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Thoughts on House Finches
This morning, I got a snapshot of a male house finch sitting on the back porch fence post. He’s a proud looking fellow. I saw the female a minute earlier but could not catch a picture of her. It’s spring; they’re probably a mating pair and we saw them last year. So, there will soon…
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Upcoming Sven Squad Movie “Friday the 13th”
The upcoming movie with the Svengoolie Sven Squad this Saturday the 14th comes a day late. It’s the very first “Friday the 13th.” I’ve never seen it, but I think I’ve seen a couple of the 35 sequels. I always have to stop and think about how to distinguish the 1978 slasher “Halloween” from the…
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Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry and The Break-Dancing Koala Bear
I ran across an old Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry (CPCP) presentation by a couple of sharp medical students in 2014. They presented it at one of my morning consult rounds and it’s about Charles Bonnet Syndrome. They did a very nice job and it compares fairly well with the University of Iowa Ophthalmology Dept…
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Do We Really Need Artificial Intelligence to Help People Who Are Demoralized?
I was just going through the many files on one of my old thumb drives that I still keep after I retired from consultation-liaison psychiatry over 5 years ago. I found a file that I must have typed from a source on how to help medically ill persons who are demoralized. Demoralization is not the…
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Try to Lift Just One Eyebrow Without Picking Your Nose!
I ran across a couple of interesting articles today and I thought I’d pass this along. One article is about kids who pick boogers out of their nose and eat them. Another is about how to lift one eyebrow only. I bet a lot of people try to learn how to lift one eyebrow. I…
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Thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Today being Martin Luther King Day, I’m reminiscing a little about my short time as a student at Huston-Tillotson College (one of this country’s HBCUs, Huston-Tillotson University since 2005) in Austin, Texas. It’s always a good idea to thank your teachers. I never took a degree there, choosing to transfer credit to Iowa State University…
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What Questions Should We Ask on MLK Day?
I ran across this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in my notes: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. This week we’ll be getting the two biographies of…
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Connections Between Psychiatry, Artificiality and Blues Music?
I heard a song on the KCCK Big Mo Blues Show that I first heard in June of 2025. The song is “Artificial” by Walter Trout. At first blush, I agree with what I think is the point of the song, which is basically a protest against artificiality which could manifest in a range of…
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Glue Myself to My Biography
There’s a reason for why I so often tell Dad jokes. In keeping with my post from yesterday about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s biographies: I glued myself to my autobiography. You may not believe it, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. We’ve ordered a couple of biographies about Dr. King. One…
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Kudos to Dr. George Dawson on Today’s Blog Post!
I want to give a shout-out to Dr. George Dawson on his post today, “Enthusiasm is a plus…” It’s right on the mark. Having a zest for medicine is the reason why many physicians undertook the rigorous training in medical school, residency, and beyond. A sense of humor is evident in George’s essay—and he doesn’t…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 