Sign in

Dr. Mark A. Hix

@markahix.bsky.social
159 followers 226 following 237 posts

PhD theoretical chemist for biomolecules, protein engineering, QM/MM, excited states, automation | he/him/his | Opinions my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 11h
My student loan service company emailing me every other week to thank me for my payment like it's something I'm doing willingly and with any kind of positive feelings about it is beginning to grate on my nerves. I've already paid more than the original principal, and I've got 10 years to go. Jerks.
020
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 13h
I'm finding myself constantly entertained by LinkedIn posts from AI hype accounts who include things like "I used a 2000-line prompt to achieve X" and my first thought is "I can do that with like 20 lines of code, though." AI cannot and will not replace actual innovation and real experience.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Eh, in a few short years he'll be complaining about how the liberal agenda made his kids never want to talk to him. Second verse, same as the first.
010
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Professor Frink saying this
161980373
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Perhaps I'm missing it, but I don't see a way to obtain "Squid Facts Hotline" stickers on the shop? It would be fun to plaster them on light poles all around campus.
100
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
By the gods, the second examiner doth seek most desperately some fault to cavil at.
010
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I keep seeing "uplifting" headlines like "California Law bans companies from using AI to monitor employee emotional states" and I'm beyond horrified that there needed to be a *law* against that, rather than absolutely any modicum of basic human decency being enough.
001
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Public flogging of politicians who break the law might be a solid start. "You want to wield this kind of power? It comes with these kinds of consequences."
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
News: "<Service> free for <group>" Internet: "<Service> should be free for EVERYONE!" Improvements aren't usually all-or-nothing events. Getting <Service> free for <group> makes it easier to increase <group> towards EVERYONE, because it's harder to justify objections to the increment. like M4A.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Speaking as a Texan born, this site can go right to hell for suggesting such a downgrade like Arkansas. Though I suppose if I mass-weighted my time spent living in different locations by year throughout my lifetime, the center-of-mass of those points would probably wind up right about there anyway.
110
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"Non-profit" seems to be used more and more to mislead people. Non-profit just means "nothing left over after expenses", it doesn't really mean that the expenses aren't absurd salaries in lieu of actually helping people who need it.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Yet another artless cash grab by a Hollywood owned and operated by VCs. Not gonna watch, not even hate-watch, cause that still puts money in that ghoul's pocket.
110
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I want, more than anything, a serious academic journal that is specifically focused on failures. "We had a goal. We had a hypothesis. We tried 84 different methods that didn't work. We ran out of funding. We had to stop the project." We gotta know about those 84 method so we don't repeat them!
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
It fits in well in the formal environment of legal documentation, but still easily shifts into coloring book mode with ease. It provides highlighting and contrast against the black marker on the board so students know which bits are the *really* important parts to ignore. Blue is the best.
020
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Pretty sure we fought a whole war to not give a shit what y'all think. Just like a hundred other countries around the world who celebrate an Independence Day. Get over yourself, you're not the arbiter of language.
010
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Minor point but I really hate this performative “y’all” people do to try and appear more folksy. I don’t type in a Yorkshire accent and I did people would rightly tell me to shut up.
7854327
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We're being told that if we sacrifice the rights of some people, then the rest of us get to keep our rights. We all know that's some BS.
567281168624
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I'm sorry, but is C&EN reporting optimism from people who need the current administration to believe they're in agreement so they don't get targeted by retaliatory nonsense? This administration has made it very clear they have no interest in science or *actual* health in this country.
010
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
It's a combination of people beginning to value their labor and refusing to work for free, the rise of "more papers = better scientist = more funding", and the scale of AI slop submissions that have to be slogged through. None of the journals have imagined paying reviewers, though.
030
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I read an interesting article that explained how use of AI to handle "normal" calls for a call center led to the remaining human employees being absolutely burned out at high speed because they're now only getting the "problem" calls that the AI can't handle. They only get the high-stress calls.
110
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Nobody's asking the really hard hitting questions. "Which Real Housewife of Beverly Hills would Newton be the biggest fan of? What's his Hogwarts House? Which Golden Girl is his favorite and why is it Betty White?" Maybe I should start writing for buzzfeed.
020
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
When a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a valid metric.
010
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
*wave* We're everywhere.
140
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Whatever publishing company executive had the idea to advertise other books on the backs of toddler books is two things: 1. An absolutely brilliant businessperson and marketing genius. 2. 100% the villain of our tale. We have purchased so many toddler books. My bookshelf has been overrun...
010
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
michael veale @michae.lv · 07/08/2026
Cloudflare (>20% of all domains) has started automatically implementing DSM Dir art 4 rights reservation (ie copyright/TDM objection to scraping) for all sites that do not have a robots.txt file. They also adding purpose fields to robots.txt unilaterally. developers.cloudflare.com/bots/additio...
# As a condition of accessing this website, you agree to abide by the following
# content signals:

# (a)  If a Content-Signal = yes, you may collect content for the corresponding
#      use.
# (b)  If a Content-Signal = no, you may not collect content for the
#      corresponding use.
# (c)  If the website operator does not include a Content-Signal for a
#      corresponding use, the website operator neither grants nor restricts
#      permission via Content-Signal with respect to the corresponding use.

# The content signals and their meanings are:

# search:   building a search index and providing search results (e.g., returning
#           hyperlinks and short excerpts from your website's contents). Search does not
#           include providing AI-generated search summaries.
# ai-input: inputting content into one or more AI models (e.g., retrieval
#           augmented generation, grounding, or other real-time taking of content for
#           generative AI search answers).
# ai-train: training or fine-tuning AI models.
# use:      how AI systems may consume the content (immediate, reference, or full).

