The Toad in your Bass Guitar
@racicotleanne.bsky.social
She/they
Feral organic chemist with a special interest for public radio, bulk stores and cats. Opinions are my own and they are garbage!
https://uwaterloo.ca/racicot-organic-chemistry-lab/
Feral organic chemist with a special interest for public radio, bulk stores and cats. Opinions are my own and they are garbage!
https://uwaterloo.ca/racicot-organic-chemistry-lab/
I wanted to make jejuk bokkeum but I ran out of garlic.... guess I will increase green onion and more garlic powder but it's not the same. Sorry to all koreans, this is a culinary crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:42 PM
I wanted to make jejuk bokkeum but I ran out of garlic.... guess I will increase green onion and more garlic powder but it's not the same. Sorry to all koreans, this is a culinary crime.
A student admitted to spending time arguing with ChatGPT about whether a system would undergo a carbocation rearrangement and not attending lecture in my office hours. At this point, launch me into the sun.
November 20, 2025 at 8:46 PM
A student admitted to spending time arguing with ChatGPT about whether a system would undergo a carbocation rearrangement and not attending lecture in my office hours. At this point, launch me into the sun.
Gukulekin reminded me how far I strayed from the total synthesis game, my brain can barely handle it anymore!
It's that time again: @cenmag.bsky.social 's molecule of the year poll is now OPEN! Check out the contenders, lovingly curated by yours truly from past C&EN stories, and vote for your favorite by Dec. 11
#chemsky #scisky #moty2025
cen.acs.org/synthesis/Mo...
#chemsky #scisky #moty2025
cen.acs.org/synthesis/Mo...
Meet the molecules of the year 2025
C&EN editors’ annual round-up of spectacular molecules we’ve covered in the past year
cen.acs.org
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Gukulekin reminded me how far I strayed from the total synthesis game, my brain can barely handle it anymore!
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
If you haven’t worked for a university, you might not know that one of the primary ways universities manage sexually violent faculty is promoting them away from students and into power.
It isn’t a coincidence. It’s the system working as designed.
It isn’t a coincidence. It’s the system working as designed.
November 18, 2025 at 6:07 PM
If you haven’t worked for a university, you might not know that one of the primary ways universities manage sexually violent faculty is promoting them away from students and into power.
It isn’t a coincidence. It’s the system working as designed.
It isn’t a coincidence. It’s the system working as designed.
I really did myself in planning some themed days for my outreach by pooling students across the region. For each of these days I'm communicating with 4-7 schools and I planned four of these for the end of the month. Why am I like this?
November 14, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I really did myself in planning some themed days for my outreach by pooling students across the region. For each of these days I'm communicating with 4-7 schools and I planned four of these for the end of the month. Why am I like this?
Today in The Horrors: our institutional subscription of Microsoft 365 does not allow us to disable Copilot.
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Today in The Horrors: our institutional subscription of Microsoft 365 does not allow us to disable Copilot.
Is soup savoury cereal? @chemjobber.bsky.social @alexgoldberg.ca (if this was previously debated I am sorry)
November 11, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Is soup savoury cereal? @chemjobber.bsky.social @alexgoldberg.ca (if this was previously debated I am sorry)
It's perhaps a funny thing being a person who likes to dress wild and colourful at work to tell others that I actually don't usually want my image used for purposes other than the one I agreed to. It's a lesson in consent but it feels so icky to give.
November 11, 2025 at 5:44 PM
It's perhaps a funny thing being a person who likes to dress wild and colourful at work to tell others that I actually don't usually want my image used for purposes other than the one I agreed to. It's a lesson in consent but it feels so icky to give.
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
A change for me that predates chatgpt is doing more mental math. For years I've been pausing before I reach for a calculator and pushing myself to do the work in my own brain. Not all math all the time, just more than I used to.
I became very conscientious about this during COVID. I do puzzles, read hard things or read and watch programming with different normative (or cultural) assumptions etc. I would like to keep what I can. Bananas to come out of the forced mediated world of COVID…and jump into AI.
Exactly, including for the long term for health benefits. Friend of mine did Parkinson’s research at Mayo for decades and he tells me all the time how important it is to stay mentally active to reduce the chances of a whole lot of cognitive decline.
