land of ice

That’s how Norseman Hrafna (Raven) Flóki (getting that nickname as he used ravens to find land from out at sea)) called it when in 868 AD he became the 3rd European to set foot on this little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sailing the 1300 km (800 mi) from the Faroe Islands by Scotland (1).  Tho’ the two previous proposed different names, his stuck, inspired by all the ice he saw falling into the fiords..  Settlement began in 930 (there were no indigenous peoples to displace, only a few Irish monks) and over 1000 years later, the name has stuck.  But Raven was unaware of the much larger land mass to the West, a slab of rock covered over 660,000 square miles with ice averaging over a mile thick, about 80% of its surface.  Legend is that Viking Leif Erikson, credited with discovering the island, named it Greenland as a bit of false advertising to lure enemies to a certain demise in the desolate place.  Unlike its 836,330 square miles neighbor, little 40,000 square mile Iceland floats on two tectonic plates (North American, Eursian) with local geologists recently discovering the island has a little middle plate of its own, as yet unnamed.  And, if you recall your National Geographic specials, the magma on which those plates float escapes as lava between the rifts between the plates (2).  So, despite the rain, snow, hail, and glaciers, the liquid shaping Iceland is that hot stuff seeping up.  The rifts through which all that lava flows run through Iceland northeast to southwest in a big gash.  

But Icelanders aren’t like Hawaiians with go bags packed lest the local volcano blows.  There’s plenty of lava that flows here, but the best way to see it is in a Reykjavik restaurant that brings some inside for a hot floor show (3).  Apparently, the glaciers dampen things down.  But the Reykjavík paper runs with the weather report a daily tally of earthquakes detected on the island.  As many as 18,000 quakes have been recorded in one week, although most are of low intensity (2 Richters or less) and hardly felt.

There are many ways to observe the interaction  between these different liquids.  The first is in your hotel room when you turn on the hot water tap.  The local power company, produces almost all of the island’s electricity by geothermal steam, the rest hydroelectric.  That steam that comes up is also a commodity used to heat water that is piped out to almost all civilized settlements.  So, that water is pretty damned hot (and pure!), buildings are toasty warm against the arctic environment, and nobody owns a water heater.  Electricity is not only green, it is very cheap, maybe the only thing that is here.  70% goes to local aluminum smelting plants.  The undersea cables don’t exist to sell it to an energy-starved Europe, but this likely won’t happen as that sort of sale would put European prices on the juice, much higher than local prices.  As of July 2024, Icelanders paid €0.1702/KwH, still way more than what DTE charges me at “peak”, equivalent of €0.038/KwH.   To compare,  water is separate.  90% of homes in Iceland heat with geothermal water.  Water for drinking if free and hot water for heating is usually bundled into the rent.  An owner of a 1080 sq foot apartment can expect to pay about €648 ($724) per year for heating, still less than one fifth what a neighbor in Helsinki can expect.

But the better way to appreciate this special association is to get out of town.

When that water gets heated up underground, pretty soon pressure builds and the stuff has to go somewhere.  Of course, it’s quite a show when it blows.  There are 20-30 geysers in Iceland, so the shows abound.  The English word geyser derives from Geysir, which is derived from the Icelandic verb geyir.  Here is Strokkur, which has its own park (and gift shop!), today and tomorrow..

Now the water itself doesn’t always need all that heat to move along.  Sometimes gravity is just enough as that bit of melted glacier moves along over the jagged basalt. Here’s Gullfoss, one of 10,000 or so waterfalls to be had (4).  Water doesn’t need that much gravity to move, and it tumbles over rocks everywhere, here with a waterfall and rocky stream.

They put the main power plant out in the country, partly because the higher elevation cuts down on distribution costs for the hot water.  They’re so green here they scrub out the little bit of CO2 that trickles up with the harvested steam.  They’ve made a tourist attraction out of the plant, complete with our handsome guide Olaf, a gift shop, and coffee service.

All that hot water bubbling to the surface makes for a lot of hot springs (5).  Currently, 59 have been identified on the island, with numerous others either too small or too hot for human use.  The biggest began as a mistake.   On the site the Blue Lagoon now occupies, about halfway between the airport and Reykjavik, was going to be another geothermal power plant, built on an 800-year old lava field; in 1974, the drilling to find superheated water found a collection that could not be stanched.  Engineers at the facility had expected the water to seep through the lava and return to the earth’s volcanic aquifers. However, owing to the fluid’s high concentration of silica, proper drainage did not occur and a beautiful body of water took shape. The authorities closed the project, but let the water flow, eventually filling an area of 9400 square feet to an average depth of 4 feet .  Locals found the new pond welcoming, and in 1987, a doctor from Reykjavík—Grímur Sæmundsen—began to envision a more formalized future for the enchanting site. He imagined a place of health and wellbeing galvanized by the healing waters.  What it became was Reykjavik’s biggest tourist attraction, one that has been designated a wonder of the world (6).  Besides the 38-400C (100-1040F) water, the high concentration of silica, other minerals, and algae confer health and especially cosmetic benefits.  A step into these blue waters (from all the silica) is an excellent way for a tourist to kick off an Icelandic excursion.  It’s less crowded these days, as locals are shunning the place out of concern for a potential new eruption of a local volcano, from which new lava would take 10 minutes to reach the lagoon.  Talk about a hot tub!

Above ground, the winds off the North Atlantic seldom let up, with every blustery day different from the day before.  Sometimes the winds are strong enough to chase skiers off the slopes, concerned with being blown over.  But the wind responsible for Iceland’s primo attraction comes from far, far, away – 93 million miles to be precise – when on the sun’s surface sunspots form and solar flares erupt, both flinging supercharged ions into space.   This “solar wind” travels up to 60 miles/second and reaches Earth in 15-45 minutes.  There, it interacts with the magnetic field of our planet, which directs the energies to the poles.  Once there, it reacts with various gasses in the upper atmosphere, producing the dancing colors we know as the Northern Lights.  