# ANY RESTRICTIONS EXPRESSED VIA CONTENT SIGNALS ARE EXPRESS RESERVATIONS OF
# RIGHTS UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE EUROPEAN UNION DIRECTIVE 2019/790 ON COPYRIGHT
# AND RELATED RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET.

# BEGIN Cloudflare Managed content
49143
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Anyone seeking asylum should... *checks notes* sleep on a rock and eat with their hands, got it.
100
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Dear LinkedIn, No matter how desperately you may plead with me, I will never - and I must reiterate this again - NEVER download and install a "LinkedIn App" to my computer. I don't care if you promise to immediately hand me a 7-figure job. Take that garbage elsewhere.
000
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
"don't make enough money" is a fig leaf All those degree programs--social work, art, etc.--have disproportionately female student bodies. This is designed to make it harder for women to attend college--college education being a key factor in women's autonomy from men & left-leaning voting pattern.
541643760
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Kinda feels like the governments have no interest in preventing that when the billionaires are the ones who stand to benefit from it.
020
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
@wsuchemistry.bsky.social @waynestatechem.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Congrats to Dr. Matt Allen, for being named a fellow of the @RSC.org, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the world’s oldest chemical society. #wsuchemistry #chemsky clas.wayne.edu/chemistry/ne...
clas.wayne.edu
WSU chemistry chair and AVP for research and innovation named fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry
Wayne State chemistry chair Matthew Allen named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, one of the field's most prestigious senior honors.
193
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Why can't there be a school that's like "Wanna know how your kid is doing? Try talking to them or the teacher!" instead of "download 800 apps and suffer an equal number of data breaches for which there will be zero consequences for anyone ever!"
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom into a molecule is completely impossible under the current laws of physics governing the universe. This has been confirmed by every single Nobel-prize winning chemist since before Alfred Nobel was born.
010
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
One of the frequent ads I see during my doomscrolling is for an enclosed garden bed/house structure. And all I can see is the amount of fully untreated and improper wood they're using. It's so unready to be used the way they have it, it's sucking moisture out of the dirt. It's gonna rot so fast.
000
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
617120873300
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Socialist policies are only "bad for business" if your business is hoarding as much money as you can while intentionally creating suffering in as many people as possible. Then, yeah, sure.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I am ride-or-die for tardigrades. Little eldritch horrors just floating around in the void of space, unbothered by any of the quaint concerns like "Radiation" or "Sustenance of any kind". Little monsters from beyond the veil, I love them.
0161
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
In my desperate attempts not to fall into despair about AI stuff, I think what's actually happening is just that it's more sharply revealing who already wasn't thinking. And it was just a higher number than I originally guessed. Society has long run on huge swaths of people just ... not thinking.
010
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
"... at birth, owe allegiance solely to this country." Aww, look at the cute little baby born only hours ago, can't even really open its eyes... Here's your rifle, baby, you owe this country your allegiance! To war with you! Alito is a trash bag of a human and this dissent is unconcealed bigotry.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Oh good, so if I'm driving down the road at night, my headlights won't reflect off their car and I can just absolutely annihilate their car. "Meeting key durability standards" is not the same as "safe". This is not a good idea.
110
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
"Did you make sure to turn off the lights you're not using?" That would account for the 6% usage increase, not the additional 15% beyond that. This whole corrupt system needs replacing.
000
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Electricity Usage this month vs. last year: +6%. Electricity Bill this month vs. last year: +22% DTE energy is the absolute worst. They're presenting my bill like somehow I'M the problem and not the fact that they're asking for another $500M rate increase this year.
110
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
You will also spend the GDP of a small country on berries. There will not be enough, regardless of the quantity consumed.
120
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Seconding this, I played with my wife and it was a lot of fun!
010
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
Sarah Shay @sarahshay.com · 14/06/2026
My biggest editing client has officially replaced me with an LLM, meaning I am now functionally unemployed. If any of you need a proofreader or copy editor and value having a human being who can tell right from wrong doing the job, let me know?
sarahshay.com
Copy Editing and Proofreading – Sarah Shay
8365213
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
OMG same story here. What are the odds?!
040
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
If money is the lifeblood of an economy, a trillionaire is the blood clot about to hit the brain.
010
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
@wsuchemistry.bsky.social @waynestatechem.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Solomon Effah, of the Walker Lab, has been recognized by Schrödinger, as a winner of the Molecules & Models Virtual Science Fair, an event that builds connections between researchers across institutions and career stages. Congratulations, all! #wsuchemistry #compchem #chemsky
Solomon Effah and other winners of the Molecules & Models Virtual Science FaiPhoto of Solomon Effah and the title of his winning presentation: “Controlling Fluorescence in DNA Probes: Structural Design of Perylene-Modified Nucleic Acids for Enhanced Imaging”
051
Reposted by Dr. Mark A. Hix
@wsuchemistry.bsky.social @waynestatechem.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Check out the Walker Lab’s new paper: “Librarian of Alexandria: A Modular Chemical Data Extraction Pipeline to Compare LLM Performance.” #wsuchemistry #compchem #ChemSky #machinelearning pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org
Librarian of Alexandria: A Modular Chemical Data Extraction Pipeline to Compare LLM Performance
Dataset creation is a critical component of predictive machine learning technology. In the field of chemistry, large experimental datasets are scarce, especially for niche chemical properties and topi...
151
Dr. Mark A. Hix @markahix.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century." - JLP, First Contact
110