A somewhat recent work publication analyzing public Twitter data collected by a third party seems to be picking up media exposure. See HPC Wire and MIT’s Technology Review.

Some amusing tidbits… Some people who might read this had locked-down Twitter accounts at the time. They still appeared quite high in our initial rankings of Atlanta flood data. The conversation-filtering pass mentioned in the paper removed them from the published rankings, however. Also, Tessa Horehled through @driveafastercar and Jennifer Maciejewski through @atlcheap appeared as highly influential news sources while being unknown to our PNNL collaborators.

Thanks to Courtney Corley for forwarding the references. I would have missed them otherwise. Much of the analysis code was written by David Ediger, and the other co-author is his advisor and my boss, David A. Bader.

Just a note for the Mac users out there… By default, your machine advertises your name on the local network. So if you’re the only Mac user at the coffee shop (or only Mac user of an obviously corresponding name and gender), it’s very easy to find your name.

So don’t name your machine after yourself unless you want to be found. That’s not a bad thing, but it should be a conscious choice rather than a default. Other platforms don’t encourage such naming, although it’s still possible.

My laptop currently is named NaN for various reasons. My name appears under the local network XMPP service but not machine name to avoid being Jason Riedy@Jason Riedy.local. I chose the naming with the intent of being found easily for communication. Others may not want it so.

If you want not to be easily identifiable, name your machine something other than your given name.

So let’s say you have a graph stream generated by the triangle-free process. What if you mix in new graph data? Could this be an easy test case for anomaly detection? hm.

On Frenchman Street, a brass band starts playing and the street fills with dancing. On Bourbon Street, it fills with camera phones.

11/19/2010

5/5 stars

Wandering Frenchmen with friends (not French men, alas), we bounced between a few cover-less places, shying away from d.b.a. Then a brass band fired up on the street, causing spontaneous dancing everywhere outside. How could it get better than this inside and requiring cover?

By being d.b.a. A friend from long ago came out and fetched me. The cover was paltry. The beer selection is good and emphasized locals. Then… Little Freddie King. I had no idea who was going to play. Had I known, I likely would have headed directly to d.b.a. I'm glad I caught both the street party *and* Little Freddie King. And introduced various friends to each other, who ended up sharing even more friends… Crazy small world. Crazy in a good way sometimes, like this night.

BTW, the "price range" is up to however much beer you want… The brews are priced well and are full sized, so…

Yelp tags: Jazz & Blues Bars

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

I'm reviewing the den as a place to drink, relax, and chat. The same group as on Frenchmen met up here after a day at SC. Not a huge selection of brews, but a good selection. Some of the smaller plates looked good, although I honestly don't remember if I ate anything here. Yes, it was a good night involving friends from years ago, friends from over a decade before, new friends, friends' elementary school friends, friends not even on this continent, and, well, more friends.

Anyplace with a writer scribbling in a notebook at the bar has to be somewhat good. Trust me.

Yelp tags: Music Venues

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

Pretty darned good food. I had a po'boy at the festival last weekend, and I returned to try them for a typical workday lunch. They have live music on a typical workday lunch. Good music. *This* is what I wanted to see in New Orleans. Happy. Good people working there, too. Relaxed and fun.

The po'boy at the festival was alligator. Typical alligator on good bread. Mine today was the "hot" sausage po'boy on not-quite-as-good bread. It also wasn't hot until liberal applications of hot sauce[1]. But the food is good for the price, and the atmosphere is incredible. I'm willing to try more of their menu… (I also don't like eggs, which rules out what many people like here.)

Note there's a minimum of $7 for card usage, but that's a sandwich. And sidewalk seating for good weather days.

I see some people talking about the good decor, some saying it has none… It's eclectic. And some of the decor isn't on the walls.

[1] Why does everyone use Crystal? I much prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce (the big red dot)…

Yelp tags: Breakfast & Brunch

11/19/2010

5/5 stars

Cochon, but smaller, faster, and more nimble. Ok, the latter refers to how you need to dance between people, but the staff manages. Meat hanging all over… Good meat. I had an excellent BBQ sandwich on good bread. Not much in the way of extra sauce because the meat doesn't need it. Good, good stuff.

Close to the convention center, **packed** during lunch breaks, efficient service, and appropriately pricey. You pay for quality.

