Eugene Wallingford
@wallingf.bsky.social
University professor, programmer, ...
Public universities FTW!
"Even after accounting for the upfront costs and delayed benefits, enrolling marginal applicants to public universities generates substantial net returns for society, the marginal students themselves, and the government budget."
Public Universities FTW!
Public Universities FTW!
December 25, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Public universities FTW!
Reposted by Eugene Wallingford
(Side note: The OU paper's tagline is "Know Sooner," which is great.)
December 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
(Side note: The OU paper's tagline is "Know Sooner," which is great.)
I feel like @simon@simonwillison.net understands me:
"This is a /terrible/ way to assemble HTML, but I've stuck with it because it amuses me."
simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/19/...
"This is a /terrible/ way to assemble HTML, but I've stuck with it because it amuses me."
simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/19/...
How I automate my Substack newsletter with content from my blog
I sent out my weekly-ish Substack newsletter this morning and took the opportunity to record a YouTube video demonstrating my process and describing the different components that make it work. …
simonwillison.net
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
I feel like @simon@simonwillison.net understands me:
"This is a /terrible/ way to assemble HTML, but I've stuck with it because it amuses me."
simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/19/...
"This is a /terrible/ way to assemble HTML, but I've stuck with it because it amuses me."
simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/19/...
+1
I have made it to the end of class before Thanksgiving week.
And I am SO FRICKIN’ HAPPY and exhausted.
And I am SO FRICKIN’ HAPPY and exhausted.
November 21, 2025 at 3:34 AM
+1
Reposted by Eugene Wallingford
Candide, Voltaire. When we face reality clearly and without the narcotic of false optimism, there is nothing left but the work in front of us. We must all tend to the garden.
July 1, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Candide, Voltaire. When we face reality clearly and without the narcotic of false optimism, there is nothing left but the work in front of us. We must all tend to the garden.
Reposted by Eugene Wallingford
Here is the students' @idsnews.bsky.social report out of Indiana University, where the student media director was fired today. www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS
Indiana University directed the IDS to stop printing news.
www.idsnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Here is the students' @idsnews.bsky.social report out of Indiana University, where the student media director was fired today. www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
"You're all under the illusion that code can change the world on its own."
azhdarchid.com/jay-graber-c...
azhdarchid.com/jay-graber-c...
Jay Graber Confuses the Gas and Brake Pedals
As your new Head of Comms I advise you to please stop posting this shit.
azhdarchid.com
October 9, 2025 at 8:27 PM
"You're all under the illusion that code can change the world on its own."
azhdarchid.com/jay-graber-c...
azhdarchid.com/jay-graber-c...
My state of residence continues to embarrass.
This is getting wild.
The states of Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and 14 others have just asked for permission to file THEIR amicus brief in IL v. Trump.
The states of Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and 14 others have just asked for permission to file THEIR amicus brief in IL v. Trump.
October 9, 2025 at 3:03 AM
My state of residence continues to embarrass.
Reposted by Eugene Wallingford
Nominating "There's no justification for this however you cut it but the beatings will continue until a stillborn god is born." for perfect sentences, @lifewinning.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Nominating "There's no justification for this however you cut it but the beatings will continue until a stillborn god is born." for perfect sentences, @lifewinning.com
This week, I learned about Tyler Childers and his new album, Snipe Hunter, from a couple of posts by @stevenhyden.bsky.social. I listened to the album and liked it.
What I want to know is, why hadn't anyone already told me about the song "Bitin' List"? It's my new favorite.
What I want to know is, why hadn't anyone already told me about the song "Bitin' List"? It's my new favorite.
August 16, 2025 at 7:35 PM
This week, I learned about Tyler Childers and his new album, Snipe Hunter, from a couple of posts by @stevenhyden.bsky.social. I listened to the album and liked it.
What I want to know is, why hadn't anyone already told me about the song "Bitin' List"? It's my new favorite.
What I want to know is, why hadn't anyone already told me about the song "Bitin' List"? It's my new favorite.
The Replacements
The Big Chill
What About Bob?
The Big Chill
What About Bob?
today's online parlor game:
Name up to three films whose lines you endlessly quote in all sorts of contexts.
As is traditional, I'll go first:
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• Love and Death
• The Sunshine Boys*
*So yes, films based on plays are fine.
