Gauze & Effect Vol. 8: The Core

In this issue:

• A letter from Dr. Sarah about cold air, core exercises and the year ahead
• Amazing new data from CDC and three ways it can show insights
• Chatter from the virtual water cooler and pictures of our pets
• An ICYMI moment about the word Equity
• A hard-hitting interview with one of our newest colleagues, Javi
• A spotlight on a new partner: Verite Consulting
• PODCAST THINGS!

From the Desk of Dr. Sarah

Note: Gauze and Effect is a newsletter all about our work in the Health space at mySidewalk. Past issues are available on Medium and new issues will be available on this blog!

Dearest Readers,

As I write this, I’m staring out my back window at the icy tundra of the schoolyard behind my house. The temperature is 4 below zero. When the cold snap first hit, I sleepily put my watch on that morning and stared at the temperature number. I kept squinting and rubbing my eyes, thinking for sure I was seeing the number 20, when in reality I was seeing the number 2. Everything out my window looks pretty and perfect from here. But the minute I open that door to take out the dog, the reality of the bitterness hits me right in the eyeballs. 

This concept--that things look perfect from the outside, but are gross and cold and sad once you dig in--is something I’m really trying to avoid this year. I think it’s a theme across the company, actually. This year we are leaning into the core of who we are, and making sure that the details are taken care of so we can be just as great on the inside as we might look from the outside. This means taking deeper dives into our user experience, and ensuring that the heart of who we are is authentic and accessible. We are polishing our story so it isn’t just a standard elevator speech. We are laying great foundations for the future by pursuing transformative trainings on inclusion and anti-racism. This is a year of bringing it all together...because we have everything we need to succeed. 

One of the dumbest things I agreed to do this year is a 28-day Core Challenge. Every day I have to do a prescribed 10, 15 or 20 minute Core exercise class and cross it off the list. The satisfaction of scribbling on that little calendar square is beyond measure, but there have been times I have yelled at my TV screen “I can’t do that! It’s not ACTUALLY possible! I hate you!”

The most interesting thing I’ve noticed in the last 15 days of focusing on my core is the benefits I start to see everywhere else--in my posture, my running, my mobility. I guess the lesson here is that without a strong core, everything else is a whole lot harder. This goes for your body, and it goes for your mind. 

P.S. The plan this year is to release a Gauze and Effect every other month, with podcasts potentially coming more often--so make sure to subscribe to our podcast AND the newsletter so you don’t miss anything! More info on the podcast near the bottom of this newsletter. 

Take me back to the top

Oh, the PLACES you’ll go! 

For too long, 498 cities across the US had the coolest data…while the rest of the country was left out in the data-cold. NO MORE! Nothing makes us more excited than getting useful data refined and into the system. Big tip o’ the hat to CDC and RWJF for expanding the 500 cities project everywhere and also to our data team who worked late into the night getting that data processed and into the mySidewalk library. 

Here are three cool visuals we made with PLACES data that we could never have made before!

The map on the left takes us to the hometown of Dr. Sarah Martin--Bakersfield, California. This viz shows the prevalence of Binge Drinking by City Council District. 

Our bivariate maps are the Bee's Knee's (did we get those apostrophes right?!) and the viz on the right shows the proportion of women getting appropriate preventative care by layering Pap Smear testing with Mammography in Navajo County, AZ. 

Lastly, the scatterplot below shows a clear relationship between our air and our health in Raleigh, NC. As bad air increases in Raleigh neighborhoods, so does the prevalence of COPD. 

We're excited to see what YOU create with the new CDC PLACES data. Make something cool? Tweet it at us @mySidewalkHQ! 

Take me back to the top

ICYMI (and then missed it again)

On the heels of President Biden’s Executive Orders focused on racial equity, we re-published an older piece that still stands the test of time. Partitioning “equity” doesn’t do us any favors--we need to push for true integration. Read this piece by Dr. Sarah and let us know what you think. 

Take me back to the top

From the #WaterCooler

We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of COVID being labeled a pandemic, which means we are also coming up on one-year of being a fully remote company. Over this year, we’ve learned a lot of important things, but we’ve still managed to carve out space for those frivolous things you talk about in the break room randomly. Except now, this randomness happens in a Slack channel, and not in person. 

So, here are the top 5 things that are hot around the virtual Water Cooler at mySidewalk:

Number FIVE

The mySidewalk crew has assembled a team for Rugged Maniac in September. Everyone who isn't on the team is currently taking bets on which one of the members of SEEK and Destroy (tm) will return with the most broken bones. 

Number FOUR

Maybe somewhat related to #5, but there is an irrational amount of conversation related to which Protein Powders are the best. 

Number THREE

Apparently, all of us buy a lot of Stuff because of sponsored ads on our social media. Last month's purchases included that weird circle thing that stretches your back; Magic Spoon; these dog leggings... 

Number TWO

We have an unhealthy obsession with houses we can’t afford on Zillow. Ever. Like never in a million years.

Number ONE!

Not a day goes by where someone doesn't post a photo of their pets. In fact, there are likely more photos of pets on the mySidewalk Slack than pictures of children or other family members. There might even be more pets than maps. So, here's a little video slideshow of (most of) our pets set to music:

Take me back to the top

Welcome to the Family!