Events

Mike Wallace: Now, you've watched this gate for many years, right? St Peter: Yes, that's right. MW: And do you decide who gets in the gates? SP: Well...I mean, I don't make the final decisions, no... MW: But you can, for example, send someone to the back of the line? SP: That's...you know, that's not something that would be done. In some, rare cases, people decide to return to the end of the line on their own. MW: Peter, come on. Did Carl Sagan go back on his own? SP: Well, look...you know, Carl...

Some items that have gotten my attention: Linda Greenhouse on the Supreme Court's divisions, and how they may throw the health-care law into chaos Laura Miller on Game of Thrones' real-life inspirations and Charli Carpenter writing in Foreign Affairs on Game of Thrones as Realpolitik The Daily with more about craft brewing's increasing market share On Friday, schlock artist Thomas Kinkade died, joining a pantheon of artists we wish the world would forget but probably won't, a group that includes...

I found out, after too many failed download attempts for no reason I could ascertain (come on, Amazon), the 1940 Census data is also available on Ancestry.com. Their servers actually served the data correctly. And so, I found this: The apartment numbers aren't listed, and the building added an apartment to my entrance sometime in the last 70 years, but I think I can work it out. The first column shows the rent for each apartment. The three higher-rent apartments have to be the larger ones to the west....

The Census and the National Archives have released the entire 1940 enumeration quasi-digitally. I think the data drop is great. I am going to download a few specific documents based on what I know about my own family, and about some of the places I've lived that were around in April 1940. But as a software developer who works mainly with Cloud-based, large-data apps, I am puzzled by some of the National Archives' choices. I say "quasi-digitally" because the National Archives didn't enter all the...

My company, 10th Magnitude, finally moved into its new office today. One of the criteria we had for selecting the new office was that they allow dogs. Everyone wins! (Hat tip MW.) It's hard to tell who likes the Office Dog concept more, Parker or my co-workers:

Chicago's record-shattering run of above-normal temperatures ended yesterday: The abnormal, all-too-often record warmth, couldn't continue indefinitely. For 26 consecutive days, Chicagoans were treated to temperature levels which would have been at home in June and July. They were without precedent in March and early April. The impact of that warmth continues, even in the midst of noticeably cooler air here. And while Easter weekend temperatures are expected to rebound to the 60s, an even cooler air...

The opening days of April have seemed a lot cooler than all but one or two days in March, but as it turns out, we're still above normal: Despite the chilly feel to the air in recent days, the books closed on a 26th consecutive above normal average daytime temperature here Wednesday. The day finished 4.4°C above normal with a high of 14.4°C. Any clarity in the forecast for the summer, though? The Climate Prediction Center still sees only a 33% chance of above-normal temperatures through the middle of...

...by finally stating the obvious: [Y]ou would think that after the results of this experiment in trickle-down economics, after the results were made painfully clear, that the proponents of this theory might show some humility, might moderate their views a bit. You'd think they’d say, you know what, maybe some rules and regulations are necessary to protect the economy and prevent people from being taken advantage of by insurance companies or credit card companies or mortgage lenders. Maybe, just maybe...

Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel rounded up some explanations of last month's record heat. Here's the NWS Chicago office: The 2.7°C difference between the average temperature for March 2012 at Chicago-O'Hare and the previous record for warmest March is by far the largest difference between 1st and 2nd place between record warm or cold months in Chicago. The second largest difference between 1st and 2nd place is the 1.7°C separating the average temperature of January 1880 (4.3°C) and January 1933...

Raganwald yesterday posted a facetious resignation outlining the dangers to employers of asking prospective employees to disclose social media information: I have been interviewing senior hires for the crucial tech lead position on the Fizz Buzz team, and while several walked out in a huff when I asked them to let me look at their Facebook, one young lady smiled and said I could help myself. She logged into her Facebook as I requested, and as I followed the COO’s instructions to scan her timeline and...