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The Humble Plumb Bob as Art and Napoleon, Iowa History
I thought it would be interesting to share a few remarks (some of which are tangential) about one of the recently installed sculptures included with the collection you can see in the Iowa City parks. It’s part of the Sculptors Showcase for 2026-28 in Iowa City, which I posted about on August 26, 2026. We’re…
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New 2026 Sculptors Showcase in Iowa City!
We got out and about on August 25, 2026 to see the new sculptures in Iowa City! All 8 of them are up but most of them don’t have artist nameplates yet. The two exceptions were Tim Adams striking giant green and purple flower at Riverfront Crossings Park and mine, The Waving Man, at Scott…
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The Little Ironies
I scheduled this morning’s early post about the Iowa State Fair Cribbage Tournament yesterday afternoon. Well after that, later in the evening Sena told me she read a news story about Rusty Martin, a former Iowa state senator, who had Stage 5 Alzheimer’s Disease and traveled to Switzerland to end his life via the assisted-dying…
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Cribbage Tournament at the Iowa State Fair This Year!
Hey, there’ll be the annual Iowa State Fair Cribbage Tournament on August 23, 2026. It’s on the last day of the Fair. The time and rules are below: We’ve never been to the Iowa State Fair, much less the annual cribbage tournament. According to a Facebook post, there are usually over 200 players who enter…
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The Celebrated Little Jumping Frog of Johnson County and More Pareidolia!
Sena told me she heard and saw that little frog again in our window well. She actually saw it and heard it slap against the window. Two days ago, I looked during the day and didn’t see any living critter in the window well. This is a little green frog no more than 2 inches…
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Living in the Arms of the Common People
The other day Sena was shopping at the grocery store and she was standing in line at the checkout lane. An African American woman (age maybe thirtyish) was having trouble with her WIC card. That’s the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC for short) debit card. It’s the federal assistance program…
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Field of Dreams Baseball Game in Dyersville Today!
Well, maybe there’ll be a major league baseball game on the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa—or not, given the rain coming down so far this morning. We just found out that the Minnesota Twins are scheduled to play the Philadelphia Phillies today, 6:30 PM central time. It’s going to be wet. It’s a special…
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The Bleeping Robot Waiters, Man!
Sena told me about a news story she read about robot waiters in restaurants. I guess that’s a thing nowadays. It’s not hard to imagine things going wrong with that. In fact, I saw one article about a dancing robot in a restaurant that didn’t just bust a move—it busted a few dishes. How do…
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Reblog of “Ten Month Countdown to Retirement”
This is a special reblog that always pangs me when I think of it. It was when I started the 10-month countdown to my retirement from my career as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist at University of Iowa Health Care. It’s not easy leaving what I’d come to consider a calling. That was hard. It’s being a…
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The Big Shoes Friday Blues Show A Couple of Days Ago
I caught the Big Shoes Friday Blues Show on KCCK 88.3 FM on Friday August 7, 2026. I got a nice surprise because all of the songs Ed English recorded (He and his band were scheduled to perform on Friday) were listed on the playlist. That was the first time I can remember that ever…
