Generic white guy SysAdmin
LightNews LightNews
banner
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Generic white guy SysAdmin
@westbynoreaster.bsky.social
530 followers 140 following 2.5K posts
#HPC #SysAdmin & aspiring #DevOps headed to Charlotte in the new year. #dHTC evangelist, and labor history nerd. #BLM! Opinions my own. he/him
Posts Replies Media Videos
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
This shit is coming to Charlotte, NC starting this weekend it seems.
First page of a letter from Mecklenburg Counth Sheriff’s office regarding the arrival of CBP personnel in the city starting as early as Saturday, Nov 15th 2025. The Chief states that MCSO has not had any requests that they participate in any action and promises to pass along further information when it’s available.
November 13, 2025 at 9:35 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
On flight from #CLT to #CMH at the start of my #PEARC25 journey. Doing some light pre-meeting reading while in route. 😇✊🏻
Red Book cover with Black & Yellow lettering of "Cyberlibertarianism: The Right-Wing Politics of Digital Technology" by the late David Golumbia.
July 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Literally THE NEXT COMIC
October 9th, two-thousand and ONE.
20 years of that shit and we knew from the jump.
www.mnftiu.cc/2001/10/09/w...
First Panel (Guy 1 looking right on a corded phone): Oh my God, this War On Terrorism is gonna rule! I can't wait until the war is over and there's no more terrorism! Second Panel (Guy 2 looking left on a corded phone): I know! Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War on Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore? It'll be just like that! Third Panel (Guy 1 looking right on a corded phone): Right! God, if only that War On Drugs hadn't been so effective! I could really use some fucking marijuana right now!
June 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Also still grinding my way through this beast of a PhD thesis project turned monograph. And always keeping our current era of #Gleichschaltung in mind as I go.
The title page of a late 60s era academic monograph Fritz K. Ringer The Decline of the German Mandarins The German Academic Community, 1890-1933 Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1969
June 15, 2025 at 2:02 AM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Inspired by the @inbedwiththeright.bsky.social month by month slog through #Project1933, I have Fritz Ringer's PhD thesis on "German (academic) Mandarins". But is there anything more recently published on this topic? 🤔 Gotta be *some* new incites in the last 55 years.
Title page of a 50+ year old monograph - Fritz Ringer - The Decline of the German Mandarins: the German Academic Community, 1890-1933 - Harvard University Press, Boston, Massachusetts - 1969
May 3, 2025 at 4:30 AM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
My pasty sunburnt self is enjoying fried chicken, rice & beans, and cabbage for lunch in far North Charlotte. For all the folks being food foolish, particularly @ southern US cooking, just NO.

Also, 1960s/70s white folk food fads existed. There are so many more deserving targets.
April 19, 2025 at 5:03 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
The true protectors of American universities have arrived.
A Canada goose roosting at the corner of a brick and concrete building looking out across campus. Tolerating the humans below.
February 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Second day of work after an unexpected dusting of snow here in Charlotte.
A photo of a laptop somewhat precariously perched on a pine wood end table in my apartment bedroom. The bright winter afternoon sun shines through as an adjacent apartment building is visible through the blinds.
January 22, 2025 at 6:34 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
First day at the new job! ✊🏻 Not felt cold like this since leaving Helsinki in 2021.
Looking down a brick & masonry stone building lined walkway on the UNC Charlotte campus. It's a cold day (21F / -6C) and everyone is bundled up. The sky is a bright grey befitting January. We may get some snow flakes today.
January 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Appropriate music on the flight to the USA.
phone screen shot of Pandora station which is playing Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound"
December 16, 2024 at 3:52 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Someone really wanted my ice cubes.
close up photo of a black lab beanie baby hugging a small plastic cup of ice while sitting on an airplane train table, facing the camera. both him and the adjacent Irish water bottle are lit from behind via an aircraft window while at altitude.
December 16, 2024 at 3:49 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
My watch dog
Black lab beanie baby seated on an olive backpack, and within a pair of over the ear headphones laying flat on the bag. All of this rests on a rather generic airport hotel room counter.
December 16, 2024 at 9:23 AM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Last full day in the UK, probably for a while. Been a US émigré for 6 years. Now we wait for a taxi to the train station.
