Matt Waite
@mattwaite.bsky.social
Professor of Journalism, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I teach people who can't spell code to find stories and visuals in data with #rstats. Publish all my course books and tutorials at https://github.com/mattwaite
Reposted by Matt Waite
We all know transfers rule college basketball … but to what extent? And how different is today vs. the past?
We quantified it by analyzing the careers of rotation players on every men’s & women’s NCAA tournament team since 2010. That’s 10,000 players!
Check it out (gift link): wapo.st/41By62h
We quantified it by analyzing the careers of rotation players on every men’s & women’s NCAA tournament team since 2010. That’s 10,000 players!
Check it out (gift link): wapo.st/41By62h
March 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
We all know transfers rule college basketball … but to what extent? And how different is today vs. the past?
We quantified it by analyzing the careers of rotation players on every men’s & women’s NCAA tournament team since 2010. That’s 10,000 players!
Check it out (gift link): wapo.st/41By62h
We quantified it by analyzing the careers of rotation players on every men’s & women’s NCAA tournament team since 2010. That’s 10,000 players!
Check it out (gift link): wapo.st/41By62h
Midwest living in 2025: it is 75 degrees out. The sun is shining. The school district just called. School is cancelled tomorrow because of the blizzard coming.
March 18, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Midwest living in 2025: it is 75 degrees out. The sun is shining. The school district just called. School is cancelled tomorrow because of the blizzard coming.
For those who can't be in the room for my AI Starter Pack in R session, here's some notes/code examples we'll work through. If you can be there at 3:30, more demos in the session. #NICAR25 mattwaite.github.io/posts/r-llm-...
An R + LLM starter kit – Matt Waite’s Collection of Miscellany
A blog about random fiddling with code and data.
mattwaite.github.io
March 7, 2025 at 8:54 PM
For those who can't be in the room for my AI Starter Pack in R session, here's some notes/code examples we'll work through. If you can be there at 3:30, more demos in the session. #NICAR25 mattwaite.github.io/posts/r-llm-...
Back in 2009, when I somehow convinced a Florida newspaper to let me move to Nebraska and work remotely, we used to have a computer with Skype running all the time in the small office my group worked in. We could just talk like I was still in the room. It was really nice. www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/t...
Skype is shutting down after two decades | CNN Business
Microsoft is shutting down Skype, the internet-based phone and video service that was once the dominant way of staying connected in the mid 2000s.
www.cnn.com
February 28, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Back in 2009, when I somehow convinced a Florida newspaper to let me move to Nebraska and work remotely, we used to have a computer with Skype running all the time in the small office my group worked in. We could just talk like I was still in the room. It was really nice. www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/t...
Reposted by Matt Waite
Last week, the Nebraska R User Group hosted a presentation by Matt Waite (@mattwaite.bsky.social) on "Talking to LLMs through R". Check out a summary of the talk at neb-rug.github.io/posts/talkin....
#rstats #llms
#rstats #llms
February 24, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Last week, the Nebraska R User Group hosted a presentation by Matt Waite (@mattwaite.bsky.social) on "Talking to LLMs through R". Check out a summary of the talk at neb-rug.github.io/posts/talkin....
#rstats #llms
#rstats #llms
New report on the state of journalism in Nebraska: There are 9 counties without a single news organization in them. There are 16 county seats with no local news organization in them. More than half of the state's counties are covered by two or fewer journalists. newsmap.unl.edu
Nebraska News Map | Nebraska
newsmap.unl.edu
February 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
New report on the state of journalism in Nebraska: There are 9 counties without a single news organization in them. There are 16 county seats with no local news organization in them. More than half of the state's counties are covered by two or fewer journalists. newsmap.unl.edu
Asked AI for a header image for my AI + Journalism class to put into the LMS. Asked for something evocative of journalism's past and future, colorful and futuristic. What I got vs what my Gen X ass sees:
January 15, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Asked AI for a header image for my AI + Journalism class to put into the LMS. Asked for something evocative of journalism's past and future, colorful and futuristic. What I got vs what my Gen X ass sees:
How big is the Palisades fire compared to where you live? This will tell you: calmatters.org/environment/...
For me, probably 80% of Lincoln is wiped out centering the fire on campus. Everything from far West O east past 84th Street, from Pioneers in the south to Cornhusker Highway in the north.
For me, probably 80% of Lincoln is wiped out centering the fire on campus. Everything from far West O east past 84th Street, from Pioneers in the south to Cornhusker Highway in the north.
January 14, 2025 at 7:28 PM
How big is the Palisades fire compared to where you live? This will tell you: calmatters.org/environment/...
For me, probably 80% of Lincoln is wiped out centering the fire on campus. Everything from far West O east past 84th Street, from Pioneers in the south to Cornhusker Highway in the north.
