Tag: Iowa

The Hotel Gets Busy Handing Out Faux Cufflinks!

Several days ago, a large wedding guest caravan arrived at the hotel. Fascinating group. The line of people checking in could have stretched outside beyond the front door.

 There was this guy who was there for the wedding, but arrived without cufflinks. So, he asked the front desk to help him out. They gave him what might have fooled some people some of the time—big safety pins. They didn’t work out. A couple of women guests also got safety pins, for what I couldn’t guess.

He left and came back later with a Dillard’s shopping bag. He got some smart looking brand new cufflinks! I think the last time I wore cufflinks was in the 1970s in Austin, Texas. They came with a suit that the husband of my English Literature professor, Dr. Jenny Lind Porter, bought for me. They didn’t resemble safety pins.

The hotel staff were pretty busy because the place got hit by the CrowdStrike Outage. The inconveniences included a little more work with programming room keys. One guy asked for a room on the second floor, but it was booked up with extraterrestrials. I doubt they were with the wedding group. And they couldn’t fix the outage-so much for the advancements of those from other galaxies. They probably don’t even know what cufflinks are.

There was a couple of guys (also not with the wedding crowd) who were in town for a disc (what we would call frisbee) golf tournament. It was near the Clear Creek Trail. They were solid in the standings so far.

I don’t think first prize was a pair of cufflinks.

Earthquakes and Railroads and Magic Fingers, Oh My!

The hotel we’re staying in while our house is being built is very close to railroad tracks. We hear the whistle and then, we feel the train going by. No kidding, we can feel the rumble. It shakes the chairs, the sofa, the bed. The whole room shakes for as long as the train passes through the area.

It’s kind of an eerie sensation. It reminds me of the Illinois earthquake in 2010, which was felt by many in Eastern Iowa. It rattled our bed. That went on for a few minutes.

And some of you X-Files fans will get it when I say this free association would naturally lead to memories of the Bad Blood episode (season 5). This hilarious show features Mulder and Scully telling their own versions of what happened in a little town full of vampires. Both agents got all shook up using the Magic Fingers on a hotel bed.

Scrub to about 2 minutes into the YouTube to see the first Magic Fingers earthquake. There’s more, but you’ll get the idea.

Reminder: NAMIWalks May 4, 2024 in Iowa City

Don’t forget to register for the Johnson and Linn County NAMIWalks on May 4, 2024. See registration and location info below:

The Big Mo Pod Show on KCCK

There is a new show on the KCCK radio station at FM 88.3 broadcast out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (106.9 in Iowa City). It’s called the Big Mo Pod Show, which is keyed to his previous Friday night Big Mo Blues Show which starts at 6:00 PM.

The show generally quizzes the DJ, Big Mo (John Heim) on some of the tunes (name of artist, name of the song, why he played the song) he played the previous Friday night. A good example was Friday, April 19, 2024. You can access the show on different platforms, which are announced at the end of the show.

Big Mo did alright. He got most of the answers right, including the one by John Primer, “Crawlin’ Kingsnake.” I also like John Primer’s song “Hard Times.”

Remember, the Big Mo Pod Show is recorded and based on the Big Mo Blues Show from the previous Friday night. You can hear it by going to KCCKdotorg web site and click the Listen tab to find Shows on Demand to find “BigMoPodShow.”

The University of Iowa Role in the Science Behind Psilocybin for Psychiatric Treatment

On April 9, 2024, the University of Iowa educational podcast, Rounding@Iowa presented a discussion about the study of the use of psilocybin in the treatment of psychiatric and addiction disorders. You can access the podcast below. The title is “Psilocybin Benefits and Risks.” The format involves an interview by Dr. Gerard Clancy, MD, Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs, Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine with distinguished University of Iowa faculty and clinician researchers.

In this presentation, the guest interviewees are Dr. Michael Flaum, MD, Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and Dr. Peggy Nopoulos, MD, Chair and Department Executive Officer for the University of Iowa Department of Psychiatry, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

All three of these highly respected and accomplished faculty taught me when I was a trainee in the psychiatry department and afterward were esteemed colleagues.

