Sam Levine

Professional chemist. Amateur baker. Bike commuter.

Favorite stars don't cost money and can make someone smile (or at least feel seen) so I use them often. I'm not being weird at you specifically, I'm being weird at everyone...

Warning for the new instance: the much higher character limit might cause me to go mad with power. Take that into account before following.

Public Key

npub1yztpkehfhrca0c2px5m0jjwmddh75qnqp7wp43cs4ydrz8ucty2qs8u8lg

NIP-05 Address

SRLevine@neuromatch-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqszp9smvm5m3uwhu9qn2dhef8dkkml2qfsql8q6cug2jx33r7v9j9qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsam0jvh

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1yztpkehfhrca0c2px5m0jjwmddh75qnqp7wp43cs4ydrz8ucty2qs8u8lg

Show more details

Published at

2026-08-21T23:51:24Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

{ "id": "8cfe7cc3b392163cfd10567cc04fb05b6f2322227b39bf081c0441f4e4b78d44", "pubkey": "20961b66e9b8f1d7e1413536f949db6b6fea02600f9c1ac710a91a311f985914", "created_at": 1787356284, "kind": 0, "tags": [ [ "proxy", "https://neuromatch.social/users/SRLevine", "activitypub" ], [ "client", "Mostr", "31990:6be38f8c63df7dbf84db7ec4a6e6fbbd8d19dca3b980efad18585c46f04b26f9:mostr", "wss://relay.ditto.pub" ] ], "content": "{\"name\":\"Sam Levine\",\"about\":\"Professional chemist. Amateur baker. Bike commuter.\\n\\nFavorite stars don't cost money and can make someone smile (or at least feel seen) so I use them often. I'm not being weird at you specifically, I'm being weird at everyone...\\n\\nWarning for the new instance: the much higher character limit might cause me to go mad with power. Take that into account before following.\",\"picture\":\"https://media.neuromatch.social/accounts/avatars/112/930/075/069/649/832/original/2a3c7794189ed6e0.jpg\",\"banner\":\"https://media.neuromatch.social/accounts/headers/112/930/075/069/649/832/original/7872dc76b45538ae.jpg\",\"nip05\":\"SRLevine@neuromatch-social.mostr.pub\",\"fields\":[[\"ORCID (I guess this is a thing to do here?)\",\"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0496-9316\"],[\"pronouns\",\"any suitable for people\"],[\"avatar\",\"Silver road bike with black panniers leaning against a very large diameter palm tree. Black bike shoes on the ground underneath.\"],[\"header image\",\"Row of six NMR tubes (clear, glass) with cap colors matching the classic pride flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Very small text with hand-written numbers in black on the tubes. The green tube is the one with the really cool sample in it.\"],[\"Joined fedi via urbanists.social\",\"Nov 18, 2022\"]]}", "sig": "01cfbbae3836d42ea4c0a7a81c0e14fb2eacac6ca7251dd443efa95383df812bd172c96856efc04391d3ef68ce3baa46151a1b4a8d4a8cc879b71d0da4282d80" }

Last Notes

2026-10-24 23:36:53 UTC

Walked four dogs this morning, then grocery shopped (including hauling home some heavy stuff by hand because I didn't ride my bike or bring the wheelie cart) and now I really want a nap. Going to try and hold out though and not nap so I sleep at a normal time, since I've had a headache on and off since Thursday night probably due to poor sleep and I'd like to vanquish it if possible.

2026-10-11 19:16:10 UTC

(Absolutely not a critique of Amy here)
As someone who lives by themselves and shops alone I find a store employee and ask when I can't find something. They are pretty much always down to give directions (the ones who are not are the folks who work for vendors that were stocking shelves and don't actually work for the supermarket, and I apologize to them and they apologize to me and we both move on with our lives).
At stores I shop at regularly I can usually guess where items I don't buy regularly are, but even when something gets moved (why, oh why did Ralph's move the unpopped popcorn from next to the bags of popped stuff to some random other aisle I will never fathom) the people working in the store know where it went. It's not some sort of mark against me as an adult to ask for help from someone whose job it is to provide that help.
Is this one of those "cis-het male learned helplessness" things? There is also a version for the cis-het female that involves a different set of things (that my mom likes to pull, which drives me up the wall).
#nevent1q…467k

2026-10-10 03:00:18 UTC

Wondering at what point the "save bar soap scraps to form into a new soap" gets to be absurd. I can't bring myself to toss them, but haven't bought the cheap glycerin soap to reform them (and really don't want to tediously break them into little pieces since I didn't do that in advance and I haven't made a new "re-formed" bar in a few years so there are a lot of chunks). Do I try the real melting method? Just give up on them? Ugh. I hate the waste though.

