. This is the first update to the package in two years, and was necessary because of a recent change to the tigris package, which choroplethr uses to make Census Tract...
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Exploring the Demographics of US Congressional Districts in R
I recently created a few datasets to facilitate analyzing the interaction between demographics and political party affiliations of US Congressional Districts. My goal was to create this graph: I added...
View ArticleSomething New: Analytics Engineering
I started this blog in 2015 to serve as reference material for Choroplethr, my open source R package for mapping demographic statistics. A lot has changed since then, and I’ve decided to start using...
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Reader Questions about Analytics Engineering
Last week I announced a new focus for my blog: codifying my thoughts around the new role of Analytics Engineering. The post led to some interesting exchanges with longtime readers. I thought that two...
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A Guide to SQL Window Functions for Data Analysts
I recently learned about a (somewhat) new feature in MySQL called Window functions. From the perspective of an analyst, Window functions are fantastic: they allow you derive more information about your...
View ArticleMy Courses are now Free
A few months ago I announced a change in direction: rather than continuing to focus on Choroplethr-related development and introductory R training, I was going to focus on the broader field of...
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choroplethr 3.7.1 is now on CRAN
When I took my first software engineering job at Electronic Arts 20 years ago someone told me “More time is spent maintaining old software than writing new software.” Since my project at the time...
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New package on CRAN: zctaCrosswalk
I am happy to announce that my new R package, zctaCrosswalk, is now on CRAN. This package contains the US Census Bureau’s 2020 ZCTA to County Relationship File, as well as convenience functions to...
View ArticleRequest for Resources: Teaching Computer Science Basics to R Programmers
One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is teaching R to our incoming analysts. These analysts are largely recent college graduates with a limited background in computer science and statistics....
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Getting Started with Python (Again): OOP and VS Code
Last month I set a goal of dusting off my Python. While I use R exclusively at work, some recent developments in Python caught my eye, and so I thought it would be good to regain my proficiency with...
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Thoughts on Becoming a “Certified Cloud Practitioner”
Last month I passed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Cloud Practitioner (CCP) exam. I decided to write up my experience with the exam because it might help others who are looking to learn more...
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Reflections on Learning Pandas
One day last year I woke up with the thought: I want to know Python as well as I know R. I like R, and happily use it every day at work. But I also have the impression that an entire ecosystem in the...
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Building a Census Explorer in Python: Part 1
One of my career goals is to get as fluent with Python as I am with R. Since I don’t use Python at work, my efforts so far have focused on online courses and weekly exercise services. Courses came...
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Python Census Explorer: v1.0 is now Online!
A few weeks ago I wrote about my desire to build a “Census Explorer”-type app in Python. My thinking was not that the world needs yet another website to browse Census data. But rather (a) I was at a...
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Creating Interactive Choropleths with Streamlit
Last week I published version 1.0 of my first project using Streamlit. The app is a simple “Census Explorer” that lets users select a state and demographic statistic, and then publishes the data as...
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Python Census Explorer v1.2.0: Census Tracts
I just updated my Python Census Explorer app. You can view the new version by visiting census-explorer.streamlit.app or clicking the image below: Major Change and Project Goal My long-term goal with...
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Visualizing the Impact of Covid-19 on US Counties
I just published a new version of my Python Census Explorer app. This version lets you select a State, County and Demographic statistic. It then presents two visualizations of the data over time: A...
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Creating Time Series Data from the American Community Survey (ACS)
One of the most important decisions in my Covid Demographics Explorer app was how to communicate the demographic changes that occurred between 2019 and 2021. I started by computing the raw population...
View ArticleUpcoming Talk at SF Python Meetup
I am delighted to announce that tomorrow (June 12) I will be speaking at the SF Python Meetup about my Covid-19 Demographics Explorer app. This talk is quite exciting for me as it will be my first talk...
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