Category: reflections

  • Birds Nipping the Frost

    Birds Nipping the Frost

    We woke up this morning to hoarfrost decorating the trees. Backyard birds seemed to be after the water.

  • Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

    Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

    Here’s another vintage post from around a decade ago after my former Psychiatry Dept chairperson, Dr. Robert G. Robinson and I published our book, Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry” in 2010. Blog: Who Gets The Credit? When I think about peak moments, I remember this guy back in junior high school who decided…

  • Blast from the Past Blog

    Blast from the Past Blog

    I thought I’d re-post something from my previous blog, The Practical Psychosomaticist, which I cancelled several years ago. The title is “Face Time versus Facebook.” I sound really old in it although it appeared in 2011. I’m a little more comfortable with the concept of social media nowadays and, despite how ignorant I was back…

  • Amaryllis Blooming

    Amaryllis Blooming

    The Amaryllis today is blooming like crazy. A new bloom opened today right next to the one that opened yesterday. Now there are two buds in the shade of the two open flowers. Will that stunt the growth of the buds? Should I worry about what’s in the shadows or be glad for what’s out…

  • What About Social Media?

    What About Social Media?

    I read this article about social media last night, written by Rachel Young, PhD, Associate Professor, Undergraduate Studies. It made me think about my WordPress blog and my YouTube accounts. I ask myself what I’m doing with them. I like to think I’m doing the right things with them. I use a sense of humor…

  • University of Iowa Psychiatry Residents Get Shout Outs

    University of Iowa Psychiatry Residents Get Shout Outs

    Recently, University of Iowa psychiatry residents worked hard enough to get shout outs. One of them was exemplary performance on the consultation and emergency room service. The service was following over two dozen inpatients and received 15 consultation requests in a day. This is a staggering number and the resident on the service did the…

  • A Day Without Glitches in the Matrix

    A Day Without Glitches in the Matrix

    Yesterday was the one of those days where everything seemed to happen for a reason. If we had arrived at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area a few minutes too early or too late, we would not have seen the mesmerizing rise and fall of the shore birds on Sand Lake. I thought of the word “murmuration,”…

  • Taming the Juggling Balls

    Taming the Juggling Balls

    As of November 7, 2022 it has been 22 days since I purchased the Learn to Juggle kit from Barnes and Noble. So far, my learning experience reminds me of a story by Mark Twain, “Taming the Bicycle,” which was published posthumously—obviously after he succumbed from his injuries in the attempt to ride the high-wheeled…

  • Evolutionary Thoughts

    Evolutionary Thoughts

    By now, you’ve probably read the digital news article describing how we’re all going to evolve into beings who resemble extraterrestrials (ETs) because of our preoccupation with digital technology. The authors describe us as eventually developing another eyelid that’ll protect us from the blue light emanating from our gadgets. Our hands will become claw-like and…

  • Thoughts on Birds Banging into Windows

    Thoughts on Birds Banging into Windows

    The other day we heard this big bang against one of our windows. We both guessed what it was—another bird collision. A couple of years ago, one crashed into a window, got knocked out, lay on its side, and puffed really hard for a half hour or so. Then it flew away. This bird was…