June 2024 – Page 2 – Go Retire Psychiatrist

I Think the United States Postal Service Owes Me $1.10

The other day I tried to process an online request for a USPS Change of Address (COA), but it didn’t work. It hung up at the “Loading” stage for a half hour and then kicked back to the start of the form without ever giving me a confirmation. Yet, it charged my credit card for $1.10, which I couldn’t get refunded at my local post office, where I submitted the paper COA the old-fashioned way. The clerk said she couldn’t do it and referred me to the dysfunctional USPS web site. This was just the beginning of the buck-passing.

I know that others have experienced this same difficulty because I did a web search on the topic. It’s been going on for at least a year.

I tried contacting the Office of the Inspector General who referred me to my local consumer affairs office in Des Moines. I was already familiar with the 800 number. I found out from the automated reply tree that the COA issue could only be addressed through the dysfunctional online system or by submitting a paper COA at my local post office. No human ever got on the line.

Then I tried the online USPS technical support page. They assigned me a Service Request number and I have to wait for a response.

I know when I’m getting the run-around. This is not about the money. I realize some people lose more money between their sofa seat cushions than I’m losing to the USPS. This is about the USPS essentially stealing from customers.

I’ve set up my very first poll on this blog about the issue. I hope you’ll register your opinions by voting and commenting.

Taming the Corrugated Corners

At some time in your life, you may have to protect your artwork from harm. And some experts think that has to involve corrugated carboard corners.

If you ever have to deal with corrugated cardboard, be careful. It can cut you up. That’s how my arms got scratched and bruised, which you can see my video demonstration of how to fold corrugated corners. Approach it carefully from the front, maybe offer it some meat (not your own!).

Big Mo Blues Show Podcast: “Chromatic Rock”

I caught the Big Mo Blues Show June 14^th last Friday night. And I also caught the Big Mo Pod Show as well. Produce Noah got the month wrong for some odd reason. He said it was May 14^th. Let it go. Anybody can be temporally impaired from time to time, including me.

Anyway, the theme of the podcast was “Chromatic Rock,” which I gather applies mainly to harmonicas in this context. But in a more general sense, I think it means adding more color to music, mainly by variation in notes. The specific artist in the podcast was somebody I’ve not heard of by the name of Sugar Blue. He blew a tune on the harmonica called “Krystalline,” which is some kind of cocaine.

Big Mo got most of the items in the quiz. He always does pretty well, because of his encyclopedic knowledge about music. His memory is really strong. I bet he even knew what month it is.

Well, here comes my selection from last Friday’s Big Mo Blues Show, a number called “Plain Old Common Sense,” performed by Kenny Neal. Common sense is pretty important. It can keep your head above water and clear of cocaine.

Great Rounding@Iowa Podcast on Preventing & Managing Heat-Related Illness

The Rounding@Iowa podcast has many fascinating and helpful episodes, not the least of which is this one on heat-related illness. The days are getting hotter and we need to pay close attention to what happens in our bodies when exposed to excessive heat.

87: New Treatment Options for Menopause – Rounding@IOWA

Join Dr. Clancy and his guests, Drs. Evelyn Ross-Shapiro, Sarah Shaffer, and Emily Walsh, as they discuss the complex set of symptoms and treatment options for those with significant symptoms from menopause. CME Credit Available: https://uiowa.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=0&EID=81895 Host: Gerard Clancy, MD Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Guests: Evelyn RossShapiro, MD, MPH Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Clinic Director, LGBTQ Clinic University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Sarah Shaffer, DO Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Vice Chair for Education, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Emily Walsh, PharmD, BCACP Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Iowa Health Care Financial Disclosures: Dr. Gerard Clancy, his guests, and Rounding@IOWA planning committee members have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Nurse: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hour. Physician: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other Health Care Providers: A certificate of completion will be available after successful completion of the course. (It is the responsibility of licensees to determine if this continuing education activity meets the requirements of their professional licensure board.) References/Resources:

Cicada-Geddon in Eastern Iowa

A couple of days ago I saw one of the many news items about the 17 year (and 13 year) cicadas invading Eastern Iowa this summer.

But I haven’t seen any mention of the sex-crazed, fungus-infected zombie cicadas announced in April.

So, you can relax. Try noise-cancelling headphones.

Top of the Line Appliances for Your Pipe Dream Home!

It’s that time of the year again; everybody’s moving whether relocating across the country or just moving across town.

One thing is key: you need quality, top of the line appliances. Say you’re having family and friends over for dinner and you need freezer space for roadkill squirrel. Why, a General Electric fridge with the perfect size little freezer designed to accommodate flattened rodents is just what you need.