2026-10-05 00:44:33 UTC

While at food not bombs today I noticed a group of people wearing masks on the other side of the little park and put mine on and went over and offered to get them food if they didn't want to interact with people not wearing masks and that they could eat away from other people. And it turned out they were actually a covid cautious book club and they were heading into the library! It was their first time trying out this library, they have been bouncing between different branches in orange county trying to find a consistent space.
I was super excited and gushed at them and might have a buddy for buying and splitting a giant box of masks (they also didn't know of anyplace that wasn't amazon for auras at a discount, we commiserated about it).
I found my people! They don't even all read the same book, they just meet, talk about what they have read and maybe just read in companionable silence for a bit? I don't know. They seemed awesome though!
(World's least social person has two social events and might be joining another, someone should check me for pod marks...)

2026-10-04 14:00:21 UTC

I hate recipes that involve a sentence like "batter will have some lumps in it". How many lumps? How large? Are you going to apologize to the person who gets a mouth full of dry flour if I screw this up?

2026-10-02 19:48:49 UTC

Me: Orders 10 batteries from VWR for the little lab timers.
VWR: ok, 1 pack of 10 coming up.
What actually arrives: a box of 10 packs. 100 batteries. We now have enough batteries that we likely couldn't use them all before they expired, if the company had bothered to put an expiration date on them.

2026-09-27 18:17:51 UTC

The problem with making a good batch of bread is that you end up eating half a loaf of bread in <24 h.
(KAF's pullman loaf recipe with a couple of tablespoons of better than bullion's "sofrito" to give it a hint of tomato flavor, the sofrito is much better for flavor than the "italian herb" one, too bad I have a giant jar of the italian herb and only a teeny jar of the sofrito...)

2026-09-23 23:44:00 UTC

Was at work on time (as in before 9AM) for the first time in what feels like weeks and didn't futz around on the computer when I got in and hit the ground running.
So it's 4:30 and I'm looking around going "really? am I done for the day?"
And I think the answer is yes? Wild.

2026-09-20 05:41:55 UTC

At least three separate responses discussing the Roman dodecahedrons. Which I vaguely knew about, but would not have remembered in this context. Fedi can be fascinatingly weird sometimes.
#nevent1q…pv6s

2026-09-09 05:00:48 UTC

Currently trying to figure out if there really is a generational difference in lab work between when I was in grad school and now in terms of "figuring out if equipment is repairable/how to repair it" vs. a field difference (more biology vs. chemistry) vs. something else. When asked one of my coworkers figures they are just too focused on their individual projects to want to solve these problems, which could also be true and maybe more individual than any blanket statement?
I think it's kind of generational with more equipment now being a "black box" that you can't take apart and repair yourself without potentially having major issues so people don't see how to trouble shoot that sort of thing even in simpler systems. So unless they think of themselves as handy they never even try to fix things.

2026-08-28 03:05:06 UTC

Anyone in my reach on here have access to the sort of commercial UPS/FedEx account that gives significant discounts if you have a scheduled pickup? And can use it for personal things (that's the key, I have account access, but can only use it for official stuff)?
It will be anywhere from 1-5 boxes (I need to round up packing materials) and it would be at a location that should count as a regular "scheduled pickup" option (major university). If you can do 5 boxes that weigh 2-3 kg each for <$20 that would be stellar (happy to reimburse if necessary, though this is for a good cause*).
*details can be provided, but this isn't anything illegal or against shipping regulations

2026-08-21 23:47:16 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…cckg @nprofile…d2v0 Yeah, I have no way to cut a metal fender or even a plastic one without being likely to damage it. There are some known ways (and even a couple of parts kits I think) to attach split fenders to a bike (including on Sheldon Brown's website), but the lack of cutting ability would be a major problem for me.

2026-08-15 18:24:21 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…awd8 Seanan McGuire's "Wayward Children" series of novellas is this, I've only read/listened to through maybe 5 or 6 but they are super well written (I like the narration except for the one she narrated herself, it wasn't terrible and I get that she felt close to that character and wanted to, but her narrators for the other books were better)

2026-08-14 05:51:45 UTC

When you realize that you're thirsty while brushing your teeth, but @nprofile…63pg has had you doing the "no rinsing/drinking after brushing" for at least a month now.