This show was given a more elegant name by the first man to describe them, none other than Galileo. In the early 17th century , he saw faint light on the northern horizon very early in the morning and thought it resembled an early morning sunrise, “dawn from the North.”   Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas was the Greek name for the north wind,  thus aurora borealis.   Given that the Northern Lights rarely show as far south as Italy, the great man had to be an astute observer.  We learned all this from Professor Saever Bragason of Icelandic University.  He’s written a guide to the night skies of Iceland (7) and maintains a web site (8) with all the data you need to chase the Northern Lights.  That book is a beauty and sold everywhere (but not Amazon).

He said aurora conditions are excellent right now, but it’s been hard to see much because of the cloudy skies.  Despite this, he said that Iceland was one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights.  He also does eclipses, and says 2026 looks like a good year, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

To see this celestial display was the main purpose of our trip (9).  The pea soup cloud cover we encountered on Sunday’s arrival began to break up, and Tuesday afternoon’s partly cloudy was promising.  Our bus trip west out of downtown past the airport to the Garoskagaviti peninsula, about an hour’s drive from our downtown hotel, parked on a rocky beach between two lighthouses (only one functional).  There for half an hour we gazed upwards only to see that the partly cloudy sky contained little else but a full moon high in the sky and a bright Venus on the Northern horizon.  Then, some of the ”clouds” began to assume a more wispy, convoluted shape. One of the more savvy members of our group mentioned that the colors of the Northern Lights are usually more intense viewed through a camera, including that of a cell phone.  Up went the iPhones, quickly followed by collective gasps and oohs.  There they were, in all their (mostly) green glory.  They danced for us for at least an hour till we decided to pack it in.  A single shot can’t capture the wonder of a sky full of aurora,  but here are a couple examples.

Can it be that all these energies, coming together from nearly 100 million miles apart, can be but a random event?  Maybe somebody is trying to talk to somebody?

We can hope they came in peace for all mankind.  

Our afternoon skies as we drive north today to Akureyri in the North show only a few clouds.  We’re going out again tonight.  Maybe we’ll be able to pick up the conversation.

Reverences

1. Melton Z.  The Discovery and Settlement of Iceland.  What’s On.  2/27/ 23.  https://www.whatson.is/the-discovery-and-settlement-of-iceland/

2. Volcano Lava | National Geographics.  https://youtu.be/xExd/si=pNOIQPBKg1cGOylr

3. Lava show.  www.lavashow.com

4. Iceland Like a Local.   Discover the Icelandic waterfalls 

5. Epic Iceland.  List of all hot springs in Iceland.  https://epiciceland.net/all-hot-springs-iceland/

6. Blue Lagoon.  Iceland.  https://www.bluelagoon.com/day-visit/the-blue-lagoon

7. Bragason SH, Tafreshi B.  Iceland at Night:Guide to Northern Lights and Stargaziing in Iceland. Bókabúd Forlagid 2024.  https://www.forlagid.is/vara/iceland-at-night/

8. Iceland at Night.  Icelandatnight.is

9. Iceland at Night.  Icelandatnight.is9. Gohagen & Company.  Iceland and the Northern Lights.  https://www.gohagantravel.com/programs/iceland-and-the-northern-lights

cinquo de enero.

  If my accomplishment was from over the border, perhaps I could apply the term to this Spanish phrase.  But since all the production commemorated here came with my butt firmly applanted to my nice Ekornes recliner in my living room, we’ll be happy saying “happy 5th anniversary”.  We had another little celebration in the interim, so I forgot the anniversary date (1). What started as a soft spot for reminiscing about a departed friend came a forum for all sorts of expression. from sports to family to COVID to music and food.  Bundling blogs according to topic made for several books, and should in the future.

I’m a little tardy here, as I posted my first blog on January 11, 2020.  I had quite a fury after that.  Bundling blogs according to topic made for several books, and should in the future.  All the entries about gifts for this momentous anniversary focus on those for a wedding anniversary.  I suppose 5 years of marriage is worth celebrating these days, but I recall that day went whoosh right past.  If you were bequesting a 5th year anniversary, it could be a wood object, sapphires, blue and pink daiseys, and silverware.   Please keep to yourself, as Kathy and I have all we need.  Those words will pour out regardless of who leans on us.  Please stay tuned and know we’re always on the lookout.

References

1.     Ike B.  Docere day?  WordPress.com 1/15/25.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2025/01/15/docere-day/

chilled bubbly

Coming in from a hot task outside to something cold out of the fridges one of life’s great underrated pleasures. But what happens is someone has purchased said beverages but not put them in the fridge?  Oh, the sadness of a warm beer.  Relief is on the way.  A couple cans in the ice cube tray cool down on no time.  But what if the occasion is a little more high class?  For a bottle of champagne, to a trivial consumption, two routes emerge.  Tossing the bottle back into the freezer will cool it down.  But the more elegant, provided you have the hardware, is the pewter ice bucket.  Into it go the bottle, ice, salt, and some water.  From that you’ve got your chilled bubbly and a very elegant presentation.  And bubbly is special.  I urge to you consume more. Keep it cold!

Docere day?

My dear wife flew pretty high around the turn of the century as NASA’s Chief Scientist, an experience that informed the motivationql speeches she took to giving after her tenure there.  To handle the proceeds from her efforts, she formed an LLC, Docere (doh-kaý-rah; from the Latin “to teach”).  Over the years, we’ve taking to running any gains made from education (besides our U paychecks) through the company.  6 months into my retirement, she agreed to name me co-CEO.  I commemorated that day with a brief post that remains one of my most popular (1).  Made an excuse for ginning up new business cards for the both of us.  What is our main product?  You can tell by our motto, which we stole from Faber College: “Knowledge is good”.  With both of us putting more and more time into writing these days, books have become our main output.  Although one of us (RWI) still cranks out obscure scientific papers,  what we write is mostly lighthearted, and often personal.   And both of us old, retired teachers like to slip in some education when we can.

