Tom Smith
@analyst42.bsky.social
Code-first data analyst, mostly #rstats. Good information --> good decisions. Head of Activity Analysis & Forecasting at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Personal account, views my own. https://github.com/ThomUK
Reposted by Tom Smith
Weeknotes s07e25
TL;DR: To the Moon and Back - Taking our Nervecentre EPR live
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
TL;DR: To the Moon and Back - Taking our Nervecentre EPR live
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
Weeknotes s07e25
TL;DR: To the Moon and Back — Taking our Nervecentre EPR live
weeknot.es
November 7, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Weeknotes s07e25
TL;DR: To the Moon and Back - Taking our Nervecentre EPR live
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
TL;DR: To the Moon and Back - Taking our Nervecentre EPR live
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
Reposted by Tom Smith
Weeknotes s07e23
TL;DR: In the spotlight for various things. Reaching an EPR milestone and heading into the final 2 weeks before go-live.
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
TL;DR: In the spotlight for various things. Reaching an EPR milestone and heading into the final 2 weeks before go-live.
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
Weeknotes s07e23
TL;DR: In the spotlight for various things. Reaching an EPR milestone and heading into the final 2 weeks before go-live.
weeknot.es
October 19, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Weeknotes s07e23
TL;DR: In the spotlight for various things. Reaching an EPR milestone and heading into the final 2 weeks before go-live.
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
TL;DR: In the spotlight for various things. Reaching an EPR milestone and heading into the final 2 weeks before go-live.
weeknot.es/weeknotes-s0...
Version 0.2.2 of the {NHSRplotthedots} package has today been accepted by CRAN. I have taken over the baton as maintainer, and I'm looking forward to helping more NHS data analysts produce XmR plots of their data, quickly and without fuss. nhsrplotthedots.nhsrcommunity.com
Draw XmR Charts for NHS Making Data Count Programme
Provides tools for drawing Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts. This package supports the NHS Making Data Count programme, and allows users to draw XmR charts, use change points and apply rules w...
nhsrplotthedots.nhsrcommunity.com
September 29, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Version 0.2.2 of the {NHSRplotthedots} package has today been accepted by CRAN. I have taken over the baton as maintainer, and I'm looking forward to helping more NHS data analysts produce XmR plots of their data, quickly and without fuss. nhsrplotthedots.nhsrcommunity.com
Reposted by Tom Smith
I set out some personal goals for 2025 and have just completed a review of progress at Q2.
TL;DR: Nailing the cycling. Need to get back on the books and get the research complete.
andy-callow.medium.com/personal-goa...
TL;DR: Nailing the cycling. Need to get back on the books and get the research complete.
andy-callow.medium.com/personal-goa...
Personal Goals Review 2025 #2
Here we go again. I set out some personal goals for 2025. It’s now time to review progress at the end of Q2
andy-callow.medium.com
June 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I set out some personal goals for 2025 and have just completed a review of progress at Q2.
TL;DR: Nailing the cycling. Need to get back on the books and get the research complete.
andy-callow.medium.com/personal-goa...
TL;DR: Nailing the cycling. Need to get back on the books and get the research complete.
andy-callow.medium.com/personal-goa...
Do any #rstats folks know how I can find why {readxlsb} was removed from CRAN? I've forked the github repo, but we use the code at work to read finance spreadsheets over which I have no file format control. Interested in what would be needed to get it back onto CRAN
CRAN removals: aPEAR AssetAllocation CauchyCP copulaedas dartR depower EmbedSOM epiCo fedmatch IP LTRCforests msBP optpart readxlsb rego RFpredInterval rineq rlibkriging stopdetection vines #rstats
June 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Do any #rstats folks know how I can find why {readxlsb} was removed from CRAN? I've forked the github repo, but we use the code at work to read finance spreadsheets over which I have no file format control. Interested in what would be needed to get it back onto CRAN
This applies to the NHS too. Improvement can only be delivered to patients by the front line. It's the reason I choose to work and make a difference in a provider trust, not anywhere more remote from patients.
Stuff like this gives me hope. I have a lot of time for the folks at Capacity. thisiscapacity.co.uk/on-the-groun...
On the ground with hope and grit: what the centre can learn from the frontline | Capacity
What if the real breakthroughs in public service innovation aren’t happening in Whitehall, but in Wirral, Sefton and communities across the Liverpool City R ...
thisiscapacity.co.uk
June 7, 2025 at 1:46 PM
This applies to the NHS too. Improvement can only be delivered to patients by the front line. It's the reason I choose to work and make a difference in a provider trust, not anywhere more remote from patients.
Reposted by Tom Smith
I wrote a history of recent AI development in 32 images of otters using wifi on airplanes, from images to video to code.
It shows two big trends: rapid improvements in AI models of all types and the growth of open weights AI models. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-recent...
It shows two big trends: rapid improvements in AI models of all types and the growth of open weights AI models. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-recent...