2026-08-13 20:15:03 UTC

Does anyone in my reach on here have/use a "solder paste mixer"? There seems to be some relatively inexpensive options as planetary mixers go and I'd some information about "this one is good/this one is bad/it makes a loud racket/it heats up a lot".
I'm not actually going to be using it for solder paste, but for chemistry milling reactions that will generate a fair bit of heat in the containers (dry reagents, zirconia or steal beads for milling) so I'm particularly interested in how various things close and if there is rubber/plastic likely to heat up and deform if the run time is more than 1-2 minutes.
Also interested in whether it is programmable for alternating run time with breaks for cooling (ie: 5 on 5 off, run 10 cycles)
#Chemistry #ChemiVerse

2026-08-12 04:22:50 UTC

Anyone local potentially interested in mooching off me if I got a costco membership? I kind of just want to get one already, but can't quite justify it for myself with stuff I know I need. But if I knew other people would potentially make use of my membership once a year or so I could call it doing something for community good.
(the problem is I kind of need things in bulk from there more like every other year or every three years, toilet paper, brita filters, etc. I don't need them more often than that in the quantities they sell as a single person living by myself)

2026-08-08 03:42:23 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…lhzn @nprofile…flcr that thing is wild!

2026-08-06 02:10:20 UTC

Work didn't go particularly well today, but I wouldn't have called my mood "foul" until I had to deal with multiple drivers who were jerks on the way home. One of whom came very close to hitting me.

2026-08-04 20:29:36 UTC

"Letters to a Pre-Scientist is looking for enthusiastic STEM role models! Share your story and inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. Connect with a middle school student through a yearlong snail-mail pen pal exchange that aims to demystify STEM careers, humanize STEM professionals, and inspire all students to explore their future in STEM. It’s a remote, flexible volunteer opportunity, about a 10 hour commitment in ~2 hour blocks from August through May (4 letters total). Volunteers who register and complete a short, self-paced online training (in August) by the deadline will be matched with a student at the start of the school year."
I signed up last year, but wasn't chosen. Did it the year before and it was pretty straightforward as outreach opportunities go (they give you plenty of prompts on what to write in each letter), the hardest thing was tracking down envelopes and having to handwrite letters.
https://prescientist.org/register/
#STEM #STEMeducation #STEMoutreach

2026-08-03 00:50:09 UTC

Today I gave someone my canvas shopping bag after she saw it and immediatly went on a thing about how her first job was there (it's a Borders bag) and that it was a total nostalgia trip to see the bag. I asked if it would make her very happy to have it and she said yes, so I unloaded my stuff into one of my cheaper secondary bags so she could have the Borders one. It's not exactly fancy (plain canvas, lining slightly chipped form my using it pretty much weekly for groceries over the past 2-3 years) and I got it for free from my buy nothing group, but she was so thrilled about it.
Do good thing for people! Make them happy!
Anyone else do a small kindness that made someone else happy recently? Doesn't matter how small.

2026-07-29 03:56:23 UTC

Anyone with personal experience making noodle kugel know if a recipe calls for mixing the noodles with the filling and then baking do they mean the noodles will magically bake in the pan or do you cook them first?
(filling is cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, and a bunch of eggs in this recipe)
(also if anyone has a family recipe for noodle kugel that involves a ton of cream cheese would you be willing to share? at some point someone said my grandmother's recipe used that, but no one ever got a real version from her and nor has anyone managed to duplicate it)

2026-07-27 14:56:27 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp Every time I have to log in for something I spend the next few weeks deleting emails from them. I think I'm down to maybe one or two a week after I logged in six months ago to accept a request from one of the grad students (which I feel sort of obligated to do so their accounts look good when they go on the job market, as much as I hate the site).

2026-07-25 00:42:07 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…35kv It sounds like it could be low refrigerant, but I am very much not an expert (I've learned a bit from dealing with the lyophilizer last year and we had a commercial fridge in a previous lab that needed a compressor replaced)

2026-07-19 04:51:58 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp sympathy to your back?

2026-07-17 14:50:23 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp @nprofile…530l I've always had issues with this (me and a giant menu at a restaurant is a recipe for disaster, so I'll do things like get the same thing every time, not because I don't want to try new things but because it worked once and I can't make a choice between the new things, also why I am terrible at placing orders for the lab too many options with different prices/quality/sizes/shipping and I either get overwhelmed and give up or start making spreadsheets which is a massive waste of my time for what I should be doing around here)

2026-07-14 05:35:08 UTC

Just finished The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (first book in the trilogy), which was a sprawling fantasy in the best way, while somehow mostly taking place in a tiny corner of one city (in the "present day"). Fantasy with its roots in South Asia, so very different from the usual. And the women are all complex and interesting characters (I kind of love Malini, she would totally vibe with the LotR movie scene with Galadriel and the ring*)
I think @nprofile…9khy might have been the one to recommend it to me? If so, thank you!
*"In place of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me, and despair!"
#AmReading #Bookstodon

2026-07-09 14:09:35 UTC

Woke up at 5:15 (way too early, not enough sleep) because one side of my nose decided to be clogged up. Have been sneezing and have a runny nose only on one side ever since. Why do bodies?