Six of the 9 books I’ve published so far take their content from my blog, organizing by topic.   The first five of those were assembled during the COVID years (’19-‘22), and their titles ran under the theme “Musing Through a Pandemic”.   But even after the masks, lockdowns, and distancing, I kept on musing.  Hence the title of today’s release: Still musing: Reflections on Interpersonal Relationships (2).  Essays run in 3 categories’ “Friends”, “My Brilliant Career” (memories and reflections on medicine), and “This Life”.  At 388 pages, it’s my 2nd longest book yet.  But it’s a book to pick up, read a thing or two, then put down till later.  I neglected to have Amazon make a Kindle version, but I’ll work on that.  

Here’s the cover:

Now, Kathy’s focus has been far different.  She had books out way before I did, self-publishing two children’s books under her pen name “Auntie KC”.   The main character was based on our younger nephew, Skyler.  Orion and Aislinn would have to wait, although both were already too grown up for kid’s books.  Of course the first was based in space, describing how Skyler and his stuffie pals went to the moon with the aid of a trampoline and a blow-up space shuttle model (3)   The second had those characters coming down to earth, as they all came to Ann Arbor for some kid adventures.(4).  Kathy admitted the main reason she wrote these first 2 books was to entertain Skyler, with Orion, and Aislinn on the sidelines of creeping maturity.  When Kathy retired, it had been 3 and a half years since that last book.  She decided she had enjoyed writing kid’s books and went about plugging herself into a writers’ group to learn how to do this better.  She’s hired a writing coach and a professional illustrator, with plans for a series of 10 books, each a separate destination in our solar system.  When her first new effort came out last spring (5), it looked very slick and fun, plus Kathy learned every grandmother and grandfather (our peers!) was a potential customer, and she moved some product!  Maybe she’s got something here.  In the second as well as the first, each book is full of clues for the kids to solve, both about their activities on the planet and the next destination in the series.  Parents tell her the kids just love that.

So, here’s her cover.

Yes, aliens are involved, but they’re friendly, at least so far.  The book is listed on Amazon (6).  Kathy also deals directly with customers, having some books published by another house that does not take as big a cut as Jeff Bezos does.  All are listed below in “purchasing information”. 

References

1. Ike B.  Docere.  WordPress 2/24/20.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/02/24/docere/

2. Ike R.  Still Musing.  Pondering Interpersonal Relationships.  Amazon (Kindle).  Published 1/15/25.  ISBN: 9798343901122.  https://a.co/d/5kegAng

3. Auntie KC.  Skycat Goes to the Moon: A Skycat Series Adventure Book.  Amazon (Kindle).  Published 5/24/24.   https://a.co/d/1hlQnnt

4. Auntie KC.  Skycat Goes to Ann Arbor.  A Skycat Series Adventure Book.  Amazon (Kindle).  Published 12/12/17.  ISBN 1981394346.  https://a.co/d/5wGeHqT

5. Auntie KC and Mellors Z.  Skyler’s Space Adventures: An Unexpected Encounter. Book 1 of 2.  Skyler’s Space Adventures.  Amazon (Kindle).  Published 5/20/24.  https://a.co/d/4ROgrqW

6. Auntie KC and Mellors Z.  Skyler’s Space Adventures: This-a-Way or That-a-Way?  Book 2 of 2.  Skyler’s Space Adventures.  Amazon (Kindle).  Pulished 1/6/25.  https://a.co/d/hHBKcSj

7. Ike B.  pair-o-docs.  WordPress 9/3/22.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/09/03/paradocs/

Purchasing information

Bob’s book (Amazon entry)

Bob has an Amazon author page that describes all books and even the author a little bithttps://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Ike/author/B095CPDZGP?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

My first book –  The Accident – describes events from a tragic time in my teen years.  It came up too short for Amazon to make a paperback, so it’s only available on Kindle there.   I have a few copies printed up from time to time, and you can write me at the Docere address (docerellc86@yahoo.com) to order one directly.

Links fill my books.  No problem if you’ve got a Kindle.  Otherwise, I stick in each book a link to the hyperlinked table of contents, so readers can read a page where they can access the link.

Kathy’s new book looks like this on Amazon

Should you wish to purchase books directly from her, contact her through her author’s e-mail (auntieKC4@gmail.com) or the Docere e-mail (docerellc86@yahoo.com).  She also has an Amazon author page which displays all her work https://www.amazon.com/stores/Auntie-KC/author/B0CTGGKL5T?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8538f4d3-7702-4d34-ac27-38e21c99c8c7

It’s not as fleshed out as mine, tho’ it has a much prettier headshot

I used to mark each of my own book releases with a “shameless plug” blog.  Now that I’ve got a partner in crime, who’s knows what’ll happen?

south county blue

I spent my formative years in the little farming village of Vicksburg, in South Kalamazoo County. Then about 2000 souls, it’s grown to over 3600, as the combination of good schools, friendly neighbors, and abundant lakes and streams keeps drawing people in from the surrounding communities  While I was one of the smart ones who couldn’t get my ass to Ann Arbor fast enough, over the years I’ve learned that while my head went to Ann Arbor, my heart, or at least a good chunk lf it, remained in the ‘burg. So when I learned from Sue Moore, late editor of the South County News, about her little monthly, I had to start getting it.  Back in college, I subscribed to the Vicksburg Commercial, then a weekly run by Sue’s dad, Meredith Clark.  My more sophisticated dorm mates got many a good snicker out of the goings on back home described in that paper.  The SCN is free, but I send ‘em a check every so often, getting my name in the back of the paper.

The SCN offers much more than illustrated obits, although I’ll admit that’s a part of the paper I’ll never miss.

Kathy Forsythe-Oswalt, retired high school teacher now editing SCN always sees that something pretty spectacular goes on the cover.  She outdid herself in January, when her cover looked like this.

