Alasdair Stewart
@abestew.bsky.social
Sociologist | Socialist | Neurodivergent | Linux & FLOSS advocate | he/they
Abstract submitted for conference, returning to an idea for a paper I first started on nearly... 15 years ago.
November 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Abstract submitted for conference, returning to an idea for a paper I first started on nearly... 15 years ago.
If looking for an Android tasks app, seriously give Tasks.org a look.
From quick tests it does everything Todoist can and more. Many things it does better than Todoist - £36.33 a year & increasing due to AI bullshit being added. Only exception is it doesn't (yet) have per list/filter view settings.
From quick tests it does everything Todoist can and more. Many things it does better than Todoist - £36.33 a year & increasing due to AI bullshit being added. Only exception is it doesn't (yet) have per list/filter view settings.
November 27, 2025 at 9:32 AM
If looking for an Android tasks app, seriously give Tasks.org a look.
From quick tests it does everything Todoist can and more. Many things it does better than Todoist - £36.33 a year & increasing due to AI bullshit being added. Only exception is it doesn't (yet) have per list/filter view settings.
From quick tests it does everything Todoist can and more. Many things it does better than Todoist - £36.33 a year & increasing due to AI bullshit being added. Only exception is it doesn't (yet) have per list/filter view settings.
Update on binning Todoist.
Tasks.org - fork of the forever missed Astrid - for recurring daily/household tasks, which it does better than Todoist.
TaskWarrior for everything else. The TaskWarrior Android app available via F-Droid nightly repo supports the new taskchampion sync server.
Tasks.org - fork of the forever missed Astrid - for recurring daily/household tasks, which it does better than Todoist.
TaskWarrior for everything else. The TaskWarrior Android app available via F-Droid nightly repo supports the new taskchampion sync server.
November 27, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Update on binning Todoist.
Tasks.org - fork of the forever missed Astrid - for recurring daily/household tasks, which it does better than Todoist.
TaskWarrior for everything else. The TaskWarrior Android app available via F-Droid nightly repo supports the new taskchampion sync server.
Tasks.org - fork of the forever missed Astrid - for recurring daily/household tasks, which it does better than Todoist.
TaskWarrior for everything else. The TaskWarrior Android app available via F-Droid nightly repo supports the new taskchampion sync server.
Not a fan of the automated tags added to lecture videos exposing my overuse of "[et] cetera", "sort", "lot [of] ways folk", "[one] aspect", "things", and emphasise "the importance of ..." too often.
I know of these bad habits, but didn't realise it was so bad that AI treats it as the key content.
I know of these bad habits, but didn't realise it was so bad that AI treats it as the key content.
November 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Not a fan of the automated tags added to lecture videos exposing my overuse of "[et] cetera", "sort", "lot [of] ways folk", "[one] aspect", "things", and emphasise "the importance of ..." too often.
I know of these bad habits, but didn't realise it was so bad that AI treats it as the key content.
I know of these bad habits, but didn't realise it was so bad that AI treats it as the key content.
Lovely example of how I fail to estimate time required for tasks.
Decided this year to do a 'small' refresh of our quants lab workbook. Below is a visual overview of the changes for lab 9 after spending... 7 hours on the 'small' refresh.
Effectively wrote 4,768 words for a 'small' refresh...
Decided this year to do a 'small' refresh of our quants lab workbook. Below is a visual overview of the changes for lab 9 after spending... 7 hours on the 'small' refresh.
Effectively wrote 4,768 words for a 'small' refresh...
November 18, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Lovely example of how I fail to estimate time required for tasks.
Decided this year to do a 'small' refresh of our quants lab workbook. Below is a visual overview of the changes for lab 9 after spending... 7 hours on the 'small' refresh.
Effectively wrote 4,768 words for a 'small' refresh...
Decided this year to do a 'small' refresh of our quants lab workbook. Below is a visual overview of the changes for lab 9 after spending... 7 hours on the 'small' refresh.