November 8, 2025 at 1:49 PM
A change for me that predates chatgpt is doing more mental math. For years I've been pausing before I reach for a calculator and pushing myself to do the work in my own brain. Not all math all the time, just more than I used to.
They should invent a Fall term that doesn't push me to the brink of insanity.
November 7, 2025 at 12:28 AM
They should invent a Fall term that doesn't push me to the brink of insanity.
I really wanted the trend of super long movies to be left in the early 2000s because what do you mean One Battle After Another is nearly three hours long? People need to say no to Paul Thomas Andersen because really Magnolia proved you don't need all those minutes. Get to ✂️
November 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
I really wanted the trend of super long movies to be left in the early 2000s because what do you mean One Battle After Another is nearly three hours long? People need to say no to Paul Thomas Andersen because really Magnolia proved you don't need all those minutes. Get to ✂️
Bob, I want all my garmonbozia.
"Doom-spending, or purchasing nonessential items in order to cope with unpleasant feelings, is also trendy among Gen Z, Jain said."
A) I do that, it's not a Gen Z thing
B) If you want to cut down on that, maybe consider cutting down on ALL THE DOOM
A) I do that, it's not a Gen Z thing
B) If you want to cut down on that, maybe consider cutting down on ALL THE DOOM
October 31, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Bob, I want all my garmonbozia.
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
if you weren't supposed to invest in them then why are they named financiers
October 31, 2025 at 2:10 PM
if you weren't supposed to invest in them then why are they named financiers
I am once again mad about Chegg/StuDocu and the lot.
October 31, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I am once again mad about Chegg/StuDocu and the lot.
I just love starting my robot vacuum while I'm at work and watching its progress on the app. Is that my inner cop?
October 30, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I just love starting my robot vacuum while I'm at work and watching its progress on the app. Is that my inner cop?
We're starting a bi-weekly meeting series for a project and I really wished the struggle we're having to find a time where we're all three teaching-heavy people are available was being noted as an obstacle to the project.
October 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
We're starting a bi-weekly meeting series for a project and I really wished the struggle we're having to find a time where we're all three teaching-heavy people are available was being noted as an obstacle to the project.
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Drop an old person you're going to turn into in the future.
October 26, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Drop an old person you're going to turn into in the future.
Ahhh! Real Monsters!
October 24, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Ahhh! Real Monsters!
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
I lift weights to I can one hand snatch a (70%) full 5 gallon drum of aqueous waste on the bench like it's nbd 💪
October 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I lift weights to I can one hand snatch a (70%) full 5 gallon drum of aqueous waste on the bench like it's nbd 💪
I have benefitted directly from @ourspectrum.bsky.social 's programs. Joining the run club allowed me to find community when campus/work felt unsafe. Our funding is extremely limited in these EDI-rollback times. Consider donating here: ourspectrum.com/donate/
October 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I have benefitted directly from @ourspectrum.bsky.social 's programs. Joining the run club allowed me to find community when campus/work felt unsafe. Our funding is extremely limited in these EDI-rollback times. Consider donating here: ourspectrum.com/donate/
In June 2023 a gender studies class at UWaterloo was the scene of a hate-motivated attack. This week, our local queer organizations were warned of potential anti-2SLGBTQIA+ action. But today our local organization @ourspectrum.bsky.social was given a shoutout in Nature Communications! Article here:
Cake to the rescue: how these PhD students are cooking up a sense of community
One treat at a time, these graduate students are helping to raise funds for charitable organizations.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM
In June 2023 a gender studies class at UWaterloo was the scene of a hate-motivated attack. This week, our local queer organizations were warned of potential anti-2SLGBTQIA+ action. But today our local organization @ourspectrum.bsky.social was given a shoutout in Nature Communications! Article here:
I have a PhD in chemistry and not afraid to admit that 9/10 times when I want to make a call from my phone I hit the calculator app.
a little girl is using a microwave with the number 0 on the display
ALT: a little girl is using a microwave with the number 0 on the display
media.tenor.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I have a PhD in chemistry and not afraid to admit that 9/10 times when I want to make a call from my phone I hit the calculator app.
Reposted by The Toad in your Bass Guitar
Happy Friday 🐈⬛🐈
October 17, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Happy Friday 🐈⬛🐈