Tag Archives: Infographics

Edward Tufte Presidential Appointment

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Edward Tufte has been appointed to “help track and explain $787 billion in recovery stimulus funds” as part of the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel.

I’m doing this because I like accountability and transparency, and I believe in public service. And it is the complete opposite of everything else I do. Maybe I’ll learn something. The practical consequence is that I will probably go to Washington several days each month, in addition to whatever homework and phone meetings are necessary.

Edward Tufte, March 7, 2010

Average Airline Departure Delays

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Like any good nerd, I was excited about today’s Data.gov announcement, so I put together this infographic (using Google’s fancy MotionChart API) which charts the yearly average departure times for major domestic air carriers.

The chart isn’t terribly interesting; this was more of a mental exercise than an attempt to do anything useful with the data.

There is one notable data point in the chart though, and that’s JetBlue circa 2007—their average departure time spikes as a result of the infamous Valentines Day screwup. Having myself spent 9 hours (and my first wedding anniversary) on the tarmac at JFK during that fiasco, I was curious to see how that would be reflected in the data.