Nick Gibbins
@nick.gark.net
Computer science lecturer, film and SF geek, gaming nerd (particularly the #TravellerRPG), manned spaceflight aficionado (but nothing Musky). cis, he/him. Born at 327.5 ppm.
Unpopular opinion, but I think that the utility of Knuth's TAoCP is much overstated.
It's comprehensive, and has for many years been considered the sine qua non, but I've found that other reference works on algorithms are far more useful in practice (e.g. Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein).
It's comprehensive, and has for many years been considered the sine qua non, but I've found that other reference works on algorithms are far more useful in practice (e.g. Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein).
Why am I only now learning about this reference book? Could have done with it when I started my PhD.
September 29, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Unpopular opinion, but I think that the utility of Knuth's TAoCP is much overstated.
It's comprehensive, and has for many years been considered the sine qua non, but I've found that other reference works on algorithms are far more useful in practice (e.g. Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein).
It's comprehensive, and has for many years been considered the sine qua non, but I've found that other reference works on algorithms are far more useful in practice (e.g. Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein).
The credulity of some people continues to amaze me.
Alas, this is not "Cary Grant's mugshot when he was arrested for being drunk & disorderly in 1959", as claimed by @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
This is a continuity photograph taken during the filming of North by Northwest, for scenes 48 and 49.
Alas, this is not "Cary Grant's mugshot when he was arrested for being drunk & disorderly in 1959", as claimed by @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
This is a continuity photograph taken during the filming of North by Northwest, for scenes 48 and 49.
September 28, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The credulity of some people continues to amaze me.
Alas, this is not "Cary Grant's mugshot when he was arrested for being drunk & disorderly in 1959", as claimed by @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
This is a continuity photograph taken during the filming of North by Northwest, for scenes 48 and 49.
Alas, this is not "Cary Grant's mugshot when he was arrested for being drunk & disorderly in 1959", as claimed by @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
This is a continuity photograph taken during the filming of North by Northwest, for scenes 48 and 49.
Thermodynamics is *among* the issues. Inter-satellite latency is another, as are environmental hazards (both radiation and debris), and the difficulty of upgrading servers when they’re on-orbit.
I am still unconvinced by the possibility of doing this at any scale purely because of the laws of thermodynamics. If it was going to work, ironically, it would need Starship and I'm still somewhat skeptical that will ever work as promised.
September 25, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Thermodynamics is *among* the issues. Inter-satellite latency is another, as are environmental hazards (both radiation and debris), and the difficulty of upgrading servers when they’re on-orbit.
Oh, and Brexit was obviously a third significant source of damage to UK HE, in terms of both student recruitment and international research collaborations.
At what point do we admit that the financial crisis in UK HE has left the “gradually” phase and entered “suddenly”?
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
September 17, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Oh, and Brexit was obviously a third significant source of damage to UK HE, in terms of both student recruitment and international research collaborations.
At what point do we admit that the financial crisis in UK HE has left the “gradually” phase and entered “suddenly”?
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
September 17, 2026 at 5:01 PM
At what point do we admit that the financial crisis in UK HE has left the “gradually” phase and entered “suddenly”?
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
This was all predictable, due to the erosion of tuition fee income (no meaningful uplift since 2010) and the hostile environment making the UK unattractive to overseas students.
The *only* reason for watching Birth of a Nation* is to more fully understand it as the propaganda it is.
* likewise Olympia, The Triumph of the Will, arguably Gone with the Wind…
* likewise Olympia, The Triumph of the Will, arguably Gone with the Wind…
If you are unfamiliar, the 1915 KKK recruitment film BIRTH OF A NATION was marketed as pioneering cinema in order to get its message into theaters. It did not invent anything, they lied, it was always about the racism.
Modern people still believe that lie. So I have to inform them they are wrong
Modern people still believe that lie. So I have to inform them they are wrong
Test Spray
ALT: Test Spray
static.klipy.com
September 16, 2026 at 4:35 PM
The *only* reason for watching Birth of a Nation* is to more fully understand it as the propaganda it is.
* likewise Olympia, The Triumph of the Will, arguably Gone with the Wind…
* likewise Olympia, The Triumph of the Will, arguably Gone with the Wind…
A couple of impulse buys during an exam board last week turned up today - and now I own a comptometer and an Odhner arithmometer that my students can play with on my history of computing module.
