The Other David Harper
@theotherdavidh.bsky.social
No, not that one. The other one. I'm mostly here for the cats.
I wish I had known this 43 years ago. It would have made my second-year Complex Analysis class a lot more interesting.
December 17, 2025 at 5:34 AM
I wish I had known this 43 years ago. It would have made my second-year Complex Analysis class a lot more interesting.
Also true for Americans with dual citizenship. And United Airlines is equally clueless about having two passports.
December 16, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Also true for Americans with dual citizenship. And United Airlines is equally clueless about having two passports.
Don't worry, @number10cat.bsky.social is on a mission to eat all of them, whatever kind of bird they are.
December 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Don't worry, @number10cat.bsky.social is on a mission to eat all of them, whatever kind of bird they are.
I'm reminded of the lines from Monty Python's "Galaxy Song":
So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.
So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.
December 16, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I'm reminded of the lines from Monty Python's "Galaxy Song":
So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.
So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on Earth.
There used to be a very good Japanese restaurant on Bridge Street, by the river, opposite Magdelene College. It was very popular with Japanese students, so you knew it was the real deal. It closed before the pandemic, alas. Now I have to make do with Sushimania.
December 16, 2025 at 11:49 AM
There used to be a very good Japanese restaurant on Bridge Street, by the river, opposite Magdelene College. It was very popular with Japanese students, so you knew it was the real deal. It closed before the pandemic, alas. Now I have to make do with Sushimania.
That's top catting.
December 16, 2025 at 11:44 AM
That's top catting.
He was known for his love of doughnuts and for his bat-hunting prowess. He would catch them in mid-air by leaping from a tree. The bats, not the doughnuts. To my great regret, I never met him.
December 16, 2025 at 11:43 AM
He was known for his love of doughnuts and for his bat-hunting prowess. He would catch them in mid-air by leaping from a tree. The bats, not the doughnuts. To my great regret, I never met him.
I had a brown tabby named Dinah, of blessed and glorious memory.
December 16, 2025 at 11:41 AM
I had a brown tabby named Dinah, of blessed and glorious memory.
One of the finest cats I ever knew was called Reggie. And my wife's beloved childhood cat was Ralph. Mind you, one of her family's other cats rejoiced in the name Turkey Grunt. That was the name he arrived with, apparently.
December 16, 2025 at 11:39 AM
One of the finest cats I ever knew was called Reggie. And my wife's beloved childhood cat was Ralph. Mind you, one of her family's other cats rejoiced in the name Turkey Grunt. That was the name he arrived with, apparently.
Let's try to get the OED to adopt it as next year's Word of the Year!
December 16, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Let's try to get the OED to adopt it as next year's Word of the Year!
I'd really rather not be related to Farage and Yaxley-Lennon, if it's all the same to you.
December 15, 2025 at 10:22 AM
I'd really rather not be related to Farage and Yaxley-Lennon, if it's all the same to you.
We're gonna need a bigger litter box!
December 14, 2025 at 11:12 AM
We're gonna need a bigger litter box!
Most software developers are nodding and thinking "this is my life too".
December 14, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Most software developers are nodding and thinking "this is my life too".
Yup, that's definitely some language. I guess the code works!
December 14, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Yup, that's definitely some language. I guess the code works!
He is risen! Yea verily he is risen!
December 14, 2025 at 11:04 AM
He is risen! Yea verily he is risen!
The REF is a huge and pointless exercise which is gamed ruthlessly by university administrators, to the great detriment of the quality of actual research, and it does immense harm to the careers of most academics.
December 14, 2025 at 10:56 AM
The REF is a huge and pointless exercise which is gamed ruthlessly by university administrators, to the great detriment of the quality of actual research, and it does immense harm to the careers of most academics.
Indeed. Only my friends are allowed to call me {{ customer.first_name }}. And they'd better enunciate those opening and closing brackets clearly if they want to stay on the friends list!
December 13, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Indeed. Only my friends are allowed to call me {{ customer.first_name }}. And they'd better enunciate those opening and closing brackets clearly if they want to stay on the friends list!
Won't somebody think of all those poor, starving vice chancellors?
December 11, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Won't somebody think of all those poor, starving vice chancellors?
My mother taught me to read using the British equivalent of the Dick & Jane books, back in the 1960s, before I even started school. I cannot remember a time when I was unable to read, and I am so grateful to my mother for the gift of literacy.
December 9, 2025 at 11:19 AM
My mother taught me to read using the British equivalent of the Dick & Jane books, back in the 1960s, before I even started school. I cannot remember a time when I was unable to read, and I am so grateful to my mother for the gift of literacy.
That's a good-looking micropanther. Reminds me of my dear old black cat Molly, of blessed and glorious memory.
December 8, 2025 at 8:52 AM
That's a good-looking micropanther. Reminds me of my dear old black cat Molly, of blessed and glorious memory.
I know, right?
December 7, 2025 at 9:07 AM
I know, right?
You should probably open a window. The cat will thank you later.
December 7, 2025 at 7:27 AM
You should probably open a window. The cat will thank you later.