So, instead of remembering a long URL or sending people to Google or Bing, all you need to remember is a simple URL: wwdt.me/stats. Yep, it’s now that simple to remember! :)

You can still access the page using the current URL, as I will be setting it up so that it automatically redirects you to the new URL.

Now, go and pass it on!

With the new change, the server generates a static version of the page every Saturday at 13:00 (Pacific Time) and each request of the Wait Wait Stats page will go through a simple script that determines if the static file is newer than original dynamic script file. If it is, the server provides the last modified date and time of the static file to the browser along with the contents of the static file. In the case where the dynamic script file has been updated before the static file was last generated (due to a bugfix or coding update), the dynamic version will be used instead.

So, how does that help save bandwidth? Well, if you visit the page for the first time after the static file has been generated, your browser would be able to cache that page. By caching the page, each time to view the page again, only a small amount of traffic has to be sent back and forth, as the browser will use the cached version of the page. The next time that you view the page after the next time the static file has been updated, the browser will note the new modified time and pull in the updated page.

Since I am in the slow process of updating information for older shows, I have the ability to generate the static file manually so that the changes will be available in a timely manner.

I know… that was a lot of techie jargon. At the end of the day, this change should be a win-win for everyone, including my poor DSL circuit (which is where my server is currently hosted through). If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment to this blog post.

What I was able to do before the end of June was to add one of the features that I had been thinking about doing (and some have been asking for). If you visit the stats page, you will notice that all of the show dates are now links. When you click on the link, it will send you over to that show’s specific page on NPR.org. That way, you can view the transcripts for the newer shows, listen to a segment or the entire show, or figure out what song was used as an inter-segment button.

I am still thinking of the cleanest way of storing and presenting the location of where each show was recorded. Before that can happen, I will need to rewrite the code that handles the data query and processing of that data, before generating it for display. That rewrite should also open up the ability to display the breakdown of the panelist points and who had the correct bluff.

Update [2011-07-02]: I have made a couple of tweaks to the panelist scoring graph to make it a bit easier to quickly determine how many times a panelist has scored x points.

Whether I can maintain a decent pace will have to depend on the amount of spare time I will have in the following four or five days. I hope to get a good portion of the 1999 data added during the month of June. I hope to complete a year of stats each month until I have caught up.

During that time, I will try to work on a way to note where each show is recorded, be it in studio, at Chase Auditorium, or on the road. Here’s to hoping that I can find enough spare time to get the page completed ;)

Well, looking at the statistics that I have been collecting, it was on 2008-09-27; where, Mo Rocca, Kyrie O’Connor and Tom Bodett tied with 14 points each.

You’re welcome, Mo. :)

In the post, the fan mentioned the lack of any notes on which panelist had the correct bluff and which one bluffed well enough to fool the listener, as well as displaying the points breakdown for the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round. I have some good news and some bad news: I have collected a good number of which panelist had the correct bluff, but not for all shows nor do have I collected which panelist’s bluff was chosen. I also have the points breakdown for the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round for most of the shows, but not all of them.

I have been pondering a complete re-work of the statistics site for a while, including using some well-known frameworks (including: Django and CodeIgniter) to reduce the amount of writing and tweaking code, functions and/or stored procedures. Right now, it the site contains the index page with a boat-load of PHP markup, two other includes, and another script that handles the manual generation of the panelist score graphs. All of the data entry is manually done with a GUI database access tool (SQL Manager Lite for MySQL), which has been working; but, it is just not optimal or user friendly (the tables are dang close to 3NF, or third normal form).

I would love to incorporate the displaying of the requested items, so long as I have collected the necessary data, but it will have to wait until I can start designing and building the next version of the site. Another project that I have been considering is a private administrative interface, something that is more user friendly and graphical.

Please note that all of the maintenance of the site is done during my spare time (which hasn’t been a whole lot) and is done without any direct or indirect support (financial or otherwise), association or affiliation from NPR, Chicago Public Radio or Urgent Haircut Productions. I have been lucky enough to have the site mentioned by Peter Sagal on his blog and on Twitter. If you really like the site and find it useful, you can help support the maintenance and hosting of the site by purchasing something through Amazon with this link or by clicking on the “Amazon Wish Lists” link on the right.