thank U, MSU!

The maize-and-blue faithful here in Tree Town and around the world are emerging from this January in an unfamiliar position.  Instead of losing their bowl game at the start of the month, tucking tail, and saying “wait till next year”, they find their team is a National Champion, first time in 27 years, the twelfth timeContinue reading “thank U, MSU!”

Musings I.

My first book of compiled blogs from the pandemic years – there would eventually be 5, all titled Musing through a pandemic – contained my writings on coronavirus, whom I’d personalized as “Mr. Corona” (1). Looking back, it’s not a bad historical record. I got to wear my microbiologist/virologist’s hat as well as my doctor’s white coat. Plus,Continue reading “Musings I.”

home improvement

I’ve learned in retirement that home improvement doesn’t always have to involve plaster dust, power tools rented from the hardware store, and a pallet of materials on your driveway.  While such might be needed to elicit a grunt of approval from Tim Allen (1), your home is awaiting gentler ways to make it better.  For sure, there’sContinue reading “home improvement”

quaternary

Hello to my dozens of readers and anyone else looking in. The term quaternary refers to the fourth order in a series.  As a lifelong striving academic, I’m well aware of the quaternary milestones of graduation from high school, college, and medical school.  The rhythm gets fuzzy after that: residencies – at least for internal medicine –Continue reading “quaternary”

makin’ t-shirts

Ya never know what hobbies might rise to bite ya in retirement.  All that brain power that used to go to the job now is free to take on God-knows-what.  I never thought I’d pick up an iron again.  Heck, all my white shirts were perm press, so I didn’t even need it for that.  But add in anContinue reading “makin’ t-shirts”

natty!

Sing a rousing chorus!(1) You don’t have to play to feel that way! (2) The online home for the best Michigan sports coverage – Mgoblog.com – posts two Muppet videos after any very key Michigan victory: the troupe doing two songs that have been staples of the Michigan Marching Band repertoire since before the first post-war NationalContinue reading “natty!”

turkey trio

Happy New Year! This is my 400th blogpost, a habit I kicked off 10 days short of 4 years ago.  I think I’m getting my money’s worth from WordPress.  Today’s post, as befits my recent trend, it’s about food.  Christmas dinner, to be exact.  But you don’t need to wait till a holiday to make this.  It’ll make any day aContinue reading “turkey trio”

halve hygge

Hygge was fading on Harbal as the evening progressed.  The fire had drawn closed as Kathy and I absorbed into our screens had failed to feed the place.  Faced with our next big event of the evening, “Sashay’s Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop” show on WCBN (1), we struggled to restore the ambience.   We’d found that our homemade firestarters wereContinue reading “halve hygge”

A coffee for ya, ma’am?

“Keep me up and f**k me up”, such was the request from the unnamed supermodel who walked in to celebrity bartender Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho London sometime in 1983 (1).  A simple concoction, initially called The Vodka Espresso then the Pharmaceutical Stimulant, it caught on like wildfire with revelers who wanted to keep theContinue reading “A coffee for ya, ma’am?”