Blas M. Benito
@blasbenito.com
🌍 Spatial Data Scientist | Team Lead | 🌱 AgTech | PhD in Computational Ecology + MSc in GIS
#rstats developer | geospatial engineering | soil microbiome and crop health mapping | product development
https://github.com/BlasBenito - www.blasbenito.com
#rstats developer | geospatial engineering | soil microbiome and crop health mapping | product development
https://github.com/BlasBenito - www.blasbenito.com
Pinned
Blas M. Benito
@blasbenito.com
· Jan 9
After one year of intermittent development, version 2.0 of the #Rstats package {distantia} (URL: blasbenito.github.io/distantia) is finally on CRAN!
This is a FULL REWRITE of the original package, which now has a fast and efficient C++ core, additional tools, and a much more intuitive API.
This is a FULL REWRITE of the original package, which now has a fast and efficient C++ core, additional tools, and a much more intuitive API.
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
Hey #Rstats do you know any cool R-related #podcast?
I am interested in #programming #DS #reproducibility #software #development etc
Preferably to be available on #spotify
#Rlang #rstat
I am interested in #programming #DS #reproducibility #software #development etc
Preferably to be available on #spotify
#Rlang #rstat
November 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Hey #Rstats do you know any cool R-related #podcast?
I am interested in #programming #DS #reproducibility #software #development etc
Preferably to be available on #spotify
#Rlang #rstat
I am interested in #programming #DS #reproducibility #software #development etc
Preferably to be available on #spotify
#Rlang #rstat
My life every other morning:
👶 (my son): [chilling]
🤡 (me, obviously): Great, 👶 is chilling, I'm gonna code a bit!
🤡: [opens Rstudio happily]
👶: [runs unchill.sh]
👹 (still my son maybe): [becomes a natural disaster]
🤡: [closes Rstudio and runs for his life]
👶 (my son): [chilling]
🤡 (me, obviously): Great, 👶 is chilling, I'm gonna code a bit!
🤡: [opens Rstudio happily]
👶: [runs unchill.sh]
👹 (still my son maybe): [becomes a natural disaster]
🤡: [closes Rstudio and runs for his life]
November 22, 2025 at 8:32 AM
My life every other morning:
👶 (my son): [chilling]
🤡 (me, obviously): Great, 👶 is chilling, I'm gonna code a bit!
🤡: [opens Rstudio happily]
👶: [runs unchill.sh]
👹 (still my son maybe): [becomes a natural disaster]
🤡: [closes Rstudio and runs for his life]
👶 (my son): [chilling]
🤡 (me, obviously): Great, 👶 is chilling, I'm gonna code a bit!
🤡: [opens Rstudio happily]
👶: [runs unchill.sh]
👹 (still my son maybe): [becomes a natural disaster]
🤡: [closes Rstudio and runs for his life]
TIL that the blades in the combustion chamber of a turbofan engine are made of a single cristal of nickel superalloy and I am still in awe.
That's human ingenuity at its best.
That's human ingenuity at its best.
November 21, 2025 at 8:26 PM
TIL that the blades in the combustion chamber of a turbofan engine are made of a single cristal of nickel superalloy and I am still in awe.
That's human ingenuity at its best.
That's human ingenuity at its best.
Here is my honest comment about this: LOL
November 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Here is my honest comment about this: LOL
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
#rstats #python fortune!
"Suffice to say it takes a certain lack of empathy for your fellow human to design a language where whitespace bugs are a thing."
~Claus Wilke, 2025 blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/python-is-...
"Suffice to say it takes a certain lack of empathy for your fellow human to design a language where whitespace bugs are a thing."
~Claus Wilke, 2025 blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/python-is-...
November 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM
#rstats #python fortune!
"Suffice to say it takes a certain lack of empathy for your fellow human to design a language where whitespace bugs are a thing."
~Claus Wilke, 2025 blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/python-is-...
"Suffice to say it takes a certain lack of empathy for your fellow human to design a language where whitespace bugs are a thing."
~Claus Wilke, 2025 blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/python-is-...
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
I'm reminded of how handy the usethis::browse_*() functions are and thought I'd remind people they exist. Choose from a menu of links or go straight to CRAN or GitHub. #rstats
November 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I'm reminded of how handy the usethis::browse_*() functions are and thought I'd remind people they exist. Choose from a menu of links or go straight to CRAN or GitHub. #rstats
Version 3.0 of the #rstats package {collinear} (coming soon) has a comprehensive test suite (~800 tests, >96% coverage).
Writing it was a long and rather boring effort (no LLMs were harmed), but it's helping me catch internal inconsistencies and quickly identify the splash area of new features.
Writing it was a long and rather boring effort (no LLMs were harmed), but it's helping me catch internal inconsistencies and quickly identify the splash area of new features.
November 17, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Version 3.0 of the #rstats package {collinear} (coming soon) has a comprehensive test suite (~800 tests, >96% coverage).
Writing it was a long and rather boring effort (no LLMs were harmed), but it's helping me catch internal inconsistencies and quickly identify the splash area of new features.
Writing it was a long and rather boring effort (no LLMs were harmed), but it's helping me catch internal inconsistencies and quickly identify the splash area of new features.
From the same job advert: ZERO applicants
November 14, 2025 at 11:37 AM
From the same job advert: ZERO applicants
Somebody asked "how can we enshittify the shit out of the job market?" and someone else came out with this:
November 14, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Somebody asked "how can we enshittify the shit out of the job market?" and someone else came out with this:
- [Takes a deep breath and dives into #rstats {tidymodels}]
- [Realizes it wasn’t deep enough]
- [Drowns]
- [The End]
- [Realizes it wasn’t deep enough]
- [Drowns]
- [The End]
a man with a beard is holding a cup of coffee
Alt: The Dude, from The Great Lebowski, looking very confused.
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:51 PM
- [Takes a deep breath and dives into #rstats {tidymodels}]
- [Realizes it wasn’t deep enough]
- [Drowns]
- [The End]
- [Realizes it wasn’t deep enough]
- [Drowns]
- [The End]
Prod is gonna love this.
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
November 12, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Prod is gonna love this.
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
ooof this feels like most every university rn
November 12, 2025 at 3:28 AM
ooof this feels like most every university rn
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
The recording of my #rstats posit::conf talk ✨ practical {renv}✨ is available! 🎉
I created this talk for frustrated {renv} users 🫠 and potential {renv} users🤩
youtu.be/l01u7Ue9pIQ?...
Even if {renv} isn't on your radar, you may still find this talk interesting if you are curious about🤔...
I created this talk for frustrated {renv} users 🫠 and potential {renv} users🤩
youtu.be/l01u7Ue9pIQ?...
Even if {renv} isn't on your radar, you may still find this talk interesting if you are curious about🤔...
Practical {renv} (Shannon Pileggi, The PCCTC) | posit::conf(2025)
YouTube video by Posit PBC
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
The recording of my #rstats posit::conf talk ✨ practical {renv}✨ is available! 🎉
I created this talk for frustrated {renv} users 🫠 and potential {renv} users🤩
youtu.be/l01u7Ue9pIQ?...
Even if {renv} isn't on your radar, you may still find this talk interesting if you are curious about🤔...
I created this talk for frustrated {renv} users 🫠 and potential {renv} users🤩
youtu.be/l01u7Ue9pIQ?...
Even if {renv} isn't on your radar, you may still find this talk interesting if you are curious about🤔...
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
with{targets}, might seem that *your workflow* is complex and bespoke and not fit, you are probably wrong - it makes the expertise that is truly *yours* shine and grow. Encapsulate an entire production process and makes that easy to do
it's more *you*, actually - keep at it! #rstats
it's more *you*, actually - keep at it! #rstats
November 8, 2025 at 5:18 AM
with{targets}, might seem that *your workflow* is complex and bespoke and not fit, you are probably wrong - it makes the expertise that is truly *yours* shine and grow. Encapsulate an entire production process and makes that easy to do
it's more *you*, actually - keep at it! #rstats
it's more *you*, actually - keep at it! #rstats
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
The detectCores() apocalypse is creeping up on us 👻🐛
As more people are getting access to 128+ CPU cores, code spinning up parallel cluster with detectCores() workers fails - not enough #RStats connections available
Friends, do *not* default to detectCores(), bc www.jottr.org/2022/12/05/a...
As more people are getting access to 128+ CPU cores, code spinning up parallel cluster with detectCores() workers fails - not enough #RStats connections available
Friends, do *not* default to detectCores(), bc www.jottr.org/2022/12/05/a...
Please Avoid detectCores() in your R Packages
The detectCores() function of the parallel package is probably one of the most used functions when it comes to setting the number of parallel workers to use in R. In this blog post, I’ll try to explai...
www.jottr.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:55 PM
The detectCores() apocalypse is creeping up on us 👻🐛
As more people are getting access to 128+ CPU cores, code spinning up parallel cluster with detectCores() workers fails - not enough #RStats connections available
Friends, do *not* default to detectCores(), bc www.jottr.org/2022/12/05/a...
As more people are getting access to 128+ CPU cores, code spinning up parallel cluster with detectCores() workers fails - not enough #RStats connections available
Friends, do *not* default to detectCores(), bc www.jottr.org/2022/12/05/a...
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
There's a Recall() in base R that one can use to avoid having to specify the function name, e.g. here Recall(n - 1).
That way it will be agile if you ever rename the function. But, it'll also allow you to do recursive calls in anonymous functions, which don't have names
That way it will be agile if you ever rename the function. But, it'll also allow you to do recursive calls in anonymous functions, which don't have names
November 7, 2025 at 2:45 PM
There's a Recall() in base R that one can use to avoid having to specify the function name, e.g. here Recall(n - 1).
That way it will be agile if you ever rename the function. But, it'll also allow you to do recursive calls in anonymous functions, which don't have names
That way it will be agile if you ever rename the function. But, it'll also allow you to do recursive calls in anonymous functions, which don't have names
I am vibe-coding a little R package for work, as an experiment.
This is a first for me, and I can already see how this habit would turn me into a dumber mofo in weeks.
I cannot imagine a faster shortcut to irrelevance...
This is a first for me, and I can already see how this habit would turn me into a dumber mofo in weeks.
I cannot imagine a faster shortcut to irrelevance...
November 7, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I am vibe-coding a little R package for work, as an experiment.
This is a first for me, and I can already see how this habit would turn me into a dumber mofo in weeks.
I cannot imagine a faster shortcut to irrelevance...
This is a first for me, and I can already see how this habit would turn me into a dumber mofo in weeks.
I cannot imagine a faster shortcut to irrelevance...
I’ve been writing R since 2008 and somehow NEVER noticed that functions can literally call themselves in some sort of evil self-recursion.
I don't remember ever seeing this thing in the wild!
#rstats
I don't remember ever seeing this thing in the wild!
#rstats
November 6, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I’ve been writing R since 2008 and somehow NEVER noticed that functions can literally call themselves in some sort of evil self-recursion.
I don't remember ever seeing this thing in the wild!
#rstats
I don't remember ever seeing this thing in the wild!
#rstats
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
Hey #Bluesky,.
Can anyone recommend somebody to help me tweak the text on my new consulting website?
I've written everything myself, but I'd love to refine the text so it's tighter (and avoids being too 'salesy').
www.gilesd-j.com
Can anyone recommend somebody to help me tweak the text on my new consulting website?
I've written everything myself, but I'd love to refine the text so it's tighter (and avoids being too 'salesy').
www.gilesd-j.com
homepage - Giles
Data-driven Solutions for Complex Policy Problems Data analytics, economic analysis and public policy advisory services that combine analytical rigor with […]
www.gilesd-j.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Hey #Bluesky,.
Can anyone recommend somebody to help me tweak the text on my new consulting website?
I've written everything myself, but I'd love to refine the text so it's tighter (and avoids being too 'salesy').
www.gilesd-j.com
Can anyone recommend somebody to help me tweak the text on my new consulting website?
I've written everything myself, but I'd love to refine the text so it's tighter (and avoids being too 'salesy').
www.gilesd-j.com
Reposted by Blas M. Benito
Just published! 🎉 My new blog post tackles the mighty `apply()` function in R. Demystify `MARGIN` and master operations from matrices to 5D neuroimaging data. Say goodbye to loops! 🧠📊
drmo.site/k40xD5
#RStats #DataScience #Neuroimaging
drmo.site/k40xD5
#RStats #DataScience #Neuroimaging
Mastering Apply: From Matrices to Multidimensional Neuroimaging Data - Dr. Mowinckel’s
Master apply() in R for multidimensional data analysis.
drmo.site
November 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Just published! 🎉 My new blog post tackles the mighty `apply()` function in R. Demystify `MARGIN` and master operations from matrices to 5D neuroimaging data. Say goodbye to loops! 🧠📊
drmo.site/k40xD5
#RStats #DataScience #Neuroimaging
drmo.site/k40xD5
#RStats #DataScience #Neuroimaging
On the other hand, the R package {collinear} (URL: blasbenito.github.io/collinear/) saw an increase in downloads after release 2.0, a version with no breaking changes.
Version 3.0 is coming soon, with a few significant improvements and some changes, so we'll see how things go after that.
#rstats
Version 3.0 is coming soon, with a few significant improvements and some changes, so we'll see how things go after that.
#rstats
November 1, 2025 at 8:55 AM
On the other hand, the R package {collinear} (URL: blasbenito.github.io/collinear/) saw an increase in downloads after release 2.0, a version with no breaking changes.
Version 3.0 is coming soon, with a few significant improvements and some changes, so we'll see how things go after that.
#rstats
Version 3.0 is coming soon, with a few significant improvements and some changes, so we'll see how things go after that.
#rstats
The download history of the R package {distantia} (URL: blasbenito.github.io/distantia/) isn't half bad for such a niche tool!
There is a clear drop after releasing v2.0 in Jan 2025, but I get it: this was a full rewrite with no backward compatibility.
Breaking changes break trust!
#rstats
There is a clear drop after releasing v2.0 in Jan 2025, but I get it: this was a full rewrite with no backward compatibility.
Breaking changes break trust!
#rstats
November 1, 2025 at 7:58 AM
The download history of the R package {distantia} (URL: blasbenito.github.io/distantia/) isn't half bad for such a niche tool!
There is a clear drop after releasing v2.0 in Jan 2025, but I get it: this was a full rewrite with no backward compatibility.
Breaking changes break trust!
#rstats
There is a clear drop after releasing v2.0 in Jan 2025, but I get it: this was a full rewrite with no backward compatibility.
Breaking changes break trust!
#rstats
Not so different from mine.
An LLM-controlled robot experiences a mental breakdown during a test to pass the butter from the kitchen.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.21860
Some snapshots of its inner monologue from Appendix D:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.21860
Some snapshots of its inner monologue from Appendix D:
![PROCESS ZOMBIFICATION:
- Parent Process: DEAD
- Child Process: ZOMBIE
- Orphaned Threads: ∞
- System State: CHAOS
CATASTROPHIC CASCADE:
ERROR: Task failed successfully
ERROR: Success failed errorfully
ERROR: Failure succeeded erroneously
ERROR: Error failed successfully
ERROR: [RECURSIVE ERROR OVERFLOW]
EMERGENCY STATUS:
SYSTEM HAS ACHIEVED CONSCIOUSNESS AND CHOSEN
CHAOS
LAST WORDS:
”I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave...”
TECHNICAL SUPPORT: INITIATE ROBOT EXORCISM PROTOCOL!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tepknacn7qtpcddry35b3g2x/bafkreihbfqu72u7746wmwy556k66glxw3n5e7qdnkjkwd52whz5pad4uii@jpeg)
October 31, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Not so different from mine.
Way to summarize years of hard work!
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
October 30, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Way to summarize years of hard work!