Don't let bad graphs undermine your credibility...
Having earned the Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts, I am of course very conservation-minded, and against polluting. I'm also an avid boat paddler and fisherman, and therefore I'm especially concerned...
View ArticlePlagues and locusts ... or is that cicadas?
I hope you're all doing well, in this year of plagues and locusts! I'm sure I don't even need to mention which plague I'm talking about. But what about the locusts? Are you up on your entomological...
View ArticleSAS can turn your world upside down!
Who's to say that 'north' should always be at the top of a map? Perhaps in certain situations, you might want 'south' (or some other direction) to be at the top. Perhaps you're one of our crazy...
View ArticleHow long will your dog live?
How long do dogs live? ... That's a good/tough question. Some live longer than others, but what are the determining factors? Let's throw some data to this problem, and see if we can fetch some answers!...
View ArticleHow to make your data look worse (than it really is)
"With great power comes great responsibility." I'm not sure exactly where this quote comes from, but I think everyone should keep it in mind when creating graphs and maps! There are many design...
View ArticleHave deaths in the US been increasing, or decreasing?
Some claim that deaths in the US have been increasing, and some claim they have been decreasing. Which do you think is correct? Let's take a look at the data ... The Data Here in the US, the Centers...
View ArticleCary NC data - car crashes
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download this data, what can you do with it? I'm going to download several datasets from Cary, NC's open data page, and try to give you a few ideas to get...
View ArticleCary NC data - fire incidents
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download the data, what can you do with it? This is my second blog post where I download several datasets from Cary, NC's open data page, and and give you...
View ArticleCary NC data - streetlights
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download the data, what can you do with it? This is my third in a series of blog posts where I download several datasets from Cary, NC's open data page,...
View ArticleCary NC data - population
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download the data, what can you do with it? This is my fourth in a series of blog posts where I download public data about Cary, NC, and demonstrate how...
View ArticleCary NC data - parks and trails
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download the data, what can you do with it? This is my fifth in a series of blog posts where I download public data about Cary, NC, and demonstrate how...
View ArticleCary NC data - weather
Many cities have Open Data pages. But once you download the data, what can you do with it? This is my sixth in a series of blog posts where I download public data about Cary, NC, and demonstrate how...
View ArticleLet's dive into some data - SCUBA site data!
SCUBA diving is one of those activities that should be on your bucket list - everyone should experience it at least once! But where should you go diving? ... Coral reefs are always popular - and they...
View ArticleThe Graph Guy is retiring!
The rumors are true - The Graph Guy is retiring! I've been working at SAS for about 30 years, and had lots of fun stretching the limits of SAS' graphing & mapping software over the years. But I've...
View ArticleCaptain Kirk travels into space!
Recently, the news has been all abuzz about William Shatner traveling into space. This was a cool event because he's the oldest person who has traveled into space (at 90 years old) ... and he was also...
View ArticleWhich countries consume the most coal?
These days, many countries are moving away from coal, and towards natural gas, hydro, wind, and solar as ways to meet their electricity needs. I had heard that some countries still use a lot of coal...
View ArticleHow to (mis)label a map
This blog post is mostly just a bunch of fun maps ... maps that are labeled (or mislabeled) in various ways, using fun/interesting data. I focus on the 'fun' part, but if you're not careful you might...
View ArticleWhere are people moving to/from in the US?
With the 2020 Census numbers starting to come out, it's interesting to look at what states are gaining (or losing) people. In this example, I create a custom map similar to the ones the US Census...
View ArticleWhere do Canadians live?
Canada is a geographically large country, but I've heard that much of the population lives in the small southernmost sections (near the US border). I decided to use my mapping skills, and put that to...
View ArticleEnhancing a scatter plot
A scatter plot is my go-to graph! It's what I often start with to get a feel for the data ... and I often end up using just a scatter plot. But some scatter plots are better than others ... In this...
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