Miles McBain

I got into this habbit of putting test / noodling / debugging code down the bottom of the R file in an anonymous function i.e. function() {}. In both package dev or targets the code is unreachable. Semi regularly I will accidentally commit it. Some collaborators find it disturbing.

Hey #rstats friends! 👋

Only one week to go until my "Introduction to R Packages" tutorial at #WOMBAT2025!

This is a gentle introduction to making R packages, going from initial code to `devtools::check()`

Still plenty of spots available :)

Sign up at: wombat2025.numbat.space

Nah a combination of living in the opposite corner of the earth and in the ‘busy parent’ season of life means I passed it up this year. Will check out this talk when it drops though. And I appreciate the heads up! 👍

I mean that thing got third party emacs ports…

The thing is, I feel it’s the {breakerofchains} crowd who are most likely hunt me down if I ever retired the repo.

Wuuuuut? Okay so now I need to watch this!

In my experience, courage is usually the product of love and/or solidarity. When we are deeply invested in each other, we are more likely to take risks that we wouldn't take out of mere principle, or for the sake of people we feel disconnected from. Our alienation mass produces cowardice.

No! I gave a targets talk at my work a few months back, but not polished to this level.

Probably easier the less pieces there are in the chain. If you only program in C you might be fine.

For me repeatedly debugging tools when I had allocated the time for work was too much stess.

But I salute those out there on the bleeding edge who find and report all the issues. 🫡

Haven’t used this distro, but have used a number of Arch wrappers over the years. Clearing the installation hurdle is just the start…

Keeping your tool chain functional if you use the system for any kind of productive work becomes the ongoing time sink.

It’s actually pretty close to a CRAN like setup. You’re getting recent versions effectively forced on you, but bthere’s a thin layer that stops catastrophic shit from coming down the pipe and rendering your setup unusable.

I’ve tried a bunch. Running OpenSUSE tumbleweed atm. That’s like seriously uncool. But damned if it doesn’t ‘just work’ in a way that no other rolling distro has.

Arch is Sys Admin Simulator. Do not install it unless you have hours you can give away to ‘git gud’ via the wiki.

Same. It’s not the product. It’s the externalities. It’s the grift. It’s the sell out of all the people who talked a talk of caring about making things open for the benefit of all.

What?! No!

YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity! The Cycling Potential Hiding in Plain Sight

Great video by @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social featuring Brisbane's low cycling mode share. Fun fact: in 2006 Brisbane aimed to more than double cycling from 2% to 5% by 2026.

In 2016 when they reviewed the plan, mode share was...still 2%. What did they do in the 2016-2036 plan?
youtu.be/_DQonhJLKTc?...

Yeah that kinda stuff 👍

Depends on data infrastructure and degree of reproducibility though. Queries / calls might be okay if infrastructure is high quality.

“Fully reproducible” is s REALLY deep rabbit hole.

Dependencies and inputs need to be controlled. Mechanisms vary.

Lockfile is low effort minimum for dependencies.

Inputs will ideally be files and ideally versioned, as opposed to queries or API calls.

Tax breaks for huge, American-style utes cost the Australian government $250 million in 2023.

But it gets worse.

Emissions from passenger cars have fallen since 2005, but that drop was wiped out by the increased use of big utes. #auspol

I do it with the testthat expect_ family, works great. Only one tool to remember how to use in both package dev and pipeline code.

Ah this is good 👍

i need politicians to be as mad at housing prices as they are about cracker barrel's new logo

a man wearing a hat and a shirt that says i don t know anymore ALT: a man wearing a hat and a shirt that says i don t know anymore

Literally 15min ago

“But Dad what do you actually do for a job?”

👏👏👏

Like apps just don’t work like that any more. It’s a throw back.

Libby is fucking Rad

I have surveyed vast wastelands of irreproducible, unverifiable, self-referential Excel pandemonium.

I can only conclude the safe amount of Excel to use is none. Ever.

It is a tolerable data transport format if you have to deliver data inside the MS walled garden. Nothing more.