Niema Moshiri
@niema.net
Associate Teaching Professor of Computer Science at UC San Diego, Bioinformatician by training, SD-raised. https://niema.net
My best friends got our baby such amazing gifts for our baby shower 😂 They know me too well 🤌
November 23, 2025 at 5:34 AM
My best friends got our baby such amazing gifts for our baby shower 😂 They know me too well 🤌
Some screenshots from tonight's session of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth! This game is such a work of art 😍
November 16, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Some screenshots from tonight's session of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth! This game is such a work of art 😍
This is a real screenshot from the discussion board of the Advanced Data Structures class I'm teaching right now 😂
(the Syllabus mentions that FF7 is my favorite game, and it was a question on the first Reading Quiz to ensure students read the Syllabus)
(the Syllabus mentions that FF7 is my favorite game, and it was a question on the first Reading Quiz to ensure students read the Syllabus)
November 11, 2025 at 9:13 PM
This is a real screenshot from the discussion board of the Advanced Data Structures class I'm teaching right now 😂
(the Syllabus mentions that FF7 is my favorite game, and it was a question on the first Reading Quiz to ensure students read the Syllabus)
(the Syllabus mentions that FF7 is my favorite game, and it was a question on the first Reading Quiz to ensure students read the Syllabus)
Friendsgiving leftovers and tea for breakfast 🤌
November 9, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Friendsgiving leftovers and tea for breakfast 🤌
GISAID's rationale is particularly ridiculous given that, as of right now, there are ~17 million SARS-CoV-2 complete genomes on GISAID: the genome sequence is ~30 KB, so we're talking about ~550 GB uncompressed, which I'd estimate ~21 GB gzipped and even smaller for better compression methods
November 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM
GISAID's rationale is particularly ridiculous given that, as of right now, there are ~17 million SARS-CoV-2 complete genomes on GISAID: the genome sequence is ~30 KB, so we're talking about ~550 GB uncompressed, which I'd estimate ~21 GB gzipped and even smaller for better compression methods
Had our first in-person guest lecturer in my History of Video Games seminar! Big thanks to Scott Rudi, a Design Director at Respawn Games (previously at @riotgames.com, Psyonix, Wargaming Seattle, Disney Interactive, Red 5, Zipper Interactive, Sierra Online, EA, etc.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0O...
November 6, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Had our first in-person guest lecturer in my History of Video Games seminar! Big thanks to Scott Rudi, a Design Director at Respawn Games (previously at @riotgames.com, Psyonix, Wargaming Seattle, Disney Interactive, Red 5, Zipper Interactive, Sierra Online, EA, etc.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0O...
So ready for laser tag to come back! You're looking at a Level 6 Lasermaster 😎
November 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
So ready for laser tag to come back! You're looking at a Level 6 Lasermaster 😎
Does this count as a mainline Final Fantasy game? 👀👉👈
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Does this count as a mainline Final Fantasy game? 👀👉👈
I'm pretty sure that's the textbook definition of a war crime according to 18 U.S. Code § 2441(d)(1)(D) www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...
October 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I'm pretty sure that's the textbook definition of a war crime according to 18 U.S. Code § 2441(d)(1)(D) www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...
"Disrupting the Game" by Reggie Fils-Aimé is by far one of my favorite memoirs! Great audiobook, read by him! www.goodreads.com/book/show/58...
"Doom Guy" by @johnromero.bsky.social is also one of my favorites, also read by the author! Highly recommend both www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...
"Doom Guy" by @johnromero.bsky.social is also one of my favorites, also read by the author! Highly recommend both www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...
October 18, 2025 at 12:04 AM
"Disrupting the Game" by Reggie Fils-Aimé is by far one of my favorite memoirs! Great audiobook, read by him! www.goodreads.com/book/show/58...
"Doom Guy" by @johnromero.bsky.social is also one of my favorites, also read by the author! Highly recommend both www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...
