Theoretical Ken

Can you believe this? I couldn’t! So I took a few pictures.

I actually bought gas for $1.89/gallon tonight in Fort Lee, NJ, on my way home from a client’s house. I’ve just become numb to the price of gasoline lately, and hadn’t really noticed the prices falling. I cannot remember the last time I saw gas for under two dollars per gallon.

I did a quick Internet search, and found that the highest price in my area of New York City was $4.41/gallon on 7/16/2008; that was only 4 months ago. (The highest price in the Fort Lee, NJ area was $4.01/gallon on 7/6/2008.)

Today I got 12.217 gallons for only $23.20, that would have cost about $50 four months ago.

The Fuel Gauge Report website has more information about gas prices, including this chart of the:

12 Month Average For Regular Unleaded

Tags: Data, News, Style by T_Ken
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Has every state now gone blue?

No, there are still a few red states left. But what the above map does show, is the levels of flu activity in each state (as of today, November 11, 2008); lighter blue for minimal flu activity, and darker blue for raised levels of flu activity.

Google (that’s right, the search engine) has just launched a new service called Google Flu Trends. Google has observed that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses Google search data to estimate flu activity up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Of course, not every person who searches for “flu” or “flu symptoms” is actually sick. But trends do develop amongst the millions of searches done each day. It makes sense when you think about it; people might do a search themselves before they actually end up at their doctor’s office where their case of the Flu gets reported.

By making flu estimates available each day, Google Flu Trends may provide an early-warning system for outbreaks of influenza, and may enable public health officials to better respond to seasonal epidemics and pandemics.

Learn more about Google Flu Trends here.

Tags: Data, News, Science by T_Ken
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My Neighborhood!

I happen to love maps. So of course, I love my new Google Maps Plugin for Wordpress.

You like maps too?

Awesome US, World & State Wall Maps:
Raven Maps & Images

And you like on-line weather maps too?

Giant National Radar Composite (it’s huge!):
National Mosaic Enhanced Radar Image

Do you know of any other great map resources? Do tell; leave a comment!

Tags: Data, General, Science, Tech by T_Ken
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Pantone Color of the Year for 2008: BLUE IRIS

Blue has always been my favorite color. (Take look around this site!) So the news today that Pantone has selected BLUE IRIS as its color of the year for 2008 really caught my eye; and I like this color a lot.

According to their press release, Blue Iris is “a beautifully balanced blue-purple,” that combines the “stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple.” Additionally, “Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.”

Ahhh, that’s nice!

Tags: Computers, Data, Fun, Science, Style, Tech by T_Ken
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Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Matt Keating played next door at the Brooklyn Lyceum on Sunday night. The set featured songs from his upcoming release, QUIXOTIC. I took a few pictures, and above is a slide show of those shots. It’s built using the cool flickrSLiDR, and the images come from my new Flickr account. I’m totally new to Flickr, but loving it so far. I’m such a tech/photo-head that I can’t believe I never checked Flickr out before.

For anyone who does not yet know; Flickr is a place where you can host and share all your images online. But the really great part is that you can embed slideshows and galleries of your pix in your blog or website. All of the image are stored on Flickr, and just show up in your web page. Enjoy!

BTW: Matt Keating was great! You can hear samples (or even buy some) of his current and past records here.

Tags: Data, Music, Performance, Photography, Tech by T_Ken
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