Andre the Chemist
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andrechemist.bsky.social
Andre the Chemist
@andrechemist.bsky.social
2.2K followers 480 following 5.9K posts
Noted rhenium hater and **undefeated** youth soccer coach (total of one game coached).

Virginia, USA. He/him.
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andrechemist.bsky.social
Finally, a tea that tastes like a beer.
A can of Golden Monkey (beer from Victory Brewing) next to a bag of Golden Monkey (loose leaf tea from Stash tea company).
November 26, 2025 at 6:55 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
My timeline presenting me with the only two possible ways to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.
[screenshot of three consecutive bluesky posts] Matt Hartings‬ @matthartings.bsky.social‬ · 7h It's the Monday before Tgiving, which means it's time to cut out the turkey's backbone (spatchcock!!!), salt the bird (dry brine!!!), and make the first round of stock. ‪Matt Hartings‬ ‪@matthartings.bsky.social‬ · 12m Bubble bubble Turkey spatchcocked All the fixins for some stock For you I will boil [picture of stock being prepared in a pot] ‪Jerry Chen‬ ‪@jcsalterego.bsky.social‬ · 13m anyway, time to start carving this large block of tofu into a biblically accurate turkey
November 25, 2025 at 12:11 AM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Love @defector.com but the wording used here to describe Oak Ridge National Laboratory seems overly obfuscating in a way to try to paint the subject in a negative light. Not sure why it can't just be described as a DOE research laboratory.
[screenshot of text] In 2013, his company hosted a visit from Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who announced a $350 million investment in a 3-D printing partnership that included Manuck’s firm and the Tennessee laboratory that refined uranium for the first nuclear bomb.
November 22, 2025 at 5:37 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
I kinda feel bad I cut up and ate the rest of this little guy.
The end slice of a kiwi that looks like a little face with a mouth-looking middle and two seeds that look like eyes.
November 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Image with alt-text 'cause this is bluesky
[screenshot of text] I have previously mentioned a guy (sorry to assume gender, but, c’mon) who goes into WNBA blogs not about Caitlin Clark, angrily comments about why the blog doesn’t mention Caitlin Clark, gets banned, and then buys a new subscription. As of this writing, he has spent at least $168 across at least seven distinct, permanently banned subscriptions. (When a commenter gets banned, their comment history disappears, so you won’t find his past comments.) Thanks to this guy for supporting independent media.
November 19, 2025 at 4:43 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Subscribe to journalism that does cool stuff like this. www.defector.com (does not just stick to sports)
[Screenshot of text] The special guest for the Season 9 premiere of Normal Gossip was Malala Yousafzai. We were thrilled to hear from her PR people that she was a fan of the show and wanted to be a guest, but we were surprised to find out that Malala’s team did not yet possess a professional-caliber podcast microphone. After an internal back-and-forth on whether we should mail them the Defector podcasting travel kit with a self-addressed box back to us, we decided to just buy her some new gear. In the future, when you see Malala do a BBC interview with a Shure MV7+ mic just out of frame, remember that Defector underwrote that equipment.
November 19, 2025 at 2:55 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Screenshot of text that reads: Looking over the re-analysis of the reaction yields, it seems that the reaction types that showed the biggest pro-mixing effects were metal-catalyzed cross-couplings, electrochemical reactions, polar mechanisms with a lot of anion/cation character, and (weirdly, to me) rearrangements like the Claisen and Schmidt. [in the screenshot, the words "metal-catalyzed cross-couplings" are highlighted] Image of Justin Timberlake in a suit, staring at the camera in a knowing fashion.
November 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
(here's the original text from the show for context before anyone goes all bluesky on me)
Three-frame meme from Parks & Rec with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) asking Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) questions. Frame one. Leslie: "Andy, will you be Iceland?" Andy: "The bad guys from Mighty Ducks 2? Don't think so." Frame two. Leslie: "Okay, how about Japan?" Andy: "The bad guys from Karate Kid 2? Even worse." Frame three. Andy: "How about Germany? They've never been the bad guys."
November 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Getting a job after grad school
Three-frame meme from Parks & Rec with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) asking Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) questions. [Originial text of meme] Frame one. Leslie: "Andy, will you be Iceland?" Andy: "The bad guys from Mighty Ducks 2? Don't think so." Frame two. Leslie: "Okay, how about Japan?" Andy: "The bad guys from Karate Kid 2? Even worse." Frame three. Andy: "How about Germany? They've never been the bad guys." [New meme text with new words in the inserted with text blocks] Frame one. Leslie: "Andy, will you <go into government work?>" Andy: "The bad guys from <3 mile island>? Don't think so." Frame two. Leslie: "Okay, how about <industry?>" Andy: "The bad guys from <Deepwater Horizon>? Even worse." Frame three. Andy: "How about <academia>? They've never been the bad guys."
November 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Yup, A.I. That is such a good and correct structure for calcium bromide.
A chemical "structure" for calcium bromide, showing a Ca atom with two + charges next to it. There are two Br atoms each with a – charge next to it. One Br has a single line connecting it to the Ca, the other has two lines connecting it to the Ca.
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
So when I took the test the answers were stuck in my brain.
It was like a whole different kind of cheating!
Bark Simpson sitting at a fancy restaurant wearing a suit with a medal pinned to it that says "A" and a crown with the letter "A" repeated around the top.
November 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Oh what a good deal! Staples let me know I can save $176 of the $181 cost by simply [checks notes] buying 2% of the number of markers.

