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People Remember Hurricane Edna
The hurricane season this year continues to be deadly, and they are not named after women anymore. That stopped in 1979; how and why it stopped is quite a story in itself. The latest one is named Milton, which is a benign sounding name, but the storm is anything but that. I was reminded of…
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And Then a Light Bulb Went Off
I was sitting in my office last night trying to read a book and noticed that the overhead light on the ceiling fan wasn’t providing enough light. The next morning I flipped the switch and could see through the glass globe cover that one of the bulbs was out. It flickered on about a half…
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A Game of Darts in Frankenstein Movies
I just saw the 1939 film “Son of Frankenstein” on Svengoolie last night. There was a double feature, but I didn’t see the second movie. I’m anything but a movie reviewer and all I’m going to do is point out a parody of the dart throwing scene between Wolf Frankenstein and Inspector Krogh in “Son…
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Thoughts on the Big Mo Pod Show “Funkin’ Down the Highway”
This is a post about the Big Mo Pod Show we heard last night on the KCCK FM radio dial 106.9. Incidentally, the KCCK fund drive was enormously successful this year, earning $100,000 in donations, according to Big Mo (aka John Heim) himself. One item is the cover by Buddy Miles of the song “Tobacco…
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University of Iowa Writing Programs Get High Ranking from U.S. News & World Report
The University of Iowa ranks No. 9 across all universities in the country for its power in the writing disciplines., according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report. The school is well known for its writing programs of which the The Writers Workshop is the best known. The University of Iowa also gives medical…
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Can Artificial Intelligence Learn from My Book?
Recently the publisher of a book co-edited by me and my former psychiatry chair Dr. Robert G. Robinson asked me to sign off on a proposal to involve Artificial Intelligence (AI) in using the work. The book, “Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry,” is 14 years old now, but is still a practical tool…
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The Story So Far on the House Finch Family
The story so far on the house finch family is that the eggs are intact. We still don’t know when they might hatch. The video from yesterday shows what the birds typically do and I think it would be redundant to make videos daily. The critter cam captured over 400 video and image files in…
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Thoughts on Journalist Sydney J. Harris
I just have a few things to say about Sydney J. Harris, who was a journalist whose columns were syndicated to over 200 newspapers. I remember reading them in the Des Moines Register years ago. I ran across one of his books for sale on Amazon. I’ve never read any of them, but I found…
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Thoughts on the Mason City 1884 Civil War Statue
Sena and I got to talking about Central Park in Mason City, Iowa. I remember my brother, mother and I taking a walk there occasionally. One time we saw a man who lost his legs and who got around using a small platform on wheels. Later in life, I wondered if he was a disabled…
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Essay “Forget Me Not” on the Web About Leaving a Legacy
Sena found a great essay on leaving a legacy. It’s titled “Forget Me Not” written by Jonathan Clements and posted on the website HumbleDollar on February 17, 2024. I think it’s worth sharing. The comments are still coming in. One commenter (Newsboy) wrote the one below: “The late great author, Steven (sic) Covey, once suggested: “To…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 