this week i

fasted till dark on thursday.

helped tracy analyze whether sugary beverage taxes would be regressive.

mapped down to the census block group-level.

attended the embassy of switzerland's panel discussion on the l.h.c. learned that at -271° centigrade, it's the coldest place in the galaxy. also installed - and recommend that you install - lhc@home to lend them your computer processor while you sleep.

lamented that tourist season has begun (zoom in).

convinced siva to come see the national kite festival the week before the cherry blossoms blossomed..

..to witness other triumphs of japanese culture..

..to brunch at busboys & poets..

..to gasp at mummified cattle..

..and men's best friends..

..to marvel at tarantulas and other natural histories..

..and to dress up real fancy, listen to czech musicians..

and have a nice little meal.

could not have had more fun at the ethiopian embassy's party with katie. though no one hesitated to swarm the injera buffet + honey wine..

some guests weren't sure how to handle the traditional dance

while others knew exactly what to do.

..of course after a coffee ceremony

nothing can go wrong.

reenacted prohibition at kelly's speakeasy-themed birthday party.

♥

4/1

this week i

published on young adults who turn 19 and lose their public insurance.

re-analyzed our medicare advantage plan ratings data at the state- and county-level.

helped emma (currently in port-au-prince) organize haitian clinic disease surveillance data.

helped roy (currently in upstate new york) analyze some michigan intensive care unit bloodstream infection data.

walked down to the capitol..

..on the eve of health reform's passage.

love the president more than these people hate him (zoom in). nancy pelosi also forever in my hall of fame. if you do not understand health reform as well as you'd like to, read this explainer.

went with britt..

..to a small gathering at the national postal museum.

learned a new dance: the stamp.

had cookies and beer at the kennedy center.

enjoyed a little get-together at the finnish embassy..

..despite their dishside wine-holsters. fifteen seconds after this picture was snapped, that cabernet went straight into the salmon wraps.

3/25

this week i

published about the risk of losing health insurance after a job loss.

recorded a little something with curtis on the fiddle. folk music like italian food: great because they're simple.

say shame on the census for asking both age and birthdate. you've wasted four seconds of 309 million* americans' time. *statistic courtesy of the us census bureau

re-read the financial times' endorsement of obama, saw this license plate on the east coast.

noticed j-street's first appearance in a ft article on our government's refusal to do 'business as usual' re: jerusalem settlements.

heard that gps technology could determine height above sea-level if we wanted it to. call your member of congress.

wrestled my way up to baltimore..

learned what gis analyses might be possible using hhs' new geospatial hospital database, from one biostatistics professor.

fiercely competed for who could have the most fun on friday evening.

ate an important brunch.

discussed where it's fun for young men to stay, with another biostatistics professor.

achieved a legendary saturday night.

3/18

this week i

noticed our article on medicare advantage quality has been picked up by wikipedia's main medicare article.

wrapped up the amazing planet earth series. surprisingly, the best episode was the one that focused least on the animal kingdom: plant growth-races for canopy sunlight & cordyceps fungi.

learned to display 'not applicable' values in r's xtabs function.

test <- c(1,2,3,1,2,3,NA,NA,1,2,3)

xtabs(~test,exclude=NULL,na.action=na.pass)

bumped into this free online course on 'statistics and visualization for data analysis and inference'.

was visited by naomi. red carpet treatment, of course.

danced at the korean embassy a little.

caught the donovan mccoy sextet at 18th st lounge a little.

saw the newseum a little. favorite quote: "freedom includes the right to be outrageous." favorite wall: berlin.

matineed with aurelia's oratorio a little.

enjoyed the uzbekistani embassy's navruz celebration a lot...

fancy kindling

excuse me mr. ambassador, can i take a picture with you? gr8thnxbai

police lineups

cultural goods

silk road dance companies

..and feasts consumed in beautiful rooms.

read..

(1) illicit money. don't miss 'a company in country a makes photocopy machines..'

'for every $1 handed out across the top of the table, the west has been receiving back up to $10 under the table.'

'cutting the flow of illicit flight capital out of poor countries by even 25 percent..would leave more money in poor countries than the total of overseas development assistance provided by rich-country donors.'

(2) the future of water in the american west

(3) social work with guns

3/11