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Fake Snakes Saga Slithers On
The fake snake saga continues with not much change in scaring off birds, evidently. Bird poop calling cards are still being left. I repositioned them and we’re hoping for the best. This reminds me that the other night I was awakened by what I was pretty sure was an owl and dogs raising a ruckus…
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The Good and the Not So Good About Mental Health Treatment
Sometimes I write “depressing” blog posts. On the other hand, I have both good and bad news today. I found out that, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center, Iowa’s state psychiatric hospital bed availability is dismal according to 2023 figures. That’s actually not new. Although we rate last in the nation for this, we still…
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Thoughts on a Study of Sitting with Your Patients
I saw this interesting article on a study about the effect of chair placement on physicians’ behavior when in a patient’s room, specifically whether it altered the length of time a doctor spends with a patient or the level of satisfaction patients had with the interaction. In this study, it didn’t lengthen the time, but…
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African American Women in Iowa History
In light of March being Women in History Month (as well as Iowa History Month), I’d like to share some history stories about an African American librarian from Mason City, Iowa named Esther J. Walls. In 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was an essay about her, “Esther J. Walls: The Role of a Black…
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Well, The Times They Are A’Changing at the CDC
We just found out that the CDC is, in fact, changing their recommendations on isolation precautions and other guidance for respiratory illness. It turns out the 5 day isolation rule for a positive Covid 19 test is going away. The Respiratory Virus Guidance page has changed as of today. Sena found out about it from…
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CDC ACIP Meeting on the RSV Vaccine and Some Dad Jokes
We watched the section of the CDC ACIP meeting about RSV vaccines on February 29, 2024. There was a lot of discussion on the safety of the vaccine. It looks like it will still have a requirement that you have a shared clinical decision-making meeting with your physician. I think that still implies you’d need…
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CDC ACIP Meeting on Covid 19 Vaccine Additional Dose
The CDC ACIP meeting on February 28, 2024 on the proposal of a Spring booster of the Covid 19 vaccine was interesting and confusing. Initially right after the morning presentations, we were a little confused about whether the committee was targeting only those who got the vaccine booster last fall or everybody. That didn’t make…
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Flight of Ideas on Junior Bald Eagles
A couple of days ago the temperature was in the mid-seventies, which is pretty balmy for February. We took the opportunity to get out for a walk on the Terry Trueblood Trail. It’s coincidental, but we did the same thing on the exact same date last February. It’s under the same condition for the most…
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Rubber Snake Trick for Pesky Birds So Far
So far, the rubber snakes are not scaring off the birds. We have the telltale evidence for their continued visits to our porch. It’s only a couple of days. We moved them around to see if that fools the birds into thinking the snakes are real.
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Hot Mic in the NASA Control Room
By now, everybody probably knows about the Intuitive Machine lunar landing of the Odysseus space craft recently, broadcast from NASA. I happened to have a direct audio hookup to the control room during the hot mic episode which somehow didn’t get broadcast last week. Sam: OK, how’s Odysseus doing? Doug: Uh, we slightly overshot the…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 