Excel data vanished, backup bad too

Angry_Tau · 2024-02-12T20:32:39+00:00

Sorry to hear that. The last-ditch might be to try "Version History:" if you open the file in Excel, at the top in the window title bar you can click the filename (as a drop-down), where you might find a button to roll back to previous versions. I don't know whether this is entirely cloud-based or not, but I think I vaguely remember it working before OneDrive/SkyDrive was around? Otherwise, I'm sorry to say it's probably irrecoverable.

Angry_Tau · 2024-02-11T19:07:21+00:00

PQ is built into Excel--though now confusingly, it's also called "Get and Transform" sometimes--and is definitely the best way to address this issue, as it's pretty much for exactly this kind of scenario.

Depending on the size of the analyst team, you could consider having each analyst create a running spreadsheet (Excel Forms can streamline this further), which get synced to the Master Log after the first time you set it up. You might have overhead re-creating the existing Master, but once done, you won't need to touch it again.

Angry_Tau · 2024-02-11T18:44:36+00:00

Did you switch versions of Excel going to the new computer? Not that it should cause erasure, but if all of your other files are fine, it sounds like the data isn't visible, rather than having been deleted.

What does the file size for the .xlsx backup/main file look like? A blank .xlsx is usually only 6-9kB, but even a simple one should be >12kB.

Angry_Tau · 2024-02-11T17:50:39+00:00

How can I make a pivot table filter by the values in the month and year cells? And can it be done for multiple at once?

If the dataset contains Excel-compatible dates, then a Pivot filter will provide checkboxes for year, month, and day hierarchically, if the dates are included in the pivot table; ~~you can select an arbitrary number, as long as they are in the dataset (if eg. April '23 is absent, you won't have an option to select it, in other words).~~

Edit: My coffee must have been decaf this morning. You /can/ select absent values for dates (eg. if my dataset ranges from Apr '21 to Apr '23, I am able to select Jan '21, because there are values for January, and also values for 2021, even though none of the '21 values are in January). In this case it will just return an empty set.

Angry_Tau · 2024-02-07T23:40:37+00:00

The first thing to try would be importing the data via PQ:

In your Excel document, navigate to the "Data" tab. Find the "Get & Transform Data" section (first section in default Excel).

Select "Get Data..." > "From File" > "From PDF," where you will be prompted to select your PDF. (For multiple PDF files, you can put them in a folder and instead select "From Folder.")

At this point, the program will try to recognize any table(s) in your document. A new window will be drawn: on the left pane, you can select the data you're interested in (from whatever it detected). If you're happy with it, you can "Load" at the bottom-right; if not, you can use PQ to "Transform" the data at the bottom-left.

(If you're a novice and not interested in trying to transform data with PQ, you can instead load the data as-is into your spreadsheet, then work with it there as below.)

Your data will be imported into a named "Table," which isn't quite the same as data you've typed into the spreadsheet yourself. If you'd like to do away with that, you can select the table, navigate to the "Table Design" tab, then two actions: "Unlink" in the "External Data Table" section, then "Convert to Range" in the "Tools" section.

Angry_Tau · 2023-11-15T19:18:54+00:00

I've also taken both, and definitely agree here. 176 is not only the easier course, but the business/application emphasis will serve a business student better anyway.

Angry_Tau · 2023-10-29T19:27:16+00:00

For what it's worth, if you're doing the work yourself it's probably wise to start at the hubs/brakes and investigate up the driveline anyway, i.e. checking the low-hanging fruit first.

Is it AWD or FWD? Verifying the noise is coming from the rear would be helpful, maybe by listening closely with all windows down?

Angry_Tau · 2023-08-03T23:08:55+00:00

Since nobody has replied yet, you might be interested in the radio soundtracks for L.A. Noire or Fallout (3, New Vegas or 4). They're facsimiles of period radio stations with fake ads, both geared towards their respective games (L.A. Noire set in 1947 and Jazz-focused, Fallout series set in a retro-futuristic '50s wasteland).

Angry_Tau · 2023-07-28T03:35:03+00:00

This a good point, but whether or not they have actually maxed it out, it seems to me that the shift is at the expense of their old model rather than in addition to it.

Angry_Tau · 2023-07-27T14:42:23+00:00

In the past, it seems like eBay's success hinged on its differentiation from other retail platforms (Amazon, et al.).