Now looking out for a Burroughs calculator.
Now looking out for a Burroughs calculator.
September 12, 2026 at 6:14 PM
A couple of impulse buys during an exam board last week turned up today - and now I own a comptometer and an Odhner arithmometer that my students can play with on my history of computing module.
Now looking out for a Burroughs calculator.
Now looking out for a Burroughs calculator.
I’ve just realised that this is the same Lewis Page that used to write for The Register a decade ago. Given that his stablemate Orlowski ended up in Spiked, I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet here I am.
Hell yeah. Hell yeah brother. Here we go. Hit me with this content. Hell yeah. I can feel it.
September 10, 2026 at 6:28 PM
I’ve just realised that this is the same Lewis Page that used to write for The Register a decade ago. Given that his stablemate Orlowski ended up in Spiked, I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet here I am.
The US government is being run by 14yo edgelords. This is just pure cringe.
August 29, 2026 at 7:46 AM
The US government is being run by 14yo edgelords. This is just pure cringe.
Regarding unilateral changes to long-established hydronyms, I’m quite surprised that there hasn’t been a campaign to rename sewage works.
“The Donald J. Trump Wastewater Treatment Plant” has a nice ring to it, and is especially fitting given that both are full of shit.
“The Donald J. Trump Wastewater Treatment Plant” has a nice ring to it, and is especially fitting given that both are full of shit.
August 28, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Regarding unilateral changes to long-established hydronyms, I’m quite surprised that there hasn’t been a campaign to rename sewage works.
“The Donald J. Trump Wastewater Treatment Plant” has a nice ring to it, and is especially fitting given that both are full of shit.
“The Donald J. Trump Wastewater Treatment Plant” has a nice ring to it, and is especially fitting given that both are full of shit.
Best Star Trek crew, wrong answers only.
August 25, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Best Star Trek crew, wrong answers only.
I shall be stealing this analogy for OAuth when I come to teach it again this coming semester.
(I like my existing slides, but it’s a fiddly protocol and anything that makes it easier for students to understand is fine by me)
edshare.soton.ac.uk/21143/
(I like my existing slides, but it’s a fiddly protocol and anything that makes it easier for students to understand is fine by me)
edshare.soton.ac.uk/21143/
August 19, 2026 at 9:17 AM
I shall be stealing this analogy for OAuth when I come to teach it again this coming semester.
(I like my existing slides, but it’s a fiddly protocol and anything that makes it easier for students to understand is fine by me)
edshare.soton.ac.uk/21143/
(I like my existing slides, but it’s a fiddly protocol and anything that makes it easier for students to understand is fine by me)
edshare.soton.ac.uk/21143/
Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints. Still a cracking album 36 (!) years later.
August 18, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints. Still a cracking album 36 (!) years later.
Couldn’t really be anything else.
August 18, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Couldn’t really be anything else.
For me, it’s the early-60s library in Upminster, where I grew up. Despite the unprepossessing exterior (I wish they hadn’t glazed in the porch), it was light and airy inside with a mezzanine at the front of the building that let you look down over the book stock.
August 17, 2026 at 7:11 PM
For me, it’s the early-60s library in Upminster, where I grew up. Despite the unprepossessing exterior (I wish they hadn’t glazed in the porch), it was light and airy inside with a mezzanine at the front of the building that let you look down over the book stock.
The response to @sainsburys.bsky.social claiming a 99.98% accuracy for their facial recognition system should be to ask them to give the formal definition of accuracy, and then to state the rate of Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) errors.
One of several reasons I try to avoid self-service tills (and, in general, all in-store shopping).
Sainsbury's pauses London store's AI cameras after man ousted
August 17, 2026 at 8:22 AM
The response to @sainsburys.bsky.social claiming a 99.98% accuracy for their facial recognition system should be to ask them to give the formal definition of accuracy, and then to state the rate of Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) errors.
Oi! Goffick! Shoes off the bed!
July 22, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Oi! Goffick! Shoes off the bed!
The score is now one-all in the mischaracterisation of UK vs US cuisine; this is presumably revenge for the “UK food has no flavour” taunts.
Shenandoah is the only part of Appalachia that I’ve visited, but I would have thought that seaweed was not a common ingredient.
Shenandoah is the only part of Appalachia that I’ve visited, but I would have thought that seaweed was not a common ingredient.