The Great Blue has been my spirit bird for as long as I remember.  When I catch one curling about to go for their prey , I imagine my own lanky frame uncoiling for a task.   For a long time, a Great Blue called this area his home.  He had a favorite fishing spot as the sluiceway off the Huron at the Argo dam went to join the Huron River.  I know from watching his successful stabs and shakes that it was a good spot for him.  The sluiceway was along a path on which I used to run back in the day, when I still did that sort of thing. It was always a special treat to run by and find him fishing.  A few years ago, the city decided to make that sluiceway inlet into a whitewater course.  The gentle rush of water en route to the river, dancing over rocks, was replaced by a paved waterway.  That washed away my Great Blue’s fish and he departed.

So, I don’t see a lot of Great Blues anymore.   So, Imagine my joy at seeing that cover.  I knew that Kathy had featured some heron stories from a Jeanne Church, a boomer amateur wildlife photographer who has a thing for herons (1).

I wrote Kathy for contact info on her photographer, asking specifically if she had a gallery or sold her work.  Jeanne quickly answered, including JPEGs on 5 heron shots.  Now I have a dilemma as to which I want on my walls!  Having tried to get these images to friends who also love herons, and failing, I decided to go the blg route.  Who says a blog post can’t be something for a picture book?

So, here ya go with the cover boy

Is it just me, or does he look pissed?

So, he’ll just wave you away!

Is there anything more elegant than one of these birds in flight?

And as they search for fish, they’re at their most serious.  Seeming still, they’re always moving.  Check out that leg.

Again in flight

Ya loved me for my body, didn’t cha?

Makes ya wonder why God chose storks to deliver babies.  Well. Storks are way less cool than herons, even though they’re closely related.  Can you imagine that face above bothered with a bundle of baby?  Sounds like a fantasy story: superhero to me delivered by a Great Blue.  Talk about high expectations!

Till then, enjoy your time in the woods and treasure those moments when a Great Blue flies across your sky.

References

  1. Church J. The magnificent great blue heron. South County News 11/16/21. https:///southcountynews.org/2021/11/16/the-magnificent-great-blue-heron

quad?

George Carlin never got to be as old as I am now, dying at 71 on June 22, 2007, in Santa Monica.  His twisted, if amazingly logical, humor shaped much of my youthful thinking.  I never expected that wisdom to be enduring, but much of what he talked about rings true today.  During COVID, especially, I found comfort and guidance in “Professor Carlin’s lectures”.  This in a time when anyone speaking common sense was branded a radical.  I especially like his take on “germs”(1).  One of my most fascinating course in grad school was “Host-parasite relationships”, taught by Rolf Freter (2).  There, I  began to learn the many ways microorganisms interacted with their hosts, often to the benefit of the host, all to be lost if somehow the microorganisms were eliminated.  The concept arose later with recognition that our approach to hygiene may be harming our immune systems.  Lacking targets to “practice” on, our immune system turns “sideways”, resulting in allergies and autoimmunity.  This “Hygiene Hypothesis” (3) was largely forgotten by the framers of our COVID response.  What happens when you douse your hands with alcohol at every turn, restrict with that mask entry into your lungs of most organisms (if not SARS-CoV-2), avoid human contact, and hole up in your house?  That innate immune system gets no practice and thus isn’t prepared for onslaught of a real pathogen.

I first posted this lesson from Prof. Carlin over 5 years ago (1).  Just today, I got an e-mail from Dr. Robert Malone (inventor of the mRNA technology which he’s railed against since the get go) with his Sunday cartoons (4). Towards the end was a black and white panel with a stark Mr. Carlin, written over it “George Carlin’s views on the Coronavirus”.  Intrigued, I saw it and it is mainly a black and white video of Prof. Carlin’s “Germs” lecture. (5).

Isn’t COVID done for?  Why are we still talking about this?  Well, with many injured by the vaccine and/or suffering with lingering “long COVID” effects, it’s not over yet.  The taste for sledgehammer measures to “protect” us has not been lost by our powers that be, looking for the next chance while failing to relinquish the few ridiculous measures still in place.  The powers that be sought to increase the number in the former category (the vaxxed) by urging still more mRNA “vaccinations”.  Then, seeking to ramp up anxiety and fear over all these viral infections out there to kill us, talk is of a “quad epidemic” from the combined assault from influenza, COVID, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus (6).  How convenient that for the first three, there is an established vaccine, with work in earnest proceeding with norovirus, a single-stranded non-enveloped RNA virus that’s the main cause of gastroenteritis (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea).  It’s as if they pulled some innocent stragglers off the street and marshalled them into a quartet of menacing soldiers.  Even though there’s no evidence that any of these are having a significant public health effect, it hasn’t stopped governors and other institutions in blue states from using this risk as justification for things like reinstitutions of mask mandates (7).  I guess since the mosquitos are back, we need to throw up those chain-link fences.

Viruses wreak stretches of minor misery in our lives, untreatable but self-limited.  Our main barrier is our innate immunity.  This is not a system that can be focused with a specific vaccine but can be bolstered by exposure to microorganisms in our environment.  So, if your friendly doctor offers up a boatload of vaccines to “protect” you this winter, tell him/her “thanks, but no thanks”, then go out and roll in the dirt.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

References

  1. Ike B.  Prof. Carlin YouTube 12/22/20.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/12/10/prof-carlin/
  2. Rolf Freter Obituary.  https://obits.mlive.com/us/obituaries/annarbor/name/rolf-freter-obituary?id=23684973
  3. Bloomfield SF, Stanwell-Smith R, Crevel RW, Pickup J. Too clean, or not too clean: the hygiene hypothesis and home hygiene. Clin Exp Allergy. 2006 Apr;36(4):402-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2006.02463.x. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1448690/
  4. Malone RW.  Sunday Strip: Watch out for Grandma!  Substack 12/22/24.https://www.malone.news/p/sunday-strip-watch-out-for-grandma?utm_source=substack&publication_id=583200&post_id=153488502&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=xihj0&triedRedirect=true
  5. Tarcea M.  George Carlin’s thoughts on the… CORONAVIRUS.  YouTube https://youtu.be/XIzXWllZWt0?si=HHKaV3r0wWQvC3yu
  6. Leake L.  Public health experts are warning of a ‘quad-demic’ this winter. Here’s where flu, COVID, RSV, and norovirus are spreading.  FortuneWELL 12/18/24. https://fortune.com/well/article/winter-quad-demic-flu-covid-rsv-norovirus/
  7. Swanson M.  Blue States Bring Back Mask Mandates Ahead of ‘Quad-demic’.Newsmax 12/19/24.  https://www.newsmax.com/politics/mask-mandates-blue-states/2024/12/19/id/1192276/

.

