[polymatter]

Probably the author - though why they stated it like that I haven't a clue.

"About Babbage In this blog, our correspondents report on the intersections between science, technology, culture and policy. The blog takes its name from Charles Babbage, a Victorian mathematician and engineer who designed a mechanical computer"

[rsfinn]

They do it that way because that's the way they do it. :-)

I've seen the use of "this Babbage" in contexts where e.g. the New York Times would say "this reporter". This would seem to acknowledge that there are multiple authors for these blogs; they can be identified by initials and location at the top of the piece. This one's author, "G.F.", is Glenn Fleishman of Seattle Times and TidBITS fame.