Yelp tags: Meat Shops Sandwiches

11/19/2010

3/5 stars

In case you can't tell by the reviewer locations, Ugly Dog is close to the convention center. It's infinitely better than convention center food. I'm not damning with faint praise, either. Quite good, and great people.

I stopped here on a Monday, so I had to get the red beans & rice. It's ok. The sausage is good, but the beans could use more vegetables… I was kinda surprised the trinity weren't in there. The price was a tad more than I expected, but not bad for being close to the convention center. Overall, I'll be back to give it another try next time I'm at the center.

Yelp tags: Barbeque Bars

11/19/2010

5/5 stars

Glorious route. Cheap. Relatively quick given the number of stops. Cheap. Spacious. Seriously cheap ($1.25). Ferried me back and forth to Oak St. with no hassles. And the tracks make a great walking or running path.

Yelp tags: Public Transportation

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

The jambalay was good, although not as spicy as the woman taking orders. Definitely like this place as an alternative to the convention center icky "food." Inexpensive, too.

Ate at the bar, and had no problems drinking only (much needed) water. Heard the barkeep and one of his friends on my side discussing local fishing areas, limits, and plans… Well, discussing in the sense that the one not working was going fishing and the barkeep was, um, displeased. I have no idea if this is a "local's" place, particularly because it's close to the convention center, but it feels nice and relaxed. Great when you're working a booth on the center's floor.

Remember to brush your teeth before talking to people, though… Good flavors don't always translate into good breath.

Yelp tags: Nightlife Restaurants

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

I was absolutely giddy when I realized I could make the po'boy festival. And I was not let down. Incredible food, and I didn't even try any of the winners! Think I ate a total of four po'boys (two whole, four halves). Kinda put a dent in my wallet, but well worth it as a visitor on a per diem.

I don't remember everything I tried, alas. Been a crazy week, and I was too busy stuffing my face to take notes. I remember an ok alligator from Oak St. Cafe. A good crawfish sausage from the folks who won something with their hot sausage one (don't recall the vendor's name). A restaurant bearing Emeril's moniker was serving an incredible pig cheek po'boy. I chickened out at the sushi po'boys, though. Should have tried one.

Crowd control needs to step it up a bit. The lines need managed better not to block off the street. That's the only reason why I'm leaving this as four stars rather than five. I'm glad this place didn't suffer from the double-wide stroller syndrome that hits Atlanta street fairs.

And note to people staying in the French Quarter: It *is* a walkable distance if you're insane. I enjoyed the hike there, but I rode the streetcar back. The homes (um, mansions) along the way are gorgeous, and the trees utterly upstage the homes. Plus, Audubon Park.

Yelp tags: Festivals

11/19/2010

2/5 stars

House of Blands. Disclaimer: I was here for a packed vendor event. The food? Eh. The drinks? Heavy enough pour given that so few people tip at these events. The band? sigh. They were tight, but they were acting as a basic rock cover band. I'd love to hear them really perform.

Staff managed the packed house quite well. Food never ran out. While that might mean people stopped eating it, it really means they kept it as "fresh" as possible given what they were serving. Trust me, most people at these events don't care about quality. It's free, so they'll eat it.

I consider this another stamp on my tourist card. The one in Las Vegas was a bit better, but we went in there with low expectations (and their daily breakfast deal).

Yelp tags: Music Venues Venues & Event Spaces American (New)

11/19/2010

2/5 stars

Feels strange writing a review for the entire center rather than each of its cavernous areas. But that's part of my bad impression… The 20 minute hike between the show floor at SC and the technical program made going back and forth difficult. I was stuck mostly in the booth, and others couldn't come back to relieve us during breaks in their technical programs.

The food court, etc.: Really? Really? You have banners up displaying New Orleans food, and you serve… ick. The smell alone drove me across the street to local eateries. While I'm glad for that, I feel badly for all those who couldn't venture out (again, in part because of the long hikes).

But the facilities otherwise are quite good. There's a roof. There are doors. There is room. And air conditioning. That pretty much covers the attendee considerations. The company managing the operations was responsive and good, too.

Addendum: There are almost no recycling containers. Given the amount of recyclable waste generated by a convention, that had me rather upset.

