Hamilton

The musical.

Yes, count me as one of the obsessed.  So, I'll take a momentary break from technology in these pages to include a bit of the old school.

If you live in the Boston area as I do you now have about 18 months to wait for the arrival of this amazing musical:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater/dance/2017/03/27/hamilton-will-arrive-september-and-stay-for-two-months/

Or, make your way to Broadway in NYC:

http://richardrodgerstheatrenewyork.ticketoffices.com

Be sure to pick up the album of the Original Cast Recordings.  Great stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Original-Broadway-Recording

Have a Nice Day,

J.W. Gant

No More Snow

Back in March I decided to wait long after the end of expected snowfall before writing this entry.  On April 27th, 2015 it feels safe to say the snow season has come to an end and we can record the damage.  After the year Boston has had this blog would not be complete without this entry.

I pulled this image off of weather.com:

This was a record year.  The most snowfall in one season in the recorded history of Boston.  It was quite a mess.  After working in the yard the last two weekends preparing for my 3 y/o's birthday party next weekend (to be outdoors) it feels like it is safe to write a recap of the season that was.  Boston's official site says we finished the season with 110.6".

Here is the weather.com report as the record fell March 29th:

http://www.weather.com/news/news/new-england-boston-record-snow-tracker

Here is Boston's snow stats page that I assume will update as the new snow season begins later this year:

http://snowstats.boston.gov/

So why not capture the current entry on that site?

Baseball season is in full swing now and I have the grill out.  No more thoughts of snow until the latter days of 2015.  Have a nice summer folks!

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Baseball Analysis as Opening Day Nears

A bit more fun this week, though the analysis is quite serious.  If you are a data geek as I am then you should be hitting up 538.com every day for their latest and greatest.

The Boston Red Sox have been at the front of much of this work though everyone seems to trail that Moneyball guy over on the West Coast.

Here is a great little piece on the changing game of baseball as data shifts the thinking of everyone involved with the game.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/three-trends-to-watch-in-baseball-this-year/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Baseball is changing. I suppose that’s nothing new — baseball has always been changing, but now novel technologies and team philosophies are reshaping the game to a near-unprecedented degree. Pitch tracking, new kinds of defensive positioning, hyper-specialized relief pitching — all are altering the tactical landscape of MLB.

FiveThirtyEight’s season preview is about some of those changes. Tons of season previews concentrate on the teams — our friends at Grantland have been doing a great one of these — so we looked elsewhere for our inspiration. Below you’ll find three of the season’s most important trends alongside three of the players likely to be affected by them. These are the storylines worth keeping an eye on in the 2015 season regardless of your rooting interest. Embrace the change.

Go RedSox!

J.W. Gant

Boston's Blizzards of 2015 - What Snow?

Have you heard the New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions this year?

What snow?

When it snows, just put a smile on your face.  It'll all be gone soon.

Happy happy,

J.W. Gant

Boston's Blizzards of 2015

Blizzards is now plural as the 4th major storm, and 2nd blizzard, of the year has just concluded.

It is a slow news day and nothing caught my eye today during my daily research so I'll take a minute to talk about the snow.  First for some numbers.

Here is the National Weather Service with some historical figures:

Seasonal Average = 41.3 inches

     Greatest Seasonal Snowfalls       Least Seasonal Snowfalls
         107.6 1995-1996                   9.0 1936-1937      
          96.3 1993-1994                  10.3 1972-1973
          89.2 1947-1948                  12.7 1979-1980
          85.1 1977-1978                  14.9 1994-1995
          83.9 1992-1993                  15.5 1988-1989
          77.2 1944-1945                  17.0 1931-1932
          64.9 1922-1923                  18.1 1985-1986
          63.0 1963-1964                  19.1 1990-1991
          62.7 1933-1934                  19.4 1946-1947
          61.8 1981-1982                  19.7 1920-1921

So the most snow Boston has recorded in its history for the entire season is 107.6 inches in the '95-'96 season.  That season saw many snow events spread out over the entire season.

What has happened in Boston this year?  95.7" with most of that falling in the last 3 weeks appears to move this year to the #2 slot.  That is the most snow ever in a 30 day period, the most for a February, and is nearly the most for any winter.  We've seen more snow the last 3 weeks than Chicago has ever seen for an entire winter.  Wow.  Even more snow is in the forecast with an event tomorrow that will bring a couple inches and another this weekend.

A big challenge is it isn't warming up in between events.  None of this is melting.  The real concern may be yet to come as this will all melt eventually.  It could be a very wet spring.

For me this is a winter wonderland.  I love it!  We'll be talking about the Blizzards of 2015 for the rest of our lives.  Awesome!

Happy snow day, Presidents Day, or whatever.

J.W. Gant

PS  The folks over at FiveThirtyEight have a great graph of what February looks like in historical context. Literally off the chart...

Love that graph!

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0135 Boston vs. San Francisco

Where is start-up central in the United States?  Everyone thinks of Silicon Valley without batting an eye (not really in San Francisco is it?).

How about Boston?

Yes.  Boston is a tremendous hub of technology activity and start-up activity.

This article compares the two:

http://www.xconomy.com/national/2014/07/11/boston-vs-san-francisco-two-cultures-of-innovation/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Let’s say you’re an ambitious, creative professional or entrepreneur working in the United States. You’re interested in technology, you have the luxury of mobility, and you want to be close to the center of things. Which city should you choose as your home?

If you’re attracted to a specific sub-field, the answer may be obvious. For finance, advertising, traditional media, or fashion, it’s New York. For government, it’s Washington, DC. For entertainment, it’s Los Angeles.

But for almost any other area of technology or its related industries, Boston and San Francisco should be high on your list. Both are top-tier innovation hubs. How are you supposed to choose between them?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant