tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social
Professional marine biodiversity data scientist and academic @sheffielduni.bsky.social. Amateur dad, musician, natural historian, cricketer, kayaker, gardener, cook, haver of opinions.
Tag-team paper writing with the one and only @drcraigmc.bsky.social - was great to have him here for a few days this week, even if Sheffield’s weather didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet…
January 30, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Tag-team paper writing with the one and only @drcraigmc.bsky.social - was great to have him here for a few days this week, even if Sheffield’s weather didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet…
Trawling the depths of some biodiversity data again today. This seems needlessly hurtful.
January 29, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Trawling the depths of some biodiversity data again today. This seems needlessly hurtful.
Feel like i was doing it down a bit though. I mean, this is important work
January 29, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Feel like i was doing it down a bit though. I mean, this is important work
Looking for an old bit of R code I wrote somewhere I came across this gem
January 29, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Looking for an old bit of R code I wrote somewhere I came across this gem
Before this image properly loaded in an email I could just see the alt text which read 'laughing monkey' but I'm not sure it looks like it's in particularly good humour. Perhaps because someone called it a monkey?
January 23, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Before this image properly loaded in an email I could just see the alt text which read 'laughing monkey' but I'm not sure it looks like it's in particularly good humour. Perhaps because someone called it a monkey?
Also - feeling my age…
January 22, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Also - feeling my age…
Have reached the ‘Apple archaeology’ stage of my office refresh
January 22, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Have reached the ‘Apple archaeology’ stage of my office refresh
We're well over 50 years of decimalisation now, am I being overly optimistic in hoping I can retire this quickmark comment before we hit 100?
January 16, 2026 at 3:06 PM
We're well over 50 years of decimalisation now, am I being overly optimistic in hoping I can retire this quickmark comment before we hit 100?
The image in this pensions email is pretty bland, but the alt text is unremittingly bleak…
January 14, 2026 at 9:41 AM
The image in this pensions email is pretty bland, but the alt text is unremittingly bleak…
Been rewatching Brooklyn 99, with my son. I'd forgotten how astute Captain Holt was on data viz. "This is as if I've sent him a bar graph"
January 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Been rewatching Brooklyn 99, with my son. I'd forgotten how astute Captain Holt was on data viz. "This is as if I've sent him a bar graph"
Quite mesmerising watching the storm build
January 8, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Quite mesmerising watching the storm build
It's a nice time of year to reflect a bit on one's accomplishments
January 8, 2026 at 1:30 PM
It's a nice time of year to reflect a bit on one's accomplishments
Evidently I'm delighted to be back
January 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Evidently I'm delighted to be back
Most of the way through Ben Markovits already, maybe not the most aspirational portrait of a mid-50s academic but has some relatable observations, e.g.:
January 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Most of the way through Ben Markovits already, maybe not the most aspirational portrait of a mid-50s academic but has some relatable observations, e.g.:
After a couple of false starts and some Iain M. Banks comfort reading, time to pick up this meandering thread again with the latest xmas haul…
January 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM
After a couple of false starts and some Iain M. Banks comfort reading, time to pick up this meandering thread again with the latest xmas haul…
Another highly sophisticated university PhD reference submission portal. You don't see kb very often these days.
January 5, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Another highly sophisticated university PhD reference submission portal. You don't see kb very often these days.
Happy New Year all, and congratulations if you got ‘between 11 and 12°C’ in the ‘what temperature will my office be in January’ sweepstake
January 5, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Happy New Year all, and congratulations if you got ‘between 11 and 12°C’ in the ‘what temperature will my office be in January’ sweepstake
Iain Banks anticipating deepfakes, in 1988
December 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Iain Banks anticipating deepfakes, in 1988
Do you know what? I think that'll probably do, work-wise, for this year.
December 19, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Do you know what? I think that'll probably do, work-wise, for this year.
Possibly too late to be useful this year, but for bird-lovers - my brother in law produces lovely Xmas cards featuring more than your usual robins, e.g. this year we got this:
December 17, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Possibly too late to be useful this year, but for bird-lovers - my brother in law produces lovely Xmas cards featuring more than your usual robins, e.g. this year we got this:
Actual phrase sent out by a real company. My preferred preferences, you say?
December 15, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Actual phrase sent out by a real company. My preferred preferences, you say?
Figured out that this code that's struggling is trying to produce an output with >1.2bn rows…
December 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Figured out that this code that's struggling is trying to produce an output with >1.2bn rows…
The kids' headteacher is very fond of a 'shall' where I would use a 'will'. Always comes across very King James Version to me.
December 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The kids' headteacher is very fond of a 'shall' where I would use a 'will'. Always comes across very King James Version to me.