Yelp tags: Venues & Event Spaces

11/19/2010

5/5 stars

I've been sitting here a few hours catching up on work, writing reviews, people watching, and drinking coffee. I like this place. The barista was ready to answer about the beans in different brews (and has good taste). The cappuccino was big and good. Fun music (not live at the moment), dog friendly, wireless network, and all around goodness.

This is the type of place where I see myself being a regular if I lived here. (So yes, I'm a bit of a creeper, too. If by "a bit of" you mean "through and through".) There was someone practically passed out on the game table at lunchtime, and they handled his request for calling a cab with aplomb. I suspect it's not uncommon in New Orleans, but it's nice to see in a coffee shop. Right now, there's a woman studying and a man knitting. A wide variety of reasons to be here with your eyes open, too.

Cash only, and tips deserved.

Yelp tags: Coffee & Tea

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

Pig. Pork. Yum.

Quite happy mouth after eating here. The fried rabbit liver with a spicy jelly is *fantastic*! Head cheese and charcuterie also make a mouth happy. The crab on a spinach cream puree was neat.

Both I and another found the cochon with turnips & cracklin's flavorful but a tad too salty. The only other downside here was the unfortunate but frequent splashing of drinks as they were served. The staff completely rocked other than that, dealing with some of our odd out-of-towner requests.

Definitely get reservations.

Yelp tags: Cajun/Creole

11/19/2010

4/5 stars

This was my go-to place for breakfast beignets and cafe au lait. Inexpensive, quick, good, and waist-expanding. The patio area is perfect for enjoying the great weather (on those days). Having NOPD next door and not being on Bourbon St. also are bonus points… Although the breeze combined with the powdered sugar can color your neighbor's black sweater. At least it was his back, so he didn't notice…

I'm by no means a beignet expert, but I liked the beignets here more than those at Cafe du Monde. Tastier and larger. Now I'm larger, too. The cafe au lait at the latter is a tad better. Neither coffee is great, but that's not their focus.

Yelp tags: Breakfast & Brunch Coffee & Tea Donuts

11/19/2010

5/5 stars

So… Let's just say this was an end-of-the-night stop. The chef served me the sandwich he was about to take home… That is customer service and certainly left an incredible impression. The sandwich was quite tasty (yes, I *do* remember it, thank you very much).The fries were a little soggy, but… The folks there were wonderful even while shutting down. Not quite my style of place, but that didn't matter. Also nice when I'm not identified obviously as a tourist.

I doubt if the food here is a full-on five-star experience, but the people *definitely* are.

Yelp tags: Bars American (Traditional)

11/19/2010

3/5 stars

Yup, got this stamp on my tourist card. Impeccably efficient service. Ok coffee. And (flame-bait) ok beignets. I preferred Cafe Beignet's, but you can see from different reviews that it's just personal preference.

Cafe du Monde has the bonus of brass. Brass is good. Not too loud, so good in the morning. Extra bonus is even further distance from Bourbon St.'s smells.

(And little Pootie, um, that donut recipe makes my tummy unhappy. Skerred.)

Yelp tags: Coffee & Tea Donuts

11/20/2010

2/5 stars

It's a generic, replaceable hotel asking for irreplaceable money for irrelevant bits. I don't *WANT* my soap replaced every day when I haven't even worn off the indentations! And I don't want the cleaning service to call me worried because I left the do not disturb sign hanging to avoid said soap replacement.

What I do want is a shower where the water doesn't randomly stop. Yes, stop. Completely. Guess what floor I was on? Yup, the top floor (14th). That saved me from the Bourbon St. smell, but…. Also "saved" me from the incredible brass band playing the corner of Bourbon & Canal, but they're a separate review. Don't stay here if you want peace and quiet. Pay attention to all the reviews mentioning the complementary ear plugs and air/linen spray.

I was here for a conference, and other people booked my room. It's a room. It suffices. Not as bad as some, not as good as others. There seem to be much, much better places in New Orleans, but this is one of the feeder hotels for the convention center.

So two stars simply because one doesn't seem appropriate. I don't intend on returning to this hotel unless I must. It's not that it's a bad hotel, it's just generic and expensive.

(Oh, yeah, little edit while reviewing photos: The sugar sculpture is amazing given the humidity. The chocolate… I'd be embarrassed to display that. It looks like it was constructed by a special-ed middle school student out of modeling chocolate.)

