The Clark’s Nutcracker has landed! That’s the bird on the cover of Advancing into Analytics, copies of which I received the other day. There’s that new author enthusiasm! You can now get your digital or paperback copy too at your bookseller of choice. Learn more about the ...

When many hear “data analytics” these days, they think of graphical user interface (GUI)-driven business intelligence (e.g. Tableau), data warehousing (e.g. Snowflake), or data preparation (e.g. Alteryx) platforms. These tools have their place (some more than others) in the analytics stack. But rather than focus on ...

Technical books are curious in a lot of ways, including this one: most technical authors don’t typically teach or write for a living. They’re technicians who happen to write a book. That means that while you may get the most brilliant technical know-how, you may not receive it ...

Excel is arguably the world’s largest coding community, with 750 million users worldwide. Many of us, myself included, get introduced to the data world from Excel. But the thing is… Excel is not coding, not exactly. Like any software, Excel has its limitations, which a full-borne programming language like R ...

I usually stay away from the “next big thing:” I’ve never logged into TikTok, and don’t get me started about the trendy restaurants here in Cleveland (I don’t find writing my own hot dog order on a clipboard fun or amusing.). However, I wasn’t able to ...

Data is data, so why should it be / Python and Excel go awkwardly? OK, I’m no lyricist, but there is a beauty in build one skill set off of another. I believe that every data analyst should have in their “stack” of tools a spreadsheet application, BI/dashboarding program, ...

I’m pleased to present a new O’Reilly Online Learning session entitled “Python for Excel Users: First Steps” on Friday October 30th at 12p Eastern. The session is free to attend for all subscribers to the fantastic O’Reilly Online Learning platform. Check your employer or university for an ...

A poor craftsman blames his tools. But if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It’s common for web developers or database adminstrators to refer to their “stack” of tools used to do the job, but I’ve never heard this moniker used for data ...