God Jul!

From Harbal, December 11, 2024.  That’s Norwegian for “Merry Christmas”.  For me and Kathy, this season stirs our (25% Norwegian) Scandinavian souls.  The year past tickled all of our national origins, so here I share with you some of the highlights.

My sweetie loves Christmas.  She got down to it after Thanksgiving, finding another tree farm for our 9’ concolor fir, putting it up and decorating, then put the rest of Christmas that we keep in our storage room all over the house.  Outside, she liked the Star Shooter that projected all those colored lights (1) and changed the lights on Cecil – her topiary sea serpent – to red and green.  

She even whipped up the season’s first batch of glühwein (2), only to have us both consume it all the same day.  More is coming.  She’d occasionally pause in the Holiday flurry and ask me how that Christmas letter was coming.  With The Day just 2 weeks off, I figured I’d better get down to it.

Just like in 2023, Michigan football dominated the start of our New Year.  We were finally back in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 20 years.  All that was missing from that otherwise perfect afternoon was the voice of Keith Jackson to tell us about it.  My best friend Eric, Huck (his old dachshund) and Kathy (his new squeeze) joined us in front of our big screen.  In the early going, when Alabama seemed to be on the way to domination, Eric assured us that they’d screw up soon.  They did, and we beat them.  Related or not, their iconic coach Saban retired after the game.  The 3-touchdown win over the Washington Huskies for the championship seemed like an afterthought.  Kathy and I watched that one from our living room in Madeira Beach, in a house that since then was buried by Milton.  Of course, there were other distractions to be had from that front porch. 

We made that trip a road trip, stopping to see friends and family in Nashville, Loudon TN, Clinton SC, Athens GA, Crawfordville FL (panhandle), and Ocala FL (horse country) (3).  I think we’ve been floating on that Natty all year.  M-Den had the NC gear, and even though we had to wait till the end of the month for it, it was worth it.  Trust we’ve gotten a lot of wear out of each and every item.

The farthest we got out of the house in February was to Dee-troit, where on the first Sunday of the month we saw the hapless Pistons take on the Magic, with its two ex-Wolverines, the Wagner brothers, Mo and Franz.  Not these guys, but two much

taller and skinnier German kids.  They may have not pumped us up, but they sure did pump ‘em in, especially Franz.  The Pistons never had a chance.  We’d hoped for a Wolverine trio, but the Pistons had traded away Isaiah Livers after I bought the tickets.  There was a 4th, with Juwan’s youngest son Jet riding the pine for the Magic.  Regarding Little Caeser’s Arena and the Pistons’ basketball product, it befits an operation run by the Illitches that the best feature of the afternoon was the buffet.

Winter in Ann Arbor means Michigan basketball.  Alas, not a good year for the boys.  We only saw one game in person all year, a loss to Michigan State.  Both of us are very fond of the coach (4), but something happened to him this year, not just a major repair of his aorta and aortic valve.  We got to see him one last time at Brian Boesch’s Inside Michigan Basketball radio show at the Pretzel Bell.  It was the Monday before his last home game.  They’d been creamed by Ohio State at Columbus the day before and faced what might be their last week of basketball.  Nevertheless, Juwan  seemed happy and relaxed.  But the following Sunday his team was beaten by 15 points on senior day.  Two days later, they’d lose to Penn State in the first round of the Big10.  So, they closed with 7 straight losses, this last one giving them some ugly records: their 28 losses were the most in the program’s 107 year history while their winning percentage (.250) was second worst.  But I think Juwan got a little boost that Monday night when he and I lined up and he saw that he was again taller than me after my June ’22 car wreck crushed 2 ½ inches of vertebrae.

Warde Manual fired Juwan a couple days later.  Looks like he got a winner replacement in Dusty May, but we’ll still miss Juwan.  Kathy and I are both fond of Juwan – ever since the Fab Five days – and had high hopes for him as our coach (4).  We’re sad it didn’t work out and wish him well with the Nets.

Early in March, I met up with Larry, my freshman roommate, for a beer.  Larry had a successful career in tech, operating a consulting business in town while settling in nearby South Lyon.  It would be some early steps to the big reunion we’d have in September.

Then, Kathy and I decided to go to Chicago to see just how green they actually got that river for St. Paddy’s Day.  We learned they dump the dye in a full week in advance, so what we saw from lunch at Trump Tower was off peak.  Home a week, we headed west for Easter in San Diego.  The city sponsors a sunrise service in Balboa Park by their 1915 organ pavilion.  It makes for a marvelous sight.

My own peak experience in April came well after the 1st, although it sounds like an April Fool’s joke.  I’d gotten the director of the Southeast Michigan Tournament of Writers (5) to let me enter, even though the contest is supposed to be restricted to locals.  Lo and behold, my entry about how in 1970 we made a movie about the moon landing was a winner! (6)  Honorable mention in senior’s non-fiction division.  A week later we’re off to Chicago for 3 days, always about music and meeting up with old friends.

May found us diving into the thorny issue we’d been talking about with the family for a while.  My now 70-year-old brother-in-law – a freelance writer and editor for financial magazines in his prime – had entered the early stages of dementia.  As he could no longer live independently; the family decided it best if he were to move back to the Midwest.  He came for a medical evaluation.  He wouldn’t come back to check into his new home for almost 3 months.

