Data Underload

• The real A/C repair schedule

  October 4, 2012 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  My central air conditioner started to suck about a month ago, so I called A/C repair. It took them five appointments, four to assess the problem and one to fix it. The trouble was that for each appointment they'd give me a four-hour window, and every time except the last, they arrived about a half an hour outside the window.

  I think they might need to tweak their scheduling system, unless their end game is to set expectations so low that an on-time arrival seems amazing. If that's the case, well, I slow clap in your direction, A/C repair.

• What 3-D pie charts are good for

  June 15, 2012 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  3-D pie charts are never a good idea? Ha. You just got served.

• What costs more in 2011?

  April 27, 2011 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  After seeing this article and graphic on the rising cost of food in The New York Times week in review, I was curious about how prices for other stuff has changed in the past year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides this data monthly via Consumer Price Index (CPI).
  Continue Reading

• Who spends the most years in retirement?

  April 7, 2011 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Early retirement. That's what most people want, unless you're lucky enough to love working. When you have the luxury of retiring early though, why not take advantage? According to OECD estimates for life expectancy and retirement ages, in countries like Mexico, it is common for men to work up to the last year of their lives. On the other hand, women in Austria spend an average of 26 years in retirement.

  In the United States the average years in retirement is 10 years for men and 16 years for women (mostly because men typically die earlier)—among the least in the world.

  When will you be retiring?

• In land of YouTube dislikes, Justin Bieber rules

  April 1, 2011 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Happy Friday, everyone. If you'll allow me, I'd like to take a moment to talk about something serious.

  In a move I believe is best for everyone (but mostly me), I am switching gears to only cover facets of pop culture and toilet humor. I will also be switching focus to online education. It's come to my attention that this is a lucrative area, and leveraging my authority on information and data graphics, I believe I can become a rich man and retire by age thirty, quite possibly making four figures even sooner.
  Continue Reading

• Valentine’s Day importance

  February 14, 2011 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  (This might look a little different for men and women.)

  Long before any relationship begins, Valentine's Day is just another Hallmark holiday to take your money, but then that special someone starts to come into the picture, and Valentine's Day transforms into opportunity. He or she could be the one. Then he or she does become the one.

• States with the most and fewest firearms murders

  January 19, 2011 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  According to 2009 numbers reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DC, Louisiana, Alabama, Maryland, and MIssissippi had the highest rates of firearms murders. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Vermont, Idaho, New Hampshire, Iowa, and North Dakota had the lowest. Time to move into a bed and breakfast.

  Update: Made some small changes to the copy, so that everyone and their mom isn't confused.

• Happy Turkey Day

  November 25, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots and lots and lots. Rest. Then eat more.

• Data Underload #24 – My Candy

  October 29, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  One pound for them. Nine pounds for you. Happy Halloween. Watch out for flaming bags of dog poo on your doorstep.

• Do Movie Sequels Live Up to Their Originals?

  June 28, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  The third installment of Pixar's Toy Story is making a killing at the box office (rightfully so, because it's Pixar-tastic), but not all trilogies have the same luck. They can't all be Lord of the Rings epics (all over 90% fresh), unfortunately.

  Here's a look at true trilogies listed on Wikipedia that had sufficient data on review aggregation site, Rotten Tomatoes. TV specials and straight to video stuff was not counted.

• Data Underload #21: Exit Strategy

  May 23, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  If my wife, the physician, has taught me anything, it's that everything that has to do with the human body has a medical term or classification for it - and I mean everything. The other day she came home and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Bristol Stool Chart?" I hadn't, so she described. It's classifications for dootie. I thought it was a joke, but there's a Wikipedia entry for it. Ergo, it must be true.

• Data Underload: One Thousand Posts

  May 3, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  On June 25, 2007 I published the first FlowingData post. Today, here is the one thousandth. I asked what I should do for this special occasion and pretty much everyone said I should visualize the posts somehow, so here we go.

  With the exception of the holiday gaps and the early months, I've managed to stay surprisingly consistent, yeah?

  Thanks for reading, everyone. Gold star for anyone who remembers what FlowingData's theme color was in 2007.

• Data Underload #19: First Date vs. Reality TV First Date

  April 25, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Want more? Catch other Data Underloads.

• Data Underload #18 – Sleep Schedule

  April 18, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  According to WebMD, for 1- to 4-week-olds: "Since newborns do not yet have an internal biological clock, or circadian rhythm, their sleep patterns are not related to the daylight and nighttime cycles. In fact, they tend not to have much of a pattern at all." I think somebody forgot to tell my internal clock to grow up.

• Data Underload #17: Famous Movie Quotes, p. 2

  April 12, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Carpe diem. Seize the data, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.

• Data Underload #16 – What’s that smell?

  April 5, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

• Data Underload #15 – Life Simile

  March 29, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  You never know what you gonna get. Life is also known to be like: a box of crayons, a park, a taxi, the surf, falling in love, a bowl of cherries, or a slideshow.

• Data Underload #14 – Popeil Pitch

  March 22, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  As corny as the Ronco infomercials are, you can't help but stop and watch late at night. It's all about the "set it, and forget it" showtime rotisserie. Here's to you, Ron Popeil. The man. The legend.
  Continue Reading

• Data Underload #13 – Corned Beef Recipe

  March 15, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  For as far back as I can remember, I've always had corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, or at least on the week of. There isn't a speck of Irish in my family, but for some reason my mom always made it, and now I make it myself.

  I don't know the origins nor care enough to look it up on Wikipedia. All I know is that there will be three straight days of corned beef-related food, and that's good enough for me. Mmm, salty, beefy goodness. Reuben or corned beef hash anyone?

• Data Underload #12 – Famous Movie Quotes

  March 8, 2010 to Data Underload by Nathan Yau

  

  Here's looking at you, data point.