Out of 60 hits on page one of a Google search using terms “emotional blunting from SSRI,” only one cast doubt on the assumption that SSRI antidepressants exert their treatment effect by causing apathy. The rest endorsed the connection.
The one article I found on this quick search which contradicted this widely held and arguably incorrect assumption is “Antidepressants Do Not Work by Numbing Emotions,” published in Psychiatric Times, Sept. 26, 2022, which was written by George Dawson, MD and Ronald W. Pies, MD.
The authors wrote a convincing rebuttal of the assumption that the SSRI mechanism of action for treating depression is by causing apathy. Based on their review, the problem is more likely due to residual depressive symptoms. It’s a good thing it turns up on the first page of a web search.
So far so good. After I affixed the drain grate to the corrugated base with a worm gear adjustable clamp, this morning the lid is still on.
I also posted a tiny zombie guard. He’ll chew up anything that tries to come up from below or break in from above. He’s not fussy about what he eats. He doesn’t sleep. He’s not scared of anything. Bad weather doesn’t bother him. He says the same thing Beetlejuice says:
“I’ll eat anything you want me to eat, I’ll swallow anything you want me to swallow; so, come on down, I’ll chew on a dog!”
Well, this afternoon the computer repair guy returned and fixed the computer in about 15 minutes. The noise was gone after he replaced the power supply unit, the fan of which was the source of the mini-helicopter noise.
Obviously, this was a case of extraterrestrial invasion.
Seriously, though, once we got past all of the stuff about software checking, the repair was very quick. It turns out you can’t check the condition of the power supply unit fan with software. The noise problem was solved the old-fashioned way.
We have this yard drainage tile system in our back yard. We have a half-dozen drain tile round grates over all of the pipes. One of them keeps turning up flipped over next to the pipe. It’s happened 3 days in a row.
The grate just slips into the pipe. Water pressure isn’t forcing it out. We think it’s maybe some kind of animal, Bigfoot, or an extraterrestrial messing with it.
According to the lawn and garden installer who supervised the job of laying the drain tile and pipe grates, the problem is either too much water through the pipe or critters. We’ve had no rain for the last 3 days yet we’ve found the grate upside down next to the pipe each of the 3 days.
I thought of getting a trail camera (critter cam) to catch whatever might be happening. But I’d have to order it because local hardware stores don’t carry them. We live in a residential area, but it’s a wooded lot. We commonly see squirrels, deer, wild turkeys, and even raccoons in our back yard.
If Bigfoot is messing with us, I could catch it on critter cam. That would be awesome.
So, it’s not impossible that an animal could be flipping the drain tile grate. But why? It’s always got water in it, and probably bugs. I think it would be easier for a critter to find water in the woods and bugs are flying around everywhere and on the trees.
I don’t think a human would flip the grate off. But if we had a critter cam, I could record it. They’re pretty expensive. I doubt Sena would let me order one. She’s going to try using sod pins to tether the grate.
Update: Sena put a couple sod pins in the grate to help secure it in the ground. She put some dirt around it so if a critter is messing with it, it’ll leave evidence. The rods are crossed with string around them to—confuse the critter?
I was out using the manual edger around our lawn today. When I finished that and started sweeping up the grass cuttings, my broom snapped off at the brush cap. The pole is a thin steel shaft and the end that fit into the cap of the brush was rusted through.
After I finished sweeping using a push broom, I figured I’d have to buy another broom. Then I got curious about whether I could fix it. There are a couple of terms for repairs that might fit here.
Jury-rigging means a make-shift repair that works. Jerry-rigging is slightly different and refers to a repair that is not just home-made but carelessly done.
I checked the internet and found a YouTube which described a fix for my broken broom. It looked very similar. But I would have needed to go out to the hardware store and buy either a pipe-fitter or a hacksaw. The instructions also called for using a drill to make a pilot hole for a small screw.
I thought it would be cheaper and faster just to buy a new broom. But the more I thought about it, I got an idea for a temporary fix. One element of it is how you would fix a loose shaft in a push broom. You just turn it around and bang it into the floor and it jams the pole into the brush handle hole.
What I did first was to think of what tool I had which might help. Because the end of the handle that fits into the brush cap was rusted out, I used a pair of tin snips to trim off the loose rusty fragments. That took off about an inch of the shaft.
I pushed the shaft into the brush cap, turned the broom upside down and jammed the shaft back into the cap. The broom was a little shorter but it was usable. And I didn’t have to run to the hardware store.
Now is that jury-rigging or jerry-rigging? Just like the two words probably derive from each other, the job was a little of both.
I’m still going to need a new broom because I’m not sure how long the fix is going to last.
This is an update to my post yesterday about the latest computer crisis; the one about the mini-helicopter noise in the tower on my relatively new Dell XPS 8950.
Incredibly, the parts have been ordered. I can’t tell if they just ordered them today or what. The technicians will arrive sometime tomorrow and they’ll bring the parts with them. If the parts have just been ordered today, it’s not clear to me how the technicians could have them by tomorrow.
That suggests they may already know (or already have known) what the hardware problem is. That again makes me wonder why I had to jump through umpteen software juggling shenanigans for the last couple of days.
I guess I should be happy that I’m getting a quick response. We’ll see how it turns out.
Another day, another computer crisis. I’ve been hearing this mini-helicopter noise from my PC tower for a while and finally contacted the manufacturer’s computer support center on the web.
I have hopped through many hoops in the past couple of days, including resetting my computer. Remember I had to do that with Sena’s computer?
How can a noise which seems to be a hardware problem (a rattle in the tower) be a software problem? I don’t know.
The most recent request from support services was to make a video of the noisy tower. Yes, I said video. So, I took the video, with enough audio (I hope) to convince people that the problem might be something physical inside the machine.
“Heat Index Values Between 95 and 100 this Afternoon…
Unseasonably hot temperatures are expected through the afternoon today, ranging between 90 and 95 for most. These hot temperatures will combine with dew points between 65 and 70. Thus, yielding heat index values between 95 to around 100 through the afternoon.
If you plan to be outside, avoid prolonged exposure to the heat or strenuous activity. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.”
See the HHS Campaign for the Covid-19 updated vaccine booster for older adults-a high risk group. We’re scheduled for both the flu shot and the updated booster.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 