...Where OccurrenceID = 173

The Calming Slog of Data Entry

As stated in my last post, I took the opportunity to practice some mundane entry of DateData records when the importer wouldn’t work.

I’ve been practicing Insert Statements for both single records and batch records.

It is easy to fall into a routine when copying from a .CSV on the other half of the screen, and get those records in to my database. While I recognize that this is a passion project, there is something therapeutic to the repetitive process, and how some people find solitude in its work. No judgment there, just an observation of how data entry be calming when it isn’t being infuriating.

District 9 had the distinction of being `OccurrenceID` 100.

Needing A Timestamp

It was around this time that I also realized that I didn’t have a `Timestamp` column on the Occurrence table. D’oh! Tracking the timing of this entire project was paramount to documentation and best practices.

Welp, I *needed* to have one, and this was clearly a job for the Alter Statement.

After a bit of Googling, I found the parameters of what needed to be added:

It was, all things considered, relatively simple to add the `OccurrenceTimestamp` column, once I knew I needed one, and was able to find the thread to offer the assistance needed to add one.

Progress Update

As of this morning, there are 173 entries in the `DateData.Occurrence` table.

Copying off of a CSV exported from my master Excel spreadsheet, I am already in Early November (heh, Early November) with my event logs.

The last event added was November 4, 2019, from Netflix’s mind-fuck-time-travel show, DarK. Michael Kahnwald kills himself, leaving a note “Do not open before November 4, 10:13pm.” Remember that?

I have approximately 25 entries left in my initial pass.

Two Options

At that point I have two options to continue on:

A:

Cleanse the dates that were sloppily taken on my phone from recent tv and movies, that aren’t yet on the spreadsheet, and add them to `DateData.Occurrence`. My concern here is that I’d be deviating from the “master” spreadsheet, and having records in two forms:

1. From the Master Excel file, with additional metadata regarding the content they were pulled from, info about the dates and the events, etc.

2. Dates pulled from a scattered Bear note, without the additional metadata mentioned above.

It might be confusing to have partial records (2) separate, but still part of, a table using master records (1).

B:

Start a NEW table in `DateData` within MySql, and start tracking that data. My biggest concern here is that I don’t truly yet know how to go about linking PK and FKs in tables, and if I have the requisite PKs needed to do so.