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Andy Napper

@quantumdot2.bsky.social
310 followers 321 following 114 posts

Professor of Chemistry, Shawnee State University. Real Ale fan. Chemistry nerd. Power BI, SharePoint, and Power Platform geek.

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Reposted by Andy Napper
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/08/2026
The lab is a mysterious place--where some people have "magic hands," and some experiments just won't work. Here's my story about the unspoken knowledge of science, and the struggle to share it. Gift link: nyti.ms/3UccF7Z
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Matt Reed @deandad.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The challenges of inheriting disenchanted employees (h/t @christinenowik.bsky.social ) www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
insidehighered.com
Inheriting the Disenchanted
Persistence matters.
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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Each month, ChemReels features science communicators diving into chemistry subjects you've been curious about, with all the technical detail intact. Join Maciek Majdecki as he guides us through the incredible science of chromatography: #chemsky 🧪
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Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
An unapologetically angry post about what’s being done to US science:
science.org
The Current Crisis: What's Happening to Science in America
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
"There's no urine in fluorine" is my go-to phrase when I introduce the element (and its spelling) in intro chem. :)
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Marie van Staveren @chemdrv.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Okay major self-nerd-alert but I gotta share this because it combines plants and chemical safety and apparently those are two of my favorite things. Near the end of episode 51 he talks through an herbicide label. He goes through signal words, planthropologypodcast.com/listenandcon...
planthropologypodcast.com
Listen and Connect — Planthropology
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Brendan @chemscrapes.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I don't know who needs to hear this today...but you are doing great! Just drink heaps of water and take a stroll. This has been a ChemScrapes community announcement! #chemsky #chemchat
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
🔥🔥🔥
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
My last email to him was in early January about one of our chem majors who'd applied to Pitt and was waiting patiently for news. Within 24h, Dave replied and explained what was going on, and why this year was so different. I relayed his email to my student who was glad for the heads up. Terrific guy
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
I was a grad student of Dave's in the late 90s. He was such a great advisor - patient and humble. I felt like I hit the jackpot when I joined his group. We had a lot of fun and laughs - have a lot of stories from working with him - and kept in touch via email. So sorry to hear this terrible news.
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Dave Palmer @davepalmerusask.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The time has come, The College said, To empty your own trash. It's now ev'ry professor's job, For we are low on cash. There will still be a custodians So don't have any fear That you will have to mop the floors At least until next year.
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Yeah, that's true - and very sad to see line trending in the wrong direction. :( (I was thinking 350 was a more pleasing round number as someone with obsessive-chemistry-compulsive-disorder.)
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
I just filled out the web form about a new position in our department. Feel free to DM/email me if you need details for your spreadsheet. 350 is a pretty good number of TT jobs it seems! :)
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
You can download the NIST MS Search program and a sample database of about 2k compounds for free! This website has some details, hints about purchasing the library (shop around!!), and even links to some FREE database collections. Highly recommended! littlemsandsailing.com/2023/10/free...
littlemsandsailing.com
Free EI and MSMS Spectra in NIST Format - A "Little" Mass Spec and Sailing
Return to Home Page I initially created all these free EI libraries in NIST format to utilize with my laboratory/self-study course for college students. If you find useful, be sure to consider the fut...
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
I might have to try that, too! I find the light pot roast soup a bit "brothy" and it needs a little something extra. I love sauerkraut so this is going into my next one of these soups!! Thanks for the inspiration
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Never thought to mix sauerkraut with this soup... spur of the moment or secret family recipe?!
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Adrian Tchaikovsky @aptshadow.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
This Thursday I'm at the Leeds Waterstones Christmas evening - they'll have a bunch of authors from around the area. If you're in town, come along and get a book signed! www.waterstones.com/events/water...
waterstones.com
Waterstones Leeds Christmas Late Night Shopping Evening! | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones
Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about Waterstones Leeds Christmas Late Night Shopping Evening! today.
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Darrell R @darrellsr.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
We keep learning the same lessons, again and again. // “A buzzy school promised to transform education. Parents say their children suffered. - WIRED” www.wired.com/story/ai-teach…
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Love this! One of my favorite rants, too!!
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DBAKevlar @dbakevlar.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
The national museum of Prague has one of the most impressive stone and mineral exhibits I’ve seen!
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
They look so cool... and I can't wait to show them off to my gen-chem and p-chem students this fall! 🤩
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
I definitely don't need any more coffee mugs, but gosh darn it - now I own two more for work. 🤣 Wonderful designs!
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Wyn - Power BI & Excel @wynhopkins.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
If I see anyone else saying you don’t need to learn Excel formulas anymore thanks to the new =COPILOT then I will do absolutely nothing except cry silently into the abyss.
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
That sucks! Starting to feel old now that The O, F&F, Uncle Sam's, Peter's Pub, etc. are all gone. What's left?
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Christine Dell'Amore @cdellamore.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Sorry summer but I'm over you -- already thinking about fall. Loved this story about the chemistry of pumpkin spice by @carmendrahl.bsky.social for @cenmag.bsky.social. And now I know what cinnamic aldehydes are! cen.acs.org/articles/92/...
cen.acs.org
What’s pumpkin spice flavor, and why do we fall for it every autumn?
