The Novavax Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the CDC a few days ago. University of Iowa Health Care was one of the sites in the multi-site Phase 3 trial.
The vaccine is not based on mRNA technology; it uses a more traditional method similar to the flu vaccine, which is familiar to more people.
Heard this tonight on ‘da Friday Blues KCCK with John Heim AKA Big Mo. It’s a little rock and roll from Boz Scaggs.
We have a new water heater today! What a relief. We spent a whole week on pins and needles waiting for the hot water to stop flowing again (maybe abruptly), and put us back on the cold shower regimen.
But the plumber was in and out in 2 hours flat. He was personable, knowledgeable, efficient, fast, and neat. He even put down drop cloths to keep the floors clean as he carted the old tank out and the new one in.
He gave us a quick rundown on the controls. They look easier to read and adjusting the temperature is simple—just turn a dial. The old one had a confusing light array. If you didn’t press them in just the right order, you could end up like a lobster being prepared for dinner.
There is an LED light on the control box and there are more than a dozen System Status Code sequences and they all mean something different. One is called “Heartbeat” (alternates bright and dim) and the control status description is “Call for Heat (no fault conditions).” I guess that means I call the plumber whenever I want hot water, which sounds a little inconvenient, but that’s how these newfangled gadgets are.
He was good with a joke, too. When we were discussing the controls and the LED indicator light, I asked him how we would know if something is wrong. On cue, he quipped, “You won’t have hot water.” I think he’s told that one about a million times. I’ll give him a call when the Heartbeat LED blinks.
Of course, we got an owner’s manual. It clearly states that the manual “must remain with water heater.” There was no manual with the old water heater when we moved in a couple of years ago.
It’s a pretty big deal to get a new water heater. If you have a young family, you generally have to give up your first born as collateral to cover the cost. That’s why you want to check your insurance coverage. In general, it’s a bad idea to try robbing banks to boost your finances.
The water heater is energy efficient, with an Energy Star label on the tank. It also has an ECO (Energy Cut Off) system that will shut off the water heater if the water temperature is too high.
There is a thorough Troubleshooting Guidelines section which includes Corrective Actions. A couple of them sound kind of Scary: “Combustion Odors,” and “Sizzling, Rumbling Noises.” Funny, I would think the Corrective Action would be to head for a hotel on the other side of town and don’t pack any bags. But it doesn’t mention that.
Anyway, we’re very pleased to be in hot water.
University of Iowa research shows that exercise could help for protecting us against Alzheimer’s disease. After age 65, our risk for this category of dementia doubles every 5 years.
Even if scientists develop effective and safe senolytic compounds that could allow us to live to be 200 years old, that won’t be happening in the near future. There’s another way to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Exercise can lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, especially some form of aerobic exercise.
When it comes to exercise, any exercise is better than none.
This is just a quick shout-out to the Iowa City Fire Department (Iowa City Fire Engine 4 and Engine 1) and the Johnson County ambulance service for their outstanding rescue of a person who suffered a cardiac arrest recently. It was reported in the news and the city of Iowa City wrote a great story about it as well.
We visited with a firefighter at Fire Engine 4 when we were out for a walk a while back.
Every day I see news stories about people acting up just to get attention. I pay attention to the stories about people who exemplify courage and kindness.
The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number is available starting today. Iowa is with the program and you can read more about it at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach website.
You can also learn more at the 988 Lifeline web page.
The temperature will climb into the 90s and beyond beginning early next week. Please stay safe. Follow these guidelines about how to keep well-hydrated when the humidity soars. Be prepared to prevent heat illness.
A couple of days ago, while we were playing cribbage, Sena asked me who sang the song “Against the Wind.” I offered a name, which later turned out to be wildly wrong. It bugged her so much she got up from the cribbage game and went to the computer to look it up.
Of course, Bob Seger wrote the lyrics and sang it. She asked me what I thought it meant. I wasn’t sure at the time. I hadn’t thought about it for a really long time.
I read about it on the web. I didn’t know what the lyric “8 miles a minute” meant and found a forum message saying that it corresponds roughly to the speed of a cruising airliner which is about a “480 mph.” That’s technically more like 480 knots, which converts to about 550 mph.
Anyway, it’s really fast and might be a way of saying you’re moving through life at breakneck speed. In Seger’s case, it might have had a more concrete meaning, referring to flying all over from concert to concert.
The song was released in 1980, which was about the time we moved to Ames so I could go back to college at Iowa State University (ISU). It was a big change from working as a draftsman and land surveyor’s assistant in my hometown of Mason City.
If you extend the “against the wind” metaphor a little bit, Sena and I were both moving against the wind in terms of our place in society, income level, location and educational attainment. I thought I wanted to be an engineer at the time, mostly because I had worked for years for consulting engineers.