2026-07-06 16:14:50 UTC

Anyone know where to buy 3M Aura masks in the big boxes (usually 440) that are going to expire and therefore very cheap? Looking for a place that isn't amazon, but most of the government auction sites aren't helpful unless you happen to live nearby because they won't ship (and they don't have nearly as many of these as they did a couple of years ago when they were clearing out stockpiles).
Looking for a price comparable to amazon ($60 for the giant box of 1870's), though willing to pay a bit more to avoid them if possible.

2026-07-05 04:25:14 UTC

Everyone else in OP's mentions: heart eyes, amazing, praise, etc (all well deserved)
Some white guy: That's lovely. I wish I had the time and space for projects like that.
My dude, that isn't a hobby for her, she's a professional potter and amazing artist, there is no way you are going to get to her level of mastery with just a bit of time and space. That's literally years (decades maybe, I'm not sure of her age) of full time work and skill and practice.
You were doing well with sentence number 1, why did you have to ruin it with sentence number two?

2026-06-29 22:00:11 UTC

This appears to already be over: https://wcti12.com/news/local/active-incident-underway-at-bertie-martin-regional-jail
(the joy of time zones and slow dissemination of news)
#nevent1q…wrc3

2026-06-27 22:09:22 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp @nprofile…hler I was too when I boosted this earlier! The straw hat on top just completes the whole thing! (I also love the clompy black shoes/boots as a contrast point, even if you probably just wore them for being comfortable on your feet all day)

2026-06-24 15:03:58 UTC

@nprofile…63pg has got me trying the "don't rinse after brushing your teeth" thing after that post/thread of responses yesterday and I'm not sure I like being this easily influenced by social media.

2026-06-19 19:54:58 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp An on/off switch that isn't removing the battery or turning the volume all the way down.

2026-06-17 15:04:33 UTC

Does anyone know of a brand/model of prescription safety goggles (not glasses) with the prescription integrated into the goggles and not as a separate insert?
I really need to get new safety eyewear and I'd like to maybe get goggles if I can vs. the glasses I've always had for superior protection. But I'm not sure I could tolerate a separate insert, which the only pairs I've seen use.
#Chemistry #ChemiVerse #LabLife

2026-06-12 14:06:20 UTC

Anything that refers to the US as a "client state" or otherwise under the control of Israel is trying to absolve the US of blame by saying "Jews are pulling the strings". As both someone who was raised Jewish and a US citizen I can assure you that the US is perfectly capable of being utterly horrible without any outside influence. And the country that supplies the weapons and has the significantly larger economy is not the "client state".

2026-06-11 01:16:26 UTC

Just found out I wasted 3 weeks of work, a significant amount of solvent and other reagents because the commercial starting material is not what the bottle says it is to add insult to injury what is in the bottle isn't even clean, there is at least one other thing in there.
Hilariously (not really) the only reason I determined this was because I'm making something from the literature and none of my spectra were matching close enough. Went back to the start to check and remade the first step, it produced the same wrong thing. Tried some other conditions, same deal. Finally took an NMR of the starting material today.
#ChemiVerse #Chemistry

2026-06-06 03:38:58 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…awd8
I'm not sure they are blind focused, but I know a few blind users on both disabled.social and dragonscave.space and I think both have good reputations for moderation, not sure about character counts however (I have a feeling the former is the usual 500, the later is higher but I don't know what it is)
For writers or readers: sunny.garden is an excellent choice (very high character count), wandering.shop is also but requires knowing someone there for an invite (and might be 500character limit)

2026-05-31 00:33:44 UTC

Slightly over 30 miles later and I'm wiped. Towing the trailer is a lot of work!
Tempted to replace my current avatar with this photo, but I don't want to brag or anything.
If anyone is curious: the roof mounted bike racks will fit the cross bars on a bike trailer with a little pipe insulation for padding/getting them to the correct diameter. You too can be maximum weird. I don't know yet how stable this is going to be with a bike mounted on it (it might need to be reversed to put more of the weight over the bed of the trailer), but pretty cool, eh?
#BikeTooter #CarryShitOlympics
https://media.neuromatch.social/media_attachments/files/116/666/372/813/307/830/original/95a0928710575f5e.jpeg

2026-05-30 05:18:02 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…rx20 Naomi Klein discusses this extensively in her book doppelgänger, it was very interesting!

2026-05-30 03:27:34 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp So Nigerian soup might be closer to what American's call stew? But as far as I'm concerned if it's got enough liquid I need a spoon and it needs to be served in a bowl and not on a plate then it's a soup.

