Recent posts
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How high can a bullet fly?
A Chinese spy balloon flew over these United States between Feb. 1 and Feb. 4, 2023 at about 65,000 feet. Someone told me that a hunter in Montana could step outside with his deer rifle and shoot that balloon down. That seems like a stretch: 12 miles is a long ways.
So naturally, the next question is “how high can a bullet fly?” At the risk of spoiling the post, I estimate that a bullet can’t reach 65,000ft even when shot from a sniper rifle from the highest point in North America – even if the bullet has some extra punch. But… can a bullet reach some the other balloons spotted in Feb. 2023? Let’s find out!
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Learning Python for data science
September 12, 2021 in python data science
Are you a scientist that has some experience with programming language, but not much? Are you looking to get into the “data science” space, and have gotten some recommendations about “Python” and “Pandas” from friends?
If so, this guide is for you. This guide will teach how to explore a dataset quickly and efficiently. Here’s a demo of what I mean:
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COVID-19, age and lockdowns
August 9, 2020 in pandemic visualization
I wrote “Visualization of the COVID-19 infection rates” with two goals: to warn people about the upcoming pandemic and to provide insight into that pandemic.
The US took precautions within a couple months, and the length and intensity of the precautions has surprised me. Even four months later, individuals generally believe they should take actions to limit the spread of COVID-19. This includes wearing a mask and working remotely if possible.
But are these precautions justified? There’s no harm done if everyone gets an benign virus. Do the data justify mandating wearing masks and closing schools? Let’s look.
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Visualization of the COVID-19 infection rates
March 14, 2020 in pandemic visualization
The Wuhan virus/COVID-19 is spreading through the world. The WHO classifies it as a pandemic (source), and the United States has declared a national emergency because of it (source).
Data on the infection rate is difficult to find. This post will present some data sources and show some visualizations of the infections. It’ll also provide some tips on how to avoid coronavirus.
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