Category: Metrics / Statistics


  • Interesting case where four of the numbers on Lost (4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42) came up in a big prize. What is more interesting to me is that maybe over 9,000 played them. (I say maybe because people only seem to be referencing the number of $150 winners by LOST creator’s Twitter.) Let’s…

  • “Who is the most wired teacher at your college?” (A Wired Way to Rate Professors—and to Connect Teachers) Although the university runs workshops on how to use Blackboard, many professors are reluctant, or too busy, to sit through training sessions. Most would prefer to ask a colleague down the hall for help, said Mr. Fritz.…

  • Dreamhost collects the access and error logs for the web site domains they host for me. The stats are crunched by Analog. The numbers are okay. I much prefer Google Analytics. (Even AWStats is better.) Analog is good enough. While at Bbworld, Nicole asked me about the hits to her wedding web site. She made…

  • First Metricocracy measured hits. Pictures and other junk on pages inflated the results so Metricocracy decided on either unique visitors or page views. Now, the Metricocracy wants us to measure attention. Attention is engagement, how much time users spend on a page. What do we really want to know? Really it is the potential value…

  • Security Watch: The myth of online anonymity – CNET reviews: In his talk, Kazwetz mentioned several studies on gender use of keywords which, when weighted–with specific numerical values for male and different numerical values for female–can determine the gender of the author. Sounds too simple to be true, but research (including Gender, Genre, and Writing…

  • Study: Southerners care most often for elderly loved ones: Southern hospitality, it seems, extends to the elderly: A higher percentage of Southerners care for the old and ailing than do people in other parts of the country, according to a new study. Nearly 17 percent of Southerners said in survey that they provide regular care…

  • This is on my wishlist in case anyone wants to buy it for me. Moving away gift, birth day, etc. 🙂 Amazon.com: Time Management for System Administrators: Books: Thomas Limoncelli Time is a precious commodity, especially if you’re a system administrator. No other job pulls people in so many directions at once. Users interrupt you…

  • One in five women would consider having both their breasts removed to reduce their odds of developing cancer, according to a survey on Monday. [Source: 20 pct of women would consider breast removal-study]

  • What kind of password do you use? Your own name? A family member’s name? Your favorite sports star or actor? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Here is a SecurityWatch article on a poll in the U.K. which asked people about what password they use on their PC or laptop. – – – – – Such low amounts of…