Grant McDermott
@gmcd.bsky.social
Economics and data science | Former academic now working in the tech sector | Views my own | 🇿🇦 in 🇺🇸 | https://grantmcdermott.com/
This will be a decidedly unpopular Springbok view, but SA's level of scrum dominance can't be good for the game. I don't know how to "fix" it, but I don't think it's just a question of a better bench. It's starting from the off.
November 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
This will be a decidedly unpopular Springbok view, but SA's level of scrum dominance can't be good for the game. I don't know how to "fix" it, but I don't think it's just a question of a better bench. It's starting from the off.
Faz must have been apoplectic in the halftime change room.
First 20 min and setpiece aside, we were pretty poor TBH. Obviously, that's a reflection of the sheer grit from your lads. But I'm struggling to remember the last time SA played with such a lack of ambition.
First 20 min and setpiece aside, we were pretty poor TBH. Obviously, that's a reflection of the sheer grit from your lads. But I'm struggling to remember the last time SA played with such a lack of ambition.
November 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Faz must have been apoplectic in the halftime change room.
First 20 min and setpiece aside, we were pretty poor TBH. Obviously, that's a reflection of the sheer grit from your lads. But I'm struggling to remember the last time SA played with such a lack of ambition.
First 20 min and setpiece aside, we were pretty poor TBH. Obviously, that's a reflection of the sheer grit from your lads. But I'm struggling to remember the last time SA played with such a lack of ambition.
It's funny how this level of set piece dominance can ruin the game for both sides. I can't remember when SA last played with this lack of ambition.
November 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
It's funny how this level of set piece dominance can ruin the game for both sides. I can't remember when SA last played with this lack of ambition.
Huge JVDF fan tbh.
Minor 2024/25 form blip aside, and he looked back to his best over the weekend, just world class every game.
Minor 2024/25 form blip aside, and he looked back to his best over the weekend, just world class every game.
November 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Huge JVDF fan tbh.
Minor 2024/25 form blip aside, and he looked back to his best over the weekend, just world class every game.
Minor 2024/25 form blip aside, and he looked back to his best over the weekend, just world class every game.
<insert bad joke about him finally going through the gate>
November 2, 2025 at 9:39 PM
<insert bad joke about him finally going through the gate>
Thanks! I'm unreasonably pleased with it tbqh. Would dig to get your feedback.
Lots of additional material on the website. grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/
Lots of additional material on the website. grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/
tinyplot
grantmcdermott.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Thanks! I'm unreasonably pleased with it tbqh. Would dig to get your feedback.
Lots of additional material on the website. grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/
Lots of additional material on the website. grantmcdermott.com/tinyplot/
I gave this talk on an empty stomach and about three hours sleep. So I recommend watching it >1x playing speed...
(Also: please have pity on the tall people in your life, forced to stare directly into projector lights.)
(Also: please have pity on the tall people in your life, forced to stare directly into projector lights.)
October 30, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I gave this talk on an empty stomach and about three hours sleep. So I recommend watching it >1x playing speed...
(Also: please have pity on the tall people in your life, forced to stare directly into projector lights.)
(Also: please have pity on the tall people in your life, forced to stare directly into projector lights.)
Hmmm, I wouldn't say the problem is the availability of binary-build channels. Alongside r2u (great albeit Ubuntu only), there's rspm and the Posit manylinux repo (both multi-distro). The problem is conda hijacking and/or overriding these channels, so that they don't work like normal :-/
October 3, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Hmmm, I wouldn't say the problem is the availability of binary-build channels. Alongside r2u (great albeit Ubuntu only), there's rspm and the Posit manylinux repo (both multi-distro). The problem is conda hijacking and/or overriding these channels, so that they don't work like normal :-/
Yeah, unfortunately the inconsistency is the killer here. I've also run into a (related?) problem of missing pre-compiled binaries on some Linux distros that we use at work. So you end up having to install + compile everything from source ☠️
October 2, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Yeah, unfortunately the inconsistency is the killer here. I've also run into a (related?) problem of missing pre-compiled binaries on some Linux distros that we use at work. So you end up having to install + compile everything from source ☠️
RE: lack of love for conda-forge, see this thread by @jeroenooms.bsky.social fosstodon.org/@jeroenooms/...
Jeroen (@[email protected])
Is @conda for R completely dead now? Seems like all R package builds on conda-forge have been failing for months, and nobody cares?
fosstodon.org
October 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
RE: lack of love for conda-forge, see this thread by @jeroenooms.bsky.social fosstodon.org/@jeroenooms/...
It's a constant stream of untaxed negative externalities that I can only assume are part of some cunning grand plan for language hegemony.
September 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
It's a constant stream of untaxed negative externalities that I can only assume are part of some cunning grand plan for language hegemony.
Fair points. Still, if you feel like modifying / playing around... bsky.app/profile/gmcd...
Successfully nerdsniped myself into writing a little script for this. gist.github.com/grantmcdermo...
(Longer than it probably needs to be bc of annoying Wiki table formatting, but I'm too lazy to find another source.)
(Longer than it probably needs to be bc of annoying Wiki table formatting, but I'm too lazy to find another source.)
September 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Fair points. Still, if you feel like modifying / playing around... bsky.app/profile/gmcd...
Hmmm, I don't think so. If the state of the system hinges on a few critical units then I think you want to model those directly. To the OP, if we don't see much volatility of those marginal units over time then I don't think it makes sense to talk about "close" vs "big" victories, no?
September 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Hmmm, I don't think so. If the state of the system hinges on a few critical units then I think you want to model those directly. To the OP, if we don't see much volatility of those marginal units over time then I don't think it makes sense to talk about "close" vs "big" victories, no?
Not giving CM the inside ball at 1:30 (beautiful line!) was a legitimate gripe. But vanishingly few of those.
September 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Not giving CM the inside ball at 1:30 (beautiful line!) was a legitimate gripe. But vanishingly few of those.