BD Alexander

@bdalexander

Physical chemist without portfolio. Carrying out missionary work at a university in the south-east of the UK. May contain strong language and sarcasm.

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BD Alexander@bdalexander· 3d

I don’t think the local fish eagles were happy with their new neighbours.

A screenshot from the Merlin app showing a positive ID of an Osprey (aka a fish eagle) and a buzzard (aka a Wallace Arnold Eagle)

BD Alexander@bdalexander· 29d

Kenilworth Road has changed a bit.

A big ass stadium in the middle of a giant fuck off coach park.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jul 10

Old Victorian buildings, we have no air con outside specific labs. Still, other than a physical role, I suspect this fan is passive, rather than active cooling.

A fan stuck on a window sill, pointing outwards, presumably contemplating its own futility.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jul 5

I’m getting strong “Big Night Out” vibes.

Vic Reeves, with a big forehead and cutlery for fingers.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jul 1

Something tells me that something is not right here. #FeckingCowboys At least it passed the PAT testing…

A picture of a fuse cartridge holding two 10A ceramic fuses. At least that was the interpretation of the last owner of the equipment it came out of. One fuse is in fact, a spring. Granted, this could be used as a fuse, but only for currents considerably higher than 10A.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jun 18

Never change, Tartan Army, never change. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A picture of a sculpture in Boston. There is an octopus. Sitting one of the octopus’s tentacles is a hare, a gorilla and an elephant. The gorilla and elephant are wearing orange traffic cones for hats. The elephant is rocking it most of all. Slay, Nellie, slay.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jun 12

Some British people can even boogie woogie.

Jools Holland, at a piano, inevitably wanging on about playing “boogie woogie blues”. Alright.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· May 16

Although the elder spawn recognises him from Justin’s House

BD Alexander@bdalexander· May 1

Post your warning sign

A yellow warning sign with a black silhouette of a man (scaramouche scaramouche) being burned by a big scary laser. The text underneath the warning triangle says, "Big scary laser. Do not look into beam with remaining eye"

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Mar 25

Well, I suspect this find has perhaps seen a few government restructures.

A can of oil, with a label claiming a budget from the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. MAFF went out of existence just after I got my PhD. Correlation is not causation.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Feb 26

One for the chemists.

The relentless propaganda surrounding B3LYP/6-31G OS an insult to our intelligence

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Feb 26

It’s not wrong…

The catastrophic reality of Adrian Chiles is finally dawning on the British public

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 29

Bring me the sausage of Alfredo Garcia (Yes, I know this is low character chain mail…)

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 23

I believe they call this “the continental breakfast”.

The Continental breakfast: a semi warm can of Yorkshire beer and a pretzel.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 23

Edinburgh, I am in you. You don’t get this view in Gillingham…

The view from the train waiting to depart Waverley station in Embra. Just the local branch of the Bank of Scotland.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 19

Been catching up on the last edition of @nutmegmagazine.bsky.social . While the world goes to hell, this extract from the sublime Italian footballer Andrea Pirlo’s autobiography lands differently. This, from a player whose philosophy was built on class, elegance & technical brilliance. Sheer poetry.

The best ideas come about in moments of total concentration, a state you can reach when shitting, as Filipo Inzaghi will attest. My own eureka moment arrives when I sat on the toilet. Hardly romantic, but there you go. The search for Juninho’s secret had become an obsession for me, to the extent that it occupied every waking thought. It was at the point of maximum exertion that the dam burst, in every sense of the term.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 19

“I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, get Bannon aff.”

Jim McLean, erstwhile manager of Dundee United, in typically contemplative mood in the dugout of Tannadice Park

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jan 17

Jim Taggart will return in Avengers Doomsday and wants to know why there is blood on that big hammer.

Jim Taggart is not impressed with your chain skeets. “They’re murrdurrr”

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Nov 10

The Fowler Rock in the River Tay, on the other hand…

The Fowler Rock just off the shore at Dundee. Looks very much like a submarine if you are on the bridge, driving into the heart of darkest Fife. Much like a sub, it will submerge and resurface twice a day and cause damage to unwary shipping.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Nov 5

This has appeared in various labs at work. I’m pretty sure they could have found more effective fire blankets.

It’s a fire blanket made of A4 paper with the words “fire blanket” printed on it.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Oct 16

Larson is at it again. Me cackling away, both spawn completely confused. There is something of the Bob Ross about this. Not a mistake, just a flappy accident.

An art assignment: paint a house overlooking a bay or valley. Stay loose, play with colour. Try to capture a mood. Think of something to add. Reader: he added a pterodactyl to the house. It stayed loose and shat on the roof.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Oct 11

Unsolicited What’s on the End of your Stick Vic pic

Bob Mortimer with a paper mask over his head, holding a stick with something on the end. Makes you wonder what’s on the end of it, no?

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Oct 7

Hmm, was the beach on the western isles? Was it Lustentyre?? (Is that my coat…?)

A headline from The National newspaper, “Dozens of sex tours have been found washed up on a Scottish beach.”

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Sep 28

I can see where you got the bowls from. We have some of them too.

Two fat rabbits and posh food bowl. The bowl is tellingly empty.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Aug 4

Storm Floris has knocked the power out to the village. Needing to go outside to get signal, I am pleasantly distracted by the ton of house martins fighting against the wind. Who knew taking a photo of martins in 50 mph gusts would be so difficult?

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jun 19

Lovely flow cell. It would be a shame if something were to happen to the tubing…

A package of tubing, delivered entirely to the wrong person because UKHE is full of people teaching and researching at the forefront of their disciplines but supported by ordering and delivery systems that are random package generators.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· Jun 8

What fresh hell is this, who has signed me up to it and when the hell did I ever know anything about what Auguste Comte described as “that bastard study…a rough sketch of vegetal physiology”?

BD Alexander@bdalexander· May 30

I walk past this on my way into work. See those lovely solar cells on the gable end on the right? Great, no? See the picture of the logo and tree on the gable end on the left? Guess what that transfer was stuck onto? Am I missing something about light transmission…?

BD Alexander@bdalexander· May 26

Serendipity in the timeline.

Two people ripping the piss out of Jordan Peterson.

BD Alexander@bdalexander· May 20

We’ve got old bits and pieces for Malvern and Bohlin rheometers. Not sure what fits, but the geometries were used on a Gemini. Is anyone interested in the scrap? #Chemsky shipping outwith UK might need to cover postage.