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Walking the Clear Creek Trail—Looking for a Hamburger
Recently, we took a walk on the Clear Creek Trail in Coralville. There are always a lot of birds out and they all have different songs. We hear more birds than we see because the trail is crowded with trees. On the other hand, the highlight of the afternoon was stopping for lunch at the…
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Jumping Worms are Making Iowans Jumpy
Well, the jumping worms are making Iowans jumpy lately, even though the critters have been reported around here since at least 2018 by the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship. All of a sudden, they’re alien invaders, slithering like snakes and jumping into your gardens. Iowa State University wants us to take pictures of…
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Bigfoot on Blood Moon May 2022!
For the first time we watched a total lunar eclipse on the night of May 15, 2022. It was a cool night. I used two cameras in an effort to make the most of my first effort in getting pictures of the event. I’m a novice and I’m sure it shows, of course. We had…
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Do Blood Moons Make Aliens Fart?
I have a couple of questions about the total lunar eclipse that’s occurring tonight. First, where’s the best place to observe it? If you consult the best advice on how to watch it, you learn that the first phase (which in Iowa City, Iowa happens at 8:32 PM) is visible in the Southeastern part of…
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Jim Goes Hollywood with Post-Dilation Glasses
I got a nice surprise recently after my one-month follow-up postop clinic visit following my retinal detachment surgery. The scheduling desk clerk gave me a pair of post-dilation sunglasses. That was the first time in years that I’ve been offered them after getting mydriatic drops for eye clinic exams. The last time I got mydriatic…
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Some Whys and Wherefores of the Mason City Ys
This is just a reminiscence. I know the word “wherefores” in the title is old-fashioned, but I’m an old guy and so what? When I was a young guy living in Mason City, Iowa where I grew up, I could not afford to rent an apartment. Shortly after I became an emancipated minor, I was…
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New Calculator Replaces Vintage Model!
Well, Sena ordered a new Sharp calculator and we just got it. It’s a Sharp EL-M335. It has a bigger, easier to see display and larger keys than the vintage Sharp ELSI MATE EL-505. We stuck with the Sharp brand because it’s durable and reliable. I’ve mentioned the old Sharp EL-505 in previous posts, mainly…
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How Many Fallen Angels Can Twerk on The Point of a Pin?
Okay, so the title sounds familiar but it’s wrong. And why does it matter? For the record, the actual quote is more like “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? It comes from philosophers in the Middle Ages. Before I get to the point of all this nonsense, I have to…
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Making The Tear Drop Jim Picture
I had so much fun making the picture of me crying me, meaning what I now call Tear Drop Jim, as the featured image for my blog post, “Jim’s Only Kidding Endlessly” (which by the way contains the acronym JOKE). The tearing and light sensitivity after the retinal detachment surgery was a nuisance. It’s gradually…