"Doom Guy" by @johnromero.bsky.social is also one of my favorites, also read by the author! Highly recommend both www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...
I'm listening to "Rise" (Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, Philip Wang), which details the various forms of racism (both systemic and personal) experienced by East and Southeast (and briefly South) Asian Americans, and I really hope we get something similar about the experiences of Middle Eastern Americans
October 16, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I'm listening to "Rise" (Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, Philip Wang), which details the various forms of racism (both systemic and personal) experienced by East and Southeast (and briefly South) Asian Americans, and I really hope we get something similar about the experiences of Middle Eastern Americans
Literally back-to-back posts on my timeline (those random people in those work vans who were detained are innocent bystanders who are probably feeling pretty hurt right about now) 🤷♂️
October 13, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Literally back-to-back posts on my timeline (those random people in those work vans who were detained are innocent bystanders who are probably feeling pretty hurt right about now) 🤷♂️
Listened to the audiobook for @markhoppus.bsky.social's memoir "Fahrenheit-182" and I really enjoyed it! I grew up in SD listening to blink-182, and it was cool hearing descriptions of things I experienced (e.g. watching local band open for headliner at SOMA). Super emotional too; highly recommend!!
October 12, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Listened to the audiobook for @markhoppus.bsky.social's memoir "Fahrenheit-182" and I really enjoyed it! I grew up in SD listening to blink-182, and it was cool hearing descriptions of things I experienced (e.g. watching local band open for headliner at SOMA). Super emotional too; highly recommend!!
Great game, and it had both a movie and TV show adaptation as well!
October 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Great game, and it had both a movie and TV show adaptation as well!
Fun weekend in San Francisco! Ate some delicious pastries, saw some cool retro electronic and video games, and had some bomb pizza!
October 5, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Fun weekend in San Francisco! Ate some delicious pastries, saw some cool retro electronic and video games, and had some bomb pizza!
One of my favorite movies of all time!
September 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
One of my favorite movies of all time!
The absolute masterpiece that is Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth 🎮
September 22, 2025 at 8:51 PM
The absolute masterpiece that is Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth 🎮
Just finished listening to @mikedrucker.bsky.social's stellar audiobook for "Good Game, No Rematch," and you should check it out too! By far one of my favorite books of all time! www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
September 18, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Just finished listening to @mikedrucker.bsky.social's stellar audiobook for "Good Game, No Rematch," and you should check it out too! By far one of my favorite books of all time! www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
Yikes, that's effectively impossible given that they haven't disclosed who exactly is doing what, right? Here was my original FOIA request and the responses I got from different offices
![According to Rep. Mike Johnson, "enormous amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse" arebeing found "with [Elon Musk's] algorithms crawling through the data of [the] SocialSecurity system" (timestamp 15:43 of the following interview on Meet the Press):
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/march-2-speaker-johnson-sen-lankford-and-sen-sanders-233293893558
Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I would like to request the following agency records: The specific algorithms being used by Elon Musk and/or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE,https://doge.gov/) and/or the United States Digital Service (USDS, https://www.usds.gov/) and/or the United States DOGE Service (USDS, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency/) to "[find]enormous amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse" in the "data of the Social Security system" mentioned by Rep. Johnson. I would specifically like to request the actual source code implementation (i.e., plain-text source code files) of these algorithms in whatever programming language they were implemented to perform the search described by Rep. Johnson. If the actual source code implementation is inaccessible via FOIA for whatever reason, I would like to request (1) the exact reason as to why the source code is unavailable (as a plain-text file), and (2) the most specific algorithm pseudocode (as a plain-text file) that can be shared via FOIA (e.g. redact confidential information about how government systems operate). Before submitting this request, I attempted to use the FOIA Search Tool, but I was unable to find the records described above via any of the following search queries: "Department of Government Efficiency","DOGE", "United States Digital Service", "United States DOGE Service", and "USDS". I also attempted to find an appropriate FOIA contact via the FOIA Contact Download page (https://www.foia.gov/foia-contact-download.html), bu…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pjpbkfa23a6tynlj4rh44kq4/bafkreiaudphd7jpapgbeluxp5rc3xmjb6cyk7h7imylxykqngepb77bu3m@jpeg)
![Dear Mr. Moshiri:
I am responding to your March 2, 2025 request Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the Social Security Administration (SSA) wherein you request the following:
1. The specific algorithms being used by Elon Musk and/or the Department of Government
Efficiency (DOGE), https://doge.gov/) and/or the United States Digital Service (USDS),
https://www.usds.gov/) and/or the United States DOGE Service (USDS,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidentialactions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-
thepresidents-department-of-government-efficiency/ ) to "[find] enormous amounts of
fraud, waste, and abuse" in the "data of the Social Security system" mentioned by
[Representative] (Rep.) Johnson; and
2. The actual source code implementation (i.e., plain-text source code files) of these
algorithms in whatever programming language they were implemented to perform the
search described by Rep. Johnson.
