The hardest part about being a data scientist isn’t the math, it’s explaining results/risks/assumptions clearly to people who aren’t familiar with the math

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

USDA is ending future Household Food Security Reports AND the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement–our most comprehensive source on food insecurity in the U.S. For approximately $1 million a year, it informs over $100 billion in nutrition programs. Cutting it means cutting evidence.

Read Chris Dick and @datageekb.bsky.social's latest blog to learn more: dataindex.us/newsletter/a...

QOTD: "She readily achieves a level of fatness above that of many other bears." It's @explore.org #FatBearWeek, y'all! 🐻

I am in the "meme selection" phase of talk-writing and this is the problem with "doing things ahead of time" #databs @databsconf.com

In about 44 hours, I'll be wrapping up my @databsconf.com talk. Full conference schedule is at databsconf.com/schedule/ and (free!) tickets are available at ti.to/databsconf/d...

Join us for @databsconf.com next Wednesday — and check out these pre-show talks while you wait! #dataBS

One of the kids who was shot last week at Evergreen HS is still fighting for his life. Take a few minutes. Watch the video the family shared with our local sheriff's office. Learn a little about Matthew.

C wants you to know that you matter.

My kid defended a friend against some mini-fascist classmates today and I am super sad that she had to but so proud that she did.

Talk schedule for @databsconf.com is up! Tickets are free! Join us! #dataBS

What a boring night of fights. I’m so glad this wasn’t a $$$ ppv thing.

With a high school kid in my house, and a single digit number of miles (as the crow flies) to Evergreen HS, today’s shooting there hit way too close to home. I’m feeling a lot of feelings and I’m really glad I don’t have to send my kids to school tomorrow.

@databsconf.com is just over 2 weeks away! It's a one-day, totally virtual, single-track conference centered on the real stories of data work from the folks in the trenches. Speakers and talk descriptions are live on databsconf.com, along with the link to get your (free!) ticket. #databs

Every time I think I've got a handle on git, I prove myself wrong. Fuck you, git.

USDA quietly said Friday it will, after a century, end the Farm Labor Survey (FLS), the only wage survey of ag employers. FLS is a critical input to setting local minimum wages for H-2A visa workers to try to avoid harm to U.S. workers' wages. #LaborDay #EconSky www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/Not...

Today is the 10th day that the homepage of Reginfo.gov — the federal government website for informing the public about what survey data and other information agencies collect — has displayed a notice saying it's "currently undergoing revisions" with no further explanation

so uh, quick thread about this absolute crisis in government transparency that none of you know about but (BUT NEED TO BECAUSE IT IS VERY WOAH OOH BOY)

A message about a site “undergoing revisions” may seem harmless enough, but “ICRs may not accurately update” is a massive understatement. 🧵 1/4

Physical inactivity FTW

Public comment period closes today for USDA's reorganization plan. These things may seem overwhelming, but here's a cheat sheet! Who should care? Not just agricultural industry (and hobbyist) folks — we're talking about research facilities and staff who work to improve food security for all! 🧵 1/5

What happens if I push this button in my new-to-me ride? I would say “wrong answers only,” but I do also actually want to know.

Cannot count the number of times in a day that I say to myself, "what was I doing?"

Keeping a close eye on reginfo….

#DataBS Conf is coming! @databsconf.com is coming!

Today, I told my kids that I’d need to go to the library this week. I thought the implication was clear, but they just stared at me, and one said, “you’re the one with the driver’s license.”

The weekend is here! Perfect time to submit your #dataBS talk. We want your lessons-learned stories from data work, everything from "my data pipeline: the unsung hero" to "how we got that AI system working" to "what we learned when it fell over." Details and sign-up: bit.ly/dataBSconf-cfs

Last week, I was called a geek in print. This week, a nerd. 15 year old me would be annoyed, but not because it's untrue.

Ah, the old "if we don't collect data about something problematic that we're doing, we can pretend there are no problems" 🤡 #dataBS

An excellent thread by @datageekb.bsky.social showing how she's using the @dataindex.us Take Action! newsletter by our awesome collaborator Meghan Maury to answer calls for public comment on changes to federal gov forms & surveys. #dataSky

The #dataBS (Data Behind the Scenes) Conference Call for speakers is out! We're gonna do this!! All online, single track, free to attend. Come talk about your messy experiences doing data stuff. At work, personal projects, whatever. A space to commiserate about nerdy things! bit.ly/dataBSconf-cfs

Happy to be one of "these geeks" #dataBS

Cautious. Curious. First fox we’ve caught on our trail cam, though we saw footprints in the snow throughout the winter and frequently see them trotting down the street where we live.

Today’s trail cam visitors hung around for a while!

Just discovered I have Chrome tabs looking at Advent of Code problems that have been open since those problems were freshly released, AMA.

The Trump admin is jailing children for extended periods of time in violation of the Flores Settlement, which requires prompt release. Border Patrol runs some of the harshest & cruelest prisons that will never be safe for children, making every day spent there dangerous. Art by @ritzyp.bsky.social

The average number of days children spend in immigration prisons has increased dramatically in 2025. This year alone, the number of children held for two weeks or longer has increased sevenfold! This is why Flores must be protected.

It’s shaping up to be a straight tequila night

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn’t the solution to dealing with imperfect data, and I would have thought that was obvious. Turns out it’s not, so @datageekb.bsky.social spells it out. #dataSky

EAT MOAR TACOS

While democracy is openly under attack, remember it is also under attack by covert actors. PACER provides public access to federal court records. We don't even know who's attacking it and we are losing the capacity to respond to the attacks.

At ADRCon plenary, big shout-outs to the important work at being done at @datarescueproject.org @icpsr.bsky.social And @dataindex.us ❤️🤍💙

"The Trump administration's push to rapidly amass sensitive personal information about hundreds of millions of people living in the U.S. is extending to a rich new vein of information: troves of databases run by states." This is bad. And we should all care about it. #dataBS

This was not the first time I signed up, and I finally made it! Thanks for doing this!

I spent most of today seeking to meet with one of the many victims of ICE raids currently jailed in Downtown LA. While @chrclla.bsky.social focuses its efforts on impact litigation, my team boosts efforts on the ground whenever possible. What I saw speaks to the crisis in LA & beyond.

Monitoring the shenanigans affecting our federal data is important, but the work doesn’t stop there. Follow Take Action! (newsletter and expanded summary on dataindex.us) for a distilled look at changes being made/proposed, making it easier for YOU to weigh in on the issues you care about. #dataBS