Effectively wrote 4,768 words for a 'small' refresh...
Text embeddings still remain best general purpose example I've come across of way AI models can be used as a tool rather than delegate.
Within Obsidian, I'm able to have a panel that surfaces any of my own notes that are similar to - but not already linked with - whichever note I have open.
Within Obsidian, I'm able to have a panel that surfaces any of my own notes that are similar to - but not already linked with - whichever note I have open.
November 16, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Text embeddings still remain best general purpose example I've come across of way AI models can be used as a tool rather than delegate.
Within Obsidian, I'm able to have a panel that surfaces any of my own notes that are similar to - but not already linked with - whichever note I have open.
Within Obsidian, I'm able to have a panel that surfaces any of my own notes that are similar to - but not already linked with - whichever note I have open.
Instead you are forced into using a clunky web interface with a proliferating mass of bullshit features that grifters promote to "10x your learning" and "write your dissertation in one hour".
The 'Create report' feature makes clear intended use includes plagiarism / slop generation.
The 'Create report' feature makes clear intended use includes plagiarism / slop generation.
November 16, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Instead you are forced into using a clunky web interface with a proliferating mass of bullshit features that grifters promote to "10x your learning" and "write your dissertation in one hour".
The 'Create report' feature makes clear intended use includes plagiarism / slop generation.
The 'Create report' feature makes clear intended use includes plagiarism / slop generation.
NotebookLM stealthily released a non-gimmicky feature. When clicking on references it now opens the source at the referenced section.
If that was its main feature, I wouldn't have many caveats recommending it to students.
If that was its main feature, I wouldn't have many caveats recommending it to students.
November 16, 2025 at 12:50 PM
NotebookLM stealthily released a non-gimmicky feature. When clicking on references it now opens the source at the referenced section.
If that was its main feature, I wouldn't have many caveats recommending it to students.
If that was its main feature, I wouldn't have many caveats recommending it to students.
nvim - Just did a test, and now figured out one part of my issue. When I remove a comma, the squiggle is placed on line after, not line of curly with missing comma.
November 15, 2025 at 3:24 PM
nvim - Just did a test, and now figured out one part of my issue. When I remove a comma, the squiggle is placed on line after, not line of curly with missing comma.
ChatGPT 5.1 now seems to more consistently just load the tidyverse rather than individual packages from it - but varies in whether does so, including across responses within the same chat. The tendency towards "package::function" code in places remains.
November 13, 2025 at 12:04 PM
ChatGPT 5.1 now seems to more consistently just load the tidyverse rather than individual packages from it - but varies in whether does so, including across responses within the same chat. The tendency towards "package::function" code in places remains.
For R, the biggest tell is ChatGPT's gravitation towards needlessly customisation of graphs. It loves theme_minimal() but is also horrendously inconsistent in applying built-in themes and the needless additional customisation it adds, including for ggplots within the same response.
November 13, 2025 at 12:04 PM
For R, the biggest tell is ChatGPT's gravitation towards needlessly customisation of graphs. It loves theme_minimal() but is also horrendously inconsistent in applying built-in themes and the needless additional customisation it adds, including for ggplots within the same response.
When you give it insufficient info about your data set, instead of "# Assuming..." - which people copied and pasted not realising it was example code - it now seems to more clearly sign-post "# Example: ...". The love for end of line comments remains, though seems to be toned down.
November 13, 2025 at 12:04 PM
When you give it insufficient info about your data set, instead of "# Assuming..." - which people copied and pasted not realising it was example code - it now seems to more clearly sign-post "# Example: ...". The love for end of line comments remains, though seems to be toned down.
Ha, and there is a another rule of three at end of that second image didn't originally notice. Once start highlighting the patterns it definitely reads more and more like they have fed it training data to avoid some usual tells, but it's more 'masked' than 'removed'.
