Jonathan Goodwin
@joncgoodwin.bsky.social
ordering a fanta and Kirkland brand Canadian whiskey whisky in honor of the etymological tidbits in recent Pluribus
November 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
ordering a fanta and Kirkland brand Canadian whiskey whisky in honor of the etymological tidbits in recent Pluribus
if you teach in an academic department are there committees...are there?
November 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
if you teach in an academic department are there committees...are there?
The financial press always tells the truth: " ‘We’re physicists who are also capitalists,’ says quantum CEO" --> more where that came from (ft.com)
November 24, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The financial press always tells the truth: " ‘We’re physicists who are also capitalists,’ says quantum CEO" --> more where that came from (ft.com)
all text-to-video aspires to the condition of a Tim & Eric clip, and it very well may reach the Cinco horizon soon.
November 24, 2025 at 2:31 AM
all text-to-video aspires to the condition of a Tim & Eric clip, and it very well may reach the Cinco horizon soon.
My favorite compiler flag is "-Wtautological-constant-out-of-range-compare"
November 23, 2025 at 4:09 PM
My favorite compiler flag is "-Wtautological-constant-out-of-range-compare"
There are only a few short steps from undergraduate advising to computing the topological orderings of DAGs.
November 22, 2025 at 6:11 PM
There are only a few short steps from undergraduate advising to computing the topological orderings of DAGs.
Imagining a disappointed browser returning _The Flagellum of Euglena_ to the shelves.
November 19, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Imagining a disappointed browser returning _The Flagellum of Euglena_ to the shelves.
To the best of my memory, there were fellow English majors at my regional comprehensive in the mid 90s who did not read much of the assigned material, but they generally read other things. I associate the growth of the 'post-literate' English major with technology. Perhaps it's been noticed before.
November 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
To the best of my memory, there were fellow English majors at my regional comprehensive in the mid 90s who did not read much of the assigned material, but they generally read other things. I associate the growth of the 'post-literate' English major with technology. Perhaps it's been noticed before.
I'm embarrassed (a little frightened?) to screencap it, but the WSJ has a picture of a journalist emerging from the Black Lodge, curtains and all, on its front page at the moment.
November 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I'm embarrassed (a little frightened?) to screencap it, but the WSJ has a picture of a journalist emerging from the Black Lodge, curtains and all, on its front page at the moment.
I have, rarely, some very specific gripes about the citations and formatting in a large book published by a major scholarly press. But I'm scared that if I named the book, you might think I was a bit of a nerd.
November 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I have, rarely, some very specific gripes about the citations and formatting in a large book published by a major scholarly press. But I'm scared that if I named the book, you might think I was a bit of a nerd.
Novelists rarely confront the variety of surnames. A tranche of documents released this week describes the investigations of Detectives Pagan and Badger, among others.
November 14, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Novelists rarely confront the variety of surnames. A tranche of documents released this week describes the investigations of Detectives Pagan and Badger, among others.
The deteriorating simulation feeling now very strong
November 12, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The deteriorating simulation feeling now very strong
I think about great computer scientists like Knuth, E. W. ("Lenny") Dijkstra, whoever used to typeset the hexadecimal columns in Run magazines. Now look around.
November 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
I think about great computer scientists like Knuth, E. W. ("Lenny") Dijkstra, whoever used to typeset the hexadecimal columns in Run magazines. Now look around.
Physiognomy one thing, phrenology another.
November 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Physiognomy one thing, phrenology another.
I've spent the whole day grading. If someone could invent a miracle technology that could automate both the sorting and feedback aspects of this arduous process, they might not get rich but would have the admiration and respect of teachers everywhere!
November 6, 2025 at 1:04 AM
I've spent the whole day grading. If someone could invent a miracle technology that could automate both the sorting and feedback aspects of this arduous process, they might not get rich but would have the admiration and respect of teachers everywhere!
Especially if you are old enough to remember reading it at the time, what now is your opinion of the NYT's Whitewater coverage?
November 6, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Especially if you are old enough to remember reading it at the time, what now is your opinion of the NYT's Whitewater coverage?
What we call entropy, a famously confusing concept, was originally described (in German) as "rearranging the table of contents," (Verwandlungsinhalt) which is much more intuitive.
November 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM
What we call entropy, a famously confusing concept, was originally described (in German) as "rearranging the table of contents," (Verwandlungsinhalt) which is much more intuitive.
A potential "sleeping beauty" here, in terms of citation potential:
November 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
A potential "sleeping beauty" here, in terms of citation potential:
I heard a rumor that the current (U. S.) president used to love Lingua Franca and the Chronicle forums, which explains some of the attention being paid to higher education now.
November 4, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I heard a rumor that the current (U. S.) president used to love Lingua Franca and the Chronicle forums, which explains some of the attention being paid to higher education now.
Reposted by Jonathan Goodwin
I sometimes wonder if a certain author worried that the bane of Thulsa Doom, visited upon his namesake, would return for him.
October 28, 2025 at 1:11 AM
I sometimes wonder if a certain author worried that the bane of Thulsa Doom, visited upon his namesake, would return for him.
We use a type of personnel management system called this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corners..., and I don't think anyone gets my Infocom jokes about it, which is very much what I deserve.
Cornerstone (software) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
October 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
We use a type of personnel management system called this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corners..., and I don't think anyone gets my Infocom jokes about it, which is very much what I deserve.
tiger:elephant::giraffe:?, which I assume was the question, is kind of hard? An outlier from Miller Analogies, I must assume. (Acacia?, but do tigers eat elephants)
October 27, 2025 at 2:24 PM
tiger:elephant::giraffe:?, which I assume was the question, is kind of hard? An outlier from Miller Analogies, I must assume. (Acacia?, but do tigers eat elephants)
Paul Meehl: "So far as I know from extensive reading in biography and history of science, _not one major theoretical contribution was the work of a committee_." True? Very likely. Implications? There are none, how dare you.
October 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Paul Meehl: "So far as I know from extensive reading in biography and history of science, _not one major theoretical contribution was the work of a committee_." True? Very likely. Implications? There are none, how dare you.
I collect inspirational footnotes and share them from time to time:
October 26, 2025 at 12:28 AM
I collect inspirational footnotes and share them from time to time: