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.https://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3muwne2t2rc2zNothing like Spelling bee to make me second guess my spelling skills.07 Sep 2026 13:45 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwne2t2rc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3muvanhu2pc23www.maptap.gg September 6 100🎯 99🎯 100🎯 100🎯 98🎯 Final score: 993 Close, but not quite :( https://www.maptap.gg07 Sep 2026 00:25 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3muvanhu2pc23https://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mundudwoh22sThis might be my lowest score yet. Funny, because I'd actually like to visit Valparaíso, I just seem to have no idea where it is. In my defence, Chile is a long country, so a small area away can cover a lot of distance! www.maptap.gg September 3 98🎯 95🏅 95🏅 78🌞 99🎯 Final score: 914 https://www.maptap.gg03 Sep 2026 21:01 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mundudwoh22shttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mub54kwdfs2sI enjoyed watching the Venetian Night in Halifax. The boats go up and down the Northwest Arm, to mark the end of summer sailing season. Still plenty warm. I'm not at all a boat person, so excuse my descriptions in the captions.30 Aug 2026 00:28 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mub54kwdfs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mu4j6kn3ls2aMy best effort to capture the eclipse from my balcony, holding my phone up to a binocular eyepiece.28 Aug 2026 04:21 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu4j6kn3ls2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mu47sd6z222aPhoto from earlier. Before the chomp. Not sure if clouds will cooperate.28 Aug 2026 01:33 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu47sd6z222ahttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mtytypeuzc2vTIL my little old crown of thorns plant, of which I have many cuttings around, makes lots of phorbol esters. Phorbol was (and maybe is) a hot topic in total synthesis. I've had crown of thorns for many many years, and not known this.26 Aug 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtytypeuzc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mtqtmltp322sAnother camping trip in the books for this increasingly less-nervous driver!23 Aug 2026 12:56 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqtmltp322shttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mtqss5klek2rImmortalized by Google Street View. To the best of my knowledge, the only instance of me on it! https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3316567,-71.1577605,3a,64.8y,25.57h,70.77t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1scvJ2K55plSGZtxk6m6SiUA!2e0!5s20130901T000000!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D19.230826981264613%26panoid%3DcvJ2K55plSGZtxk6m6SiUA%26yaw%3D25.574878689772486!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D23 Aug 2026 12:41 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqss5klek2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mt7gclumnk2zLOL, was at a wedding last night with a bunch of old students turned friends. So of course I had a dream where I was a student again, taking an exam in math, which I knew nothing about. "School Dreams" are pernicious. I suspect I will always have them.16 Aug 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7gclumnk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mt3bgu24ok2yAndrei Sator is going to be pissed. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2026 23:05 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt3bgu24ok2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mswf2ympt22cI use F.LUX to reduce the blue light in my screen at night. (I commonly get asked "why is your screen so orange"). Anyway, I just realized my location was still set to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, after all these years. Not a huge difference, but funny I never noticed it!13 Aug 2026 00:26 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mswf2ympt22chttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mso3abhioc2oWithin spitting distance of perfect :( www.maptap.gg August 9 100🎯 100🎯 100🎯 100🎯 94🏅 Final score: 982 https://www.maptap.gg09 Aug 2026 17:09 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mso3abhioc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mso2g6ycps2uMy 24 year old computer broke recently. It had become unusable about 12 years before, not because of hardware or software issues, but because it would no longer take updates. I have another computer that's 10 years old that would work perfectly well if the battery was not defective, and glued (1/n)09 Aug 2026 16:54 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mso2g6ycps2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3msntw7mca227Throwback to the longest hike I ever did, the Liberty Lake Loop at Kejimkujik.09 Aug 2026 14:58 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3msntw7mca227https://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mslcgce2ic2rwww.maptap.gg August 8 100🎯 98🎯 98🎯 93🏆 95🏅 Final score: 958 https://www.maptap.gg08 Aug 2026 14:40 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mslcgce2ic2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3msjgu7r3ls2rFirst time this has happened since I have lived in Halifax! [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Aug 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3msjgu7r3ls2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3msincf4o722pNo lab work today. It's too hot!07 Aug 2026 13:16 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3msincf4o722phttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mshcq5nibk2jI may have missed the message that things were changing, but I noticed the interest rate in my emergency fund account dropped yet again from what it was when I started it. So I pulled up some info, and wow, my bank has an amazing incentive structure if you put even more money in that account:07 Aug 2026 00:34 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mshcq5nibk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3msfzo4yxok2zThis has come up before, but never changes:06 Aug 2026 12:20 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfzo4yxok2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3ms7jtjutls2j"Pleasant" - at 99% humidity. LOL.03 Aug 2026 22:20 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms7jtjutls2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3ms755pk7os23Picked some fantastic weather to cook in.03 Aug 2026 18:33 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms755pk7os23https://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3ms2stgm2ik2tIn the days before I had a smartphone, I printed out Google maps when I went to Dresden and Vienna, and got lost both times, as I had not printed a wide enough area. Didn't get a New York Times story though! [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Aug 2026 01:18 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms2stgm2ik2thttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3ms2spgt5rc2tI'm glad I remembered it is Natal Day weekend, because otherwise I would have been afraid something was exploding!02 Aug 2026 01:16 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms2spgt5rc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mry7hluzck2rAnyone in Halifax picking up a geosmin smell in the water? Their site only appears current up to July 17th!01 Aug 2026 00:26 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mry7hluzck2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mrt4qjnnk22nI've only flown on 2 trips since 2019!29 Jul 2026 23:54 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrt4qjnnk22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mrlkgwcs4k2pSome are much faster, but I have never solved a NYT Monday crossword in under 6 minutes before!26 Jul 2026 23:38 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrlkgwcs4k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mrjcr5vvgc2pI realized I have a lot of expired stuff in my camping gear, so I was restocking on emergency water purification tablets (I use a UV sterilizer normally when camping), and this was listed as something people "also buy". I have many questions.26 Jul 2026 02:15 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrjcr5vvgc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/awhspeed.bsky.social/post/3mrildqvbx22rAmnio is a word, but amnion is not. And of course my perennial irritation, that amination (my subject expertise) is not a word.25 Jul 2026 19:16 +0000at://did:plc:376gtsmlcgnlnmsp637iu3tf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrildqvbx22r