87: New Treatment Options for Menopause – Rounding@IOWA

Join Dr. Clancy and his guests, Drs. Evelyn Ross-Shapiro, Sarah Shaffer, and Emily Walsh, as they discuss the complex set of symptoms and treatment options for those with significant symptoms from menopause.  CME Credit Available:  https://uiowa.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=0&EID=81895  Host: Gerard Clancy, MD Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Guests: Evelyn RossShapiro, MD, MPH Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Clinic Director, LGBTQ Clinic University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Sarah Shaffer, DO Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Vice Chair for Education, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Emily Walsh, PharmD, BCACP Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Iowa Health Care Financial Disclosures:  Dr. Gerard Clancy, his guests, and Rounding@IOWA planning committee members have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Nurse: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hour. Physician: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other Health Care Providers: A certificate of completion will be available after successful completion of the course. (It is the responsibility of licensees to determine if this continuing education activity meets the requirements of their professional licensure board.) References/Resources:   
  1. 87: New Treatment Options for Menopause
  2. 86: Cancer Rates in Iowa
  3. 85: Solutions for Rural Health Workforce Shortages
  4. 84: When to Suspect Atypical Recreational Substances
  5. 83: Hidradenitis Suppurativa

The link icon adjacent to the title of the podcast takes you to the podcast website. The link to the article in Iowa Magazine about the psilocybin research at University of Iowa Health Care tells you more about Dr. Peggy Nopoulos and her role as principal investigator in the study.

There is also a link to the National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials web site where you can find out more details about the study design. You’ll notice a banner message which says: “The U.S. government does not review or approve the safety and science of all studies listed on the website” along with another link to a disclaimer with more details.

House Finches at Home in Fake Christmas Tree

We managed to get some critter cam footage of the male and female house finch pair nesting in the fake Christmas tree in our front entry way yesterday. Crank up the volume on your audio to hear them singing.

The male sports a red face and chest. The female is plain brown except for brown streaks on a white belly. While she incubates the eggs, he feeds her periodically.

It’s definitely a tough job sitting there most of the time with temperatures getting well into the 80’s Fahrenheit on our porch even before noon. On the other hand it’s still getting pretty cold at night.

We don’t know when the eggs were laid, but they take about two weeks to hatch. After that the chicks will take a couple of weeks to fledge.

I’m a little nervous about going out there periodically to pick up the critter cam and peek at the eggs. It always startles the female. It can also alert large predatory birds to the prospect of a meal. This actually happened about 4 years ago when I heard what sounded like large bedsheets flapping in the wind. It turned out to be the biggest crow I ever saw taking off with its beak full of house finch nestlings from the real evergreen tree in our front yard (different house).

There should be a bird nest relocation program.

Solar Eclipse Around the Corner So We May Need to Protect the Cicadas!

The solar eclipse is just around the corner! We’re hoping for decent weather. We’re also hoping that everyone views the event with safety in mind.

University of Iowa Health Care ophthalmologist Dr. Ian Han has great tips on how to observe the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. He pointed out that eclipse glasses that pass muster for safe viewing of what will be a partial eclipse in Iowa are typically on a list of approved eyewear and often have an ISO (that stands for International Organization for Standardization) number stamped on them. Our glasses have the right stuff!

However, animals sometimes get confused by solar eclipses, including cicadas (see my other post about cicada weirdness posted today). Cicadas might stop singing or maybe their gonads drop off a little sooner than usual, I don’t know exactly. But the zombie cicada gonad apocalypse timing probably makes that a non-issue. I did say “probably.” But how could we protect them if necessary?

There might be a scientific way to custom fit the cicadas with solar eclipse glasses using groundbreaking technology first used in the 1989 documentary film, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” which I have not personally watched but which could be featured on Svengoolie. We’d have to scale up production for possibly trillions of bugs. And I guess we can’t protect their gonads.

But we can all protect our eyes.

Update: I found a very good web site which tells you how to check if your solar eclipse glasses are genuine and protective. In addition to the information above, you can test the eclipse glasses indoors by putting them on. You shouldn’t be able to see anything but the brightest light bulbs and those just barely. You can test them outside as well. On a sunny day, look around at any reflective surface. You shouldn’t be able to see much at all. I tested ours and they passed with flying colors.