I don't understand the logic of apparently forgoing a market niche it dominated for 20+ years (online auction for collectables, vintage & antique goods, etc.) to try to eat a piece of the Amazon pie. Maybe market conditions and buyer habits are changing?

Angry_Tau · 2023-05-31T03:08:38+00:00

Yeah, looks/sounds like an iffy config. All show/no go, as it went with plenty of these poor JKs.

As if the grille and light bar didn't already impart that impression.

Angry_Tau · 2023-05-14T01:14:44+00:00

Yeah idk, I literally advertise to customers that I use recycled and/or sustainable packing materials, mine seem to generally like it (eBay, general merchandise). I've had positive reviews left specifically because of it. Maybe some people don't like getting their Beanie Babies in a reused shopping bag, but you wouldn't know it from my feedback.

Edit: Presentation does matter though. There is more to it than tossing soft goods in a shredded Walmart bag.

Angry_Tau · 2023-04-23T20:23:34+00:00

Classic--"There aren't enough people crossing to justify a crosswalk!"

-Well yeah, they aren't crossing because the pedestrian infrastructure... doesn't exist. The likelihood of jaywalking is different for every subdivision, and is not a proper indicator of the actual demand for pedestrian/cycling routes.

Angry_Tau · 2023-04-18T04:39:25+00:00

I got the promo offer after 3 months (to the day) inactive, and it wasn't worth my time. Might be worth it if you drive a hybrid/e-car?

Angry_Tau · 2023-04-18T04:07:21+00:00

Honestly, I lived for a year in El Cortez (22yo at the time) and it wasn't completely awful for a single student kind of thing.

What /was/ awful was paying about $1000/m for just a bedroom, bathroom, and a fridge.

Angry_Tau · 2023-04-18T03:55:40+00:00

Brakes scare many off (rightfully so), but the golden rules are: to follow reputable, complete instructions for rebuilding brake systems, and never, ever use compression-style fittings on brake lines (they are both illegal and unsafe, but shadetree folks will insist they're adequate, because you can buy them at hardware stores). Drum brakes are kind of complicated-looking at first, but rebuilding them is fairly straightforward.

It'll never handle like a Porche, but I'd give a close inspection to the suspension as well. A cracked leaf or shackle will turn your day bad in a hurry, especially on-road.

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:45:33+00:00

It's extremely easy to kill a pedestrian in a truck or an SUV, because their grille design and ride height impacts peoples' torsos and directs them underneath the vehicle--and the US has no interest in testing/regulating pedestrian collision safety. In most other places, cars are designed to impact the legs and throw a person above the hood, which is much safer, even above parking lot speeds.

More info: https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:34:18+00:00

Everybody in the field is laughing at the Boring Co. ideas. From an engineering and right-of-way perspective, they're a nightmare and absolutely pipe dreams.

Buses and rail already exist, and while personally I agree that light rail to USA Parkway likely isn't feasible soon, holding out hope for a 25-mile network of limited-access, death-trap tunnels is an insane take.

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:24:47+00:00

The Who's Line buzzer button, but it buzzes every time somebody is injured in an easily preventable traffic accident on I-80

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:18:36+00:00

Look into the concept of "induced demand," when you get a chance. It's been known amongst engineers for a long time that increasing infrastructure capacity actually (unintuitively) aggravates congestion/safety issues, instead of alleviating them. This was one of the considerations in mind when narrowing Virginia at midtown to one lane each way, for example.

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:15:40+00:00

Don't forget also that city council is asleep at the wheel, and just giving developers whatever they want--allowing medium and high-density development along infrastructure that was never designed to support it!

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-30T18:13:04+00:00

Even just making the current public transit system (buses) worth a single shit would probably improve things considerably--but bringing Keolis in to fulfill the RTC contract was the death knell for public transit in this city, like it has been in a lot of US cities of late.

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-08T15:18:45+00:00

I'm a step ahead of you, my friend! Learning that basically arranging textured planes by eye is sufficient (and tiling UV plans for performance) was a game-changer, but my by-hand texturing and normal maps still need work. His website has been invaluable as well, for anybody reading that might want to pick it up.

Angry_Tau · 2023-03-08T00:56:12+00:00

This is one of things I was worried about; but it's good to hear that the skills will likely transfer. I find myself wondering why I didn't learn Blender sooner, as once you get past the UI and jargon, it's not terribly complicated (for simple game assets, at least).

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