For me, probably 80% of Lincoln is wiped out centering the fire on campus. Everything from far West O east past 84th Street, from Pioneers in the south to Cornhusker Highway in the north.
The ability to reverse engineer a shitty agency's shitty website structure so I can make obviously public data usable is not the superpower I wanted, but it's the one I got.
January 8, 2025 at 12:07 AM
The ability to reverse engineer a shitty agency's shitty website structure so I can make obviously public data usable is not the superpower I wanted, but it's the one I got.
Reposted by Matt Waite
If you're interested in attending #NICAR25 in Minneapolis in early March, you can apply for a fellowship that covers registration, 4 nights of hotel and $500 for travel. Applications are due by Jan. 6!
www.ire.org/training/con...
www.ire.org/training/con...
NICAR25 Fellowships - Investigative Reporters & Editors
NICAR25 Fellowships are available to help journalists attend IRE & NICAR's 2025 data journalism conference in Minneapolis.
www.ire.org
January 4, 2025 at 8:10 PM
If you're interested in attending #NICAR25 in Minneapolis in early March, you can apply for a fellowship that covers registration, 4 nights of hotel and $500 for travel. Applications are due by Jan. 6!
www.ire.org/training/con...
www.ire.org/training/con...
Hey fellow academics, do you find course evaluations to be terrible (in all the ways) but your institution still uses them in decisions? Do you also find LLM writing to be flat and lifeless? Here's a bonkers idea: Put your course evals into NotebookLM and let it summarize them for you. A short🧵
January 2, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hey fellow academics, do you find course evaluations to be terrible (in all the ways) but your institution still uses them in decisions? Do you also find LLM writing to be flat and lifeless? Here's a bonkers idea: Put your course evals into NotebookLM and let it summarize them for you. A short🧵
Hello Canvas, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a learning outcome softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of a syllabus
I've come to talk with you again
Because a learning outcome softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of a syllabus
December 30, 2024 at 7:43 PM
Hello Canvas, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a learning outcome softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of a syllabus
I've come to talk with you again
Because a learning outcome softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of a syllabus
My dog vs AI image analysis: FIGHT
December 28, 2024 at 2:41 PM
My dog vs AI image analysis: FIGHT
Rosemary Garlic Focaccia rolls are fire.
December 24, 2024 at 9:22 PM
Rosemary Garlic Focaccia rolls are fire.
Watching my wife try to help her parents de-enshittify Facebook as much as possible because it still matters to them and they want what they used to have on the platform back is just sad.
December 23, 2024 at 10:23 PM
Watching my wife try to help her parents de-enshittify Facebook as much as possible because it still matters to them and they want what they used to have on the platform back is just sad.
The circles of Hell:
1. Limbo
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot on a normal Saturday
5. Anger
6. Heresy
7. Violence
8. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot, today.
9. Treachery
1. Limbo
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot on a normal Saturday
5. Anger
6. Heresy
7. Violence
8. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot, today.
9. Treachery
December 21, 2024 at 8:27 PM
The circles of Hell:
1. Limbo
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot on a normal Saturday
5. Anger
6. Heresy
7. Violence
8. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot, today.
9. Treachery
1. Limbo
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot on a normal Saturday
5. Anger
6. Heresy
7. Violence
8. South Lincoln Trader Joe’s parking lot, today.
9. Treachery
I have major opinions about this driven entirely by the realities of having to drag 65 not-entirely-willing undergrads from zero to making stuff in 16 weeks starting next month. bsky.app/profile/alex...
If you read only one newsletter about the best coding language for data journalism, choose wisely
December 20, 2024 at 3:44 AM
I have major opinions about this driven entirely by the realities of having to drag 65 not-entirely-willing undergrads from zero to making stuff in 16 weeks starting next month. bsky.app/profile/alex...
Reposted by Matt Waite
"What’s the point of the exercise here?" @mattwaite.bsky.social asks. "Is it to inform people, or to show off what we know and how sophisticated we sound?"
The year we put everything on the table
"What's the point of the exercise here? Is it to inform people, or to show off what we know and how sophisticated we sound?"
buff.ly
December 18, 2024 at 7:11 PM
"What’s the point of the exercise here?" @mattwaite.bsky.social asks. "Is it to inform people, or to show off what we know and how sophisticated we sound?"
Reposted by Matt Waite
📦 {flashr} 0.2.0 is out! ⚡
{flashr} creates flashcards for learning #RStats functions or other things. The new version can extract R functions from R Markdown and #QuartoPub documents, which can be used to create flashcard decks.
