Web Log
Introducing nrstatic
June 6, 2025
An introduction to nrstatic—the static webpage creator that I wrote to create this website. It is specifically designed with technical communication in mind.
NISP-S Scaling
October 19, 2022
A tool for conveniently viewing the contents of Euclid’s NISP-S images. The underlying scaling routine would be also useful for other extremely high dynamic range images containing hot pixels and negative pixels from background subtraction. The code introduced here is specifically designed to generate 16 images from a NISP-S FITS exposure (one image for each of the detectors).
Python Gotchas
July 15, 2020
In this post, I point out some common issues that Python beginners often enounter which can lead to headaches. The goal is to point out the common ‘gotchas’ to speed up the learning process. Some of the points astronomy-specific, since most of the people I currently work with are astronomers.
Cleaning up Ph.D. Python
February 11, 2020
A high-level guide for scientists who would like to learn to produce higher-quality code.
Syncing VM Images
December 15, 2019
A tool for syncing large files, such as VM images, over a network considerably more efficiently than using rsync.
Lazy evaluation in Python
March 8, 2019
A discussion and example of lazy loading and lazy evalation in Python classes.
Somelight
December 31, 2016
A tool for analyzing how much direct sunlight a region receives on any arbitrary date, given the presence of obscuring objects, such as buildings and fences. This is useful for planning the location of a garden or choosing what types of plants will do well in a particular area.
Euclid Software Development Notes
December 1, 2016
Notes on getting started with Euclid software development.
Watch a Simple DNN Learn
October 1, 2016
I wrote a simple deep neural network code in C++ in order to learn how DNNs work. Here’s a demonstration of a network learning to approximate a simple function.
A PPP Rendering Script
March 11, 2016
A helper script for rendering Pretty Parametric Plots images to a file.
Wormhole
May 29, 2015
A tool that uses inotofy to automatically perform specified tasks on files that are placed into a specified directory.
About Pretty Parametric Plots
April 22, 2014
A little bit of info about how Pretty Parametric Plots works and why it’s somewhat more complicated than a simple parametric function plotting routine.
My Dissertation
December 12, 2013
My dissertation has been completed!
Vectorization with SSE
October 18, 2013
A brief introduction to vectorizing code manually using SSE with compiler intrinsics in C++.
GSnap Improvements
September 8, 2013
A summary of improvements that were made recently to GSnap in prepration for its release.
User-defined Literals in C++11
April 28, 2013
A brief introductions to user-defined literals, which is a feature that is new in C++11.
A Two-Point Cubic Spline
November 11, 2011
An expression for a cubic spline that can be used to interpolate particle positions between galaxy merger simulations. This expression insures that the particle velocity is continuous, leading to smoother animations of simulations.
Quadratic Spline Interpolation
November 10, 2011
A derivation of a quadratic spline interpolator for interpolating positions of particles between galaxy merger simulation snapshots.
Contravariant vs. Covariant Tensors
July 18, 2009
An attempt to make the concepts of contravariant and covariant tensors a bit easier to understand.
Appoximation in Physics
July 11, 2009
A discussion of approximation methods that are used in physics, including some detailed examples of series expansions and perturbation theory.
Euler’s Formula
July 10, 2009
A derivation of Euler’s Formula and Euler’s identity, which is just a special case: $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$.
Inverse Trig Derivatives
July 10, 2009
An explanation of what is meant by the term implicit differentiation along with an example.
Inverse Trig Functions
July 10, 2009
An explanation of how to derive explicit (complex) expressions for the inverse trigonometric functions.
Complex Trig Functions
July 10, 2009
A demonstration of how to write explicit expressions for the trigonometric functions in terms of complex exponentials. Using these expressions, trigonometry essentially becomes just a straightforward application of algebra.
Implicit Differentiation
July 9, 2009
An explanation of what is meant by the term implicit differentiation along with an example.
The Inverse Quadratic
July 8, 2009
A derivation of the expression for inverse of a quadratic equation. The “quadratic formula” is then just a special case, where $y = 0$.
The Product Rule for Differentiation
July 7, 2009
A derivation of the product rule for differentiation, since it is often just presented as a magical statement to be verified.
The Pythagorean Theorem
July 6, 2009
A derivation of the Pythagorean Theorem.