The summer was otherwise pretty darned quiet.  Come July, we got Chicago for 3 days, one of them Kathy’s birthday.  We celebrated looking out over Millennium Park from Cindy’s (7), in the Chicago Athletic Club, where we also stayed.  Cool place, where used to hang out the likes of Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan), Ernie Banks, Muhammed Ali, plus Sport Donnelly and Pudge Heffelfinger (first players to be paid to play football).  And many more.  The club formed in 1890, building up in ’93.  William K Wrigley – not yet owner of the Cubs – was one of the founders (the other 3 were Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, and A. G. Spalding), .  He helped design the club logo, which bears a striking resemblance to what the Cubbies wear on their caps these days.

Cindy’s is a later addition (7), named after Cindy Pritzker, wife of Jay, one of the high rollers who rescued the CAA in the 70s, son of the man whose name graces my medical school.  An Andy Warhol portrait of her hangs over the fireplace in the dining room.  Nice lookin’ babe.

The next week we were off to lower brow activities, taking in “Beer n’ Brats” in Vicksburg.  Always fun, but not the same as when my old physics teacher was the guy pouring my beer.

We were homebodies in August, save for some in-state trips.  September saw a couple more quick local hops.  We went to Lake Orion to see Robbie Fulks (8) and then to Grand Rapids to see Tucker Carlson and Kid Rock.  The football season was proceeding if not inspiring.  After 2023, we were surely spoiled.  With Michigan’s last 3 national championships won ’47, ’97, and ’23, I guess we should set our clocks for around 2050.  The ReliaQuest bowl in Tampa in New Year’s Eve (to which we have tickets) will have to do.  At least we get a crack at Alabama again.

But the big event in September, while football based, was so much more than that.  Early in the year, I got to talking to Mark, championship QB from little Mendon (12 miles south of Vicksburg), who lived on my dorm floor.  4th floor of Chicago House West Quad to be exact.  Then, it was an “honors house”, for students in the L.S.&A. Honors College.  Lotta smart dudes (yes, it was all male at the time).  Indeed, at the reunion one of the guys asked me if I was one of the rumored several who had perfect SAT scores.  Not me.  Mark reminded me that this year was the 50th anniversary of our graduations.  I found an outfit that does tailgates (9), hired ‘em, invited all I could find, and by the Minnesota game we had ourselves a party.  Of course, we hired a limo to traverse the difficult 3 miles from my house to the stadium.  Below see the gang.  I know I said Chicago House was all male, but Brigid was our mascot.  She ended up marrying my sophomore year roommate (it didn’t last).  Next to our group pic, see a smaller pic shot indoors.  On the way home, I suggested we stop off at ol’ Chicago House and check things out. Our driver was willing.  After hanging out at the very securely locked back door long enough to get some innocent student to let us in, we explored the place.  Those stairs to the 4th floor, where we’d all lived, were still there, but steeper than I remember.  It was on those stairs a young security guard caught up with us, asking after our business there,  He didn’t turn us in, but stayed with us as we climbed those stairs, probably to make sure none of us keeled over.  We wandered the halls and happened upon an open door with a couple coeds inside.  They were happy to invite us in and explore their room.  None had ever heard of “Chicago House”, although one was from Chicago.  Project for us to figure out what happened. Home it was snacks and talk till the middle of the nght.  A good time was had by all.

We left Washtenaw County 3 times in October.  First Saturday was a quick jaunt to Vicksburg to take in a historical tour.  Since the ‘burg has been a thing since 1837, there’s a lot of that about.  Next was Music City, where we took in the “You Got Gold” concert at historic Ryman Auditorium, original home for the Grand Ole Opry.  These have been put on yearly by the Prine family since John died in 2020.  Nashville artists lovingly perform some of John’s songs.  We didn’t recognize all of them, but Shawn Colvin, Bela Fleck, Todd Snider, RoseAnn Cash, and Jackson Browne were familiar.  Trips in that direction always include a stop in Cincinnatti, where we visit with Kathy’s 88 year-old Uncle Chuck.

Our last trip was decidedly non-musical, as we went to hear politico Larry O’Connor speak at Hillsdale College.  Since I foreswore writing about politics when I started this blog, there’s a lot about November I won’t write here.  Suffice it to say, we’re pretty happy around Harbal these days.  Our only outing that month was back to the ‘burg to attend the memorial service of 88-year-old Eddie Knapp.  He was my 8th grade basketball coach on a team with 6 strings!  He made his name as a baseball coach and is in the Michigan Hall of Fame.  His packed service included others, including wrestlers he’d coached and those students who had him for driver’s ed.

Kathy and I have both taken up writing in our retirements.  I had a head start, but she has gone whole hog with her children’s books about the solar system.  If you care to scrutinize our output, you can check out our Amazon author’s page (10,11).  She belongs to a writers’ support group, and they’ve been encouraging her to get out and push her product.  In November she started to do this in earnest, with an event at the “Best Life Holiday Arts Sale” at Saline United Methodist Church especially productive.  I’ve been sitting in the background but was ecstatic when I learned that the book I’d been working on since 2021 was accepted by a “real” publisher.  My latest Amazon book of bundled blogs will be out as soon as it is finished getting formatted.  Only the latter will be out anytime soon.

One thing Kathy’s learned from her writer’s group is that promotion is key to sales.  So she jumps at any invitation.  See her here at Gilbert & Ivy Bookstore in Vicksburg holding the little kids spellbound.  The Navy gave her that flight suit when she was a guest on the carrier George Washington and flew an F-18 (from the back seat) on and off the carrier 6 times. 

This last month is just started, but all I see ahead are some basketball games and Christmas concerts.  We’re off to Tampa on the 29th, but that’s basically next year.

But we mind none the least spending time right here on Harbal, comfy and cozy in our Ekornes Max’s while Regis Pruis’ wood burns, helped along in this 3/22 pic by some masks, but that’s another story (12)  Whatever the fuel, we got ourselves a lot of hygge (13).

With the tree up and decorated, thanks to sweetie, there’s that obligatory photo of us in front of it.  If we had Christmas cards to address, we’d be up plenty fine to do it after those drinks we’re holding. Not that we needed the energy, but here we go wishing you and yours  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (and God Jul!).

