reflection on access to research data

One of the ironies of the data sets that I study--social networks--is that they are both omnipresent and often difficult to get access to. So my research has been driven, in part at least, by the properties of the data to which I've been able to secure access. Sometimes organizations (companies, e.g.) will make data sets available to those in academia, and I've benefited from this, but it doesn't happen often. (The fact that a bunch of Enron's corporate emails got dumped on the web has, no joke, changed the course of the field of social network analysis.)

It's just occurred to me that if I take a job in industry, this problem will, in a weird way, invert itself: the company that I work for may be able to give me all sorts of data to work with...but no one else will.

Hmm.

"fan service"

Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny (Flash animation with sound)

(Not _my_ fans, mind you.)

naudiz, this one's for you.

Most of everyone else, it's quite gory. Viewer discretion advised.

musical interlude

What If That Guy from Smashing Pumpkins Lost His Car Keys? (audio)

I haven't heard any Smashing Pumpkins, but I suspect that I can guess what's being parodied here. Short and sweet.