November 13, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Ha, and there is a another rule of three at end of that second image didn't originally notice. Once start highlighting the patterns it definitely reads more and more like they have fed it training data to avoid some usual tells, but it's more 'masked' than 'removed'.
Interestingly, noticed in finding these examples there is more variation in number of items in places. Some of these though are rule of three with 'and so on' or 'even ...' (and variant phrases) stuck on at the end. Also outlined in blue in 2nd image the repetitive phrases can also get in lists.
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Interestingly, noticed in finding these examples there is more variation in number of items in places. Some of these though are rule of three with 'and so on' or 'even ...' (and variant phrases) stuck on at the end. Also outlined in blue in 2nd image the repetitive phrases can also get in lists.
ChatGPT's love of rule of three - including in 2nd image a rule of three at the end of a rule of three. 3rd and 4th images are examples of bullet-point list rule of three.
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
ChatGPT's love of rule of three - including in 2nd image a rule of three at the end of a rule of three. 3rd and 4th images are examples of bullet-point list rule of three.
Ah, it looks like it's "etc" if in brackets and "and so on" when not using brackets.
November 13, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Ah, it looks like it's "etc" if in brackets and "and so on" when not using brackets.
The switch-up between em-dash asides and bracket asides is more noticeable across whole response than paragraph by paragraph, but first image shows an example. Second image has em-dashed rule of three aside, this is within same response as first image that has bracketed rule of three aside.
November 13, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The switch-up between em-dash asides and bracket asides is more noticeable across whole response than paragraph by paragraph, but first image shows an example. Second image has em-dashed rule of three aside, this is within same response as first image that has bracketed rule of three aside.
Italics and bold variations. Can see in second image the new found fondness for brackets as well.
November 13, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Italics and bold variations. Can see in second image the new found fondness for brackets as well.
Colons are the new em-dashes.
November 13, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Colons are the new em-dashes.
Initial work on visual refresh of the SGSSS NVivo Guidance pages now done.
sgsssonline.github.io/nvivo-guidan...
sgsssonline.github.io/nvivo-guidan...
November 9, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Initial work on visual refresh of the SGSSS NVivo Guidance pages now done.
sgsssonline.github.io/nvivo-guidan...
sgsssonline.github.io/nvivo-guidan...
There is disturbing number of journal articles promoting LLMs as making quantitative analysis 'more accessible', removing need for students to learn how to code, and similar arguments.
My response - "Have you never heard of snippets?"
My response - "Have you never heard of snippets?"
November 6, 2025 at 9:43 AM
There is disturbing number of journal articles promoting LLMs as making quantitative analysis 'more accessible', removing need for students to learn how to code, and similar arguments.
My response - "Have you never heard of snippets?"
My response - "Have you never heard of snippets?"
OK NVivo for Windows requires installing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and to disable child-locks on macOS command+click and Open the app.
Ridiculous amount of faff, but I now have... hell in stereo vision...
Ridiculous amount of faff, but I now have... hell in stereo vision...
November 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM
OK NVivo for Windows requires installing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and to disable child-locks on macOS command+click and Open the app.
Ridiculous amount of faff, but I now have... hell in stereo vision...
Ridiculous amount of faff, but I now have... hell in stereo vision...
How do people get anything done on Windows and macOS? NVivo crashes on launch without any error messages and looks like I have to figure out how to turn the child-locks off on macOS
November 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM
How do people get anything done on Windows and macOS? NVivo crashes on launch without any error messages and looks like I have to figure out how to turn the child-locks off on macOS
Giving quickemu a try. Images for both downloaded OK, though macOS refused to work after installing so trying again. Windows couldn't find hard drive, but seems to be installing now after copy/paste of bash script from GitHub.
November 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Giving quickemu a try. Images for both downloaded OK, though macOS refused to work after installing so trying again. Windows couldn't find hard drive, but seems to be installing now after copy/paste of bash script from GitHub.
Progress on my first attempt at knitting.
November 3, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Progress on my first attempt at knitting.