This document describes how the author ended up in the refrigerator magnet business through a series of unexpected career tangents. It discusses his background in school, medicine, maps, and data analysis. It then explains how he became interested in using crime data to create refrigerator magnets through exploring different data visualizations and finding connections between unrelated topics. The author argues that tangents can lead to new opportunities and help people stay motivated and creative in their work.

1. Take the Tangent
(Why I’m in the Refrigerator Magnet Business)
360|Flex Doug McCune

2. Defining the Tangent

3. Defining the Tangent

4. Defining the Tangent

5. My Career(?) is Unplanned
Preface ..............................The School Years
Chapter I .......................... The Medical Years
Chapter II ...............................The Map Years
Chapter III .............................. The Data Years
Chapter IV .................................................. ?

6. My Career(?) is Unplanned
Preface ..............................The School Years
Chapter I .......................... The Medical Years
Chapter II ...............................The Map Years
Chapter III .............................. The Data Years
Chapter IV ....................... The Magnet Years!

7. Tangent #1:
8-bit cities

8. Tangent #1:
SimCity Deluxe

9. Real-life Sim City

10. Real-life Sim City

11. Tangent #2:
San Francisco at Night

12. Tangent #2: NASA - Earth’s City Lights

13. San Francisco/Oakland Crime

15. Tangent #2A:
Hubble

16. Crime in DC (2006-2009)

17. Foursquare checkins in New York

18. The 4SQ Manhattan galaxy

22. Troops killed in IED Attacks

24. Tangent #3:
Big Head Mode!

25. My Big Head

26. Paper Crime

27. Tangent #4:
Terrain Maps

28. Crime as Elevation

37. Tangent #5:
What Would it Feel Like?

38. Introducing: Crime Magnets!

42. Why the Tangent Matters

43. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?

44. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?

45. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?
Will your company make more money?

46. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?
Will your company make more money?

47. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?
Will your company make more money?
W ill yo ur custom ers be happier?

48. Why the Tangent Matters
Will your work get done faster?
Will your company make more money?
W ill yo ur custom ers be happier?

49. Why the Tangent Matters
Will you stay sane?

50. Your drive is a renewable resource
Image courtesy of Miguel Vieira licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/miguelvieira/1616628079/

51. Your drive is a renewable resource
Image courtesy of Tero Laakso licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23807585@N07/2924234581/

52. Your drive is a renewable resource
Image courtesy of Tico Bassie licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tico_bassie/120810354/

57. THANK YOU
doug@dougmccune.com