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.
TIL there's a medicine for increasing a cat's appetite that can go in their ear!
November 14, 2025 at 1:26 AM
TIL there's a medicine for increasing a cat's appetite that can go in their ear!
I know there's a lot to unpack here, and probably a pretty sad backstory, but this made me chuckle. Could have ended a lot worse, like my namesake movie.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Man who took Hamilton bus on joy ride 'did a great job' driving, left no dings, say police | CBC News
He made several stops along the way, allowing passengers to get on and off, police say. He was then arrested.
www.cbc.ca
November 13, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I know there's a lot to unpack here, and probably a pretty sad backstory, but this made me chuckle. Could have ended a lot worse, like my namesake movie.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Writing problem set answers in chemdraw, and the typing got glacially, frustratingly slow.... I was at a loss why, until I realized I had the "analysis" window on, and it was recalculating the masses of the atomic symbols in my written answers, and updating each time I wrote a letter!
November 12, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Writing problem set answers in chemdraw, and the typing got glacially, frustratingly slow.... I was at a loss why, until I realized I had the "analysis" window on, and it was recalculating the masses of the atomic symbols in my written answers, and updating each time I wrote a letter!
I'm curious, given the huge contemporary importance of photoredox chemistry, and radical chemistry, when people cover it in organic chemistry courses they teach? I don't cover it in my third year course. I think back to when I was a student, and olefin metathesis was really emerging (1/n)
November 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
I'm curious, given the huge contemporary importance of photoredox chemistry, and radical chemistry, when people cover it in organic chemistry courses they teach? I don't cover it in my third year course. I think back to when I was a student, and olefin metathesis was really emerging (1/n)
If you don't have clouds, look up!
November 12, 2025 at 1:57 AM
If you don't have clouds, look up!
Nov 11th always makes me think of a few things. The only one that's really my story to tell:
20 years ago today, I took advantage of no school to write the GREs, which sent me on the path to doing my PhD in the USA. Times are very different nowadays, and I would not (could not) follow the same path.
20 years ago today, I took advantage of no school to write the GREs, which sent me on the path to doing my PhD in the USA. Times are very different nowadays, and I would not (could not) follow the same path.
November 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Nov 11th always makes me think of a few things. The only one that's really my story to tell:
20 years ago today, I took advantage of no school to write the GREs, which sent me on the path to doing my PhD in the USA. Times are very different nowadays, and I would not (could not) follow the same path.
20 years ago today, I took advantage of no school to write the GREs, which sent me on the path to doing my PhD in the USA. Times are very different nowadays, and I would not (could not) follow the same path.
Funny, PAVLOVA is a word, but PAVLOVIAN is not.... would have been a Panagram! Though now I have a craving for a certain food item... might even be drooling.
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Funny, PAVLOVA is a word, but PAVLOVIAN is not.... would have been a Panagram! Though now I have a craving for a certain food item... might even be drooling.
Not the greatest day, so I'm going to read a story about psychic vampires who steal people's souls so they don't age to cheer me up:
November 6, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Not the greatest day, so I'm going to read a story about psychic vampires who steal people's souls so they don't age to cheer me up:
So I seem to recall hearing once that certain monofluorinated PAH compounds (ie 1-anthracene or 1-naphthalene positions) were carcinogenic (more-so than either the parent compounds or the chloro-derivatives). However I can seem to find a literature source for this. Does anyone know about this?
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
So I seem to recall hearing once that certain monofluorinated PAH compounds (ie 1-anthracene or 1-naphthalene positions) were carcinogenic (more-so than either the parent compounds or the chloro-derivatives). However I can seem to find a literature source for this. Does anyone know about this?
I had to laugh at this streetview scene I found:
www.google.com/maps/@44.316...
www.google.com/maps/@44.316...
www.google.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I had to laugh at this streetview scene I found:
www.google.com/maps/@44.316...
www.google.com/maps/@44.316...
reflecting that I just transferred 3 NMR spectra in a few seconds from our file-server, that would have been about 10% of my first computer's hard drive capacity, without a second thought. I complain a lot about computers, but they are empowering too.
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
reflecting that I just transferred 3 NMR spectra in a few seconds from our file-server, that would have been about 10% of my first computer's hard drive capacity, without a second thought. I complain a lot about computers, but they are empowering too.
It may not impress some, but I got my first sub-7 minute time solving a Monday NYT crossword!
November 4, 2025 at 2:07 AM
It may not impress some, but I got my first sub-7 minute time solving a Monday NYT crossword!
Why is it so dark and I am so hungry, it's only just past 5:00..... oh yeah.....
November 2, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Why is it so dark and I am so hungry, it's only just past 5:00..... oh yeah.....
