Category: Iowa

  • Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence

    Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence

    Sena and I just read Dr. Ron Pies fascinating essay describing his interaction with Google Bard Artificial Intelligence (AI). As usual, this made me think of several movies with AI as a central theme. There are several: I, Robot (I wrote a post about this a couple of years ago), Blade Runner, The Matrix, 2001:…

  • Another Deer Hassles the Tabby

    Another Deer Hassles the Tabby

    Yesterday, we saw another episode of a whitetail deer hassling the blond and white tabby who was just minding its own business hunting for mice. The deer was definitely not pleased and tried to scare the cat off. They don’t get along, probably because deer and cats are natural enemies. You got to hand it…

  • National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk May 6, 2023

    National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk May 6, 2023

    There is a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) walk scheduled for May 6, 2023 at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area. See the announcement here.

  • The Other Feral Tabby Catches Lunch

    The Other Feral Tabby Catches Lunch

    This is the companion to yesterday’s post about the gray Feral Tabby and its encounter with the whitetail deer. This cat is orange and white and it might be a litter mate to the gray one, just a guess. It does a great job of hunting for mice. And it caught one!

  • Feral Tabby Cats On The Prowl!

    Feral Tabby Cats On The Prowl!

    Yesterday, we saw a gray cat with black stripes (one broad black stripe down its back) in the outlet in back of our house. It was about the size of a large housecat. It definitely was not big enough to be one of the large cats which can be seen in Iowa. It wasn’t a…

  • Whitetail Deer Think Your Lawn is a Salad Bar

    Whitetail Deer Think Your Lawn is a Salad Bar

    We have a small herd of whitetail deer who regularly visit our lawn because they think it’s a salad bar. They’re all over the neighborhood because the city apparently doesn’t have a consistent deer population management plan. I don’t know anything about the animals, other than what I care to look up on the internet.…

  • Hello, I’m Dr. James Caramel Brown

    Hello, I’m Dr. James Caramel Brown

    I read Dr. Moffic’s article, “The United States Psychiatric Association: Social Psychiatric Prediction #4”. I think the rationale for renaming the American Psychiatric Association makes sense. However, it also got me thinking about the names of other associations connected to the APA (here meaning American Psychiatric Association). One of them is the Black Psychiatrists of…

  • Random Connections

    Random Connections

    Today, I read Dr. George Dawson’s blog post, “How I ended up in a high-risk pancreatic cancer risk screening clinic.” As usual I was impressed with his erudition, scientific literacy, and rigorous objectivity, even as it pertained to a deadly disease which runs in his family genetic history. I couldn’t help admiring his courage. And,…

  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

    This is St. Patrick’s Day and, although I didn’t wear green today, Sena got me some Irish beer. It’s Guinness Extra Stout. The back label extols the virtues: “Intense characterful and bold, Guinness Extra Stout is the pure expression of our brewing legacy. Bittersweet, with subtle hints of hops, dark fruits and caramel, this stout…

  • Catatonia Education Resources

    Catatonia Education Resources

    I noticed what is, for me at least, a new educational resource for catatonia. There’s an aricle about it in the March 2023 issue (Vol.51, No. 3) of Clinical Psychiatry News. The resource is available at University of Rochester Medical Center website. They include pdf files and training videos for assessment of catatonia. There are…