But wait; you’ll need a stove to cook them! Look no further than your own Magic Chef. Emeril Lagasse would be proud to own this little gem, which might even have smell-o-vision as he would call it! That is, if you like the smell of smoked salmon (see what I did there?). Just whack your food against the grill to knock off any residual char. Or spray them down with the complimentary Copper Bullet Hose and watch that smoke just disappear!

Better hurry to order. These items are selling so fast there is a strict order of only two to a customer!

Pay no attention to that thing which resembles an antique hash pipe in the oven.

Note on Photos: Courtesy of Slager Appliances in Iowa City, I took these photos of vintage appliances on display in their showroom.

The Triple Berry Frosty at Wendy’s

We got the Triple Berry Frosty at Wendy’s and we got a surprise answer at the order station when we asked what berries are in it:

“Uh, I don’t actually know.”

Fair enough. We tried to guess. Sena thought one of them was strawberry and another was blueberry (to account for the slightly bluish color). I couldn’t tell what was in it-but it was good.

I had to look on the web to find out the berries are strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry.

The Wendy’s Blog says that the Triple Berry Frosty is one way to take a break: “We all have moments when we could use a bit of an escape from our busy lives.”

That fits right now.

Coin Rolling Conniptions!

Bank tellers who hand you sleeves to roll your coins laugh in their sleeves (so to speak) because they don’t count coins anymore and they like to see the customers wince.

I complained about this in a previous post. I tried it. It’s doable. I used the Wikihow method. Using a cloth to put the coins on helps because they just slide around on a smooth tabletop.

Lining them up in your palm and sliding them into the sleeve just right so they don’t jam is the hard part. Once you get the hang of it—it’s still incredibly slow.

Maybe the Coinstar machine?

UPDATE: I got $55 dollars rolled up in coins. All told, I probably put in about 2 hours on the project. I also want to point out that you’ll have different numbers of piles of 10 coins depending on what denomination is marked on the sleeves.

Who Wants to Roll Their Own Coins?

The other day we noticed our piggy bank is getting really full. We decided to take it to the bank and get it counted.

Much to our surprise and dismay, the bank told us they don’t count piggy bank small change anymore. In fact, they stopped that about 6 years ago. Then they gave us these little sleeves with different coin denominations on them and basically said count it and roll it yourselves. Nerve!

I looked this up on the web and it turns out this has been a trend for a few years now with the big banks. Smaller banks and credit unions may still count coins. I even saw that Quik-Trip will do it.

And most banks will charge you for counting your coins for you. And there is something called a Coinstar machine which will do it—but it’ll cost you.

I found a web page that explains a little more about Coinstar. You need to know a few things about those big machines. Skip to the end of the article to get the skinny.

There’s a WikiHow instruction web page where you can learn in 15 steps (that’s right, I said “15 steps.”) how to roll coins. I read through the first half-dozen steps and had to go take a nap. And banks may not like the idea of either depositing your coins or exchanging them for folding money.

I’m not liking this idea of rolling coins. But our piggy bank won’t accept many more coins. Maybe I should try to roll some.

Releasing Your Inner Nerd

Getting the new laptop reminds me of my pocket protector nerd days. That’s because the modern laptop is a sharp contrast to the big heavy desktops. I worked for consulting engineers back in the stone age and I wore a pocket protector. Some people might not know what that is. It’s a little plastic pen holder that fits in your shirt pocket. It protects your shirt from ink spots, but makes you look like a nerd. I would also keep notes on a little pocket flip cover paper notebook.

It was mandatory that you carry six or seven pens and mechanical pencils in the pocket holder, which typically would be emblazoned with some kind of engineering advertising label: Nerdy Engineers Are Us or The Silos of Tomorrow.

When I graduated to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) complete with stylus, I thought that was a major upgrade. It was a mobile handheld device on which I took notes using a stylus. It was a little on the big side for my shirt pocket, so it displaced the paper notebook and the pocket protector.

You can see the PDA in action by watching the Men in Black II movie in which a couple of junior level men in black are using them to take notes. This is the scene at Ben’s Pizza Parlor in which Frank the talking pug says the deflated body of Ben has “zero percent body fat” and the two men in black laugh at the joke.

Also on the nerdy side, I used to wear bow ties. They were kind of fun to tie. I had many. One of them was plaid, which I realize raises the nerd level up a notch. My nerd fashion attire also included (you might want to sit down for this)—clip on suspenders. I later graduated to the suspenders you button on the inside of your pants beltline.

I think you can still release your inner nerd by getting a pocket protector. And remember, you didn’t hear it from me.