The popular latte and treat seasoning contains no actual pumpkin, but it boasts plenty of food chemistry
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kurtsh @kurtsh.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
For @seafury.bsky.social. 😜 Original post: aus.social/@dgar/115044...
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Kerry Kole @merrykerry.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
📌👇
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Now that's a word I haven't heard in a long time! I don't believe it's used here in the US, but it was definitely in common use in the early 90s when I still lived in the UK.
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Sounds like it came on a "Microsoft Entertainment Pack" from what I can read: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkiFree I'm pretty sure I still have the original Win 3 install media that came with our UV-VIS. I'll have to check out if they included this! Might have to fire up DOSBox and give it a whirl. :)
en.wikipedia.org
SkiFree - Wikipedia
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Ha - I don't remember that! :) I think maybe it just came with Othello and/or Klondike if memory serves? That skiing game sounds pretty amazing, though!
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
I work at a small public university. We're too cheap to get rid of working instruments! :)
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
And just to clarify - we kept the instrument (HP8453), but upgraded the PC three times: - Win 3.11, ISA GPIB/HPIB card - Win XP, USB > GPIB - Win 10, Ethernet UV-VIS Chemstation looks and feels about the same running over a 30 year timespan! 🤣
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
I should elaborate—we kept the instrument (it's still running today), but upgraded the PC three times: - Win 3.11 ISA GPIB card - Win XP, USB > GPIB adapter - Win 10, Ethernet connection The old 8453 works like a charm! And UV-VIS Chemstation looks about the same same on all the OSs
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
We had an HP diode array spectrophotometer that was running on a Windows 3.11 for workgroups PC. Honestly it worked great! We upgraded it bc our undergrads were confused about the OS. They'd never seen anything more ancient than Win 95 before (and that was 15 years ago)
A screenshot of Windows 3.11 for workgroups from: https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-3/311
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Aww, you're a good dad! ❤️ Sounds like you've working on this story mentally for quite the time. It showed. A lot of what you wrote resonated with me (and probably a good fraction of the OG PBI community). Thanks and hope all is well with you! 🖖
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
We get 0.4 workload hrs per credit of research, up to a max of 3.0 (?!) total per semester. No research funds though, although that would admittedly be smart. All of our sci degrees max out at 4-hr of research that can count for their program, although they can use it for free electives after that.
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
YES! About half the time my fingers smash Ctrl +, I zoom in, then I remember to hit SHIFT to fix it. Annoying. I just realized that you can actually redefine the keyboard shortcut on Mac/PC *back* to super/sub-script instead of zoom. Oh, that felt so good! 💚 support.microsoft.com/en-us/office...
support.microsoft.com
Customize keyboard shortcuts - Microsoft Support
Create and remove custom keyboard shortcuts for commonly used commands.
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Gosh, that was such a good read! I shudder to think how long you worked on that. It's so refreshing to hear these more nuanced takes about AI. I get tired of seeing 100% hype or 100% demonization articles. Are you going to start blogging again on your data-goblins site, or was this a passion post?
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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Tons of people have "PhD-level" intelligence. The fun secret is that you don't have to be all that smart to earn a PhD. You just have to be willing to work yourself into the ground for years on end. Also...PhD's often seem extra smart 'cause you generally encounter them on their chosen terrain.
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Matt Reed @deandad.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
It’s good to be back! www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
insidehighered.com
So, Did I Miss Anything?
“Confessions of a Community College Dean” author Matt Reed returns to his column at Inside Higher Ed.
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Darrell R @darrellsr.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Too pissed to comment. // Trump requests 93% cut to Appalachian Regional Commission. Ohio would take a huge hit. • Ohio Capital Journal ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/07/15/t…
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
This book on the internet archive has a few PES spectra of some homonuclear diatomics in chapter 6 (free to borrow with an account): archive.org/details/phot... It also lists doi.org/10.1016/0368... as a reference for the N2 and O2 spectra. If you can't access the paper, feel free to DM me.
archive.org
Photoelectron spectroscopy and molecular orbital theory : Ballard, R. E. (Roy Ernest), 1932- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
ix, 192 p. : 25 cm
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Andy Napper @quantumdot2.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
There are some PES spectra given (and I think cited) in this document: www.scribd.com/document/816... The peaks don't quite correspond to MO energies IIRC (Koopman's theorem), but the ordering of states going across the second period is (I think) what you're looking for, right?
scribd.com
Photoelectron Spectroscopy | PDF | X Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy | Molecular Orbital
Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site.
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Ask a Manager @askamanager.org · 09/07/2025
askamanager.org
the unclassified gym clothes, the risky use of Excel, and other weird reasons you’ve been scolded at work
Last month we talked about the weirdest things you’ve ever been scolded for at work, and here are 15 of the most ridiculous stories you shared. 1. The unclassified materials I work for a Department of Defense contractor, have a clearance, and once had a two-drawer safe in my office, for storing classified documents. Our […] The post the unclassified gym clothes, the risky use of Excel, and other weird reasons you’ve been scolded at work appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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Thomas House @tah-sci.com · 08/07/2025
The data journalists were so busy wondering if they could do something they never stopped to think if they should. www.theguardian.com/news/datablo...
Visualisation of different causes of food poisoning showing people vomiting, with the length of the vomit proportional to the number of cases.
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MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Graph of British Rivers
A map showing South West England and Wales, labelled "Graph of British Rivers". Two river courses are shown, labelled 'Wye axis' and 'Exe axis'. 

Does anyone read these descriptions, or am I wasting my time?
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