Category: Brief Messages or Announcements

CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report

See the CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report as of the last week of October, 2022. While Iowa’s activity is listed as “minimal,” the Iowa Dept. of Public Health points out that individual cases are not reportable in Iowa. The best way to prevent influenza is to get the flu vaccine.

See the World’s Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa!

You can see the world’s largest dinosaurs exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa from October 15, 2022 to April 16, 2023. It’s a traveling exhibit, so see it before it thunders off!

Heard it on the Big Mo Blues Show

I heard John Heim aka Big Mo on the blues show tonight on KCCK radio 88.3 and he actually spelled the name of MayRee, the name of the cook who makes that good hand-battered catfish; it’s better because it’s battered and so the legend goes.

I knew a cook a long time ago in Austin, Texas, her name was Miss Mack. She ran the student cafeteria at Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin, Texas way back in the 1970s. It’s one of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). And it’s one of the oldest.

Some students made fun of Miss Mack’s food. Some were brave enough to eat it. I was one of them, but I did make a Church’s Chicken run occasionally. Church’s Chicken was a fast food joint that got started in San Antonio, Texas in the early 1950s.

I also heard this old number by Eric Clapton, Going Down to the Crossroads.

CDC Advisory Committee Recommends Including Covid-19 Vaccine for Routine Immunization Schedule

Today, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended adding Covid-19 immunization to the routinely recommended vaccine schedule.

Time to Remove the Worm Gear Clamp

The critter cam didn’t capture any activity last night. So, I did the next thing—I removed the worm gear clamp from the grate. It has been undisturbed for over a week now. The last event was on October 8,2022, when the big rocks on top of the grate were shoved around.

It’s getting pretty cold. It’s in the mid-twenties this morning. Maybe that’s inhibiting whatever’s out there. I didn’t see any poop, but Sena saw a pile yesterday which looked pretty much the same as the first one. It was in about the same location. This is likely from a dog.

Let’s see what happens.

Me and the Deer Caught in the Critter Cam Lights

I reset the mode of our critter cam to shoot both pictures and videos yesterday. One viewer suggested I walk around our yard as a check to see how this works. I did get up and traipse around this chilly morning shortly after 6:00 AM, took pictures of bright objects in the night sky (funny how celestial bodies can induce a sense of lost time…), and listened to an owl hoot and a dog bark.

The drain tile grate was still undisturbed. It was dark but I didn’t step in any poop; I checked my shoes. The specimen I shoveled up the other day was probably just dog poop.

Also, we caught some deer trotting through the yard as well. The video and pictures look pretty good. You can see the garden grasses blowing in what was probably a 14 mph wind out of the northwest.

That’s more like it. I set it for video mode only and we’ll see what happens tonight. You may want to turn up the volume on your audio speakers to hear the sounds in the video below.

Intranasal Esketamine for Major Depression Available at University of Hospitals & Clinics Department of Psychiatry

Learn about the use of intranasal Esketamine for Major Depressive Disorder at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics here.

Big Mo Blues Show KCCK Iowa City

Two songs I heard tonight on the Big Mo Blues Show on KCCK 88.3 radio out of Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, and I can’t pick the best one. One is new, by John Primer, “Hard Times,” out in 2022 and speaks to how hard times are right now.

The other is old, by B.B. King, from 1971 and speaks to how hard times could be back then.

Critter Cam Arrives for Drain Grate Ghost Hunt

The critter cam was delivered and I’ll need to get some batteries and a micro-SD card for it. I’ll also need to learn how to mount it to one of the posts supporting our sun room.

The rough distance from the camera to the drain grate is about 40 feet, so it should be well within the camera’s range.

We plan to remove the rocks, but leave the worm gear adjustable clamp on the grate. There hasn’t been any new disturbance since my last post about it. The rock is still on top of the grate.

I’ll test the camera first just to make sure I’ve got it set up correctly, which could be a challenge for me since I’ve never done anything like this before.

We’re going to try our best to catch whatever has been messing with our drain grate. Wish us luck!

Update: I just formatted and installed the micro SD card, the 4 AA batteries, set the clock to the correct time, and quickly ran through the functions. It seems to work fine in Test Mode. It’s a little late now, so we plan to set it up for tomorrow!