Alex Speed
@awhspeed.bsky.social
Chemistry Professor at Dalhousie University. Interested in sustainable organic and main-group chemistry, and asymmetric catalysis, with phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur compounds. Camper, plant hoarder, and Victorian house enthusiast.
It's been 7 years since we first shone light on a reaction in my lab and observed a beneficial effect...... in that time I've learned a lot about photoredox chemistry, a field I knew next to nothing about at the start of my career (you can debate whether what we do should be called photoredox)..(1/n
February 18, 2026 at 12:40 AM
It's been 7 years since we first shone light on a reaction in my lab and observed a beneficial effect...... in that time I've learned a lot about photoredox chemistry, a field I knew next to nothing about at the start of my career (you can debate whether what we do should be called photoredox)..(1/n
My students helped me out with the transit app today, and I rode the bus to the mall and back......welcome me to the 21st century!
February 17, 2026 at 11:46 PM
My students helped me out with the transit app today, and I rode the bus to the mall and back......welcome me to the 21st century!
Shrinkflation in action.... my recipe calls for 270 g of chocolate chips, but the bag I bought is 250 g.
February 15, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Shrinkflation in action.... my recipe calls for 270 g of chocolate chips, but the bag I bought is 250 g.
Epibatidine. Scary stuff.
Aleksei Navalny was most likely poisoned by a toxin found in a South American frog, five European countries said Saturday, making the most concrete Western accusation yet that Russia’s leading opposition figure was murdered by his government in a prison two years ago. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...
February 14, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Epibatidine. Scary stuff.
Oh my......
("Results in Materials".... Elsevier).
("Results in Materials".... Elsevier).
February 14, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Oh my......
("Results in Materials".... Elsevier).
("Results in Materials".... Elsevier).
Figured I'd watch an old kid's movie on this snowy evening to cheer myself up. There can't be any sad scenes right?
February 12, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Figured I'd watch an old kid's movie on this snowy evening to cheer myself up. There can't be any sad scenes right?
Brrr. I could never do this!
February 8, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Brrr. I could never do this!
Hard to believe my Kindle will soon be old enough to get its driver's licence if it was a person. I've swapped the screen once, and battery twice, second time was tonight!
(reposted and redacted, as I am not sure that somebody could do anything with my device's FCC ID, but I dont want to find out!)
(reposted and redacted, as I am not sure that somebody could do anything with my device's FCC ID, but I dont want to find out!)
February 7, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Hard to believe my Kindle will soon be old enough to get its driver's licence if it was a person. I've swapped the screen once, and battery twice, second time was tonight!
(reposted and redacted, as I am not sure that somebody could do anything with my device's FCC ID, but I dont want to find out!)
(reposted and redacted, as I am not sure that somebody could do anything with my device's FCC ID, but I dont want to find out!)
So this kind of deceptive e-mail showed up in my inbox. If it shows a picture of a 50 or 100 gram bottle, and a price, that price must be for the 50 or 100 grams right..... haha. It did make me click through though, so I guess it got clicks as designed.
February 6, 2026 at 2:04 AM
So this kind of deceptive e-mail showed up in my inbox. If it shows a picture of a 50 or 100 gram bottle, and a price, that price must be for the 50 or 100 grams right..... haha. It did make me click through though, so I guess it got clicks as designed.
It makes little sense that I can buy Australian beef in the grocery store for cheaper than the stuff raised within our own province.
February 6, 2026 at 1:22 AM
It makes little sense that I can buy Australian beef in the grocery store for cheaper than the stuff raised within our own province.
Saving some (food) refrigeration energy:
February 3, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Saving some (food) refrigeration energy:
Dealing with a glove box freezer failure :(
February 3, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Dealing with a glove box freezer failure :(
The movie "Requiem for a Dream" famously had the pupils going the wrong way relative to the drugs the protagonists were on. Nothing so exciting for me, just my yearly eye exam!
February 3, 2026 at 12:07 AM
The movie "Requiem for a Dream" famously had the pupils going the wrong way relative to the drugs the protagonists were on. Nothing so exciting for me, just my yearly eye exam!
Reading about predictors of more robust health in aging:
Apparently in my 40s I'm expected to be able get from the floor from sitting to standing without using hands or knees. No can do!
Apparently in my 40s I'm expected to be able get from the floor from sitting to standing without using hands or knees. No can do!
