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dougdude3339

342 karma · joined August 1, 2025

Data analyst, maker, and collector of George Foreman grills.
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dougdude3339··on How credit card rewards became a $9.2B wealth transfer
I prefer my debit card because I'm more aware of how much I'm spending. Money taken out of my account is immediate and feels real. Ultimately, I spend less.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I really enjoyed reading this. I wonder where the master copies ended up. Storage? Landfill? I hope some are preserved and hung on the wall.

The pen plotter sounds phenomenal. I've used some modern budget friendly ones - but don't think they compare to what you describe here.

dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I used one of these bizarre pouches as a gentle final pass to clean up drawings. The graphite "smear" from the t-square happened with every drawing - thanks for sharing this top. Before starting a new drawing I would wipe down the tools to start fresh!
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I try to “think with a pencil” every single day - I’m excited to browse this book. When digging into hand drawn data viz I did not have older software on my mind. It’s analogous to this project and something I’m excited to try - and maybe, it won’t take 50 hours. Thank you for sharing these.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
Certainly reminds me of the fonts produced by the vintage lettering kits.

What if for digital fonts, there was a way to write the same letter 2 or more different ways? Adding slight variations to the same letter would mimic the effect of using hand tools.

dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
That seems like a valuable internship. I think the documentation in books about hand drafting techniques only contains so much information. How much knowledge was passed from professionals to apprentices alone? And does this knowledge disappear when they leave us?
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I dream of stumbling across a book like this in the used book store... I'm striking out finding a digital copy or availability at libraries.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
This is exactly what I hoped for when writing this article. The "Atlas de statistique graphique de la ville de Paris" from 1889 has stunning hand drafted data visuals I may have never seen unless you shared. Thank you for making an account and adding to this catalog of resources about data viz. I plan to add this to the list in my next update.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I've taught digital art classes too. I was pleasantly surprised at a writing assignment where most students (un-prompted) turned in a hand-written response.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
Classic.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
I found myself using the Prismacolor Artgum eraser the most. It had a nice way of shedding the used parts and staying clean. I like the kneaded erasers too but I tend to dirty them up too much.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
Learning about something like TikZ is exactly what I hoped for from writing this article. Thank you for sharing.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
The kerning deserves the criticism - I'm glad someone said it :)
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
This will be an excellent addition to the list. Curve lines are a challenge I have yet to tackle in depth.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
Never heard of Decker - I can tell I'm gonna have fun with it. Thanks for sharing.
dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
Finding tools that clicked was a nice process to discover. I also tried harder leads and like them for the reasons you mention - but for whatever reason, kept coming back to a basic BIC mechanical pencil.

An eraser shield is a good addition to the tools list - that came in handy often.

Love the tracing paper tip - that’d be helpful to remove the digital aspect of taking a picture a digitally sketching on top.

dougdude3339··on I spent 50 hours drawing a line graph
What's been more interesting to me lately than using software to design data visualizations is learning to draw data by hand. It's a time consuming process but incredibly rewarding. The feeling of erasing graphite to reveal clean, crisp lines is something that software cannot recreate.
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Incredible - thank you for sharing this.
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Excellent find I have never heard of - thank you for sharing
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Excellent find - I haven't heard of this one. The marketing gag approach reminds me of the Zotac Mekspresso build by Ali “THE CRE8OR” Abbas. https://thecre8or.de/mekspresso.htm
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Glad you like the project. I might have special taste in coffee, this stuff is pretty good, but honestly I like instant too...
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Means a lot - thank you :)
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Damn that's a good idea... orienting the graphics card horizontally would've made a little frying pan.
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
The tubing and pumps are food safe, however, the radiators and cooling block are not. It's a special tasting cup of coffee best consumed in moderation.
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Thank you - I wonder, if in some microscopic way, the coffee is caffeinating the CPU too.
dougdude3339··on Coffeematic PC – A coffee maker computer that pumps hot coffee to the CPU
Kicking myself for not thinking of this... it's genius