The Deep North

When I was eight years old, the gully across the street was my kingdom. It was a wild, adventurous realm, perfect for an ADHD-fueled boy with a knack for turning curiosity into calamity. My friend and I spent countless hours there, digging, exploring, and occasionally getting into trouble. But one day, the gully fought back—and it fought back hard. We were deep in our mission, excavating softened, rotted wood at the bottom of the gully. The wood had this odd reddish hue, and whether it was actually redwood or just nature’s way of being weird, I’ll never know. The buzzing of a few bees added an annoying background soundtrack to our adventure, but we were determined to press on. Then came the obstacle: a skinny little tree, stubbornly planted right in the middle of our excavation site. It was like the universe’s middle finger to our progress. We hacked, we tugged, we argued with it, but it wouldn’t budge. Finally, I took matters into my own hands—or rather, both hands—and grabbed it with...

This example underscores a crucial principle in data collection and analysis: report your data as you actually find it, without smoothing or 'fudging.' The graph shown is a mock-up, but it's based on a real experience. Years ago, my company was contracted to collect, characterize, and analyze customer financial data for a client in the financial services sector. Understanding customer demographics is essential for financial services, especially when identifying where most assets reside. In this case, the financial power was concentrated among baby boomers, with a peak around the birth year of 1955. When we plotted the collected data, we noticed a sharp spike at 1955 that seemed anomalous. Nevertheless, I adhere to a policy of “playing it as it lies” — reporting findings as they appear, without embellishment. We presented the graph as it was, odd as it looked. Before finalizing the report, we investigated the anomaly and discovered the cause: data entry staff, when uncertain...

NATO on Notice: The Nuclear Threshold Russia has consistently outlined thresholds for nuclear weapons use, though its rhetoric has softened over the years. Recent events, however, suggest that firing Western-supplied missiles into Russian territory crosses a significant line. This could provoke a nuclear "warning shot," assuming Russia's nuclear arsenal is functional (a possible but unconfirmed variable), or it could lead to a dangerous standoff reminiscent of a high-stakes game of "nuclear chicken." As I discussed in my September 2024 post ( NATO-Russia: Enough Already ), the possibility of nuclear weapons being used was not hypothetical—it was a looming threat as tensions escalated. Now, those risks have become even more palpable. Speculation includes the possibility of Russia detonating a nuclear device over water as a demonstration of resolve without immediate mass casualties. This scenario aligns with their long-standing strategy to maintain nuclear credibi...