Those are espresso martinis (14).  We’re staying up for a while!  Like ol’ Ben said “There’ll be sleeping enough in the grave”.

Go Blue!!

References

1. Star Shooter Ultra 9.  https://www.ultra9.com

2. Ike B. dying spies.  WordPress 2/8/21.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/01/08/dying-spies/

3. Ike B.  return to Harbal.  WordPress 2/21/24 https://theviewfromharbal.com/2024/02/21/return-to-harbal/

4. Ike B.  Juwan and Us.  WordPress 2/9/20.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/02/09/juwan-and-us/

5. Tournament of Writers celebration and awards. South County News May 2024(132):38:7. https://southcountynews.org/2024/05/11/tournament-of-writers-celebration-and-awards/

6. Ike B.  da vinner!  WordPress.4/19/24.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2024/04/19/da-vinner/

7. Ike B.  Cindy’s.  WordPress 10/4/22.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/10/04/cindys/

8. Ike B.  Robbie!  WordPress 9/6/24.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2024/09/06/robbie/

9. M/Revel.  https://revelxp.com/university-of-michigan

10. Dr. Ike’s Amazon Author’s page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Ike/author/B095CPDZGP?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

11. Dr. Clark’s (Auntie KC’s) Amazon Author page https://www.amazon.com/stores/Auntie-KC/author/B0CTGGKL5T?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

12. Ike B.  burn on II.  WordPress 3/11//22.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/03/11/burn-on-ii/

13. VisitDenmark.  What is “Hygge”?  https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/danish-culture/what-hygge

14. Ike B.  A coffee for ya ma’am?  WordPress 12/27/23.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2023/12/27/a-coffee-for-ya-maam/

A shot for flu? No thank you!

Among the many things COVID has taught us is that we should be wary of those insisting we be jabbed with something foreign to protect us and others.  Turns out the vaxx didn’t protect against infection or slow its spread, and oh those side effects!  Peter McCullough, one of the heroes in bringing reason to our fight against COVID, continues to fight the good fight and keeps his followers posted with his “Courageous Discourse” site.

This morning (1), he brought to our attention a study published in 2012 (2) that the seasonal flu shot increased the frequency of common colds.  In a prospective, randomized study kids 6-15 were given either the 2008-9 seasonal flu vaccine or placebo and followed for 14 weeks.  Vaccinated kids got way more colds.  Like the flu shot was distracting their immune systems from what they’re supposed to be doing.  Like Dr. McCullough, I had to take the flu shot as condition of my continued employment for 40 years.  One of the many small joys of retirement is that I don’t have to do that anymore.  The vaccine doesn’t work very well anyway (3).   The virus mutates all the time and scientists just guess to see what structures the vaccine should mimic; furthermore, it seems that each vaccination reduces the efficacy of each subsequent vaccination (4).

Dr. McCullough abstracted the study’s findings as follows:

“In 2012, Cowling et al performed a prospective, double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial in children ages 6-15 years to who received either the 2008–2009 seasonal trivalent influenza inactivated vaccine (TIV; 0.5 mL Vaxigrip; Sanofi Pasteur) or placebo. The results were stunning. While summer and winter colds were not statistically different, proven viral infections within two weeks of the shot confirmed by PCR testing were 4.4-fold greater in those who took the flu shot.

The shortcoming of the study was the narrow 14-day window. With summer infection trends among the vaccinated up 30 to 49%, it is possible that if all infections were captured and tested that the immune dysregulation effect could have lasted far longer than 14 days.  Since the chances of any healthy child or adult getting hospitalized with influenza is <1% in any given year, many will choose to remain healthier and have a greater freedom from getting sick by skipping the flu shot. Because influenza vaccination has modest to no efficacy against flu each year and tends to strike the vulnerable, the burden of illness remains substantial. Early treatment with antiviral and antibiotics is the mainstay for preventing hospitalization or death.”

Of course, the flu isn’t fun, whether you’re just achy and feverish for a few days or hospitalized in respiratory distress (influenza primarily attacks the lungs), so who wouldn’t want to do something to avoid it?  Turns out, the shot doesn’t really do that.  Perhaps the infirm, immunosuppressed and elderly should be protected, however meagerly.  But us normal folks?  Nah.  There are safe antivirals out there that will reduce the duration of flu, especially if taken soon after onset of symptoms.  Tamiflu (oseltamivir) gets all the press.  A pill, it can cause some stomach distress.  I have personal experience with the less commonly used Relenza (zamivir), an inhaled powder that competes with the virus as it tries to attach to lung cells.  About 10-15 years ago, I went into my office one morning feeling fine and by noon was a basket case: cough, fever, achy, extreme fatigue.  I diagnosed myself with the flu and got a colleague to prescribe me Relenza.  I puffed on that puppy as directed and by the next day was all better.  A miracle.  I still have a couple unused devices in my medicine cabinet.   So, my free medical advice to you – always worth every penny – is to refuse the flu shot but ask your doc to prescribe Relenza (not Tamiflu) if the flu hits you.

These days make me wonder if those crazy Firesign Theater guys back in college had it right all along.

You can hear the whole side here (5).  To recreate that atmosphere in my West Quad dorm room where I first heard it in 1970, you’ll need some help from your local dispensary.

“Weird Al” has a more tuneful take on the same concept (6).

Be well.  Stay as far away from doctors as possible, seekers.

