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Patrick Thomson

@patrickthomson.bsky.social
301 followers 216 following 224 posts

Chemistry Education (introductory lab inquiry, anxiety, secondary project work), University of Strathclyde. SFHEA, gamer, scot, DIY, usually not on fire.

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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Julienne calendar: a dessert made of thinly-sliced dates.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This Black Mirror episode is an allegory of AI in the workplace: shortly after you come to rely on it, the price will ↑↑ and the experience will ↓↓. It happened to AirBnB & Uber, and it's why you should NEVER build a workflow on something that's still burning VC. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_...
en.wikipedia.org
Common People (Black Mirror) - Wikipedia
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Had to send individual emails to most colleagues during the closing days of the annual leave window. My replies right now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A84...
youtube.com
The Group Chat When I Ask Who's Available To Play
YouTube video by Icesy
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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 08/09/2026
That's a common mistake: Withnail and I is actually the first one, followed by Withnail and II, Withnail and III, and Withnail and IV
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ViCEPHEC Conference @vicephec.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
#ViCEPHEC27 will be in Belfast. To get email updates, fill in this form: forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...
forms.cloud.microsoft
Microsoft Forms
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Tim Hathway @timdarklighter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Shameless plug for a cool puzzle game that uses the same critical thinking skills as structural analysis from NMR spectroscopy. (Try the ten tutorial puzzles before attempting the daily puzzle). www.multiplet.app
multiplet.app
Multiplet — Daily NMR Spectrum Puzzle
A daily puzzle game inspired by chemistry and NMR spectroscopy. Build a structure whose spectrum matches today's target.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Unfortunately, some of our new students are younger than the original Alan/Steve chipmunk sketch, so I will once again be instantly aging to dust and blowing away on the wind. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPe...
youtube.com
Funny talking animals: Alan!.. Alan!.. Steve! | Walk on the Wild Side - BBC
YouTube video by BBC
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Every single start of year, the urge is incredibly strong to give our students a strong Glasgow "Weclome" to Welcome Week but that sketch is now significantly older than they are. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5e1...
youtube.com
The giant Still Game Weclome mat - the full story
YouTube video by BBC Scotland
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Dan Willingham @dtwuva.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
New Substack: : Students should only use AI for things that they already know how to do well. dtwuva.substack.com/p/students-s...
dtwuva.substack.com
Students should only use AI for things they already know how to do well.
AI guardrails should protect important mental work
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Are you a Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic learner and how has it influenced your own lecturing?
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Sean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 06/08/2026
Mock Now that’s what I call Music album cover which reads Now is the winter of our Discontent.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
They're only manila when they'e from the Philippines, otherwise they're just sparkling envelopes.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Yes, I (definitely not a hypocrite) wrote an entire paper about how important it is to make sure chemistry pre-lab videos are perfect because they only get updated once a decade, then knowingly filmed a concentrated acid handling sequence with a fuzzy camera lens.
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Tits McGee @scientits.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Tintin meme

What a week, huh?

Captain, it's Monday lunchtime
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Panel 1: Gandalf at the door of Bag End, captioned: "No thank you! We don’t want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!"

Panel 2: A lazy superimposition of a contrite Keir Starmer's face over Gandalf's, captioned "And what about ex-prime ministers?"

Panel 3: Bilbo giving a warm welcome to Starmdalf
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Saddened to see the “anyone but England” attitude of some of my fellow Scots today. Some of the stuff I've seen nearly made me choke on my Ćevapi
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Quick question: Is it "for fucks sake" or "for fuck sake" ? It's for a quote for a petition so has to sound professional.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
We did another open-access thing, this time hopefully useful for schools! Paracetamol titration, and how to Not Buy The Expensive Cerium Bit You Normally Need. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org
Cost-Effective Titration Analysis of Paracetamol for Schools
Synthesis/analysis of paracetamol (acetaminophen) is a common school or introductory synthesis project, but even the simplest known quantitative analysis (hydrolysis, followed by titration with cerium...
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
It's truly an Aprilmas miracle - this time, the ACS allowed an "outwith" to slip through the editorial process unchallenged! Attached is a screenshot of a word without a line through it, a totally normal thing to do.
An excerpt of text, centred on the word "outwith" which has no editorial trace markings on or around it.
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foaming pipe snake @guntoucher.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
It's