Reposted by Alex Speed
At this critical moment Canada is making poor decisions when it comes to funding for science and higher education. Austerity in this sector at this point in time will decimate the knowledge economy in all of North America. Funding a couple of high profile chairs is not going to solve the problem.
Well reported story on the PBS News Hour about science cuts and the ongoing and potential brain drain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...
Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out.
Watch and share!
1/7
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...
Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out.
Watch and share!
1/7
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:54 PM
At this critical moment Canada is making poor decisions when it comes to funding for science and higher education. Austerity in this sector at this point in time will decimate the knowledge economy in all of North America. Funding a couple of high profile chairs is not going to solve the problem.
It may not mean much to some, but I'm 1 citation away from getting 1000 citations! I didn't have a lot of publications from my PhD, so it's nice to eventually hit this milestone!
(TBH I already have over 1000, but google scholar stubbornly undercounts one of my papers).
(TBH I already have over 1000, but google scholar stubbornly undercounts one of my papers).
October 31, 2025 at 12:03 PM
It may not mean much to some, but I'm 1 citation away from getting 1000 citations! I didn't have a lot of publications from my PhD, so it's nice to eventually hit this milestone!
(TBH I already have over 1000, but google scholar stubbornly undercounts one of my papers).
(TBH I already have over 1000, but google scholar stubbornly undercounts one of my papers).
Randomly some songs from NIN "Ghosts" album came on my playlist, and I forgot what bangers they were. I guess I used to listen to them in not very happy days of grad school, so there's always a bit of a negative association.
But anyway:
I'm in a 34 Ghosts IV type of mood tonight.
But anyway:
I'm in a 34 Ghosts IV type of mood tonight.
October 30, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Randomly some songs from NIN "Ghosts" album came on my playlist, and I forgot what bangers they were. I guess I used to listen to them in not very happy days of grad school, so there's always a bit of a negative association.
But anyway:
I'm in a 34 Ghosts IV type of mood tonight.
But anyway:
I'm in a 34 Ghosts IV type of mood tonight.
Not that I'm going to do it, because there is a substantial price difference, but I wonder what I would get if I bought the compound on the right, rather than the compound on the left?
October 29, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Not that I'm going to do it, because there is a substantial price difference, but I wonder what I would get if I bought the compound on the right, rather than the compound on the left?
Reminiscing by going through some photos from over a decade ago. This was certainly not the largest medical bill I got during my time in the USA, but the number is striking. I had good insurance through my job at the time, but it was dependent on me having a job, and paying quite a bit for it.
October 29, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reminiscing by going through some photos from over a decade ago. This was certainly not the largest medical bill I got during my time in the USA, but the number is striking. I had good insurance through my job at the time, but it was dependent on me having a job, and paying quite a bit for it.
If you were going to teach a class involving photoredox chemistry, and metallophotoredox chemistry, to grad students, what would your must-have reviews be?
October 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
If you were going to teach a class involving photoredox chemistry, and metallophotoredox chemistry, to grad students, what would your must-have reviews be?
Had a nice end of October camping trip. Though it was moody and foggy and cloudy, there was a fortuitous overlap of me being awake and the clouds cooperating. The greenish glow in the sky is likely light pollution from Jeremy's Bay, and not an aurora.
October 26, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Had a nice end of October camping trip. Though it was moody and foggy and cloudy, there was a fortuitous overlap of me being awake and the clouds cooperating. The greenish glow in the sky is likely light pollution from Jeremy's Bay, and not an aurora.
Wow, I feel really special and seen:
![e-mail that starts with Dear [First Name],](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/bafkreidm5vp3rmhcr7zf3fwoe3xcgqvks7gc43g7cjefnx2pietturplzu@jpeg)
October 22, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Wow, I feel really special and seen:
Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in on the stirring debate! It's certainly crucial for a lot of reactions we do 🤣
Earlier this year, a paper came out that suggested for many organic reactions stirring has little effect on reactions rates. Now, a group has released a preprint arguing that stirring remains critical for reproducibility, selectivity and scalability.
All stirred up: chemical engineers refute claims that ‘stirring doesn’t matter’
Failing to mix reactions in heterogeneous or industrial systems could cause numerous issues and might even be dangerous, preprint claims
www.chemistryworld.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in on the stirring debate! It's certainly crucial for a lot of reactions we do 🤣
My NYT Spelling Bee streak is messed up (ie it claims I did not do yesterday's puzzle). I assume that's related to the web outage?
October 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
My NYT Spelling Bee streak is messed up (ie it claims I did not do yesterday's puzzle). I assume that's related to the web outage?
Should I order sushi from this place? Wonder what I will get?
October 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Should I order sushi from this place? Wonder what I will get?