Journal

Updating R to the newest version on Ubuntu (Natty)

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 22:14

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Journal, R

It seems like this task is a bit more confusing than it needs to be on CRAN. Open a terminal and follow the instructions below:

1. gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-key E084DAB9
2. gpg -a --export E084DAB9 | sudo apt-key add -
3. sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
4. Add: deb http://_my.favorite.cran.mirror_/bin/linux/ubuntu natty/ to the end of the file
5. sudo apt-get update
6. sudo apt-get upgrade
7. Win.

Moving to Drupal

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 22:57

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Journal

Wordpress and Textpattern were great, but it seems like the way of the future lies in Drupal. I've chosen the platform more from the perspective of attempting to gain familiarity with a new CMS rather than what it's actual benefits may or may not be. Drupal's learning curve, so far, is substantially higher than that of WP or TXP. However, it seems that Drupal has susbstantially more usage cases. Hopefully, this will streamline my website and allow me to expand in different directions the future should I need to. 

1 Topic 5 Blogs: DIY Surveys

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 07:03

If a company is using DIY survey tools, I see it as an opportunity. It provides evidence that the company understands the value that market research can bring to an organization. Many market researchers, too quickly, frown upon the use of DIY Survey tools and I feel that they do so simply because it cuts them out of the loop. Survey’s have been around a lot longer than market research professionals. A simple show of hands, for example, has been around longer than the word research. No one has ever argued against a show of hands and it is likely the most frequently run survey on the planet. Personally, I’ve never walked into a company that is running their own, homegrown, survey(s). What I have run into are a number of companies that I wish had done some kind of rudimentary survey before making a decision. Nevertheless...

The Online Research Quality Council: Key Take Aways

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 15:43

A  study of 17 panels and over 100,000 interviews by the Advertising Research Foundation's[1. The Advertising Research Foundation] Online Research Quality Council[2. Online Research Quality Council] conducted in June, 2009 provides, in some cases, counter-intuitive evidence to some of the classic pitfalls associated with panel based online research.

How to Burn Down then Clean Your Kitchen 101

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 14:47

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Journal

When I woke up this morning, the only thing I could think about was having a coffee. You know, one of those zombie like walks you make to the kitchen with your eyes only 1/8th open? Yes, that was me. So, I went into the kitchen and I started to boil water. I went back into the bedroom to check my mail and about 5 minutes later I smelled something pungent, strong and smokey. Yes, you guessed it - the kitchen was on fire! I ran towards the fire (I almost won a Darwin award). Only to realize that in my sleepy morning haze I had turned on the wrong burner and now one of our cloth element cover's was combusting like a <insert Samuel Jackson's favorite euphemism>. Here's what the kitchen looked like when I managed to get the fire out:  Note to self. Ensure you turn on the right burner. Now that the fire was out, I was left with the dilemma of HOW to clean it. I tried vinegar, soap, and good old fashioned elbow grease. None of them worked on the cabinetry. Then I thought to myself... suit = carbon. What get's out carbon? A pencil eraser! Low and behold the power of an eraser: The power of the Eraser!

A Birthday Gone Bad

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 21:20

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Journal

I have a rule - perhaps it's better described as an axiom - that I use as a guiding principle for life. "Everything has a way of working out - even when you don't expect it to". Either I'm a hopeless optimist or it is just a good way to describe my own laissez-faire approach to life problems. Regardless, it proved to be wrong for at least a portion of Sharon's Birthday.

How many things can go wrong in one day? Here's an overview of Sharon's day:

What went Wrong:

Communication Conundrums

Submitted by Brandon Bertelsen on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 03:20

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Journal

It is almost too easy to remember situations in which communication goes awry. One great example comes from something that I feel is common, especially in Canada, where the nuance of language is “lost in translation”.

For a while, I was dating a Croatian girl whose parents spoke little to no English; so I started studying the language intensely. I had reached a point where I felt comfortable with the language. You know, that point where knowing a little can be exponentially more dangerous than knowing nothing at all.

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