Name up to three films whose lines you endlessly quote in all sorts of contexts.
As is traditional, I'll go first:
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• Love and Death
• The Sunshine Boys*
*So yes, films based on plays are fine.
August 14, 2025 at 3:21 AM
The Replacements
The Big Chill
What About Bob?
The Big Chill
What About Bob?
I didn't know that 'Barbie' was available on Netflix until I learned that it was leaving Netflix this month. Fortunately we had one week's notice. Last night, we finally watched it. 1/2
July 13, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I didn't know that 'Barbie' was available on Netflix until I learned that it was leaving Netflix this month. Fortunately we had one week's notice. Last night, we finally watched it. 1/2
"Taking this to its logical extent, we might reach a peculiar endpoint where the price of highly skilled labor tends to be set not by who will put it to its highest productive use, but who can best afford to destroy it."
matthewbutterick.com/chron/the-br...
matthewbutterick.com/chron/the-br...
The Broadway paradox: Matthew Butterick
Matthew Butterick
matthewbutterick.com
July 13, 2025 at 5:19 PM
"Taking this to its logical extent, we might reach a peculiar endpoint where the price of highly skilled labor tends to be set not by who will put it to its highest productive use, but who can best afford to destroy it."
matthewbutterick.com/chron/the-br...
matthewbutterick.com/chron/the-br...
And here I sit, a fan of the only team with fewer wins than the Pirates.
Postseason Wins Since 1998:
113 NYY
77 HOU
73 LAD
69 STL
68 BOS
50 SF
49 ATL
47 PHI
35 CLE NYM
33 TEX
29 DET
28 ARI TB
25 CHC KC
21 LAA
20 SD
19 WSH
18 ATH
14 CWS MIL
13 MIA
11 SEA
10 TOR
9 COL MIN
6 BAL
3 PIT
2 CIN
113 NYY
77 HOU
73 LAD
69 STL
68 BOS
50 SF
49 ATL
47 PHI
35 CLE NYM
33 TEX
29 DET
28 ARI TB
25 CHC KC
21 LAA
20 SD
19 WSH
18 ATH
14 CWS MIL
13 MIA
11 SEA
10 TOR
9 COL MIN
6 BAL
3 PIT
2 CIN
July 3, 2025 at 3:56 AM
And here I sit, a fan of the only team with fewer wins than the Pirates.
Finally read @sockpuppet.org 's article. It is the latest of several blog posts that are persuading me I need to dig into agentic coding. (*)
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
fly.io/blog/youre-a...
(*) Is it at least okay that I really dislike the new word "agentic"?
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
fly.io/blog/youre-a...
(*) Is it at least okay that I really dislike the new word "agentic"?
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
My smartest friends have bananas arguments about LLM coding.
fly.io
June 18, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Finally read @sockpuppet.org 's article. It is the latest of several blog posts that are persuading me I need to dig into agentic coding. (*)
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
fly.io/blog/youre-a...
(*) Is it at least okay that I really dislike the new word "agentic"?
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
fly.io/blog/youre-a...
(*) Is it at least okay that I really dislike the new word "agentic"?
TIL about Paul Otlet, who spent years creating a Yahoo-like directory of all published knowledge at the beginning of the 1900s.
"The real benefit that reluctant young lawyers like Otlet get from their career is boredom. Their minds wander."
www.commonreader.co.uk/p/let-there-...
"The real benefit that reluctant young lawyers like Otlet get from their career is boredom. Their minds wander."
www.commonreader.co.uk/p/let-there-...
Let there be more biographies of failures
Let there be more biographies of failures, people who were ignored by the world, whose ideas came before their time, whose great work was left in ruins.
www.commonreader.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 12:42 AM
TIL about Paul Otlet, who spent years creating a Yahoo-like directory of all published knowledge at the beginning of the 1900s.
"The real benefit that reluctant young lawyers like Otlet get from their career is boredom. Their minds wander."
www.commonreader.co.uk/p/let-there-...
"The real benefit that reluctant young lawyers like Otlet get from their career is boredom. Their minds wander."
www.commonreader.co.uk/p/let-there-...
To experiment Is human
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
... and that's especially true for humans in CS.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
... and that's especially true for humans in CS.