2026-05-30 01:13:09 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp This begs the question of what those concepts of soup are and how you can have opposites in that food group. Thick vs. just a broth? As someone who enjoys pretty much any style of soup I'm confused.

2026-05-29 13:41:52 UTC

Since I'm sure you're all just dying to comment in the federal register about the new OMB proposed rules for federal funding of grants (including NIH & NSF) here is the link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance
two things to keep in mind
the comment period is unusually short (45 days, it closes July 13th)
they have explicitly stated that since they do not discuss the indirect costs situation in this proposal for rule changes they will throw out comments that mention it and I don't know if that means comments which only talk about that or if it's even mentioned in passing your comment will be thrown out
No one has a letter template up that I'm aware of yet.
So far the best complete summary I've found of changes is at substack (boo, hiss, ugh): https://elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of-key-changes-in-ombs-proposed if you find a comparable one elsewhere let me know and I'll edit this post (the scientific american and inside higher ed articles are not nearly as thorough)
#uspol #StandUpForScience

2026-05-27 20:39:19 UTC

Ordering fun!
"Hi Sam,
I received Requisition 216536482, but I need to verify what you are trying to order. Are these Schedule I controlled substances for your PI's own registration?
Best,"
I didn't order any controlled substances. That order is all small amounts of custom synthesis compounds from Enamine. I have no idea why it got bumped to be verified by the EH&S controlled substances person (who rightly sent me the email because I didn't submit a special form asking for controlled substances). Someone in purchasing thought "RDS" is a controlled substance I guess? In this case it stands for "REAL database synthesis" from the Enamine REAL database.
Let's see how long this takes to sort out...considering I put this order in Friday and the ones for the other department got placed already.

2026-05-24 23:33:23 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp I was thinking fake turkey tetrazzini, but I don't think I have any of the ingredients for that (other than pasta).

2026-05-24 22:54:14 UTC

Regretting not making myself grocery shop yesterday or today. I have ice cream curing the freezer, a cake in the oven, and am wandering around my apartment hungry because I have nothing reasonable to eat.
The quorn turkey roast is thawing in the fridge, but that's a 50 minute cooking time after the cake comes out and then I will still have to turn it into real food* because "slices of fake turkey" isn't that appealing.
*lasagna maybe? that's probably a terrible idea, right?

2026-05-23 03:55:49 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp :blanketrat:

2026-05-23 00:16:20 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 You have too many of them! But it does sound like if she can hold out long enough for her license the problem solves itself if someone has a car they don't need regularly for her to drive.

2026-05-23 00:10:25 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 Is she close enough to home that an ebike would mean she didn't need a ride? Maybe a cargo style one if she has lots of track & field gear? (does track & field have gear you take home that isn't clothing? I have no idea)

2026-05-22 22:09:05 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp I've started noting if people have approval requests on when I made the request (so if they break the link later I know and don't re-ask), but I maybe need to start noting when I start following someone period, even if they don't have requests on so I'm not inadvertently guilty of this.

2026-05-21 16:28:28 UTC

Heads up for chem people looking for free stuff: I asked Macherey-Nagel for a sample of their two color TLC plates (they fluoresce in 254 & 3something nm, sounds cool!) by sending a comment in to their "you have questions about this product" form and someone got back to me and said they would ship me a box of them. Usually you get 1-3 plates for samples (a box usually has 20 if we're talking full sized plates) so I was skeptical, but I just saw the tracking information and it says 4 kg, which is about what a full box weighs...
If they make anything you'd like to try worth asking for samples I guess?
#Chemistry #ChemiVerse

2026-05-20 16:14:33 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…lhzn Might be another wrong email address thing. I get those a lot. Last week was someone put my email address into their new bank including retirement accounts and stuff. And I had to track down the "you got this email by mistake let us know" link. Which resulted in an email back that said "you aren't listed as a customer". Which, no duh I'm not that's what I was trying to tell you.
(So far the winner (~15 years ago) was being accidentally cc'd on someone's mortgage application including all of their financial documents. And when I replied all to say "hey you have the wrong person" the person whose documents it was flipped out at everyone. Sort of understandably, but also, don't blame me!)

2026-05-20 15:01:53 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…lhzn I got one of those yesterday and was very confused. The only active microsoft account I have is via my university and it certainly shouldn't be sending 2FA codes to my personal email. The only 2FA codes it uses are the ones via the uniersity's 2FA system (which I have as a physical dongle). Like what account is someone even trying to break in to?