A collection of luggage in an otherwise empty living room of a British flat. grey/white Samsonite suitcase stands upright on the left. smaller olive colored bags sit on the floor, leaning against a bright blue bicycle box. Atop said box, staring whistfully out the window is a small black lab beanie baby.
December 15, 2024 at 12:17 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Last work day in #Exeter Research IT. Many thanks to the colleagues here and across the UK that have made this sojourn entertaining. ✊🏻 Onwards to Charlotte, NC.
My goofy scraggly face wearing a sweatshirt, headphones around my neck and wearing a olive green backpack. Posing for a selfie outside the door to the IT office, which is undergoing needed renovations for the first time in decades as I am walking out the door. Above the fire door is a narrow blue placard that says "IT Services" in white, somewhat hard to read (no fill) stencil letters.
December 13, 2024 at 11:39 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Here are the five criteria that make up a *fully* distributed data processing system, an analysis that I think still holds up pretty well 55 years on.
Therefore what is presented might be considered the "research and development" definition of distributed data processing systems. This definition has five components: * A multiplicity of general-purpose resource components, including both physical and logical resources, that can be assigned to specific tasks on a dynamic basis. Homogeneity of physical resources is not essential. * A physical distribution of these physical and logical components of the system interacting through a communication network. (A network uses a two-party cooperative protocol to control the transfers of information.) * A high-level operating system that unifies and integrates the control of the distributed components. Individual processors each have their own local operating system, and these may be unique. * System transparency, permitting services to be requested by name only. The server does not have to be identified. * Cooperative autonomy, characterizing the operation and interaction of both' physical and logical resources. These properties and operating characteristics are present in a number of systems to varying degrees, providing some of the benefits listed in the table. However, only the combination of all of the criteria uniquely defines distributed data processing systems.
December 10, 2024 at 2:23 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
While the late author, understandably given his background and the time period, argues that this is "not anarchy", I know at least one scholar of #anarchist #constitutionalizing that may disagree.
A small black labrador beanie baby is positioned to make it look like it is reading a small book entitled "Anarchic Agreements: a Field Guide to Collective Organizing". It is very cute. If I remember correctly the photo was taken in a hotel bar as I was waiting for dinner at a trade union annual meeting.
December 10, 2024 at 2:14 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
This segment of the 1978 paper by Prof. Philip J Enslow on #distributed computing system remains thoroughly lodge in my mind. Particularly when contemplating the *intrinsic* politics of a particular technology.
ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/doc...
Cooperative autonomy This is the final, and perhaps most important, essential ingredient. A distributed data processing system must be designated so that the operations of all components or resources, both physical and logical, are very highly autonomous. At the physical level, this may be accomplished by the use of network transmission protocol in which the transmission of a message requires cooperative actions by both the sender and the receiver. At the logical level, between processes, the same degree of cooperation must exist. Further, any resource must be able to refuse a request for service, even after it has accepted the physical message. This is a result of the fact that there is no hierarchy of control within the system. This is not anarchy. All components follow a "master plan," which is reflected in the philosophy of the high-level operating system. This mode of operation should be described as cooperative autonomy rather than simply autonomy. A high degree of autonomy between all components is essential to attaining many of the benefits listed in the table, and this characteristic of system operation and component interaction will result only from meeting all of the five criteria of the definition.
December 10, 2024 at 2:07 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
If I may be a bit presumptive, here is Hull change in tuition income. 😇🫣
A time series line plot for each UK university showing the cumulative growth or lack there of income from student tuition fees from 2016/17 to 2022/23. The University of Hull's values are called out with bigger green circles on the figure and basically has remained static at 0% for that whole 7 year span. The values do not take into account inflation.
November 27, 2024 at 3:22 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Should have made this figure before replying, but yes, it's tuition income is down 10% on 2016/17 numbers NOT including inflation! 🫣 Inflation cumulatively across this time band is around 25%.
Time series of cumulative change in tuition fee income for each individual UKHE institution. While there is a massive scatter, the important point for this post is that the University of Brighton has seen its income slightly decline between the 2016/17 and 2022/23. From the Office of National Statistics, the CPIH inflation index has seen a nearly 25% rise in that same period. So while management in Brighton has not helped matters, declining revenue is deadly, especially with the inflation we have seen over the past few years. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/l522/mm23
November 27, 2024 at 1:17 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
But what about capital spending, you may shout? Eh... its a mixed bag from the broader numbers.

