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Hey, folks! For fans of the Animal Crossing games, tomorrow is an exciting, momentus day. On March 20th, 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released and gained millions of players across the world during its first year. During that time, I have not only played it in my personal life but I’ve also used it in my work at CMU Libraries to help bring a fun, lighthearted element to teaching data concepts.
We’ve reached February, which means that it is again time for Love Data Week! Happening entirely virtual from February 8th - 12th, we’re offering a host of awesome data-themed activities during Love Data Week to help you learn how to care for your research data and develop enthusiasm for all things data!
Hey, Datascapers! I’m happy to be back writing the first Tartan Datascapes of the year after a two-week vacation where I was consistently streaming Bob’s Burgers, playing a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and, most importantly, sleeping.
I apologize for the cliché use of the “What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been” lyric from the Grateful Dead song "Truckin'" that can sometimes be overused to describe odd happenstances and situations over a long period of time, but it really is the perfect way to describe the year of 2020 for Tartan Datascapes (and really, 2020 in general).
For all you bibliophiles out there (a person who loves books and/or collects them), I’m certain that you’ll enjoy this blog post where I draw an irresistible connection between the front matter of books and README files. For the casual book user, I hope today's Tartan Datascapes not only increases your interest in README files, but also sparks a passion for all the lovely things that comprise a book.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to a lot of YouTube ambiance videos (check out this one creating a soundscape of being in a cabin during a blizzard) and drinking copious amounts of tea, but I’ve had the word “cozy” on my mind for a few weeks now. What comes to your mind when you think of the word “cozy”? Soft blankets? A cabin with a fireplace? A basket of tiny, fuzzy bunnies? Being the data enthusiast that I am, a really interesting thing comes to mind when I think of the word “cozy”: data repositories.
You might be reading the title of this blog post and thinking “Really, Hannah? Data management in a vampire mockumentary?” Hear me out, because not only is the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows a phenomenal story about the trials and tribulations of daily life for vampire roommates in Wellington, New Zealand, many of the themes and plotlines can be translated to data management principles and challenges!
In this mini-issue of Tartan Datascapes, I’m thrilled to signal boost an upcoming open house for our Data Collaborations Lab (dataCoLAB) at CMU Libraries, which connects researchers who need help with their datasets with individuals who have data science and computer science skills!
There’s an iconic scene from the UK science fiction television show Doctor Who in which the Doctor describes the concept of “time” as a “big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.” (Video below for those who don’t know this scene!)
Each day in my role here at CMU Libraries, I’m steeped in everything data. I really enjoy getting to teach other people data skills while also honing my own skills in the process! However, it hasn’t always been easy. In fact, for a long time, I’ve always found it quite intimidating to learn new data and technology skills. Part of that intimidation was never feeling like I fit in with data science and technologist communities.
