steph
@urschrei.bsky.social
Academic at the ⋂ of cities, technology, and climate adaptation. Reluctant polygon enthusiast. Sometimes I work on computational geometry and spatial data algorithms, which I promise almost never to discuss.
Pinned
steph
@urschrei.bsky.social
· Nov 24
My offer of a gherkin has just been rejected out of hand as "too reviving at this hour".
The baby loves Simon and Garfunkel (The Boxer is her favourite; none of that maudlin warbling. But I digress) so I had occasion to pay attention to the lyrics of "At the Zoo" this morning. Elephants are not "dumb", gentlemen. Nor are giraffes "insincere". Why are there hamsters in Central Park Zoo?
December 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The baby loves Simon and Garfunkel (The Boxer is her favourite; none of that maudlin warbling. But I digress) so I had occasion to pay attention to the lyrics of "At the Zoo" this morning. Elephants are not "dumb", gentlemen. Nor are giraffes "insincere". Why are there hamsters in Central Park Zoo?
George Civeris making a raglan mock turtleneck look good. Is there anything he can't do?
December 20, 2025 at 9:25 AM
George Civeris making a raglan mock turtleneck look good. Is there anything he can't do?
If anyone has been wailing and rending their garments for the past two years over the broken Zotero plugin that downloaded PDFs from Sci-Hub for you: I fixed it, and it works on the new Zotero 8 beta. You're all very welcome.
December 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
If anyone has been wailing and rending their garments for the past two years over the broken Zotero plugin that downloaded PDFs from Sci-Hub for you: I fixed it, and it works on the new Zotero 8 beta. You're all very welcome.
Essential thinking by @kevinbaker.bsky.social on attempts to integrate LLMs into scientific processes: artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi.... Read it instantly.
Context Widows
or, of GPUs, LPUs, and Goal Displacement
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Essential thinking by @kevinbaker.bsky.social on attempts to integrate LLMs into scientific processes: artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi.... Read it instantly.
“Yes, quite spirited” I remark pleasantly as my daughter roars at the neighbouring table like a tiny dinosaur, in the unmistakable register of an underslept toddler. “A wonderful roast, isn’t it?”
December 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
“Yes, quite spirited” I remark pleasantly as my daughter roars at the neighbouring table like a tiny dinosaur, in the unmistakable register of an underslept toddler. “A wonderful roast, isn’t it?”
Using literature to explain the baby’s essential nature at the development check-up. “You are familiar with the seminal work of Dr Seuss, ‘The Cat in the Hat’? Good! Now, you will of course recall the characters Thing Two and Thing One? Excellent. Imagine if they somehow fused. Yes. Very tired.”
December 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Using literature to explain the baby’s essential nature at the development check-up. “You are familiar with the seminal work of Dr Seuss, ‘The Cat in the Hat’? Good! Now, you will of course recall the characters Thing Two and Thing One? Excellent. Imagine if they somehow fused. Yes. Very tired.”
Glad tidings: I was stopped in the street this morning and informed that a missing local cat has been found (welcome home Chutney!). Seeing what may have been a cat-related conversation an elderly man walking his elderly dog then asked "Is it true? Did they find Chutney?". Yes, the rumours are true.
December 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Glad tidings: I was stopped in the street this morning and informed that a missing local cat has been found (welcome home Chutney!). Seeing what may have been a cat-related conversation an elderly man walking his elderly dog then asked "Is it true? Did they find Chutney?". Yes, the rumours are true.
Everyone else in the household decided that 4 PM was a great time for a nap. They’re both going to wake up in about ten minutes and I’m going to have to deal with them being confused and absolutely furious while I mutter reproachfully about “the Devil’s nap”. Yes one of them is asleep on top of me.
December 8, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Everyone else in the household decided that 4 PM was a great time for a nap. They’re both going to wake up in about ten minutes and I’m going to have to deal with them being confused and absolutely furious while I mutter reproachfully about “the Devil’s nap”. Yes one of them is asleep on top of me.
A good way to evaluate the ideological bent of an online publication is to look at its comment section. Nodding along at complaints of slipping standards in the discipline, as evinced by the number of be-socked feet on chairs and impertinent PhD students at the AAA Annual Meeting 2025? Are you sure?
December 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
A good way to evaluate the ideological bent of an online publication is to look at its comment section. Nodding along at complaints of slipping standards in the discipline, as evinced by the number of be-socked feet on chairs and impertinent PhD students at the AAA Annual Meeting 2025? Are you sure?
My Wythe Diner story is that I got horrific food poisoning from a burger there 20 years ago (almost to the day!) and have nursed a hatred of it ever since. Goodbye to all that.
December 7, 2025 at 6:38 PM
My Wythe Diner story is that I got horrific food poisoning from a burger there 20 years ago (almost to the day!) and have nursed a hatred of it ever since. Goodbye to all that.
There is fascinating soc/anthro research to be done about the parasocial relationships programmers form with PL authors / contributors, and more generally on the way in which programming language communities resemble fandoms.
December 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
There is fascinating soc/anthro research to be done about the parasocial relationships programmers form with PL authors / contributors, and more generally on the way in which programming language communities resemble fandoms.
