DATE CODE: MV

In the continuing adventures of everyday life, I found a piece of paper on the floor in the kitchen. It was in the same spot of the lost screw so maybe I have some gremlins.

The little white strip of paper could have stuck to my shoe and been brought in last night or had fallen out of my pocket but I would swear it was not there last night and was there this morning. The back looked like it was glued on something and the other side was printed “DATE CODE: MV”.

If a Roman numeral date code for 1005, it would not tell when it would have been printed or where it came from. I didn’t even know if it was AD or BC?

Of course I Goggled “Code: MV” and got this:

In statistics, missing data, or missing values, occur when no data value is stored for the variable in an observation. Missing data are a common occurrence and can have a significant effect on the conclusions that can be drawn from the data.

Missing data can occur because of non-response: no information is provided for one or more items or for a whole unit. Attrition is a type of missingness that can occur in longitudinal studies - for instance studying development where a measurement is repeated after a certain period of time. Missingness occurs when participants drop out before the test ends and one or more measurements are missing.

Data often are missing in research in economics, sociology, and political science because governments choose not to, or fail to, report critical statistics. Sometimes ‘missing values’ are caused by researchers. If data collection is done improperly or mistakes are made in data entry there occurs missingness.

Understanding the reasons why data are missing is important to correctly handle the remaining data. If values are missing completely at random, the data sample is likely still representative of the population. But if the values are missing systematically, analysis may be biased. Because of these problems, methodologists routinely advise researchers to design studies to minimize the occurrence of missing values.

So I throw the little piece of paper away in the kitchen trashcan and move onto my day’s business. A ride, wash some dishes, change cloths, do some outdoor work, drink a beer and listen to some music and decide to sweep some of the leaves that have blown through the open door. As I sweep the steps I notice a little white piece of paper in the piles of brown leaves.

You guessed it.

DATE CODE: MV

If the code is ‘Missing Values’ it may be the theme for today or maybe this year?

Values are regarded as something to deserve or of importance, worth, or usefulness.

A value could be an advantage, benefit, gain, profit, good, help, merit, helpfulness, or significance. A value could be the material or monetary worth of something. A value is a price, cost, worth, monetary value, or face value. A value could be the worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it.

A value could also be a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life. A value contains principles, ethics, morals, standards, and a code of behavior.

The point of this exercise is that maybe we are missing our values. Maybe our outburst of anger and frustration has misplaced our principles?

Maybe I’m just missing the point?

What adventures will tomorrow bring?