Explore the challenges of working with imperfect data in various domains through this insightful conference talk. Delve into one programmer's journey through decision support, disaster response, telephony systems, and connected device management. Learn about the importance of data quality in distributed systems and discover strategies for addressing common challenges. Gain valuable insights into decision support basics, information management principles, and techniques for dealing with requirements and specifications. Understand how to model data lifetimes, diagnose signal absence, and implement knock-out units. Benefit from real-world anecdotes and practical advice on navigating the complexities of working with stale, inconsistent, or missing data in diverse technological environments.