Category: Iowa

  • Big Mo Pod Show: “Absorbing Influences”

    Big Mo Pod Show: “Absorbing Influences”

    I listened to the Big Mo Blues Show last Friday night on June 21, 2024 and wouldn’t you know, he was recorded. He wasn’t there live that night but as usual he put on a great show of blues music. And I listened to the Big Mo Pod Show a few days later, and the…

  • Big Mo Blues Show Podcast: “Chromatic Rock”

    Big Mo Blues Show Podcast: “Chromatic Rock”

    I caught the Big Mo Blues Show June 14th last Friday night. And I also caught the Big Mo Pod Show as well. Produce Noah got the month wrong for some odd reason. He said it was May 14th. Let it go. Anybody can be temporally impaired from time to time, including me. Anyway, the…

  • Great Rounding@Iowa Podcast on Preventing & Managing Heat-Related Illness

    Great Rounding@Iowa Podcast on Preventing & Managing Heat-Related Illness

    The Rounding@Iowa podcast has many fascinating and helpful episodes, not the least of which is this one on heat-related illness. The days are getting hotter and we need to pay close attention to what happens in our bodies when exposed to excessive heat.

  • Cicada-Geddon in Eastern Iowa

    Cicada-Geddon in Eastern Iowa

    A couple of days ago I saw one of the many news items about the 17 year (and 13 year) cicadas invading Eastern Iowa this summer. But I haven’t seen any mention of the sex-crazed, fungus-infected zombie cicadas announced in April. So, you can relax. Try noise-cancelling headphones.

  • Releasing Your Inner Nerd

    Releasing Your Inner Nerd

    Getting the new laptop reminds me of my pocket protector nerd days. That’s because the modern laptop is a sharp contrast to the big heavy desktops. I worked for consulting engineers back in the stone age and I wore a pocket protector. Some people might not know what that is. It’s a little plastic pen…

  • In Memory of L. Jay Stein

    In Memory of L. Jay Stein

    I was thinking of one of the Johnson County judicial mental health referees I often worked with years ago. L. Jay Stein died in 2014. I looked up his obituary the other day and was a little surprised to find I had written a remembrance for him. I’d forgotten it. “I will always remember my…

  • Thoughts on Down Time Activities for Land Survey Technicians

    Thoughts on Down Time Activities for Land Survey Technicians

    I was just thinking about the old-time land survey crews. When I was getting on the job training as a survey technician, the typical land survey crews were at least 2-3 persons. One rodman, one instrument man, and a crew chief who organized the job, which could be property or construction jobs. Nowadays, you get…

  • Big Mo Pod Show: “In Search of Good Company”

    Big Mo Pod Show: “In Search of Good Company”

    When I listen to the Big Mo Pod Show, I tend to almost free associate to memories which the songs sometimes evoke. The 5 songs this week came from, as usual, his Big Mo Blues Show this past Friday night. The theme of the pod show was “In Search of Good Company.” I’m not so…

  • Reminiscence of My Younger Days

    Reminiscence of My Younger Days

    The other day we had some stormy weather roll across central Iowa, although it was not as bad as the tornado that swept through Greenfield. We hope the best for them. We didn’t actually get a tornado, but I remember wondering why the siren went off about 6:00 a.m. It woke me up and I…

  • Rounding At Iowa: Smoking and Vaping

    Rounding At Iowa: Smoking and Vaping

    I just want to give a shout out to University of Iowa Health Care and the Rounding@Iowa podcast for an outstanding presentation on the hazards of smoking tobacco, vaping, and dabbing. The program originally aired on May 14, 2024 and the guests included two ICU doctors who are pulmonologists I’ve worked with as a psychiatric…