February 1, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Reading about predictors of more robust health in aging:
Apparently in my 40s I'm expected to be able get from the floor from sitting to standing without using hands or knees. No can do!
Apparently in my 40s I'm expected to be able get from the floor from sitting to standing without using hands or knees. No can do!
Introduction to Philosophy
The Philosophy of Art
Differential Equations I
Introduction to Anthropology
Chemistry of Main Group Elements
The Philosophy of Art
Differential Equations I
Introduction to Anthropology
Chemistry of Main Group Elements
Tell me five classes you took in college.
Molecular Biology of HIV
History of the Civil War
Organic Chemistry (2.5X, lol)
Science Writing
Physical Chemistry (woof)
Molecular Biology of HIV
History of the Civil War
Organic Chemistry (2.5X, lol)
Science Writing
Physical Chemistry (woof)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college.
Physics 2 (whoa, FIELDS?!?)
Astronomy 2 (whoa, order of magnitude thinking/proportional reasoning?!?)
Origins of Life
History of WWII
Relativity & Cosmology
Physics 2 (whoa, FIELDS?!?)
Astronomy 2 (whoa, order of magnitude thinking/proportional reasoning?!?)
Origins of Life
History of WWII
Relativity & Cosmology
February 1, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Introduction to Philosophy
The Philosophy of Art
Differential Equations I
Introduction to Anthropology
Chemistry of Main Group Elements
The Philosophy of Art
Differential Equations I
Introduction to Anthropology
Chemistry of Main Group Elements
Decided to to a bored calculation: I've made 55 round trips in airplanes in my 40-something years on this earth!
Most-frequent destination: Nova Scotia (when I lived in USA)
Second most-frequent destination: UK
Third most-frequent destination: Alberta
Fourth most-frequent destination: Ontario
Most-frequent destination: Nova Scotia (when I lived in USA)
Second most-frequent destination: UK
Third most-frequent destination: Alberta
Fourth most-frequent destination: Ontario
January 30, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Decided to to a bored calculation: I've made 55 round trips in airplanes in my 40-something years on this earth!
Most-frequent destination: Nova Scotia (when I lived in USA)
Second most-frequent destination: UK
Third most-frequent destination: Alberta
Fourth most-frequent destination: Ontario
Most-frequent destination: Nova Scotia (when I lived in USA)
Second most-frequent destination: UK
Third most-frequent destination: Alberta
Fourth most-frequent destination: Ontario
Silver panic! (if you follow such things).
January 30, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Silver panic! (if you follow such things).
Does anyone watch "The Institute"? I guess my neighbourhood is going to make an appearance!
January 30, 2026 at 1:31 AM
Does anyone watch "The Institute"? I guess my neighbourhood is going to make an appearance!
This is like a tip of my tongue for chemistry, but I saw something recently where an alcohol was homologated to a carboxylate 1 carbon longer, by doing a Mitsunobu with a very active C-H acid (a tri-ester), followed by double decarboxylation. A very neat transformation.
Where did I see that?
Where did I see that?
January 29, 2026 at 12:18 AM
This is like a tip of my tongue for chemistry, but I saw something recently where an alcohol was homologated to a carboxylate 1 carbon longer, by doing a Mitsunobu with a very active C-H acid (a tri-ester), followed by double decarboxylation. A very neat transformation.
Where did I see that?
Where did I see that?
Funny, I brought up White Juan in class today, and almost said "but you would have been in elementary school when that happened" then caught myself, and realized there's a good chance none of the students were even born when White Juan hit.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_J...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_J...
White Juan - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Funny, I brought up White Juan in class today, and almost said "but you would have been in elementary school when that happened" then caught myself, and realized there's a good chance none of the students were even born when White Juan hit.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_J...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_J...
Reposted by Alex Speed
Tried making Mapo tofu. Colour is wrong, taste is adequate. I guess the black bean sauce I got is not an appropriate substitute for Doubanjiang.
January 26, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Tried making Mapo tofu. Colour is wrong, taste is adequate. I guess the black bean sauce I got is not an appropriate substitute for Doubanjiang.
I'm sorry, but how does that substitution make sense? Autocheck gaslighting me again.
January 26, 2026 at 2:04 PM
I'm sorry, but how does that substitution make sense? Autocheck gaslighting me again.