Yelp tags: Hotels Venues & Event Spaces

11/20/2010

1/5 stars

Rinky-dink in such a major destination? Odd. Pretty much nothing open pre-security, and pretty much nothing worth eating post-security.

And I didn't even get the complimentary TSA hand-job. hmph. Some else I know received the full-body feel-up. She's hot, and I guess I'm not.

*However*, the single bar did have Abita SOS. And knew what they were serving. That bumps it up a bit. As does the delightful company while waiting. Received excellent advice about spaying services.

But feeling up my friend? No. Even that cannot overcome serving SOS (which benefits Gulf coast habitat restoration). MSY needs to join Orlando in dumping TSA. Just say no to feeling up people non-consensually.

Yelp tags: Airports

11/20/2010

3/5 stars

Ground-floor rest rooms with no hassles. No further comment, as that's the only reason I know this place.

Yelp tags: Casinos Hotels & Travel

11/20/2010

1/5 stars

Do not use. They're $13 cheaper than a cab ($20 v. $33), and they're far more than $13 more infuriating. I admit that I met some wonderful people in the hour wait for our shuttle *from* the airport, but that doesn't make up for the hour wait. Or the drivers pulling in right in front of us, smiling, and pulling away. I was suckered by the sign for our conference. I get the feeling that's common practice. I also get the feeling that the gruff demeanor means they don't pay their drivers well.

I caught an independent cab in the other direction. Less expensive, and absolutely delightful company.

Yelp tags: Airport Shuttles

11/20/2010

3/5 stars

Hm. Mardi Gras float pieces? Stunningly impressive. Marriott food and event service? Rather less so. The "hurricanes" served on entrance were non-alcoholic to this souse. And the food was flat. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band was hot, and the food was not. Even hotter when they called up one of their previous members who was cursed with a Marriott uniform.

Drink pours at a "complimentary" bar were shockingly good given that most of the crowd wasn't tipping. If I could review the crowd, they'd receive one star. This was a free event for a vendor show. Tip, dammit!

The food I tried was not memorable regardless of the environment. The "BBQ shrimp and grits" was straight from a microwave. The "gulf coast shrimp" make me weep for the future. I remember nearly foot-long shrimp that were so sweet you'd think they're candy… But we've spent too long pissing in the Gulf for those to survive. Roast turkey that's otherwise indistinguishable from any other factor white meat.

Event catering isn't to blame so much as our "eat any crap so long as it's free" culture. All sides should demand real meat, but that costs real effort and hence real money. I spent the morning plucking turkeys after my wife slit their throats, so I can speak with some "authenticity."

This place is "A-OK" because of the floats and folks and not the food. I had no idea the floats were so impressive. They're unlike any floats I've ever seen.

Yelp tags: Tours Venues & Event Spaces

11/20/2010

2/5 stars

Going back over some photos, I appear to have forgotten to review this place. I'm not surprised. Forgettable. Two stars because of a few local brews on tap, and also by rating relative to what else is in BWI. I can't remember exactly what I had, but I'm not sure that anything else they serve is different.

Yelp tags: Sports Bars

11/21/2010

4/5 stars

A delightful little park with plenty of room to relax, watch the birds, and listen to the breeze kiss the moss.

Yelp tags: Parks

11/21/2010

5/5 stars

Coming back to my hotel wiped out after a day on a conference floor, I hear this joyous sound around the corner. Powerful, thrilling, happy brass band music. My utterly exhausted feet couldn't stop moving. Everyone from middle school to (possibly) college freshmen in the band were playing their hearts out. The CD-R with hand-written labels they're selling are great.

Now back in Atlanta, I've looked up who they are. I've heard them interviewed on WWOZ. I had heard of the tragedy earlier this year. Hearing them play was the highlight of my trip.

These aren't jaded musicians playing in some far-off bar and smirking at tourists. The To Be Continued Brass Band is out on the smelly, smelly street showing everyone the heart of New Orleans. And it will be continued. They're making sure of it.

Yelp tags: Performing Arts

11/22/2010

3/5 stars

Clean, efficient, and quite likely one of the most secure airports in the country. Limited food, but beer from a few local breweries on most taps. I'm not a fan per-se, but that's because my only encounters with BWI flank project reviews. I agree with the lack of outlets, but I have enough battery juice to last. And the wi-fi is pretty stable for subscribers of the different services (Boingo in my case).