TWO VAST AND TRUNKLESS LEGS OF STONE

Tuesday!
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Top tip, don't create a CHEMISTRY outreach activity where you have to solder a hundred and fifty of something. #SpectroscopyInAnEnvelope
A large pile of electronic components, with scraps of wire in the foreground
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Al Kennedy @alkennedy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Greg: I put it to you, Pandora, that your approach to the task of literally just holding a closed box is basically that of - and I've written it down - "a baffled old grandma who can't remember where the top of the stairs is" Pandora: I did it though! Alex: We do have one more bit of footage
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Excellent trip up to Dingwall Academy with @sci-drscott.bsky.social to run some Science CLPL, and deliver the first round of Spectroscopy In An Envelope instruments!
Multicoloured Lego bricks with LEDs attached to them
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Jamie McKelvie @mckelvie.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The talk to your friends app and the witness the horrors app being the same app is not great for the mental health is it
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jhuftonjr.bsky.social @jhuftonjr.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Robert Jenrick complaining that the country is broken is like Fred West complaining that his patio is uneven.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
We did a thing! A depressingly-necessary message. Chemists, do as much as you can to support teachers and schools, or the student pipeline dries up and departments close. With @sci-drscott.bsky.social and colleagues. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Strengthening school–university collaborations - Nature Reviews Chemistry
Chemistry is an experimental science that for many learners only comes alive in the laboratory. But specialized equipment is increasingly out of reach of school budgets. Strengthening school–universit...
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
One year since I posted this. One year since everybody treated it like a joke. One year of watching my back. Tell me: have you seen much of Harry Styles this past year? Tim Davie's gone a bit quiet too, hasn't he?
A comic for the Guardian by Stephen Collins on New Years Eve 2024. Script as follows:

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THE SCENE: is BBC Television centre or wherever that is these days. HARRY STYLES is getting out of a limo to enter a studio. An autograph-hunting FAN accosts him. 

Also, a DATE STAMP  appears ‘on screen’, like it used to do in the X-files, reading: 

OCTOBER, 2024: Maidstone Studios, England

FAN 1:
That’s Harry Styles!

FAN 2 [Approaching Harry]: 
Can I have a selfie, Harry?

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FAN:
What are you doing at Maidstone Studios on this finbe day in mid October, Harry?

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HARRY STYLES:
Why, I’ve come here in mid-October to record ‘Jools Holland’s New Year Hoote-‘

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*FSHW*
[Harry Styles is suddenly vaporised by a LASER BEAM]

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[We see the culprit; a hi tech flying DRONE has zapped Mr Styles to death. The drone has a camera eye on the front of it]

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[Cut to: JOOLS HOLLAND in his Hootenanny lair, watching a screen which has just alerted him to the elimination of Styles]

[Legend on screen]:
ARTIST ELIMINATED

HOLLAND:
Goddamn it

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HOLLAND:
Why can’t they keep their mouths SHUT?

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HOLLAND:
Tim Davie! 

TIM DAVIE [Director General of the BBC]:
Y-yes Jools?

HOLLAND:
Who’ve we got left for this year?

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TIM DAVIE:
The Boomtown Rats, one of Sister Sledge and Marc Almond 

HOLLAND:
Almond *again*?

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TIM DAVIE:
We’re running out of artists to call, sir…

M-must we keep killing… so many…?

HOLLAND:
You know the rules, Davie. The secret of the Hootenanny must be protected at all costs. All who divulge it…