The recent history of AI in 32 otters
Three years of progress as shown by marine mammals
www.oneusefulthing.org
June 1, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I wrote a history of recent AI development in 32 images of otters using wifi on airplanes, from images to video to code.
It shows two big trends: rapid improvements in AI models of all types and the growth of open weights AI models. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-recent...
It shows two big trends: rapid improvements in AI models of all types and the growth of open weights AI models. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-recent...
The ragnar R package helps you build RAG systems for document information retrieval. You'll need API access to an LLM and an API to make embeddings. Still unfortunately difficult in the NHS, but it will become possible as orgs find and share the news of benefit in specific use-cases.
#databs #nhs
#databs #nhs
May 30, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Tom Smith
I wish every team published a doc like Free Agent did for why they chose the tool they did. Of course I am glad they chose Dagster+, but I think this kind of clear-eyed proof of concept criteria can help teams choose the right tool for their team:
#dataBS
engineering.freeagent.com/2025/05/29/d...
#dataBS
engineering.freeagent.com/2025/05/29/d...
Decoding Data Orchestration Tools: Comparing Prefect, Dagster, Airflow, and Mage
IntroductionData is exploding, and so are the tools to manage it. From generating and collecting, to cleaning and analyzing, these tools help create valuable products for customers and give stake
engineering.freeagent.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I wish every team published a doc like Free Agent did for why they chose the tool they did. Of course I am glad they chose Dagster+, but I think this kind of clear-eyed proof of concept criteria can help teams choose the right tool for their team:
#dataBS
engineering.freeagent.com/2025/05/29/d...
#dataBS
engineering.freeagent.com/2025/05/29/d...
Reposted by Tom Smith
May 28, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Tom Smith
May 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Tom Smith
A thread about using AI to summarise documents; but it could really be about almost any use of AI.
Right now - in healthcare for example - it's a great timesaver for people who don't *need* it, and potentially troublesome for those who may try to use it outside their existing expertise.
Right now - in healthcare for example - it's a great timesaver for people who don't *need* it, and potentially troublesome for those who may try to use it outside their existing expertise.
A thread on AI use at work. ChatGPT, summarisers, and so on.
In short, they're really good and powerful tools but many folk are missing the point and harming their own development by over-use.
A thread for both senior folk and those with ambitions to get there.
1/
In short, they're really good and powerful tools but many folk are missing the point and harming their own development by over-use.
A thread for both senior folk and those with ambitions to get there.
1/
May 28, 2025 at 8:50 AM
A thread about using AI to summarise documents; but it could really be about almost any use of AI.
Right now - in healthcare for example - it's a great timesaver for people who don't *need* it, and potentially troublesome for those who may try to use it outside their existing expertise.
Right now - in healthcare for example - it's a great timesaver for people who don't *need* it, and potentially troublesome for those who may try to use it outside their existing expertise.
I'm busy reviewing a large number of applications for a position in my team. I'm reflecting on the huge amount of human experience and expertise that is embedded in the applications. Pretty humbling.
May 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I'm busy reviewing a large number of applications for a position in my team. I'm reflecting on the huge amount of human experience and expertise that is embedded in the applications. Pretty humbling.
Reposted by Tom Smith
Thanks to everybody who chimed in!
I arrived at the conclusion that (1) there's a lot of interesting stuff about interactions and (2) the figure I was looking for does not exist.
So, I made it myself! Here's a simple illustration of how to control for confounding in interactions:>
I arrived at the conclusion that (1) there's a lot of interesting stuff about interactions and (2) the figure I was looking for does not exist.
So, I made it myself! Here's a simple illustration of how to control for confounding in interactions:>
May 11, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Thanks to everybody who chimed in!
I arrived at the conclusion that (1) there's a lot of interesting stuff about interactions and (2) the figure I was looking for does not exist.
So, I made it myself! Here's a simple illustration of how to control for confounding in interactions:>
I arrived at the conclusion that (1) there's a lot of interesting stuff about interactions and (2) the figure I was looking for does not exist.
So, I made it myself! Here's a simple illustration of how to control for confounding in interactions:>
Reposted by Tom Smith
🎯 Level up your R functions! Discover best practices for returning multiple values - from simple vectors to structured outputs. Perfect for data pipeline development.
🔗 www.spsanderson.com/steveondata/...
#rstats #Rprog #Rcode #DataSci #R4ds #blog #function #RProgramming
🔗 www.spsanderson.com/steveondata/...
#rstats #Rprog #Rcode #DataSci #R4ds #blog #function #RProgramming
May 5, 2025 at 1:07 PM
🎯 Level up your R functions! Discover best practices for returning multiple values - from simple vectors to structured outputs. Perfect for data pipeline development.
🔗 www.spsanderson.com/steveondata/...
#rstats #Rprog #Rcode #DataSci #R4ds #blog #function #RProgramming
🔗 www.spsanderson.com/steveondata/...
