Category Archives: Uncategorized

One year ago today, Aaron Swartz took his own life. One of his most impressive qualities was his appetite for reading books. For instance, he read 70 books in 2011 and kindly posted his thoughts on all of them on … Continue reading →

Hope this provides a few more laughs today. ‘Twas the eve before Christmas and a glitchy website Kept Obamacare phones open all through the night. Last minute shoppers with many a question Were giving us workers severe indigestion. Line one … Continue reading →

At Rootscamp13, I gave a presentation called “Map Anything” that discussed how we combine common political geography identifiers and shapefiles to create a political data visualization revolution. Here are some links I promised attendees: The OCD Division Identifier repository, along … Continue reading →

The New York Times is running a vivid portrait of life as a homeless kid in New York City. The subject of the profile is Dasani an 11-year-old girl; this paragraph about her parents’ finances caught my attention: Suddenly, Supreme … Continue reading →

Today is the one-month anniversary of the Obamacare health exchanges, and while it has not been a smooth rollout, the exchanges are already helping a million citizens sign up for private coverage, who represent about 2 million Americans in those … Continue reading →

December 2013 update: Donate to the new Teboho school! My girlfriend and I recently returned from a three-week South African vacation, throughout which we had many fantastic experiences (e.g., sleeping here and here). By leaps and bounds, the most rewarding … Continue reading →

Do you live in New York City and want to decide who your next mayor will be? You better vote in Tuesday’s primary then. Look up your polling location using the tool below the fold.

The Bauer-Ginsberg Commission — charged by President Obama to shorten voting wait times — is traveling the country listening to experts and the public. I attended the first meeting in June and I had barely sat down when Chairman Bauer … Continue reading →

David Rakoff‘s posthumous novel — Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish — came out this month. Here’s my review, in the style of Rakoff’s wonderful rhyming couplets. (Of course his are better; but don’t take my word for it — … Continue reading →

Expectations are low for Obama’s climate speech tomorrow. If I were Obama, here’s how I would “go big“: 1) Instruct the EPA to set up a cap-and-trade system, similar to their successful sulfur dioxide market. The Supreme Court affirmed that … Continue reading →