I don't suppose there's an organic chemist or research pharmacologist out there who knows anything about the effects of the enantiomers of MDMA? Because I don't have the facilities to control chirality and I really don't want to resolve a racemic mixture if I don't have to ( Read more... )

Remy, Wall, the vanilla pods are ready.

[Fred's voice takes on a musing quality.A chemical called piperonal is a minor component of vanilla extract. It's fragrant on its own, is used as a perfume base and flavoring, and in the majority of humans, has a calming effect when its vapors are inhaled ( Read more... )

Fun fact: All frogs are carnivores ( Read more... )

All this guy's other main characters have better abilities than I do. About the Author says he died in 1995, so there's no chance of having words with him about that ( Read more... )

Vanilla orchids? That is utterly ridiculous.

[He sounds happy.]

If anyone wants real vanilla beans--well, botanically, they're capsules, but who am I to argue with popular parlance--it looks like this batch will be fully ripe in a few weeks.

It's probably V. planifolia, but I wouldn't swear it's not V. pompona. Botany's not my strongest suite ( Read more... )

[Fred has been exploring despite the repeated warnings about danger, under the theory that the ship is huge and the likelihood of being in the same place as trouble is low. His entire existence contradicts this theory, but Fred is nothing if not People's Exhibit A of unbridled curiosity, and there was no chance he'd stay put for longer than about ( Read more... )

[For those in a position to recognize it, Fred has a Boston accent. And no, he doesn't pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd, 'cause yah can't pahk theah. Yah from Prahvahdince or somethin'?Ladies, gentlemen, and beings of non-binary sexual and/or gender expression: Unaccustomed though I am to public speaking, I find myself in need of assistance. I am, ( Read more... )