#rstats #Rprog #Rcode #DataSci #R4ds #blog #function #RProgramming
Git was 20 years old this week. Written by the creator of Linux as a tool to streamline his workflow - it shows the importance of making tools. If you have a better way of doing something, write and share it. It's possible that few others understand the problem, let alone have the solution you do!
Linus Torvalds knew what developers wanted for their SCM: Performance, safeguards against data corruption and distributed workflow.
Linus Torvalds Reflects on 20 Years of Git
Linus Torvalds knew what developers wanted for their SCM: Performance, safeguards against data corruption and distributed workflow.
bit.ly
May 4, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Git was 20 years old this week. Written by the creator of Linux as a tool to streamline his workflow - it shows the importance of making tools. If you have a better way of doing something, write and share it. It's possible that few others understand the problem, let alone have the solution you do!
Reposted by Tom Smith
#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊
💀May 3, 2010 Jacques Bertin died in Paris, France 🇫🇷
In 1967 his Semiology of Graphics became the first
comprehensive theory of graphical symbols and modes of graphics representation --> Grammar of Graphics
💀May 3, 2010 Jacques Bertin died in Paris, France 🇫🇷
In 1967 his Semiology of Graphics became the first
comprehensive theory of graphical symbols and modes of graphics representation --> Grammar of Graphics
May 4, 2025 at 2:41 AM
#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊
💀May 3, 2010 Jacques Bertin died in Paris, France 🇫🇷
In 1967 his Semiology of Graphics became the first
comprehensive theory of graphical symbols and modes of graphics representation --> Grammar of Graphics
💀May 3, 2010 Jacques Bertin died in Paris, France 🇫🇷
In 1967 his Semiology of Graphics became the first
comprehensive theory of graphical symbols and modes of graphics representation --> Grammar of Graphics
Good advice. "Customer first" cuts across almost every domain. I think Adam Wathan called this "programming by wishful thinking" in one of his TDD talks, and that language has always stuck with me.
If I'm ever stuck when adding a new feature or enhancement to a package, I just start writing documentation for it as if it already exists
The outside → in approach helps me refine the DX and find the weird corners that need to be addressed, then I can start writing the feature based on the docs
The outside → in approach helps me refine the DX and find the weird corners that need to be addressed, then I can start writing the feature based on the docs
April 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Good advice. "Customer first" cuts across almost every domain. I think Adam Wathan called this "programming by wishful thinking" in one of his TDD talks, and that language has always stuck with me.
Reposted by Tom Smith
I really enjoyed chatting with Karin about bridging R and Python. This post is a deep dive into reticulate, rpy2, and what great interoperability really looks like.
#rstats #python
#rstats #python
There is no reason to stay bound to one programming language. I discussed ways to ease R-Python interoperability with Luke Zappia, Philipp Angerer, Tomasz Kalinowski.
Their tips and tricks are collected in this blog: hrovatin.github.io/posts/r_pyth...
@lazappi.bsky.social @t-kalinowski.bsky.social
Their tips and tricks are collected in this blog: hrovatin.github.io/posts/r_pyth...
@lazappi.bsky.social @t-kalinowski.bsky.social
From R to Python with minimal baggage
Getting the best of both worlds.
hrovatin.github.io
April 30, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Tom Smith
Reposted by Tom Smith
10 years ago today I published a blog post about the pomological watercolor collection, which you may know from @pomological.xor.blue. it changed my life in some surprising ways! take a little trip with me down memory lane parkerhiggins.net/2025/04/10-y...
10 years of pomological watercolors
A decade ago today I published a blog post calling for the US government to release its paintings of fruits. The Pomological Watercolor Collection, as I had recently come to know, is a beautiful and r...
parkerhiggins.net
April 12, 2025 at 11:04 PM
10 years ago today I published a blog post about the pomological watercolor collection, which you may know from @pomological.xor.blue. it changed my life in some surprising ways! take a little trip with me down memory lane parkerhiggins.net/2025/04/10-y...
This is the beginning of some NHS collaboration on more advanced methods to understand and simulate NHS waiting lists, and therefore better manage the resource constraints that underpin them. I'm one of the authors of this #rstats package, and it's going to get very interesting!
New CRAN package NHSRwaitinglist with initial version 0.1.0
#rstats
https://cran.r-project.org/package=NHSRwaitinglist
#rstats
https://cran.r-project.org/package=NHSRwaitinglist
CRAN: Package NHSRwaitinglist
Waiting list management using queuing theory to analyse, predict and manage queues, based on the approach described in Fong et al. (2022) <<a href="https://doi.org/10.1101%2F2022.08.23.22279117" target="_top">doi:10.1101/2022.08.23.22279117</a>>. Aimed at UK National Health Service (NHS) applications, waiting list summary statistics, target-value calculations, waiting list simulation, and scheduling functions are included.
cran.r-project.org
April 17, 2025 at 7:56 AM
This is the beginning of some NHS collaboration on more advanced methods to understand and simulate NHS waiting lists, and therefore better manage the resource constraints that underpin them. I'm one of the authors of this #rstats package, and it's going to get very interesting!