You further advise:
“If the actual source code implementation is inaccessible via FOIA for whatever
reason, I would like to request:
(1) the exact reason as to why the source code is unavailable (as a plain-
text file); and
(2) the most specific algorithm pseudocode (as a plain-text file) that can be
shared via FOIA (e.g. redact confidential information about how
government systems operate).
Before submitting this request, I attempted to use the FOIA Search Tool, but I
was unable to find the records described above via any of the following search
queries: "Department of Government Efficiency," "DOGE," "United States
Digital Service," "United States DOGE Service," and "USDS." I also attempted to find an appropriate FOIA contact via the FOIA Contact Download page
https://www.foia.gov/foiacontact-download.html), but the CSV file that was
downloaded when I clicked the, "Download the full FOIA contacts list" button on
the page did not seem to contain a contact for. "Department of Government
Efficiency," "DOGE," "United St…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pjpbkfa23a6tynlj4rh44kq4/bafkreic4lymmgonulhuug2gwp5erltlagh6agjhmgblh5weh6clzvyrm6i@jpeg)
![Dear Alexander Moshiri,
This email responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 3, 2025, and assigned tracking number 2025-866. Your FOIA request seeks “the specific algorithms being used by Elon Musk and/or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, https://doge.gov/) and/or the United States Digital Service (USDS, https://www.usds.gov/) and/or the United States DOGE Service (USDS,https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidentialactions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-thepresidents-department-of-government-efficiency/) to ’[find]enormous amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse’ in the ‘data of the Social Security system’ mentioned by Rep. Johnson.” You further seek the actual source code implementation of these algorithms.
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency is not a component of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14158 of January 20, 2025, “Establishing and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’” the United States Digital Service was publicly renamed and reformed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and was established in the Executive Office of the President. As a result, any USDS records created on or after January 20, 2025, are not within the legal custody and control of OMB. OMB does not process FOIA requests on behalf of USDS. We understand from your FOIA request that the National FOIA Portal provided you instructions to submit your USDS request to OMB. Unfortunately, this instruction was incorrect and we have posted a notice on our FOIA website making clear that “OMB does not process FOIA requests on behalf of [the United States DOGE Service].” We apologize for any inconvenience related to this misunderstanding.
Should you have any additional questions, you may contact the FOIA Requester Service Center or OMB’s FOIA Public Liaison at 202-395-FOIA. Additionally, you may contact the Offi…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pjpbkfa23a6tynlj4rh44kq4/bafkreidzhryw2gmm463wn7wzcy4vai3xz4tlbvtlljlrjn4tah4tk3s2kq@jpeg)
September 18, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Yikes, that's effectively impossible given that they haven't disclosed who exactly is doing what, right? Here was my original FOIA request and the responses I got from different offices
Also, why are 3 of them clearly not wearing socks with their fancy attire? 😬
September 17, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Also, why are 3 of them clearly not wearing socks with their fancy attire? 😬