Author: James Amos

  • Remember That Manual Edger Last Year?

    Remember That Manual Edger Last Year?

    OK, so remember that dual wheel manual edger I bought last July? It’s a Yardworks 54-inch wood handle dual wheel edger. Remember that so you never buy one yourself.  The wheel lining started tearing off in pieces just like the old one before it. The new one was a replacement for the edger that provided…

  • Thoughts on Battery Powered Toothbrushes

    Thoughts on Battery Powered Toothbrushes

    Sena bought a couple of Equate Polaris Vibraclean non-replaceable battery-powered toothbrushes with charcoal bristles (see below for remarks on charcoal) for us. When the battery dies, you just throw the brushes away. We had a rechargeable electric toothbrush a long time ago, but getting replacement parts for it was too expensive. We went back to…

  • Wormhole Vortex Portal at Skinwalker Ranch!

    Wormhole Vortex Portal at Skinwalker Ranch!

    I watched The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch the other night and the investigators got really excited over seeing what they called a wormhole portal in the Triangle area of the ranch. Somehow, it was detected by LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging. It measures distance using light instead of sound like radar does.…

  • What’s Up with Shared Clinical Decision Making for the RSV Vaccine?

    What’s Up with Shared Clinical Decision Making for the RSV Vaccine?

    There are probably some questions about the new Respiratory Syncitial Virus (RSV) vaccine. Because I’ve seen TV commercials about the new website RSVandMe, I checked on a few things the other day. The RSVandMe website and the companion website are both produced by the RSV vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). As such, I consider them marketing…

  • Beat the Heat with Cold Snap and Common Sense

    Beat the Heat with Cold Snap and Common Sense

    Sena likes to be out in the garden no matter how blisteringly hot it is. A few days ago, she was planting some yellow coreopsis and lantana, whatever that is. It was 82 degrees and with the heat index (about 60% humidity), it felt like 86 degrees. Later in mid-afternoon it rose to 95 degrees…

  • Maybe I Should Be More Optimistic About Humans

    Maybe I Should Be More Optimistic About Humans

    I read the Psychiatric Times article “How Psychiatry Has Enriched My Life: A Journey Beyond Expectations” by Victor Ajluni, MD and published on July 4, 2023. It was like a breath of fresh air to read an expression of gratitude. Just about everything I read in the news is negative. At the end of the…

  • Extraterrestrial Grade Kewpie Mayo Corn Dish!

    Extraterrestrial Grade Kewpie Mayo Corn Dish!

    Sena made a Korean Corn Bake with Kewpie Mayo. There’s a spice in it that makes it special. On the label, it just says “spice.” One web article says the secret ingredient is monosodium glutamate (MSG). The author goes on at length to assure that MSG is safe. I guess it has gotten a bad…

  • The Square Dude with the Circle Beard Returns

    The Square Dude with the Circle Beard Returns

    Well, I decided it was time to return to the circle beard after over 6 months of struggling to grow a full beard. I have too many potholes. I think it takes as much time and trouble to have a beard as it does to shave every day. I found a web site about how…

  • What’s Up with Seasonal Vaccines This Fall?

    What’s Up with Seasonal Vaccines This Fall?

    I just read an interesting article in JAMA on this fall’s Covid-19 vaccine. Most of it is from the FDA meeting in June (Rubin R. This Fall’s COVID-19 Vaccines Will Target Omicron XBB Subvariants, but Who Needs Them Remains to Be Seen. JAMA. Published online July 05, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.10053). One expert was quoted, indicating that there will…

  • Mayo Taste Test!

    Mayo Taste Test!

    Big day of mayo taste testing yesterday. We broke out the Kewpie Mayo, Duke’s Mayo, and Miracle Whip. Actually, we got the two mayonnaise brands out for dishes Sena had planned. We got the Miracle Whip out just to compare the taste of all three. I thought the Miracle Whip was tangy. Sena actually thought…