Made apple pie, with help from my apple peeler (an excellent purchase), and chicken stock too. I am proud I remembered to collect the stock in the bowl, and not pour it down the drain!

Also worth noting I left my office and walked 5 minutes to get there:

The sunset doing pretty things with the clouds:

"I got caught doing wrong, so I was urged by some people to send a non-apology" #keepdalstrong

We've had a long drought here in NS. I had a dream I was riding around in the hills, bogged down in snow and mud, and felt quite damp. I woke up, and the damp part was not a dream. It was raining, and the rain was blowing through my window on to my bed. Good for the forests!!

End of the line, and a little tiny sliver of moon:

"World class" synthesis course. Lots of crossed out topics now:

I'm becoming more and more aware of content on social media declining in quality (ie more brainrot, both AI, and just videos of people doing pointless things), yet I continue to find myself engaging. Still some clever memes. It's disheartening how addictive this is.

An inauspicious number. And on Rapture day too:

Had to have my office blanket out, on the first day of class!

One sad trend with the lock-out being over:

Fajita night.... I really need to learn to use cast iron. Let's hope I don't get revenge of the GERD later on.

Funny miscommunication at work today. I made a service call for our "explosion-proof fridge" (used for storing flammable/pyrophoric liquids). When the technician arrived, he told me the service call had been sent to him as "the fridge exploded" and he didn't know what to expect!

Time to bring my most sensitive plants in from my balcony:

One of my favourite books is David Mitchell's "The Bone Clocks"...... however, be warned it's not the most cheerful read. Anyway, I guess it sucks to experience the "endarkenment" first-hand.

Since I had cheese left over from my last pizza, I made another one. This one is artichoke and prosciutto.

RIP to Senator Oliver. He lived in the small rural county I grew up in, and very frequently wrote letters to the editor of our local newspaper, emphasizing local connections and political points, reading these were some of my first introductions to Canadian civics. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This makes me laugh a bit. In my first PhD project in the Evans group, 17 years ago, we lived and died by our supply of (S)-pantolactone, and ultimately wound up exhausting Aldrich's entire stock of it. I would have committed crimes to get my hands on 25 grams of (S)-pantolactone.

Not having much luck today:

Grr:

Baked a pizza (maybe a little too long):

Baked some apple pies:

Guess they never saw "Arrival"

I wonder how many CNN readers will recognize the city shown on the link to the "US News" weather article?

“One day longer, One day stronger!” A massive show of solidarity today! Keep Dal Strong @dalfaculty.bsky.social #InSolidarity #keepdalstrong

It's been almost four weeks since the @dalhousieu.bsky.social lockout of DFA faculty began. Progress has been made. Now, it's time for President Brooks to step in and get the Board to accept what is a fair and reasonable offer by the DFA. Let's get on with the term. #keepdalstrong

I wonder how many people tried to use this term in today's wordle? en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abacina...

I used to listen to this song repeatedly in the darkest days of grad school. Since we're not currently getting quirky playlists from a certain university president, I figured this was fitting to share: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W6H...

This is the roles and responsibilities of the @Dalhousie.bsky.social Board of Governors. Looking at this document and thinking about their performance (word used on purpose) during the lockout of the @Dalfaculty.bsky.social, we graded their performance. It isn't great. #DoBetter #KeepDalStrong

Here is a detailed and truthful account of what is going on with the Dalhousie labour dispute. @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalfaculty.bsky.social #keepdalstrong www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/...

Dear @dalhousieu.bsky.social I fixed your home page 👇 @dalfaculty.bsky.social #KeepDalStrong

As of the time of writing this, I would like to be here, in the inorganic undergrad teaching lab, being a TA for students of intermediate inorganic chemistry at @dalhousie.bsky.social. Unfortunately, my supervisor was locked out! #KeepDalStrong

Here's another reagent post. What's the deal with citronellal becoming so expensive? I bought a 100 g bottle from Aldrich, one enantiomer, for under $100 Canadian, 6 years ago. Now it's a King's ransom or not available, even from vendors who are traditionally lower-priced.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmlV... Posted without further comment.

Pro-tip, when you pull your dutch oven out to check on your lamb, and use an oven mitt to take the lid off, also remember to use an oven mitt to put the lid back on.........OUCH!!!!

Today's another conciliation meeting. I hope both parties have productive talks, that last as long as they need to. Sending good wishes to everyone, and especially to our DFA bargaining team. #keepdalstrong

I stopped doing NYT strands quite a while back, but as a Star Trek fan, I am glad I did the one today!

Having a conversation with a friend, and realized the first crop of students I taught as a professor are now the same age or older as I was when I taught them. Time marches on.....

Wow, what a rally!!! $1 mill from @cautdefencefund.bsky.social , supporters from across the country, a groundswell of student support - @dalhousieu.bsky.social better come to conciliation Monday with a genuine interest in bargaining! #keepdalstrong

What's up with not being able to buy acrolein? I remember having a 500 mL Aldrich bottle when I was an undergrad. Glad I'm not doing metathesis chemistry any more, but it's one of those things that would be nice to have.

I suppose my students would have been learning about weird kinds of chirality this Thursday. Instead, they're getting a weird lesson in collective bargaining from the Board. #keepdalstrong

This is well-worth a read. If you are tempted to take the Board's most recent communications and "offer" at face value, it's important to note it was communicated in a very irregular manner.

Today was a toasty picketing day. My 11th day walking on the line!

Want to know more about Nous Group activities @dalfaculty.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social #keepdalstrong? The Queens Coalition Against Austerity has a nice summary: qcaa.ca/resources/no...

... BUT this can only happen IF THE BOARD returns to the table and WE get a fair deal!!! The silence is deafening. Something sketchy is going on. WE (students, DFA, support staff) are Dal, and WE don't deserve this! #KeepDalStrong ... 3/3

I'm imagining a thought experiment. Let's say it became known I had used a "chemistry consultant" to suggest ideas for me to work on, and paid them using our department's general operating budget. How do you think that would look on my tenure application? (1/n)

Now into my third week of picketing. Thanks @torenwx.bsky.social for coming out to the line! #keepdalstrong

Today I should be starting our graduate course @dalhousie.bsky.social in Principals of Neuroscience. But Kim Brooks and the Board of Governors locked us out—shameful & shortsighted. Instead I’m spending time on the picket lines. #KeepDalStrong @dalfaculty.bsky.social

I should be leading my dept’s honours course & projects this term. Not only do we work on their projects, we do career work, organize their own conference, and reflect on their degrees in a holistic way. I’m so upset that President Brooks’ decisions are eroding these experiences. #KeepDalStrong