2026-05-16 20:00:45 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…926n I have a light phone II and love it (not a flip phone, but it's small and the screen is eInk, the apps I have are a calculator, mp3 player, & I can write notes to myself). I think GPS is an option for it to give you directions, but I've never turned it on so I don't know how well that works (I look up directions in advance to go someplace and I keep a map downloaded on my iPad, which doesn't connect over cellular). The light phone III came out last year and has a camera if that's important to you. If you want to try a II I gave my accidental spare to someone on here to try and if she decides it's not for her I can ask her to pass it along to you?

2026-05-16 02:30:00 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 It's a good post!
(I sent it to my group slack at work and people laughed at it)

2026-05-09 22:34:26 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…cg2q Please tell me you responded by pointing out that the total volume of things would be the same.

2026-04-25 02:58:44 UTC

Just finished a reread last night of NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy and now nothing sounds appealing because nothing can stand up next to that.
Reading hangover I guess, I'll hopefully get over it soon.
#Bookstodon

2026-04-24 16:23:20 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…63pg I think @nprofile…4mmp maybe was talking about this a while ago? Willow, feel free to yell at me if I got you mixed up with someone else.

2026-04-24 00:25:28 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp w00t!!!

2026-04-22 13:17:09 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…35kv Is P5 last thing in the day or right before lunch? I'm not sure how you'd fix the issue in your class, but there is a definite issue with attention span & "caring" (for lack of a better word) at those times.

2026-04-20 19:44:25 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp Put an X in the corner of your plate and spot it. Run it vertically (in this case the bottom edge was the vertical edge). Pull out plate. Let it dry. Rotate plate so the spot(s) are now in a row along the bottom and run vertically again (here that would be the normal up-down). Remove plate when done and examine with UV/stain/etc. It's pretty cool. This looks a little streaky because it's hard to ammonia treat 2D plates with a small bottle of NH4OH, I'd need to pour it into a much wider mouth bottle to do it right.

2026-04-20 19:24:59 UTC

Want to see something neat?
Bad news for me, but a technique most people no longer use?
2D TLC proved that not only do I have decomposition on silica gel, but based on the structure (which I can't provide here) I know what is likely happening in terms of side reactions! Pretty cool for a technique that takes <5 minutes and uses a double sized TLC plate and a larger chamber and nothing more elaborate.
(and yes my TLC plates are itty bitty, my standard height is 40 mm, widths seen here are 10, 15, & 40 mm)
#Chemistry #ChemiVerse
https://media.neuromatch.social/media_attachments/files/116/438/669/593/644/517/original/965f080934bbb76f.jpg

2026-04-15 19:31:36 UTC

I might have a somewhat messy bench/hood myself, but I abhor shared equipment spaces that are dirty/disorganized. I've always followed the rule of "shared lab spaces should be kept to the most rigorous person's standards".

2026-04-15 14:29:27 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 Any chance you'll be able to give them funny names? Like each year it's the "Amy, Mr. Blue, & Kermit the Frog scholarship" where the muppet changes annually?

2026-04-15 01:31:44 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp Yeah, I just double checked, means I have to make a detour tomorrow before work sigh
(it probably won't matter, I owe CA, but it's $71 so I doubt they would do anything about it)

2026-04-15 00:25:19 UTC

How petty I can be: Learned about CA's free online tax filing system, however both browsers I tried couldn't set it up right and they said after X number of tries they will have to mail me a PIN to complete set-up. In 5-10 days.
I refuse to pay $15.99 to FreeTaxUSA to file CA since I should be able to file for free.
I downloaded CA540, filled it out myself, printed it, found a check & stamp in my wallet, and will be mailing my state return like someone in the dark ages.
(the fact I have and use checks often enough to keep one in my wallet should tell you something about how much I dislike a lot of modern financial technology)

2026-04-14 16:04:06 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…mf4t @nprofile…63pg I use the outlook web interface and co-pilot will happily turn itself back on there. I spent yesterday fighting it. Sometimes it stays off for a few weeks, yesterday it flipped itself back on something like every page refresh.

2026-04-11 19:34:21 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 I had no idea they make non-committal mother's day cards! (My mom wants a phone call not a card, so I've never bought one)

2026-04-09 18:07:33 UTC

Mom shows up 30-45 min earlier than planned. Why? "Because I didn't have anything to do".
And now watched me put away stuff around the apartment (mostly stuff taken out for hiking yesterday) and awkwardly stands around.
I actually asked her what she does all day at home and she was like "I go to the gym, hike twice a week, play bridge twice a week, read books. Run errands. I'm busy, some people my age sit round and do nothing."
She goes to the gym at most 3x a week for maybe an hour. And unless she's not telling me about all the stuff she's reading she isn't reading that much more than she did before she retired.
Currently sitting staring into space
[20 minute break because she asked me what to do about her computer situation and I had to show her macs weren't scary and weird]

2026-04-04 16:34:00 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 Think about it this way: if your mom really starts to annoy Mr. Blue your niece & nephew might be convinced to air their javelins/shot put/discus at her house?

