Sam Levine
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srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
Sam Levine
@srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
27 followers 7 following 83 posts
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 […]

[bridged from https://neuromatch.social/@SRLevine on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
But Sam, how do you buy groceries without a car?!?!

(Also: guess who is giving out ramen for halloween this year? I'm still planning to make cookies, but there is an activation barrier to doing that which I haven't gotten over in the two weeks since I made the plan.)

#carryshitolympics
A pile of groceries on a wooden counter. There are four 12 packs of top ramen (chicken flavor), a box of hello kitty ramen, two packs of fancy "naked organics" hamburger buns, two containers of those cute little tomatoes, and a large bag of green grapes. The ramen tower is tall enough it's sort of absurd and reaches above the edge of the window curtain (which comes nowhere close to the counter).
October 30, 2025 at 2:27 AM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
Crystallography & structural biology folks: does anyone still use these? I've been finding stray ones around and now found what looks like an entire case of them. No idea if they are remnants of stuff because the lab was here for a long time or if I should […]

[Original post on neuromatch.social]
A small glass rectangle with 9 hemispherical depressions in a 3 by 3 grid.
August 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
(Dr. Frankenstein voice) It's Alive!!!

Huffy customer service was pretty good for someone who didn't buy the bike from them in the first place. Though sending me a total of 8 nuts and 0 washers was an interesting choice (it was supposed to be 2 of each […]

[Original post on neuromatch.social]
Poorly lit photo of two bikes. There is a silver & black beach cruiser in front that has a ridiculously tiny front basket and a giant cushy seat. In back there is a yellow road bike with black & silver accents.
July 26, 2025 at 2:32 AM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
Me: This stuff is really expensive and I would prefer a version with this other side chain that isn't commercially available. How hard could it be to make?

Me after reading the literature:

#chemistry #chemiverse #lablife
May 19, 2025 at 9:07 PM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
You know stuff is getting real on the moving front when the shelving I told my supervisor I never, ever wanted to have to take apart is coming out.

I'm sort of inordinately proud of these. The dimensions of the foot wells where we wanted shelves were such […]

[Original post on neuromatch.social]
Three wire shelves of the sort used in storage rooms and restaurants wedged into a gap between the drawers in a lab bench. There are a number of dish bins and drying glassware on them. A partially disassembled version of the same shelves where the front two posts have been removed and you can see how the back posts are behind the lip on the floor. You can also see how tightly the shelves were in there since the one left isn't actually being supported on the front and is still a couple of inches off the ground because the back is prevented from sliding further down the posts due to lack of space.
January 16, 2025 at 2:15 AM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
And on the other fire: a faculty member I collaborate with at UCI commutes from LA (I know, right?) and I asked how she was doing on slack.

This photo is apparently by the exit to her house. She's packed but they haven't told her to evacuate yet.

#palisadesfire
Fire crossing between two mountains, lit up against the night sky. There are a pair of green highway signs for Skirball Ctr Dr and Getty Ctr Dr visible in the corner. Not sure if this is courtesy or Lauren Albrecht or if she got it from the news or a local friend, but she's the one who shared it with me.
January 8, 2025 at 6:12 AM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
Here it is! This seems like the sort of thing that the someone would love to have. Appears to be made of steel and there is a little round hole in the hair for mounting it with a nail or tack.

Since the size was smaller than I expected I *think* I could […]

[Original post on neuromatch.social]
A small red silhouette of a cyclist standing on the pedals for more power on a road bike. Their hair is streaming behind them. Next to the sculpture is a metal ruler indicating that it is less than 12 cm tall.
December 18, 2024 at 5:06 PM
srlevine.neuromatch.social.ap.brid.gy
I try to include the flaws when I talk about my baking and how I am very much not a professional (and you don't have to be either!). As you can see I have never in my life managed to roll dough into a perfect square/rectangle. This was particularly […]

[Original post on neuromatch.social]
A mishappen trapezoid-ish shape of dough. It sort of looks like the US state of Arkansas if you squint a bit. The bottom edge is basically hanging off the silicon pastry work mat and is horribly off center. The dough is a light wheat color and is covered in a thick layer of a dark brown chocolate paste. A fondant pin is visible to one side and a messy glass measuring cup with the remnants of the chocolate paste, a spatula and fork, are also visible. In the very back are the base of my food processor and my fancy butter dish. Two neatly rolled logs of dough. They are the same light wheat color as the unrolled dough, but are now in long tubes with only a couple of chocolate finger prints visible. They are resting on a piece of waxed canvas with a red and white checkerboard pattern, which in turn is on an aluminum half sheet pan.
November 28, 2024 at 4:09 PM