NorthStarNerd.Org

NY Times Visualizes the Northstar Nerd!

My, what a tangled web we weave!

This morning the Northstar Nerd may be found among the corn fields of rural Illinois, a few weeks ago I posted about Silicon Valley vs. Lake Superior Hot Spots. However, most of my visitors today come from the New York Times' article on data visualization. Yes ... as I get ready to head back to Minnesota, the NY Times featured my tutorial on Data Visualization. This post was actually part of a two part series on the importance of looking at data. This is how I led off my earlier post:

• "Last Summer Second Life was all the rage in the popular media. In fact, one of the most linked (and found) pages on this blog are the Second Life Tutorials (more SL posts). However, as much as SL gathered media attention, the bigger interest for most of us was the discipline of engineering simulation and data visualization."

Welcome New York Times Visitors. Here are some key links:

• Northstar Nerd Tutorials
• Data Visualization Tutorial
• Engineering Learning Wiki

Bye for now; it's time to get back in the car and drive another 400 miles. I've dropped off my youngest son at his new engineering college, Rose-Hulman. Molly and I were impressed with his choice of schools. His new engineering faculuty advisor actually stopped by his dorm room to say hello and introduce herself while we were unloading the van! How many engineering colleges would that happen at? (see my search for the perfect engineering college)

(Update on Oct. 27, 2008 ... See Microsoft's new visualization tool, DataDepot)

A Statistical Approach

Going back to my high school days in the early 70's I've always needed to know how to use statistics for solving technical problems. Back then I used a slide rule; now I use a high power PC. Hopefully my answers are still correct!

One software package that I have used in recent years is Minitab. Recently I found an excellent online text book which covers Minitab 15 ... from "frequency distribution" to "confidence intervals" and "hypothesis testing". I will add this test to my Engineering Learning Wiki eBook / Manual section.

• Minitab 15 Manual - Thiel College

And now for something truly different!

At times all the heavy technical training can become a drag, and one needs a lift. One of my favorite engineering blogs, The Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog, helped me with a fix of engineering humor:

• An Engineer's Guide to Cats

I discovered the technical aspects of cat yodeling and aspect ratios. Have some fun!

Lake Superior vs. Silicon Valley Hot Spots

Recently I had the opportunity to visit friends in Silicon Valley. While riding the light rail in Mountain View, I experienced a moment of revelation of how life differs between the shores of Lake Superior and Silicon Valley. Six young men boarded the train ... all obviously geeks in their young 30's ... their laptops (all Apples) were already fired up and ready. They proceeded to have a LAN party while riding the light rail on the way to work. Why was this possible?? You need to understand that Google provides free wireless to the entire town on Mountain View. The world is connected ... and interacts in different ways ... at least in Silicon Valley.

Now on to Lake Superior. I am sitting in my car while parked at the beginning of the Duluth Lakewalk. Lake Superior stretches out before me in her morning "blueness". I happen to know that I can hack into a wireless connection at this location. My thanks to the family which does not secure their wireless. I will not explore their hard drives, etc, but I will use their connection.

Thus, life is different on the shores of Lake Superior. I am a lone software nerd looking for a wireless hotspot ... not a light rail rider with free unlimited access anywhere in my community. Out in Silicon Valley I tried Google's connection; it worked fine and did not ask for anything beyond my normal Google account.

Click upon any image for a full sized view

Tracking Google Results via Google Alert

Do you Google? Would you like to be automatically informed of relevant Google results that match a query you pre-define? Does tracking those Google results via RSS appeal to you?

Assuming the answers to these questions are "yes", then you need to use Google Alert. This service allows you to create RSS feeds and/or email notifications against your Google query results. Over time, you may also track new content which satisfies your query options. A basic account to use Google Alert is free.

I've created an updated Google Alert tutorial / screencast which reviews the basic features and demonstrates how to create an effective alert. I use this service to track competitors, vendors, technologies, etc.

• Northstar Nerd Google Alert Tutorial
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