2026-04-04 16:05:10 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…63pg @nprofile…qj99 You all are the best :rat_love:

2026-04-04 15:58:37 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…63pg @nprofile…qj99 Do we need some sort of temporary landing page that suggests other instances of a similar size & great moderation capability to spread the load around?

2026-04-03 22:58:51 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…v9vp Ha! It's very idiosyncratic and definitely looks somewhat better when I'm not angrily writing a note in large letters (my handwriting default is significantly smaller).

2026-04-03 22:13:54 UTC

I am somewhat shocked. Someone saw the note!
(Also I just dropped off a sample and the instrument is currently frozen with the same error that messed things up Wednesday, do I want to email the center director or one of the NMR student workers? Or just hope they notice and reset it?)
https://media.neuromatch.social/media_attachments/files/116/343/074/504/055/331/original/7f39cbed02472a0a.jpeg

2026-04-03 14:07:58 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…63pg From what I've heard the biggest problem is they are much, much faster than something like a clay pigeon. Makes both aiming and hitting it (speed of the projectile, etc) problematic.
(I looked into whether you could hit them with paintball guns to blind the cameras, the answer is "highly unlikely")

2026-04-03 01:58:09 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…p227 I think @L1vY@mstdn.social worked this out a couple of weeks ago? It was a saga if I remember rightly.

2026-04-02 00:04:45 UTC

If you want to read about the history of toilets in space (and a bunch of other bodily functions) I'd highly recommend Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars". She covers all sorts of kind of gross things with her usual pop-science flair.

2026-03-30 01:20:05 UTC

Mom: So I'll be taking and uber there and back. I might not get home until midnight. Since [my sister] will have her phone off for the holiday and [my brother] will be traveling to Florida for the holiday so I'll call or text you to let you know I got home safely.
Me (living across a literal continent): Uh, you realize I don't always answer the phone, right?
There are things about her I will never, ever understand. The compulsion to call people before/after she gets on airplanes and this sort of thing is one of them. What does she think I'm going to do if she doesn't call or text? Start calling every ER on the route between her starting point and home? Does she think if she says this she puts out good vibes into the universe of safely getting home? Is it a generational thing? Am I too young to understand this? (these are mostly rhetorical questions)

2026-03-26 14:51:24 UTC

The Lego website has decided that I can't vote on new sets because my browser is told. I tolerate this garbage (grudgingly) from my bank. From a toy company? shakes fist
I'll have to vote for the cool set later when I'm at work.

2026-03-20 16:38:08 UTC

Trying to figure out how to get the old plastic washer out of a CO2 regulator to replace it (since at this point the leak is either there or the regulator itself). It's not coming out easily and I'm afraid I'm going to scratch the threads on the regulator if I try too hard with my tiny flat head screw driver. I've tried both at the center hole and where I think there should be a small notch on the edge and no luck.
Maybe @nprofile…530l has a trick for this?
#Biology

2026-03-10 05:13:59 UTC

I have to gush: the only reason this wasn't a "read in a single day by staying up much too late" book was because I knew I had an early morning dentist appointment today and exhibited truly extraordinary self-restraint Sunday night.
I got an eARC and will write a review on goodreads later this week (that was the promo deal), but for now consider this encouragement to go read @nprofile…4fl0 's "The Cloak and Its Wizard" if you enjoy fantasy books set in the modern world with a really unique POV.
I :heart_rainbow: the cloak.
#Bookstodon

2026-02-27 16:32:30 UTC

Need advice, specifically from people who use/have used disabled parking placards.
I found one on the street. It wasn't in a parking lot where I could turn it in to an obvious lost and found (this street is short, but goes to both the nature center and the YMCA and both have lost & founds). On the placard itself it says "if found mail back to CA DMV" with an address. Not the address of the one near me, so it would probably take a week to get there.
Do I mail it back? If one is lost does that make it easier for the owner to get a new one since that proves it was lost?
Is there a better way to handle this? I usually leave things found in this general area at the lost and found for the nature center, but this seems like it could cause a lot more difficulty to replace than a pair of headphones and I want to try and help whoever lost it.
(It may have been out there for hours, it have some indentations as if it was run over on the asphalt a bit. I can say it wasn't there yesterday morning, but it was dark last night going home, so it could have been there since then)

2026-02-18 01:31:50 UTC

Every large non-profit: "Hey ask your employer to match this donation"
My employer: "Will you donate to us?"
Ah universities...