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HOLLAND [close up on his evil face, eye twitching]:
Must be eliminated
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Jay Hulme @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up. I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video A photograph of the seminary gym in knives out. It has the same window.
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Paul Haine @paulhaine.bsky.social · 22/04/2024
Watching THE GREEN KNIGHT again
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
They missed a trick not calling a rival parcel service "Prometheus" with the slogan "We'll make sure your de-livering happens every day!"
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Merry Christmas one and all! As always, here's Picard letting it snow and making it so. youtu.be/oiSn2JuDQSc?...
youtu.be
Captain Picard sings "Let it Snow!"
YouTube video by James Covenant
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Tinfoil Matt @tinfoil-matt.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
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Scott Bagley @bagphos.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Starting tomorrow- join us for the ultimate organic reaction bracket #ReactionRunoff hosted by the ACS Organic Division @organicdivision.org Round 1 from Dec 10-11 and new rounds every 2 days #ChemSky #ChemChat #AmplifyOrganic
organicdivision.org
2025 Organic Reaction Championship - ACS Division of Organic Chemistry
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Benzene ring hiding in the Lego!
The underside of a LEGO component with a hexagon-shaped arrangement of pieces
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Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org · 28/11/2025
Explore our case studies on making chemistry workspaces more accessible for disabled scientists. As part of our Disability-Inclusive Laboratories in the Chemical Sciences report, the library offers 29 examples to inspire change. Read the case studies & share your own: rsc.li/486SU67 #ChemSky
Promotional poster by the Royal Society of Chemistry titled 'Disability-Inclusive Laboratories in the Chemical Sciences'. Features an illustration of diverse individuals working in a laboratory setting, emphasizing accessibility in chemistry.
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Dr Stephen Hendry @drstephenhendry.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Chemistry should work for everyone. However too many chemists still face avoidable physical & cultural barriers every day The @rsc.org NEW report shares lived experiences & solutions for accessible labs #ChemSky Let’s build science for everyone #InclusiveLabsRSC Read the report rsc.li/4ijV3yN
Front cover of the Royal Society of Chemistry Disability - Inclusive Laboratories in the chemical sciences report. Making chemistry accessible for everyone.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
I know it's my fault for not maintaining separation of accounts, but half the time I play D&D as "Dr Patrick Thomson, Strathclyde (he/his)" and half the time I'm in work meetings as "Grognog Bloodpuncher" and honestly it works better both ways.
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Joshua Bull @joshuabull.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)
Dear All
Have you seen Prof Biscuit recently?

Professor Biscuit is roaming Main Building or more likely, is asleep somewhere cosy. Have you seen him recently? If so, could he be persuaded to be returned to the Bursary, please?
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
I am delighted and surprised, or as surprised as you can be when you remember putting in the paperwork!
The change tracking for the alteration of "Teaching Fellow" to "Senior Teaching Fellow"
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
"Not impacting the student experience" my arse. The IAD, like any Academic Development, compounds investment in the student experience by making researchers marginally less shit at teaching. They're also how I ended up in my current career. thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...
thetab.com
Excl: Edinburgh University begins compulsory layoffs with department set to be axed
Seven staff in the Instute for Academic Development are set to lose their jobs when the department closes
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Oh GREAT, the one transformation that our introductory organic teaching says we can't easily do in one step.
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We're just normal men @wejustinnocentmen.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
We’re just innocent men
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pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Rest in peace to Jane Goodall, whose tireless advocacy for primates has brought us closer than ever to the Planet of the Apes becoming a terrifying reality
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Marsh Davies @marshdavies.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Heartfelt thanks to the Scottish parliament for keeping its political disasters on a level I can actually tolerate.
Quote from an article, which reads: 

The Highlands and Islands MSP claimed the incident happened in front of security and other parliamentary staff, after the pair had clashed over the scheduling of a summit to discuss "out of control" seagulls.
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Right. My students working two part time jobs and/or having an hour and a half commute to uni because they have to live at home due to the cost of student accommodation lack drive and vigour. Sure thing, Peter. The UK Govt still haven't a clue about the realities of universities today.
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Me, begrudgingly dressing for academic processions: www.instagram.com/reel/DNwz2nH...
instagram.com
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
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pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Congratulations to all the shows that won Emmys, they sound cool, I’ll definitely check them out when I’m done watching 500 episodes of Antiques Roadshow
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Patrick Thomson @patrickthomson.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Yes! I've been saying this for years, AI can at best be an accelerator for expertise; using it without any is utter folly. Teach it critically, to graduates.
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Earl Grey Memes Club @earlgreymemes.club · 19/08/2024
Curated meme by Andorian Memeing Consortium. Text and images. Text reads: Don't claim to be a Fan of Star Trek unless you've seen the whole trilogy. Image is three movie posters of the Borne Identity trilogy, only it's edited to be The Morn Identity, The Dorn Supremacy, and the Gorn Ultimatum with the respective characters edited into the images.
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