I'll have to consider that.
A screenshot of a 192-pack of dry erase markers on Staples.com that cost $181.99. At the bottom it says "Save an extra $176.40" and the way to do that is buy a four-pack of markers for $5.99.
November 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
These two pickles in my house are fucking suspicious if you ask me.
A smaller (14 inch) Squishmallow pickle sitting on top of a larger (24 inch) Squishmallow pickle. The larger pickle has a moustache and is winking.
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 AM
andrechemist.bsky.social
On #chemsky, this is what we refer to as "Schrödinger's sandwich"
A picture of two hot dog sandwiches.
November 6, 2025 at 2:42 AM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Me, eating pretzel sticks at my desk when a student walks by and looks in my office:
A screenshot from The Simpsons of a tv screen showing a picture of Homer Simpson labeled "FILE PHOTO". In the picture, Homer has a mouth full of a large number (possibly just shy of 100) of cigarettes.
November 5, 2025 at 8:10 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
I got an email! It's from a student at my school (though not a student of mine).

This does not go into the "things that bring me joy" thread, although I do find it amusing.
Screenshot of text that reads: Dear Professor [Last Name], I hope you are doing well.
November 5, 2025 at 2:16 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
At least there's a little bit of self-reflection by the faculty/administration in here. (Although, don't worry, they don't miss out on blaming the students again before the end of the paragraph!)
Screenshot of text that reads: She attributed pressure to assign higher grades in part to the College’s course evaluation system. Instructors worry that giving out lower grades will result in less positive reviews, hindering their future job prospects, she wrote — while students have exerted their own “increasingly litigious” pressure on instructors to raise grades.
November 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
This claim coming from one of the most selective schools in the world is rich. Yes, I'm sure the problem *at Harvard* is unprepared students.
Screenshot of text that reads: She also connected the shift to efforts from the College to encourage instructors to be sensitive to students who enter Harvard with limited high school preparation. “For the past decade or so, the College has been exhorting faculty to remember that some students arrive less prepared for college than others,” she wrote. “Unsure how best to support their students, many have simply become more lenient.”
November 4, 2025 at 2:45 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Apparently faculty think grade inflation is a problem, so the solution that the faculty are investigating is, quite literally, making it possible for grades to be even higher.
Screenshot of text that reads: “Our grading is too compressed and too inflated, as nearly all faculty recognize; it is also too inconsistent, as students have observed,” she wrote. “More importantly, our grading no longer performs its primary functions and is undermining our academic mission.” Screenshot of text that reads: A faculty committee is exploring whether instructors should be able to award a limited number of A+ grades to undergraduates to crack down on grade inflation, according to the report. The highest grade undergraduates can currently receive is an A. The committee is also considering a proposal to include the median grade for every course on a student’s transcript.
November 4, 2025 at 2:41 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Okay, I'll (stupidly) bite. What "key functions of grading" are we talking about here?

Huh, it doesn't make it clear anywhere in the article (not saying it is the article authors' fault at all).
Screenshot of text that reads: More Harvard College students than ever are passing their classes with flying colors, but the College’s evaluation system is “failing to perform the key functions of grading,” according to a report released by the Office of Undergraduate Education on Monday. ["failing to perform the key functions of grading" is highlighted in the screenshot]
November 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
One of the first 10 to vote at my polling place this morning – so early I actually had to wait for them to set up the fundraising bake sale on the way out.
An "I VOTED" sticker next to a cinnamon roll and a sausage biscuit sandwich.
November 4, 2025 at 11:25 AM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Long day. Good to come home to some crispy pork tacos. One with green onions and red hot sauce. One with red onions and green hot sauce. (Not great for folks with color deficient vision.)
November 3, 2025 at 11:17 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Oh you dear sweet innocent researchers.
A survey question that reads "Approximately how many students are in your chemistry classes?" with the answers of 1-10 students, 11-30 students, 31-50 students, 51-100 students, and More than 100 students.
October 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
Participating in a research survey and they really come out swinging right from the get go. I feel personally attacked.
A survey question that asks "What is your age?" with radio button selections of "Less than 30 years", "30-39 years", "40-49 years", "50-59 years", etc.
October 30, 2025 at 4:12 PM
andrechemist.bsky.social
I kinda think everyone involved in this story comes off as kind of terrible.
Screenshot of text that reads: In DeBlasio’s view, “low-class Italians use a little d.“
October 30, 2025 at 12:14 PM