Backing up in time a little, I had done some undergraduate college work previously at an HBCU (historically black college/university), Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin, Texas in the mid-1970s.
That was also a kind of move against the wind. I grew up in Mason City, and often I was the only black kid in grade school. I got used to that, although the racism was more overt back then and it was difficult sometimes to bear up against that kind of wind. On the other hand, I felt like a fish out of water at H-TC. I just felt like I didn’t fit in. It was part of the reason I left Austin.
It was also challenging to fit in at ISU. I figured out quickly that I would never complete the engineering degree program. The math and hard science courses were tough from the beginning and only got harder. I realized I was going against the wind there.
So, I changed my major and settled on medical technology, which led to working in a hospital laboratory. But it took about a year to get a job after graduation. Looking back, It was a frustrating time and that really felt like pushing against a headwind. I don’t know what I would have done without Sena.
I finally got into medical school at the University of Iowa. Biostatistics and Biochemistry were brutal. I was very close to quitting before the 3rd year of clinical rotations. I doubted I was cut out to be a physician. I thought about going back to surveying. But I didn’t.
Many deadlines, commitments, and struggles leading to brief forays from academia into private practice led me to think of myself as more of a fireman or a cowboy than an academician. Yet I spent most of my career at the University of Iowa.
Now I’m retired. Sena is my shelter against the wind. I guess if you look hard enough, just about anybody can relate to Bob Seger’s song. Let the cowboys ride.
We have to get the UFO thing under control, and it’s going to take more than mass produced tin foil hats. I watched a couple of paranormal shows the other night and saw The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch and The Proof is Out There hosted by Tony Harris.
I poke fun at The Secret of Skinpicker Ranch and The 200 Proof Moonshine is Out There, but not in malice. It’s because they are funny. Just to let you know, I think they’re both pretty good entertainment, although I favor The Proof is Out There because of the skeptical approach.
As usual, Tony and his experts politely debunked a few alleged paranormal phenomena and used a sense of humor doing it. I’m still not sure why Tony calls the current series the Skinwalker Edition. He never really investigates what the skin picker cast members are up to, which usually involves saying “What the bleep” after seeing the odd orb or two and occasionally having fainting spells.
I think Tony gets green screened into a couple of pictures and videos of the Skinpicker Ranch in northern Utah where it’s located and politely comments about what the cast is up to on the show. I cannot understand why an astrophysicist, Travis Taylor, is on the show, other than to try to give it credibility for the pseudoscientific approach. However, Dragon (played by Bryant Arnold), who is just a security guard, gets more camera time than Taylor.
That said, I think it’s way past time to get a better understanding of these Unidentified Frying Objects (UFOs). We’re talking about an astral chicken here, who is anatomically altered to function as its own wormhole vortex. I think the White House has been aware of the alien poultry cloaca portal vanguard (APCPV) for decades.
There are not enough tin foil hats to go around, people. Besides, they are a waste of good aluminum foil wrapping paper, which should be reserved for the resistance fighters when it comes time to roast the invaders. Don’t blame me when you get caught; you’ve been warned.
What we really need is a large coop to confine these galactic free range cluckmeisters. We need to toss the so-called Unidentified Frying Objects, which are actually alien cloaca black hole benders, into the skillet and add poultry seasoning. You want them to be golden brown.
It’s important to be committed to the goal, even when their hired thug abductors which commonly look like little green men (the small grays are the custodians). The abductors tend to be easily tricked into setting you free if you find a decent BBQ rib joint for them. Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack in Iowa City is a good choice. They also do chicken.
You’re welcome.
I put together some video clips of animals we’ve seen in our back yard over the past year or so. They include deer with fawns, wild turkeys, and raccoons.
I’m not a wildlife expert by any means. I searched the web for questions I had about the behavior of these creatures.
Are raccoons always or even mostly solitary foragers? I guess not, since there were a couple of them finding something to eat in our yard. Maybe it was a couple of former litter mates. I don’t think it was a date. They weren’t paying much attention to each other. Usually, males tend to be solitary as adults.
I’ve read articles by authors who assert that wild turkeys and deer get along pretty good, but obviously some big male turkeys get literally ruffled at the sight of fawns. Male turkeys usually ruffle their back feathers and fan their tails to intimidate other animals—including fawns, at least occasionally. They eat pretty much the same food, so they probably see each other as competitors sometimes. And I saw one YouTube video in which the narrator interpreted a fawn (without spots, maybe a male) rushing at turkeys and the turkey rushing back as a strange game of tag.
Does (plural of doe) tend to wean fawns between 2 and 4 months, but that doesn’t stop fawns from trying to nurse later. However, this doe ignored the fawn trying to nurse. The other fawn seemed to be trying to taste a branch with dead leaves on it—so maybe that one is getting the message.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 