Tag: Statistics

Archived Blog Post

WWDTM Stats: More and more data entry

 

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about updates to the Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Stats Page, but I have been making a little bit more progress on a couple of things. First thing is that I have been able to locate MP3s of Wait Wait shows from early 2003 through early 2006, stopping where the first show was made available as a podcast. My goal is to listen through each show and fill in scores and other information that is currently missing. Along with that, I will be entering in not only which panelist had the correct bluff, but also the panelist that the listener chose. Once I get that information entered, I will find a way to display both on the page. Next, I have been slowly collecting where the show has been recorded and will be entering that into the …

Archived Blog Post

Wait Wait Stats Update: Not My Job Data

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I have finished entering the list of Not My Job guests into the Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Stats Page database; although, I have not included any guest scores as that will be a nice process of listening to the older shows. I am now working on adding in show descriptions for shows, filling the void between 2000 and 2004. This process will probably take a couple of weeks to complete. Thankfully, it isn’t quite as tedious as entering in the list of Not My Job guests. Please note that I am basing the show descriptions on what is listed in the show archives on NPR.org, so the level of detail may vary dramatically. Once that has been completed, I will work on filling in the data for shows prior to 2000. It’s just easier to do it in chunks, particularly when the really …

Archived Blog Post

Wait Wait Stats Update: Panelist Appearances

 

One of the features that I had been wanting to add to the Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Statistics Page was to display when a panelist first appeared on Wait Wait and when was the panelist’s most recent appearance on the show. A fellow Wait Wait (and Paula Poundstone) enthusiast also asked about adding the feature as well. So, after a little bit of tinkering around with SQL queries, I was able to work out a view that I could query from the page’s PHP code. At first, the query included every show in which the panelist was on, including repeat and best of shows. The problem with that is not all best of shows have panelists associated to them, so the dates would not be as accurate as possible. A compromise was made to exclude appearances on repeats and best of shows. The …

Archived Blog Post

Wait Wait Stats Update: Page Loads

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I have made a significant change to how the Wait Wait Stats page is served up to visitors. Up until earlier this morning, each page view required the server to process and parse through all of the data, then serve up the results. Each time the page is processed takes about a second and requires the server to send out the contents out in its entirety, even if there hasn’t been any changes. That’s a waste of time and bandwidth (both mine and yours), along with processor cycles. With the new change, the server generates a static version of the page every Saturday at 13:00 (Pacific Time) and each request of the Wait Wait Stats page will go through a simple script that determines if the static file is newer than original dynamic script file. If it is, the server provides the last modified …

Archived Blog Post

Wait Wait Stats Update: 1998 Part Deux

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As noted in the original “Wait Wait Stats Update: 1998” post, my goal was to complete filling out the panelists, guests and descriptions for all of 1998 by the end of June. Well, it’s now 1 July 2011 and I still haven’t gotten all of the show descriptions filled out. At least I have the guests entered in (without scores). What I was able to do before the end of June was to add one of the features that I had been thinking about doing (and some have been asking for). If you visit the stats page, you will notice that all of the show dates are now links. When you click on the link, it will send you over to that show’s specific page on NPR.org. That way, you can view the transcripts for the newer shows, listen to a segment or the …

Archived Blog Post

Wait Wait Stats Updates: 1998

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I just wanted to give all of you “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” fans an update on the statistics page. I am in the process of adding the panelist and guest information for 1998. Scores will be added once the panelists and guests have been entered in, along with show descriptions. Whether I can maintain a decent pace will have to depend on the amount of spare time I will have in the following four or five days. I hope to get a good portion of the 1999 data added during the month of June. I hope to complete a year of stats each month until I have caught up. During that time, I will try to work on a way to note where each show is recorded, be it in studio, at Chase Auditorium, or on the road. Here’s to hoping that I …