Yelp tags: Airports Transportation

A cool friend pointed everyone at a neat music mix of hanky-panky music… It’s missing a few good or irreverent pieces, but it’s quite good.

And after having a ton of blog spam problems, my blog’s now filtering my posts. sigh.

11/24/2010

4/5 stars

I've been deciding if I should review Napoleon… All I had there was an Abita SOS and some incredible conversation. Three of us came here for an apertif. We crammed into the front corner of the busy bar. As we tourists chatted a bit, our neighbor perked up and joined in. He used to work here. In the 50s. We received a wonderful education that turned into a fun conversation ranging far beyond New Orleans.

I definitely will return next time in New Orleans and sample more.

Yelp tags: American (Traditional) Bars Party & Event Planning

I’ve referred a few people to a recent paper of ours regarding an analysis of Twitter. It’s worth mentioning a result not included in the paper. I think I briefly mentioned this issue in the past.

When our PNNL colleagues initially ran betweenness centrality on the feed related to the Atlanta flood, they looked at all posts and not just those that were in conversations. Because of “re-tweets” (re-sending the message with attribution) by public accounts, a few private accounts were identified as highly important.

It ends up that I know some of the people whose then-private accounts were considered important. And they were important. They provided very useful information, and the folks with public accounts did the right thing in one sense by providing full attribution.

Now there are articles about the UK protests (found thanks to Glyn Moody) mentioning that identifying leaders on Twitter is difficult. Don’t necessarily believe it, even if the analysis is restricted purely to public data. Similar analysis could tackle shared items on Facebook, although it appears more rare there. Correlating the two (and other public sources) should provide even more information on private accounts.

If you post useful or valuable information and people provide attribution, your private account will be slightly less private. Providing attribution is important to many people, so… You must give up any claim to being a source to keep privacy and anonymity. Not news to some, but most people don’t keep that in mind.

(Expanded from my comment on post/think, Dana Guthrie Martin’s project collecting and displaying her daily waste.)

I agree that donation isn’t a license to waste, but not as an absolute assertion. I don’t want anyone to feel the pressure of being 100% aware of everything 100% of the time. We have limited knowledge and limited willpower. Even helping everyone be aware 25% of the time would be a huge step forward. So while I understand the guilt behind the initial consumption, I hope people can recognize when they do far, far more than what is needed by all.

I don’t think that any one (or two, or four) of us doing far more will help. Nathan and I try to lead by example of doing more, but not necessarily the 100% individual solution. (We also cheat and don’t always tell people what we do. Doing more gives us the freedom to tune our message to the audience. Unfortunately, I’ve learned from experience that the worst cost of bragging is turning people away from doing what they can.)

A few of the items in the attached photos may be frivolous after the fact, but I also see many things that are not necessarily frivolous. I’ll focus on the pasta machine, as that item made me think more deeply on sending items away. We loved making our own fresh pasta. It’s cheaper, we can ensure the flour and eggs or water are from a good source (well-raised in the former, tap in the latter), and so on. Now that Nathan’s experiencing an intolerance to (domestic, at least) wheat, we aren’t using it. I’m holding on to it out of hope.

If anyone tries making pasta and decides not to continue for whatever reason, donating the machine lets someone else make a similar attempt. They can try it with even less initial outlay. And if they don’t like it or can’t use it, they can pass the pasta machine along without much problem and with very little waste.

Similarly, the stack of books and magazines can go to those who may or may not use them. But the items can continue on for a few more cycles of people trying new things without creating new waste.

There is a trade-off between trying or creating new things and waste, in my opinion. Donations of the remains of an attempt towards creation (successful in some way or not) help keep the waste at most constant without reducing attempts at new things. That seems incredibly important to me. The cost of the item (in water, plants, land, etc.) is amortized over the minds through which it passes. Sometimes those passings sprout new, local businesses. Sometimes they sprout a home-made meal rather than a take-out meal.

Also, sometimes people raid thrift stores for items useful to donate to non-profits. There’s one locally (RRISA, helping refugees) that just benefited from Nathan’s ability to find excellent deals at a Goodwill in a high-end neighborhood… People coming from below what most consider nothing into an apartment equipped with English-language magazines as learning material benefit hugely from this waste. Places like Goodwill also serve as the non-profit middle-men for charities.