Jeffrey Dunster

The New York Times recently published a web service showing the movie rental habits, by zip code, of 12 major cities over the past year. The data comes from Netflicks movie rentals for 100 movies. I initially visited the site just to see how they presented the information (very well) and it really made me think. This is a great example of how data is only what you make of it. And, that no matter how unbiased you try to be, just collecting and presenting data induces inacuracy or bias.

One of the best outcomes of this adoption was a unified monetary policy in my family. We saved every penny before spending it. This was extremely challenging, but more rewarding than I expected. I discovered quickly that most of my stress in life relates to money (particularly with someone else spending it). But with a plan in place, stress is reduced, fear is gone, and life is simplified and happier.

I am bereft! I am feeling shock, anger, fear, anger, frustration, sadness, shame, and um, anger. This is very rare for me. In fact, the analytical portion of my brain is intrigued by the extent of my emotional reaction to this tragedy. You see, I may have accidentally thrown away $500 worth of library books and media.