How I Learned to Love Redirects: Lessons from Rolling out CloudFront on top of a Static S3 Site


Today, I finally got around to migrating my website to use HTTPS and SSL - something that will go under-the-hood to nearly everyone, but is becoming more and more important to do as a foundational internet thing. Here’s a blurb from Namecheap in response to the question “Do I need an SSL certificate?” We’ll just say it: yes. Your website needs any SSL certificate If you’re asking for any personal information.

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Visualizing the Impact of Permanent Daylight Savings Time on Winter Sunrise and Sunset Times


Last month, the Senate passed a bill intended to end the jump forward / jump backward era of Daylight Savings Time, and align on a year-round implementation of the summer “daylight saved” hours. Besides showing that at least something can pass the Senate with bipartisan support, this bill gives hope for everyone who struggles to adjust their sleep cycles that an end may finally be in sight! It’s important to note that there is healthy debate over whether or not Permanent Daylight Savings time is better or worse than adopting Permanent Standard Time… Permanent Daylight means that the sun will rise and set an hour later in the day, which certain people prefer, while others would rather preserve morning light.

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How Good is Twitter at Wordle?


For about the last month, there’s been a new addition to my daily routine. At some point in the afternoon, I find a comfy spot to sit, fire up Wordle, drop in a first guess, and then let my mind slowly run through vowels and consonants… Delightfully low-tech and easy to play, yet occasionally fiendishly difficult, it’s easy to see how Wordle quickly became a phenomenon amongst the NYT Crossword and Trivia Night set.

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What Portland's Shared Mobility Data Tells (And Doesn't Tell) Us About Micromobility Usage in 2019-2021


On December 16th, the City of Portland filed a press release that I wish more cities would publish - a quantitative recap of their shared mobility program! Portland’s Public Data Open Data Portal The crown jewel of the data released is the city’s “Open Data Portal”, which contains an interactive map heatmap of trip activity, the ability to export summary trip metrics, and information about the most commonly utilized street segments.

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Racking up YAC, 2021 Edition


Last year, Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel finished as the #27 and #97 receivers in fantasy football. Through the first ten weeks of the NFL season, they’ve emerged as the clear #1 and #2 receivers. What explains their terrific performances this season? A little bit of Matthew Stafford, and a little bit of Kyle Shanahan, for sure, but a lot of one thing in particular: yards after the catch (YAC). Kupp and Samuel (especially Samuel) have been absolute monsters this season with the ball in their hands, breaking tackles and running past safeties.

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An Ode to Juan Soto


For a longtime Nationals fan, watching the Playoffs this season has been a funny mix of nostalgia, jealousy, and happiness. Nostalgic for our 2019 run through the NL, jealous of the Braves and Dodgers for their success this season, and happy for longtime Nats Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, who have played such an integral role in Dodgers’ success after their blockbuster acquisition by trade. Speaking of that deal… it was especially fun to be at the Dodgers vs Brewers Wild Card game and get to see Juan Soto attending in person, making the cross-country flight to be able to see his old teammates play a crucial elimination game!

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Who Will Make the Playoffs? Tracking the Decline of the Mets and Padres while the Braves, Reds, and Yankees Make a Run for It


As a Nationals fan, it’s been a tough season. After entering with high expectations, the team has had a disappointing run of things, losing start pitchers to injury, hitters to slumps, and close games to hungrier teams. To cap it all off, they began to finally execute a painful but necessary rebuild, trading away two of our best players in exchange for desperately needed young prospects. To make myself feel better about the whole thing, I thought it might be nice to enjoy a little schadenfreude on behalf of some of the other teams which are on the outside of the playoff picture (I’m looking at you, Mets), and celebrate some of this season’s surprise contenders.

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A New Era for Spin Rates?


The eternal cat and mouse game between pitchers and hitters took another turn this past month, as Major League Baseball made the decision to start enforcing its long-dormant prohibitions against use of foreign substances by pitchers. First announced to owners and teams at the start of the month, and then officially revealed to the public on June 15th, umpires now perform a series of mandatory spot-checks over the course of each game to ensure that pitchers are not using illegal foreign substances.

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