Given stagnant income, heavy capital spending is ill-advised but also it didn't break operating cash flow. External borrowing wasn't excessive.
This is an annual swarm plot (https://seaborn.pydata.org/examples/scatterplot_categorical.html) showing the amount of external long term borrowing as a percentage of annual income. A general rule of thumb is around 50% or lower is a reasonable range. Only in 2019/2020 was the borrowing above that level. CCCU's rate hovered around 30% between 2016 & 2022, which is notable given its financial constraints in the first few years of that timespan. While I have no doubt there are cash flow stipulations on the university from its lenders, what it owes doesn't seem to be a massive burden on its finances. But this is only what I can see from public data. Another annual swarm plot, this time showing the capital expenditure costs as a function of total annual expenditures. The sector average is around 10% and the two years of 2019 & 2020 saw CCCU run at nearly 25%. I am not sure if this is taking advantage of pandemic support or long planned out projects. It's not a great look given the university's income had been stagnant for several years. I will defer to the locals to tease out what these capital expenditures were going towards and what ROI they might have come now. Given the burst during low interest rates, it's not surprising that expenditures are down in the last few years of our data set. Another another swarm plot. This time showing the net cash flow from Operations Activities (like tuition fees minus staff salaries) as a proportion of total income. This is often a better metric than annual surplus/deficit which also lumps in financial costs (depreciation, fees to lenders, investment income) unrelated to actually being a university. Honestly, for such constrained tuition fees situation, the university has had decent cash flow over this entire span. This done continuously on the backs of real world staff pay cuts, amongst other things, but still. There are MANY institutions in much more dire financial situations than CCCU through this period, as the figure shows. The university has stayed above the "lowerbound" of 5% positive cash flow, which dozens of institutions, particular non-Russell group ones are below it or in the red.
November 27, 2024 at 12:36 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
And with tuition fees fixed by previous governments since 2016, the only way to up income is MORE students. CCCU seems to have struggled with this until 21/22, but remember, all of this tuition growth is NOT due to international students.
A line plot for every university showing the cumulative growth in tuition fee income since 2016/17 each year til 2022/23. Again using the Russell Group vs Not color differentiation. Canterbury Christ Church had its tuition income flat lining until 2021/22 fiscal year. It is now at a 120% increase over the 2016 value. I can only guess the change was the university decided to let in more students. We wont know the 2023/24 numbers until end of December.
November 27, 2024 at 12:03 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Not to preempt @davehitchcock.bsky.social's righteous fury but here is some background on CCCU's fiscal situation. Admittedly the latest data i have is from 2022/23 fiscal statement, but again ... context.

The Uni is almost solely reliant on home student tuition fees.
A scatterplot showing each UK university's percentage of income from student fees vs how much of those student fees come from home students. The two colors are Russell Group (and not) in orange & blue respectively. The Russell Group members are far less reliant both on tuition overall and on home students for their tuition fees. Canterbury Christchurch sits in the far upper right corner of the figure, showing that it is incredibly reliant on home student fees for its annual income. So any change in that will drastically affect their operations cash flow.
November 27, 2024 at 11:55 AM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Had an enjoyable time at the book signing put on by Mr. B's and hosted by Bath Elim Church.
The inside of a round (Georgian?) church with large yellow sandstone common across Bath. The old stone is visible at the upper levels but the ground floor is carpeted and all the modern electronic accoutrement. Little white Christmasy lights any from the ceiling.
November 6, 2024 at 12:00 AM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Without downloading any new pics, where are you mentally?
a card stock invite from the "Friends of Silvina" to join Unitopia, "the future is sustainable". It was part of a promotion for Jeff Vandermeer's book, "Hummingbird Salamanders."
November 5, 2024 at 1:49 PM
westbynoreaster.bsky.social
Refreshing my memory of #AreaX and the #SouthernReach on my train ride up to Bath this afternoon before the #Absolution event at Mr B's. @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
An IPad on a train table displaying the title page of Jeff Vandermeer's book "Annihilation". Above it propped up again a bag is a card stock encouraging us to "Enter Silvina's Dream" and join Unitopia with three hummingbird salamanders on it.
November 5, 2024 at 1:34 PM