Are the Americans awake yet?
Okay so a restaurant just opened in London called ‘Appalachia’ and this is their ‘June’ menu; discuss
Okay so a restaurant just opened in London called ‘Appalachia’ and this is their ‘June’ menu; discuss
July 9, 2026 at 3:38 PM
The score is now one-all in the mischaracterisation of UK vs US cuisine; this is presumably revenge for the “UK food has no flavour” taunts.
Shenandoah is the only part of Appalachia that I’ve visited, but I would have thought that seaweed was not a common ingredient.
Shenandoah is the only part of Appalachia that I’ve visited, but I would have thought that seaweed was not a common ingredient.
Reposted by Nick Gibbins
I’m stepping down from my admin role of 20 years - an unprecedented innings, and a role I greatly enjoyed. My loading for it was about 2.5 hours per week, but it took far more in practice.
My replacement is getting a day and half per week, plus two deputies.
It’s a compliment of sorts.
My replacement is getting a day and half per week, plus two deputies.
It’s a compliment of sorts.
July 8, 2026 at 6:56 PM
I’m stepping down from my admin role of 20 years - an unprecedented innings, and a role I greatly enjoyed. My loading for it was about 2.5 hours per week, but it took far more in practice.
My replacement is getting a day and half per week, plus two deputies.
It’s a compliment of sorts.
My replacement is getting a day and half per week, plus two deputies.
It’s a compliment of sorts.
He is not the real Count Binface; he inherited the costume from the previous Count Binface. The man he inherited it from was not the real Count Binface either - his name was Cummerbund. The real Binface has been retired for fifteen years and is living like a king in Patagonia.
For those who may not be aware, Count Binface is actually a serious comedian and historian, Jon Harvey, who did a very interesting series on BBC Radio 4 about the origins of democracy a few years ago.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Could an Ancient Athenian Fix Britain?, Episode 1: Know Thyself
Jon Harvey discovers why the essence of 21st Century democracy would horrify the Greeks
www.bbc.co.uk
July 8, 2026 at 5:10 PM
He is not the real Count Binface; he inherited the costume from the previous Count Binface. The man he inherited it from was not the real Count Binface either - his name was Cummerbund. The real Binface has been retired for fifteen years and is living like a king in Patagonia.
There is nothing quite so depressing as a conversation with an old and dear friend who has thoroughly AI-pilled themselves and is now convinced that they’ve discovered (with the help of an LLM) a Theory of Everything that will upend all physics.
June 26, 2026 at 5:41 AM
There is nothing quite so depressing as a conversation with an old and dear friend who has thoroughly AI-pilled themselves and is now convinced that they’ve discovered (with the help of an LLM) a Theory of Everything that will upend all physics.
Me, packing my bag before leaving the house for work: there’s no point lugging around an umbrella today, is there?
June 23, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Me, packing my bag before leaving the house for work: there’s no point lugging around an umbrella today, is there?
The mature lime tree outside our house is now in full bloom. Not only is the air full of its scent, but there’s also a pronounced hum from the hundreds and hundreds of bees that are harvesting nectar from it.
June 18, 2026 at 6:27 PM
The mature lime tree outside our house is now in full bloom. Not only is the air full of its scent, but there’s also a pronounced hum from the hundreds and hundreds of bees that are harvesting nectar from it.
Three-way split between:
* Usenet before the Eternal September
* LiveJournal before it was sold to the Russians and
* Cheeseplant’s House[1] before it got shut down.
[1] orchid.warwick.ac.uk:2001 as ane fule kno.
* Usenet before the Eternal September
* LiveJournal before it was sold to the Russians and
* Cheeseplant’s House[1] before it got shut down.
[1] orchid.warwick.ac.uk:2001 as ane fule kno.
Can I ask y’all a genuine question?
In all your life online, what’s the greatest social media you’ve ever used?
In all your life online, what’s the greatest social media you’ve ever used?
June 16, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Three-way split between:
* Usenet before the Eternal September
* LiveJournal before it was sold to the Russians and
* Cheeseplant’s House[1] before it got shut down.
[1] orchid.warwick.ac.uk:2001 as ane fule kno.
* Usenet before the Eternal September
* LiveJournal before it was sold to the Russians and
* Cheeseplant’s House[1] before it got shut down.
[1] orchid.warwick.ac.uk:2001 as ane fule kno.