Back of the Envelope Machine Learning
A demo for thinking about how to use ML to steer decision making.
data analysis
Second Guessing the Optimized Answer
One approach to problem-solving is to use a program to find the optimized solution. This applies broadly. For example, your problem might be finding the lowest cost location to build a distribution center (DC), finding the right people to add to your team/company, or determining how to get to the local Target. When systems create … [Read more…]
Building a Forecasting Framework for Supply Chain with R
It’s hard to beat the value-add of a good forecast in supply chain. Supply chains are long – thousands of miles with dozens of participants. Without a decent forecast you’ll end up with an abundance of waste in some way, shape, or form. We forecast for manufacturing products, securing transportation capacity, obtaining & using warehouse … [Read more…]
Hands-On Supply Chain with Machine Learning
I recently finished the third course in MIT’s Supply Chain MicroMasters program, Supply Chain Design, hosted on their EdX platform. I scored an 86% on the final exam with an overall grade of ‘B’ for the class (which I expect will end up being average). Considering time constraints with work (especially working in supply chain … [Read more…]
Notes: Setting Up OSRM & Using OSM Filter for Machine Learning
When working on my project to find the optimal running route given a starting/ending location and mileage, I needed to build a routing engine so I could make numerous calls without hitting an API limit. Below is my note os how I set that up OSRM on MacBook with python.To figure out the distance between … [Read more…]
Finding My Passion Mining Browser History and Emails
I regularly listen to get-rich-entrepreneurship podcasts. They make me feel good and get me excited about innovating. Last week, I was listening to James Altucher’s podcast episode #177 with Ramit Sethi. At one point Ramit (totally paraphrasing) says your passion doesn’t fall down from the sky one day… it’s always with you and you need … [Read more…]
Text-Mining Politeness in Emails
Who is the most polite person you work with and how do you quantify that answer?For me, it’s a female colleague who works in the West Coast Finance department. Her emails to me are chock full of appreciative words such as…The occurrence of phrases such as ‘thanks’, ‘thank you’, and ‘please’ in her emails to … [Read more…]
Continuously Collecting API Data with Python and Digital Ocean
A few months ago, I wanted to collect minutely Uber surge price data over the course of a week between Penn Station, NY. and Union Square, NY. I wrote a python script to call Uber’s API every minute and record the response to a text file (as basic as it gets). Then, I tried to … [Read more…]
Easily Mapping Customer Locations
Occasionally, I need a map. I’m not talking about a beautiful, polished work of art. I just need something that gives me some spacial context and that will be acceptable in a customer presentation. Most frequently I need to see points on a map… sometimes lots of them.If you Google ‘plot points on a map’ … [Read more…]
Keyword Extraction for Building Resumes and Writing Cover Letters
Dear Tom, a few months ago we were running in Central Park discussing your impending job search when you finish your MBA this spring. I mentioned that I wrote a script that extracts key phrases from job postings to use in both your resume and cover letter that would at the very least give you ideas about what … [Read more…]