I can't really call it a hiatus...

because I do not post on a regular basis.  When I first started this blog, I thought I would be posting at least once a month.  But in reality I was doing it about once in a while.  And over time I found myself doing more and more hockey related viz.


Consequently, I have been asked to post a weekly column for St. Louis Game Time (a fan run St. Louis Blues hockey blog).  This opportunity has created additional opportunities related to hockey data visualization.

I have also been asked to contribute data viz for my organization's website!

So if you are interested in continuing to follow my work, please check out my posts at St. Louis Game Time and keep your eye on the front page of USGBC.org every third and fourth week of the month.

I hope to be back here posting on a semi-regular basis again after the hockey season ends.

Thank you all for reading!

Thank you for putting me in the top 1% of Tableau authors!

I received an email from Tableau today.  It thanked me for being in the top 1% of Tableau Public authors.  Really...I'm in the top 1% of Tableau Public authors?  That is pretty fantastic and I have all of YOU to thank for it.  I really have appreciated all the support I've received from friends, colleagues, and fellow Tableau users.  Many of you have RT my postings on Twitter.  Some of you have posted a link to my blog on your site.  Whatever the case may be, I am grateful for all the support, feedback, and visitors I have received at this site.  

Hockey Day Across America 2013

Last year for Hockey Day Across America, I took a look at the birthplaces of NHL players whose teams were playing on Hockey Day Across America. I decided to update the visualization this year but just focusing on the number of US born players that are currently playing in the NHL during the abbreviated 2012-2013 season.

What states do hockey players come from in the US?

As a hockey fan, I follow several hockey bloggers and hockey reporters on Twitter.  Earlier today, hockey writer James Mirtle from The Globe and Mail tweeted out a link to a very well organized Google Docs spreadsheet (with a nice chart embedded) in which he had compiled stats regarding where hockey players  have come from within the United States.  Since there isn't much other hockey stats going on right now with the lockout I'm looking for all sorts of other hockey related data viz projects and took advantage of the data he made available.

Where are they now? NHL players abroad during the 2012-2013 lockout.

This is not a good time for hockey fans.  When the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL owners the the NHL Players' Association expired and no new agreement had been reached, the owners decided to lockout the NHLPA.  This has resulted in a delayed start to the season and a possible repeat of the 2004-2005 season when the entire season was scrapped.

As the lockout became more and more certain, NHL players who were originally from Europe started to head back home and sign contracts to play with teams back in their home countries.  As the exodus of players continued, lists started to be compiled to allow fans to keep track of which players were playing for which teams.  However, most of these lists have been unable to tell the complete story of how many players are playing for which leagues and teams and in which cities and countries.

Olympic Medals: Counts and Scoring

First, let me start by saying that I love watching the Olympics.  I prefer the winter, but I am just as involved in the summer games.  I would consider qualifying to attend the Olympics as a competitor a major life accomplishment let alone winning any sort of medal.  These athletes spend most of their lives up to that point honing their skills in order to succeed in their sport.  It is amazing to watch them compete, regardless of the sport.

Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Viz

I am not a scientist nor do I have a background in the "hard sciences" (my degree is in Political Science).  However, I am a strong advocate for the Chesapeake Bay and have been actively involved in a variety of activities and organizations that are trying to clean up, preserve, and protect the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America.  At one time it was teeming with fish, crabs, and oysters.  However, after centuries of water pollution, air pollution, over-development along its shores, over-fishing, and agricultural runoff, it is currently in a very distressed condition.

I am currently conversing with a local watershed group about using Tableau as a tool to visualize the data that this specific local group collects about their waterway.  People are always wanting to know the condition of the waterway either out of general concern, or because they want to know if it is okay to swim or fish in the water.  During our initial conversation they recommended that I take a look at the data that the Chesapeake Bay Program makes available to the public.  So I downloaded a set of data focusing on three primary metrics:  dissolved oxygen, secchi disk depth, and water temperature.