Blogs

Post written by Erika My work has always spanned several disciplines, but at its core, I spent a lot of time thinking about social issues surrounding health. I was astonished about how many rich sources data were available and (completely free!) from the U.S. Here are some of my favorites. The National Center for Health Statistics via CDC wonder has a wealth of U.S. vital statistics. The CDC Wonder system provides an easy-to-use graphical interface to specify the data you’re interested in.

Accreditation of Statisticians

November 13, 2017

Post written by Kathryn Last month I received my accreditation as an associate statistician from the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC). The SSC is a professional organization that seeks to promote the use and development of statistics and probability1. They have many educational and training objectives, hold annual meetings including workshops (which I have attended in the past), sponsor local chapters and sections on application areas like biostatistics and actuarial science, and a lot more.

Bring your dog to blog day

October 6, 2017

Post written by Kathryn If you know me, you know that I really, really like dogs. To fulfill the dog-shaped hole currently in my heart, I’ve been dog-sitting on Rover for the last year1. I get paid to hang out with dogs! Before you quit your job, I get $28/day and spend half on treats and toys. But, I absolutely love it. If you don’t mind planning your day around a dog, I couldn’t recommend it more.

The most helpful (and shaming) productivity tool ever

August 30, 2017

Post written by Erika During my studies, I struggled to evaluate my productivity. The research years of my PhD were long and lacked structure. It felt as though I spent every day sitting in front of my computer slowly chipping away at the amorphous blob that was my thesis. I discovered Rescue Time and it totally changed my life! It’s an app that you can run on your desktop that tracks which ever active window your working on.

The 'having an office' effect on cafe expenses

August 17, 2017

Post written by Kathryn Precision Analytics found a permament home in July 2017 at Nexus Coworking space. Before then, we were working out of our own homes or at coffee shops. I track my personal spending, and I noticed a pretty strong ‘office effect’ on having a permanent space to work - and make my own coffee! The y-axis is proportionate to the dollars I spent at cafes per month.