Category: current events

  • We Put on the Ritz for the Solar Eclipse!

    We Put on the Ritz for the Solar Eclipse!

    We’re putting on the Ritz for the solar eclipse next month! We got our crazy T-shirts and the eclipse glasses and solar filter. We didn’t know we’d be blind after donning the glasses. You don’t want to go for a walk wearing them because you’re likely to trip over something, mainly other eclipse observers. We’ve…

  • Thoughts on the FDA Settling Lawsuit Over Social Media Post on Ivermectin

    Thoughts on the FDA Settling Lawsuit Over Social Media Post on Ivermectin

    I just saw the news item about the FDA settling a lawsuit brought by three Texas doctors who opposed the FDA’s social media posts as well as an FDA website page entitled “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent Covid-19.” I have highlighted a link to that article which is cited by…

  • Will Iowans Get the Whole Enchilada with The Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse?

    Will Iowans Get the Whole Enchilada with The Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse?

    So, are Iowans going to get “the whole enchilada” when it comes to seeing the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024? No, but we’ll see a partial eclipse. The T-shirt Sena got for me says “Total Eclipse” on it—but it also has extraterrestrials on it, which I really like. The paths of these total…

  • Getting Ready for the Solar Eclipse!

    Getting Ready for the Solar Eclipse!

    Sena has placed the order for our eclipse glasses and eclipse T-shirts. They should get here in plenty of time for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. And if the weather is really crappy that day—we have 30 days to return them. There is an interesting history of eclipses on the NASA website. It…

  • Solar Eclipse in April!

    Solar Eclipse in April!

    We just found out there’s going to be a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. We hope to get some solar eclipse glasses before then if they don’t run out of stock everywhere. They’re selling fast. We’ve seen a couple of lunar eclipses and those were fun. The most recent one was during cold…

  • Good Luck Dr. Chris Buresh

    Good Luck Dr. Chris Buresh

    Sena was looking up the meaning of a four-leaf clover the other day. You might call it a shamrock although that’s usually reserved for the 3-leaf variety. It’s fitting for St. Patrick’s Day to say the four-leaf clover is special because it’s rare to see one. The four leaves represent faith, luck, love, and hope.…

  • New Compound MM-120 Related to LSD Gets FDA Nod

    New Compound MM-120 Related to LSD Gets FDA Nod

    I saw the story in Psychiatric Times about the compound MM-120, which the FDA recently granted breakthrough designation. MM-120 is related to LSD. Breakthrough designation is defined by the FDA as, “…a process designed to expedite the development and review of drugs that are intended to treat a serious condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates…

  • Well, The Times They Are A’Changing at the CDC

    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…

  • CDC ACIP Meeting on Covid 19 Vaccine Additional Dose

    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…

  • Hot Mic in the NASA Control Room

    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…