2026-02-07 03:06:15 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…cy5p Serious question: are all furries predators and/or omnivores? Does no one have a rabbit fursona that isn't based on Bunicula or something?

2026-01-28 02:56:27 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…dyu0 If this doesn't go fedi- viral I'm going to feel very let down.

2026-01-19 20:02:08 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…hqk5 I think what's happening is that the band had more dark in the right photo so the contrast with your light colored sweater is better? Might have to flip the hat depending on what you're wearing it with (is that a thing you can do regularly? I don't knit so I'm not sure).

2026-01-10 18:21:50 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…7990 @nprofile…dyu0 The one you want is #Alt4Me (the other is people responding with alt text, I don't know if anyone follows it to provide it)

2026-01-10 00:53:21 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…pfuj Core sample with the iridium band in the wrong location.

2026-01-08 20:26:33 UTC

Just tried to send someone an eBay message that got blocked for "abusive language" and I realized I put a space in the word stopcock and eBay didn't like the result.
sigh
Absurdly big-brother-esque that they check messages for that sort of thing.

2025-12-26 05:30:05 UTC

Any chance there is someone on here planning on traveling between approximately UC Irvine and University of Arizona in the next little while? Might be looking for transportation for a sewing machine between those approximate locations. Nothing unusually large, though a little heavy because it's an older metal one. Compensation in cookies and a fun story connecting people on fedi.
#SoCal #Arizona

2025-12-16 01:13:13 UTC

In a freezer at work likely to be thrown away there are 7 rolls of color slide film. Most likely stored in that freezer since they were purchased, but I can't be certain. Expiration dates 2002 & 2003.
Would someone be interested in it? All Kodak Select 100 "EliteChrome", 5 are 24 exp and 2 are 36. If you live in the US and would be fine with the normal small flat rate box (as in no ice packs or anything) I could probably cover it. If you want fancier shipping (larger box with ice packs, overnight rather than priority, etc) or you live outside the US you would probably need to cover it.

2025-12-08 06:28:53 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…mssx now that is A Scarf.

2025-12-05 02:37:15 UTC

@nprofile…r7tk
You mentioned needing 24 well plates. I might have a couple of hundred (I need to double check tomorrow morning if they are available), but they are "protein crystallization plates", which are slightly bigger than a standard 96 well format. Would you have a way (money) to ship them if I can pack them (the box they came in is falling apart)? I don't think I can cover the shipping costs of this many, but if you only wanted a handful (say what fits in a large flat rate box?) it would be more reasonable.

2025-10-14 13:04:16 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…r7tk I regularly find/use bottles that pre-date my supervisor starting at UCI, which I think was 2014? They often have the name of the person he inherited part of his chemical inventory from. Some things just get used up a lot faster than others...
(I've also more than once in my career had a plastic bottle break due to age, spilling it's contents, not a big deal with the bottle of ammonium chloride last month, a much bigger deal with a 100 g bottle of rhodium octanoate when I was in grad school)

2025-10-07 00:33:35 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…6058 I left portland in 2020, but a friend from college moved there two years ago and had this comment on the current situation "the only war here is against the english ivy and we welcome anyone who wants to participate".

2025-10-01 00:02:38 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…k0f6 They are probably called gaskets, but without a photo of the undamaged thing I'm guessing a bit.

2025-06-13 04:53:07 UTC

Me: I'm leaving work before 7PM! Going to stop at the store to buy something.
Also me: Sees anti-ICE protest down the block from the store and gets side-tracked into standing with them for 20-30 min. Goes home, makes a pretty terrible sign, returns for more standing around with protestors for another 30-40 min.
Me: Well I guess that store is closed now. Whoops.
Ugh. Now I need to actually leave the house early tomorrow if I want to run this errand before work.

2025-06-10 20:27:40 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…xm42 These people supposedly do: https://www.tomlinson-tube.co.uk/tubing though since they don't have prices...

2025-06-10 16:08:56 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…xm42 How long do you need it and do both ends need to be sharp? Since the old school chemistry method is to just use an old needle with the luer lock end snapped off...

2025-06-07 19:57:35 UTC

OC rapid response (against ICE) is doing training for volunteers Monday night. If you're interested let me know and I'll pass along the details. They need both people who can show up to things and people who can answer phones. For phone stuff ideally bilingual or spanish speakers (even a little bit), but anyone welcome.
#SoCal

2025-06-02 03:32:57 UTC

Trying to figure out if there is anyway to dye my hair at home and do the wash out at work without a shower cap (because bike helmet). Not sure plastic wrap is going to cut it...