References

  1. McCullough PA.  Flu Shots Increase Susceptibility to Common Cold.Randomized Trial Demonstrates Tradeoff.  Courageous Discourse 12/4/2024.  https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/flu-shots-increase-susceptibility?utm_campaign=email-post&r=xihj0&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

2. Cowling BJ, Fang VJ, Nishiura H, Chan KH, Ng S, Ip DK, Chiu SS, Leung GM, Peiris JS. Increased risk of noninfluenza respiratory virus infections associated with receipt of inactivated influenza vaccine. Clin Infect Dis. 2012 Jun;54(12):1778-83. doi: 10.1093/cid/cis307.   https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3404712/

3. Tenforde MW, Weber ZA, Yang DH, DeSilva MB, Dascomb K, Irving SA, Naleway AL, Gaglani M, Fireman B, Lewis N, Zerbo O, Goddard K, Timbol J, Hansen JR, Grisel N, Arndorfer J, McEvoy CE, Essien IJ, Rao S, Grannis SJ, Kharbanda AB, Natarajan K, Ong TC, Embi PJ, Ball SW, Dunne MM, Kirshner L, Wiegand RE, Dickerson M, Patel P, Ray C, Flannery B, Garg S, Adams K, Klein NP. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Influenza A-Associated Emergency Department, Urgent Care, and Hospitalization Encounters Among US Adults, 2022-2023. J Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 25;230(1):141-151. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad542.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39052725/

4. Murray T. Repeated flu shots may blunt effectiveness. CMAJ. 2015 Apr 7;187(6):E180. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.109-5000. Epub 2015 Mar 2.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25733738/

5. tdalaska.  Firesign Theater.  Everything you know is wrong (side A).  YouTube https://youtu.be/YKZtt2yEwfs?si=sVukbMVtjGhm7FCT

6. kristine kreations.  “Weird Al” Yankovic.  Everything you know is wrong (4K).  YouTube https://youtu.be/EGC09B810Yk?si=HCpEwTxv2xJTqnpS

what did you do at the U, Daddy?

A dear friend and double classmate of mine (VHS, UofM), Darai, got to asking me about my medical career. We were discussing our dear old teacher and coach who had just turned 90.  I had helped orchestrate a campaign to get him cards and letters for his birthday.  I mentioned that for a teacher, hearing from old students is precious.  It certainly was for Mr. Horn.  But it got Darai asking about my teaching experience, and she was confused about just what duties I had at UofM.  So, I let her know, as follows:

Here’s your academic medicine primer: at U of M in 1984, there were two tracks: “physician-scientist” and “clinical scholar”. The former were the lab hotshots.   They were expected to spend most of their time in their lab, get grants, then see patients maybe one-half day a week in clinic and on the wards for a month.  I was in the latter track.   We were to spend most of our time with patients, but research with them was encouraged (which I did, getting grants and publishing papers along the way).  I had 3-5 half-days in clinic/week (more as I got older) and attended on the wards roughly 3 months out of the year (when I still did everything else).  Attending on the wards meant either looking after a service of rheumatology patients (which went away in the 90s) to advising on hospitalized patients who might have a rheumatic condition.  Any teaching was the side-by-side apprentice style.  I didn’t do any classroom teaching (which I hated) after my first few years.  Both tracks are eligible for tenure (can’t fire me!), which you get by establishing a reputation and publishing papers.  I got mine after 8 years, the max allowed before they ask you to go elsewhere.  In the 90s, they brought along the “straight clinical” track to accommodate all the docs they hired just to see patients.  No other expectations, although you get a little credit for publishing, and you serve from year to year.   Most big academic medical centers follow a similar system.   If you want to get a better idea of what my career comprised, you can check out my CV, which I keep on my blog (1).  I still treasure my CV and keep adding to it.  I just got a paper accepted about “physician burnout”, in which I take a position contrary to the mainstream POV (2).   Most of my post-retirement papers (I’ve published more in retirement that I had in the 19 years before that) is about some of the semi-unique things I did for which I want people not to forget.  I still have several projects on my to-do list, so I expect the entries to accumulate.  Sometimes I see it as settling scores.  A lot of people didn’t care for what I was trying to do, so f*ck them.  Medicine is very screwed up these days and I’m glad I’m out of it.  No sign yet that they’re calling back the greybeards to fix things, but I stand at the ready.

References

  1. Ike B.  see vee.  WordPress 9/19/24.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2024/09/19/see-vee
  2. Ike RW.  A Curmudgeon Rheumatologist Looks at “Burnout”.  J Clin Rheumatol (in press)

save the whales!

Last week, a certain Orange Man sat down with former comedian Joe Rogan for 3 hours of calm discussion of many subjects.   Among things the guest mentioned were the skyrocketing numbers of whale deaths along the East Coast, which is dirty with those modern 3-blade windmills, with plans for many more.  As Orange Man put it, the windmills are driving the whales crazy.  Each windmill makes loud low-frequency repetitive vibrations.  And how do whales communicate?  Through low frequency sound. The creatures are so musical they have many records, including some big hits, with the 1970 album “Songs of the Humpback Whale” credited with spurring the “save the whales”movement (1).  And scientists have only recently figured out how they sing (2). So the poor cetaceans are being shouted at continually by the damned windmills!.   Worse than hip-hop blaring from the big scoreboard in the Big House before a game (3).  And you thought they were just chopping up birds! Estimates are that each windmill kills 4-18 birds a year, with a rough annual total of about 5 million bird deaths per year worldwide (4). And the majestic birds – eagles, raptors, cranes – constitute a large portion of the victims.

One of the most effective tools used by the environmental movement has been identifying an endangered species adversely affected by whatever project they’re trying to stop.  Before Global Warming captured all the attention, was there a more compelling environmental slogan than “Save the whales”?  Seeing these two benighted causes at cross purposes, ya gotta wonder how bloody the conflict will get.  Downright poetic.  Pass the popcorn.

Here is a documentary from X with all the facts.  Serious people know this is a bad thing (5).  

References

  1. May M.  Recordings That Made Waves: The Songs That Saved The Whales.  NPR 12/26/14. https://www.npr.org/2014/12/26/373303726/recordings-that-made-waves-the-songs-that-saved-the-whales

2. Briggs H and Gill V.  Whale song mystery solved by scientists.  BBC 2/21/24.  https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68358414

3. Ike B. the tyranny of game day. WordPress 9/14/24. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2024/09/14/the-tyranny-of-game-day/

4. Ritchie H.  How many birds do wind farms kill?  Sustainability by numbers. 1/31/24.  https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/wind-power-bird-deaths

5. Thrown to the wind.  X  10/26/24 https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1850039477638660244