Blogpost: jeffreyrstevens.github.io/posts/flashr/
@quarto.org
{flashr} creates flashcards for learning #RStats functions or other things. The new version can extract R functions from R Markdown and #QuartoPub documents, which can be used to create flashcard decks.
Blogpost: jeffreyrstevens.github.io/posts/flashr/
@quarto.org
December 18, 2024 at 4:47 PM
📦 {flashr} 0.2.0 is out! ⚡
{flashr} creates flashcards for learning #RStats functions or other things. The new version can extract R functions from R Markdown and #QuartoPub documents, which can be used to create flashcard decks.
Blogpost: jeffreyrstevens.github.io/posts/flashr/
@quarto.org
{flashr} creates flashcards for learning #RStats functions or other things. The new version can extract R functions from R Markdown and #QuartoPub documents, which can be used to create flashcard decks.
Blogpost: jeffreyrstevens.github.io/posts/flashr/
@quarto.org
The @niemanlab.org annual predictions are always fun and a lot to think about. Here's mine: We need to stop writing like everyone went to grad school and build a new foundation on things everyone does care about. www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/the-...
The year we put everything on the table
"What's the point of the exercise here? Is it to inform people, or to show off what we know and how sophisticated we sound?"
www.niemanlab.org
December 18, 2024 at 5:58 PM
The @niemanlab.org annual predictions are always fun and a lot to think about. Here's mine: We need to stop writing like everyone went to grad school and build a new foundation on things everyone does care about. www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/the-...
Hashtag motherfreakin’ volleyball school.
December 15, 2024 at 9:45 PM
Hashtag motherfreakin’ volleyball school.
Reposted by Matt Waite
Interested in upping your ggplot2 game? Check out a blog post on Dr. Heike Hofmann's talk "Extensions to ggplot2 are easy – right?" neb-rug.github.io/posts/ggplot...
This was the inaugural talk for the new Nebraska R User Group. Register for future talks at www.meetup.com/neb-rug/
#RStats #DataViz
This was the inaugural talk for the new Nebraska R User Group. Register for future talks at www.meetup.com/neb-rug/
#RStats #DataViz
December 11, 2024 at 4:31 PM
Interested in upping your ggplot2 game? Check out a blog post on Dr. Heike Hofmann's talk "Extensions to ggplot2 are easy – right?" neb-rug.github.io/posts/ggplot...
This was the inaugural talk for the new Nebraska R User Group. Register for future talks at www.meetup.com/neb-rug/
#RStats #DataViz
This was the inaugural talk for the new Nebraska R User Group. Register for future talks at www.meetup.com/neb-rug/
#RStats #DataViz
Hate that I felt I had to tell students this fall about how to guard themselves against AI detectors and the false positives they produce. Really hate that a student who didn't cheat is now being forced to use those defenses against someone who believes the random number generator.
December 10, 2024 at 10:38 PM
Hate that I felt I had to tell students this fall about how to guard themselves against AI detectors and the false positives they produce. Really hate that a student who didn't cheat is now being forced to use those defenses against someone who believes the random number generator.
Reposted by Matt Waite
"We need to ask people what they need from us," Francesco Zaffarano writes.
"We need to show them how journalism can be a vital part of their lives, and how paying for news can become something essential rather than optional."
"We need to show them how journalism can be a vital part of their lives, and how paying for news can become something essential rather than optional."
Focus on the people who elect populists
"It’s time to admit that we are not fulfilling our core duty and move beyond our comfortable position of self-proclaimed superiority."
buff.ly
December 9, 2024 at 6:04 PM
"We need to ask people what they need from us," Francesco Zaffarano writes.
"We need to show them how journalism can be a vital part of their lives, and how paying for news can become something essential rather than optional."
"We need to show them how journalism can be a vital part of their lives, and how paying for news can become something essential rather than optional."
Me: Hello AI model. I need a logo for a website. Here are the details.
AI model: Here are some ideas for you. (provides one).
Me: Truthfully, I kinda like it. Can I have it as a png file with a transparent background?
AI model: Sure. (changes the entire thing, outputs a jpg).
AI model: Here are some ideas for you. (provides one).
Me: Truthfully, I kinda like it. Can I have it as a png file with a transparent background?
AI model: Sure. (changes the entire thing, outputs a jpg).
December 4, 2024 at 9:13 PM
Me: Hello AI model. I need a logo for a website. Here are the details.
AI model: Here are some ideas for you. (provides one).
Me: Truthfully, I kinda like it. Can I have it as a png file with a transparent background?
AI model: Sure. (changes the entire thing, outputs a jpg).
AI model: Here are some ideas for you. (provides one).
Me: Truthfully, I kinda like it. Can I have it as a png file with a transparent background?
AI model: Sure. (changes the entire thing, outputs a jpg).