May 30, 2025 at 11:20 PM
To experiment Is human
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
... and that's especially true for humans in CS.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
... and that's especially true for humans in CS.
I hadn't heard this song in a while. This lyric stood out today:
Well I'm heavenly blessed
And worldly wise
I'm a peeping Tom techie
With x-ray eyes
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrr...
Well I'm heavenly blessed
And worldly wise
I'm a peeping Tom techie
With x-ray eyes
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrr...
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright
YouTube video by Timbuk3VEVO
www.youtube.com
May 29, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I hadn't heard this song in a while. This lyric stood out today:
Well I'm heavenly blessed
And worldly wise
I'm a peeping Tom techie
With x-ray eyes
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrr...
Well I'm heavenly blessed
And worldly wise
I'm a peeping Tom techie
With x-ray eyes
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrr...
The only way to know what it's like to run mile 22 is to run 21 miles first.
We experience something similar when learning to program.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
We experience something similar when learning to program.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
Knowing and Doing: May 2025 Archives
The last sentence is so incisive that I almost paraphrased only it: "The only way to know what it's like to run mile 22 is to run 21 miles first. You can't shortcut your way there."
www.cs.uni.edu
May 15, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The only way to know what it's like to run mile 22 is to run 21 miles first.
We experience something similar when learning to program.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
We experience something similar when learning to program.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
This article makes me happy. The author has spent years studying a pet problem, applying ideas from data structures, algorithms, and parallel computation to finally answer the question that has been driving him.
After 20 Years, the Globally Optimal Boggle Board
www.danvk.org/2025/04/23/b...
After 20 Years, the Globally Optimal Boggle Board
www.danvk.org/2025/04/23/b...
After 20 Years, the Globally Optimal Boggle Board
www.danvk.org
April 27, 2025 at 1:40 AM
This article makes me happy. The author has spent years studying a pet problem, applying ideas from data structures, algorithms, and parallel computation to finally answer the question that has been driving him.
After 20 Years, the Globally Optimal Boggle Board
www.danvk.org/2025/04/23/b...
After 20 Years, the Globally Optimal Boggle Board
www.danvk.org/2025/04/23/b...
In the notes for my class Tuesday, I made a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, commander of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Then it struck me. ST:TNG is nearly *two decades* older for my students than the original Star Trek was for me and my classmates.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
Then it struck me. ST:TNG is nearly *two decades* older for my students than the original Star Trek was for me and my classmates.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
Knowing and Doing: April 2025 Archives
In the notes for my class Tuesday, I made a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, commander of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
www.cs.uni.edu
April 11, 2025 at 1:04 AM
In the notes for my class Tuesday, I made a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, commander of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Then it struck me. ST:TNG is nearly *two decades* older for my students than the original Star Trek was for me and my classmates.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
Then it struck me. ST:TNG is nearly *two decades* older for my students than the original Star Trek was for me and my classmates.
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
My Tigers are in first! The promise of April.
April 5, 2025 at 4:03 AM
My Tigers are in first! The promise of April.
The Chronicle of Higher Education sent me an email message with a subject line of:
"What to Know Before Becoming a Dean"
Based on my twenty years experience as a department head, my answer is:
Don't
"What to Know Before Becoming a Dean"
Based on my twenty years experience as a department head, my answer is:
Don't
March 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
The Chronicle of Higher Education sent me an email message with a subject line of:
"What to Know Before Becoming a Dean"
Based on my twenty years experience as a department head, my answer is:
Don't
"What to Know Before Becoming a Dean"
Based on my twenty years experience as a department head, my answer is:
Don't
"I find no sight more splendid than the face of a student who has been taken seriously as a thinker for the first time."
a short post
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
a short post
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
Knowing and Doing: March 2025 Archives
It really is splendid to see the eyes of a student who has been taken seriously as a thinker for the first time, who realizes just then that they, too, can think serious thoughts.
www.cs.uni.edu
March 15, 2025 at 1:41 AM
"I find no sight more splendid than the face of a student who has been taken seriously as a thinker for the first time."
a short post
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
a short post
www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/bl...
I woke up today planning to skip an unnecessary meeting, only to find that it had been canceled. I gotta say, I feel a little cheated.
March 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I woke up today planning to skip an unnecessary meeting, only to find that it had been canceled. I gotta say, I feel a little cheated.