Data sculptures
for an idle screen.
Three visualization experiments built from 7,793 congressional stock trades. Free Mac screensavers. Every point in the Capitol is a disclosed trade. Your Mac checks for newly published data each Monday; each study shows its own data window.
A series of studies in disclosure. Public records (trades, laws, closing prices) reduced to points, lines and intervals, then left running. Nancy Pelosi, Tommy Tuberville, Ro Khanna, Michael McCaul and other members appear as signal, not story. No color, no commentary. The data is the material.
- Disclosures scanned
- 34,800
- Trades on screen
- 7,793
- Members of Congress
- 95
- Public laws linked
- 31
- Price
- Free
01 · Data sculpture / Mac screensaverPolicy Proximity
Live preview · data through 2025.08.19
04 · Data sculpture / Mac screensaverThe Ledger
Live preview · data through 2026.09.28
05 · Data sculpture / Mac screensaverReturns Spectrum
Live preview · data through 2026.08.05
How to install on macOSInstall the series
- Download a screensaver, or all three, and unzip it.
- Double-click the
.saverfile and install it for your user account. - Open System Settings, go to Screen Saver, then Other, and choose the scene.
- If the start time says Never, pick one in Lock Screen settings.
If macOS blocks the install
The downloads are ad-hoc signed and not notarized by Apple, so macOS may stop the first install. If you trust the file, open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, and choose Open Anyway. Keep Gatekeeper switched on. Checksums are in SHA256SUMS.txt.
Weekly checks, separate data windows
Each Monday at 12:00 local time each screensaver checks capitolalpha.app for newly published data. If it isn’t running then, it checks on its next start. Offline, it uses saved or bundled data. The Ledger receives new filings weekly. Returns Spectrum and Policy Proximity change when new price and law datasets are published. Their coverage dates appear beside each preview. Design changes need a new download.
Removing one
Delete its .saver file from ~/Library/Screen Savers/.
Compatibility
Universal builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs on macOS 12 Monterey or later. Tested on macOS Sequoia 15.6.1.
FAQNotes on the work
Are the screensavers free?
Yes. No account, no sign-up, no ads. Get all three in one small zip, or download each on its own.
Is the trading data real?
Yes. Every trade comes from public disclosures filed under the STOCK Act and collected by Capitol Trades. Laws come from Congress.gov, returns from daily closing prices against SPY. Filings report value ranges, so each amount is a representative value inside its range.
Which members of Congress appear?
95 members from both parties and both chambers, including Nancy Pelosi, Tommy Tuberville, Ro Khanna, Michael McCaul, Josh Gottheimer and John Fetterman. The set changes as new filings are published.
Do the screensavers show insider trading?
No. They show what members disclosed and when. Links between trades, laws and returns are visual heuristics, not evidence of causation, privileged information or unlawful conduct. The methodology explains how each scene is built.
Is there a Windows or iPhone version?
Not yet. The screensavers are macOS only. All five scenes also run in any browser at capitolalpha.app.
Free · one 193 KB zip · Policy Proximity, The Ledger and Returns Spectrum · macOS 12+