[Looking around, hoping to cause a stir] Metropolitan is a Christmas movie
December 4, 2025 at 10:42 PM
[Looking around, hoping to cause a stir] Metropolitan is a Christmas movie
People are losing their minds over the Kalshi interview, but it's surprising that it's taken this long: we've invented the means of cheaply classifying information essentially instantly, on a global scale. Due to the nature of reality, this is an imperfect process. That's where the money is.
December 4, 2025 at 11:12 AM
People are losing their minds over the Kalshi interview, but it's surprising that it's taken this long: we've invented the means of cheaply classifying information essentially instantly, on a global scale. Due to the nature of reality, this is an imperfect process. That's where the money is.
Somewhat unsurprised to discover that the philosopher at Anthropic tasked with ensuring that Claude et al are "more honest" and have "good character traits" is an effective altruist. No amount of education can prevent Bay Area Brain, it seems.
December 2, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Somewhat unsurprised to discover that the philosopher at Anthropic tasked with ensuring that Claude et al are "more honest" and have "good character traits" is an effective altruist. No amount of education can prevent Bay Area Brain, it seems.
A foul night in the Irish Sea. “Near gale”, indeed.
🔎 Observations at 30 Nov 2025, 22:00 UTC
💨 Wind: 31.2 kt @ 191° (Gust: 41.0 kt)
🌊 Wave Height: 2.3 m (max 3.8 m)
🔁 Wave Period: 5.4 s @ 186°
🌡️ Air: 11.2 °C | Sea 13.0 °C
📊 Pressure: 1000 mb
💨 Wind: 31.2 kt @ 191° (Gust: 41.0 kt)
🌊 Wave Height: 2.3 m (max 3.8 m)
🔁 Wave Period: 5.4 s @ 186°
🌡️ Air: 11.2 °C | Sea 13.0 °C
📊 Pressure: 1000 mb
M2 Buoy - Marine Institute
Real-time observations from Irish Weather Buoy Network
www.marine.ie
November 30, 2025 at 10:54 PM
A foul night in the Irish Sea. “Near gale”, indeed.
RIP Tom Stoppard. A good innings.
November 29, 2025 at 5:18 PM
RIP Tom Stoppard. A good innings.
Reposted by steph
A thread of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that look like record covers... because that's EXACTLY what the world needs
1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
November 28, 2025 at 11:36 AM
A thread of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that look like record covers... because that's EXACTLY what the world needs
1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
In the same way that each new year heralds the promise of "Linux on the desktop", so too does each new COP herald the promise of muscular, effective action against "the fossil fuel giants".
November 25, 2025 at 10:18 AM
In the same way that each new year heralds the promise of "Linux on the desktop", so too does each new COP herald the promise of muscular, effective action against "the fossil fuel giants".
Naturally we have Story Time before bed. Some notes on Beatrix Potter:
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse: perfectly pleasant;
The Tailor of Gloucester: easily one of the most beautiful Christmas stories in the English canon;
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan: deranged psychosexual fever dream. 6/10
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse: perfectly pleasant;
The Tailor of Gloucester: easily one of the most beautiful Christmas stories in the English canon;
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan: deranged psychosexual fever dream. 6/10
November 19, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Naturally we have Story Time before bed. Some notes on Beatrix Potter:
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse: perfectly pleasant;
The Tailor of Gloucester: easily one of the most beautiful Christmas stories in the English canon;
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan: deranged psychosexual fever dream. 6/10
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse: perfectly pleasant;
The Tailor of Gloucester: easily one of the most beautiful Christmas stories in the English canon;
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan: deranged psychosexual fever dream. 6/10
I‘m going to do some corpus analysis (corpus tbd, but it exists) to find out which journalist or SpAd (depends on the day – Ed) is responsible for popularising the phrase “across the detail” in relation to policy. When I discover their identity there will be the devil to pay, and no pitch hot.
November 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I‘m going to do some corpus analysis (corpus tbd, but it exists) to find out which journalist or SpAd (depends on the day – Ed) is responsible for popularising the phrase “across the detail” in relation to policy. When I discover their identity there will be the devil to pay, and no pitch hot.
Lettuce 2: Electric Boogaloo
November 14, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Lettuce 2: Electric Boogaloo
At the risk of participating in the latest round of "why were they banned?" discourse: I do not believe for a second that the subject has not been informed about the reason, irrespective of whether it's valid or justified in your or my view.
November 12, 2025 at 10:02 AM
At the risk of participating in the latest round of "why were they banned?" discourse: I do not believe for a second that the subject has not been informed about the reason, irrespective of whether it's valid or justified in your or my view.
Impossible to describe the amount of yoghurt that is consumed by a household with a little baby getting started on solid food. I'm pretty sure that my süzme purchases are currently a major contributor to the wellbeing of the Anatolian economy.
November 11, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Impossible to describe the amount of yoghurt that is consumed by a household with a little baby getting started on solid food. I'm pretty sure that my süzme purchases are currently a major contributor to the wellbeing of the Anatolian economy.
Clapping like a seal at this www.theguardian.com/politics/202.... It is plainly impossible to stop this accelerating, since stupid ideas like "penalise people for errors of fact" casts the net too wide, and will act as a forcing function to increase the quality of submissions.
November 9, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Clapping like a seal at this www.theguardian.com/politics/202.... It is plainly impossible to stop this accelerating, since stupid ideas like "penalise people for errors of fact" casts the net too wide, and will act as a forcing function to increase the quality of submissions.