I stole that name from Chris Hemedinger for “The Missing Manual” because I thought it was hilarious. If you don’t program in SAS much then you probably did not think immediately, “Oh, . is the symbol for missing numeric data, how funny.” In fact, you are probably more like my daughter, Maria Burns Ortiz, who…
Last week, a couple of really sharp cookies from JMP were on campus giving a presentation and their academic program manager, Curt Hinrchs commented that what is really needed is a course on statistical thinking. I think he is absolutely on to something. I mentioned in my last post how there is a debate over…
Two or three lifetimes ago, I was an Associate Professor at a small, liberal arts college, teaching, among other things, lifespan developmental psychology because, well, somebody needed to teach it and I had published several articles on assessment of families and other semi-related issues. One debate in the field, I learned, was how much of…
A few days ago I gave an example of multiple imputation but I glossed over a number of things, which is fine when you are just getting into a topic, or when the mad scientist part of your personality has taken over, but seriously now … Our story continues … when last seen, our data…
Of course I am most grateful for my family. As daughter number two, a.k. a. , “The Perfect Jennifer”, commented yesterday, “This is the only family I know where everyone in the family actually talks to one another.” It’s true we don’t have any made-for-TV movie problems. No one is in rehab, no divorces, incarcerations,…
Maybe I have been wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time, in fact, most of the really great things in my life have come about when I realized I was on the wrong track and took a sharp right turn. (Uncharacteristically skipping the opportunity here to make snarky comment about my first boyfriend, job or…
I have way more pictures of buffalo than the normal person. I guess that comes from working for 19 years on the reservation. After reading on GigaOm about the $28 billion in rural broadband access, I decided I wanted to write a post on Internet access in rural communities, specifically, the data we have on…
“Is there anything you can do to help? I’d kill you but there is a law against it. You’d better leave before I figure out a way around that.” This comment was made by a co-worker of mine who had saved all of the data for his thesis for a masters in computer science on…
Statisticians should not listen to talk radio or to anything on the Fox network. Those people who say that you can prove anything with statistics are mistaken. You can prove anything with statistics to people who don’t understand statistics. I think some of those same people you can prove anything to with a box of…
Being a Type-AAA personality, in addition to running the Julia Group, I have a ‘day job’ as a statistical consultant at a university where the communications people shudder as they walk by me. (I love the title of the book Molly Ivins Can’t Say That Can She? Simply because it reminds me of the reactions…