In spite of the dire predictions and projections I'd been seeing for the previous several days about "Invest-93"...later Hurricane Idalia, rising up from its birthplace in the western Caribbean and making a beeline as it intensified for a direct strike on Gainesville as a major hurricane, turns out the storm had different plans as it picked up yesterday and struck Valdosta, Georgia on its way across to the Atlantic Ocean. To be sure, Idalia caused a lot of flooding and damage up and down the Gulf Coast, but as far as my hometown was concerned, not so much and certainly not to the near-panic level the media was laying out. Being more or less a creature of routine and habit, I felt put out by all this hurricane fuss, something I would have loved in my youth when I'd have seen all this as an opportunity to escape going to school...but not now. So back we go to our respective humdrum lives...whoopee!
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Taking Brief Blog Break with Hurricane Idalia Approach
As Hurricane Idalia threatens us here in Gainesville with a projected Wednesday landing, I've decided to cool it with blog articles for at least a couple of days...see you (maybe) on Thursday...
Monday, August 28, 2023
Constellations of the Month: Scutum (the Shield) and Serpens Cauda (the Serpent's Tail)
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Idalia Threatens My Area in Northern Florida Wednesday
Looks sadly like north central Florida is about to be treated to a hurricane in a couple of days. Idalia developed from an "Invest" system to a tropical depression to a tropical storm in the last few days, hovering around the western Caribbean Sea between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba. But meteorologists predict it will pick up steam tomorrow and hit the western Florida coast around Cedar Key some time Wednesday morning, by then a hurricane with 90-100 mph sustained winds. At least we're hoping it doesn't hang around the excessively warm northern Gulf of Mexico waters very long, else it will have time to strengthen to a more lethal level. The question we here in the Gainesville vicinity are asking is whether Idalia will deal us a direct blow or only strong gusts. And, naturally, there is also the matter of flash flooding. No, I'm not looking forward to this...but supposedly by Thursday the storm's brunt will have passed our area and we'll be out inspecting the consequences...
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Ran Gainesville's Depot Park 5K This Morning
Friday, August 25, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Gary Player
Thursday, August 24, 2023
PGA Championship Starts Today, Goes Through Sunday
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1992 Science Fiction, Part 6
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Physical Therapy and My Reactions
Monday, August 21, 2023
Podcaster Rob Dial Discusses Ways to Deal with Stress and Anxiety
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Just Finished Reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Ran Gainesville's Weekly Depot Parkrun 5K This Morning
This morning I somehow got out of bed early and make my way to Gainesville's pretty Depot Park, a few blocks south of downtown. There they hold their weekly Saturday morning 5K (3.1 miles) Parkrun, which is free and volunteer-run, having originated from England which is loaded with such events. It's the 20th time I have participated in it since 2019, running the four-lap course 19 times and walking it once. And it's the first time I've been there in two months, due mainly to successive lower back and illness issues. The weather at race time (7:30) wasn't very hospitable, but being in the middle of summer I wasn't surprised: 75 degrees and 85% humidity. They had a higher number of participants than usual, and I always like seeing more "seasoned" elderly athletes there like I did this morning. I decided to run this one and finished 38th in the crowd with a time of 32:52: a good finish considering the unpleasant warmth and mugginess. On the drive back home, I decided to cut closer to the University of Florida campus, where I saw a number of students moving into their respective apartments for the upcoming term...that has to be exciting for them! Yesterday I was entertaining the notion of spending this morning down in the Ocala area...Baseline Trailhead Park off SE 58th Avenue to be exact...where they regularly hold (NOT free) races of 5K, 10K and half-marathon distances. Although the course there is a there-and-back path, repeated to fit the distance and might seem a little tedious, this is still a good way to get in a half-marathon. Only I don't think I'd run it during the summer...no, I'd like to try walking the distance at an elevated pace. And then I thought, why not first try it on my already created training course around my neighborhood? So that's my upcoming goal, to do just that. You can see the online posted results of today's Depot Parkrun by clicking HERE...
Friday, August 18, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Dean Karnazes
To call running "fun" would be a misuse of the word. Running can be "enjoyable". Running can be "rejuvenating." But in a pure sense of the word, running is not fun. ---Dean Karnazes
Dean Karnazes is a popular ultra-long-distance runner and has extensively publicized the sport. The above quote is from his autobiographical book Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, which I bought on my Kindle. The setting is his first-ever ultra race, the Western States Endurance Run of 100 miles. Not one who even remotely sees covering this type of distance for myself...even on a bicycle...I tend to take Dean's philosophical ramblings and apply them to shorter distances...much shorter distances, but still distance running all the same. And he's right about running not being fun although I think he's a little nit-picky about distinguishing that from "enjoyable". All the same, it's an activity more than a sport to me, although I have entered a number of races since I resumed running in 2007 at age 51. Dean Karnazes in his book describes how he would train in the wee hours of the morning running out on the streets, past businesses and through neighborhoods. Now in this world full of busybody "Karens", skittish armed residents and near-vigilante neighborhood watchers I'm not about to try to emulate that early morning routine of Karnazes, in spite of the fact that in this foul, excessively hot and humid stretch of the summer, at least weather-wise that would be the best time to run. No, I think I'll continue to train indoors, at the gym, and in broad daylight whenever I do venture down a neighborhood street. I'm still running, though, and continue to derive inspiration...as well as amusement...from Dean Karnazes' compelling personal story...
Thursday, August 17, 2023
My Own Take on Ukraine, for What It's Worth
Just a brief piece here on the war in Ukraine, a full-blown invasion by Putin's Russia (with the help of Lukaschenko's Belarus) since February of last year. I get the Russian leadership's problem with a large, instrumental part of the previous Soviet Union...broken up in 1991 after a failed military coup...now an independent nation outside the realm of its control. A very large component of the former USSR's economy was in Ukraine, both agriculture and industry...as well as many Russians themselves. The political landscape there was evenly divided between pro-Russian parties and those favoring closer ties to western Europe to the point that Putin felt he could try to manipulate outcomes of elections. When that ultimately failed, he invaded Crimea...initially a part of Russia proper until Soviet boss Khrushchev assigned it to Ukraine in the 1950s...and instigated armed revolts in the country's eastern sections. It is those areas that Russia has succeeded in occupying and holding on to, already annexing them and insisting that they regard any recovery of land there by Ukraine as an invasion...talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Russia to me...and I am only referring to the autocratic government behind the invasion of Ukraine, not Russia or Russians in general...is completely responsible for this war in which their military has targeted civilian sites like apartments, hospitals and schools. Still, the two countries will always be neighbors and I want them to arrive at a cease-fire arrangement that will allow their people to resume a peaceful and civil life. Right now, whenever I read that someone or some country has proposed a plan to end the conflict, almost immediately they receive a torrent of criticism from different sources. As for me, I think that blessed are the peacemakers, but often it's the ones trying to break up the fight who end up with no appreciation for their efforts. The only viable outcome for this, in my opinion (and you're free to disagree, but that's your opinion) will be an accord that ultimately neither side is very happy with, folks on both ends afterwards rising up to claim that it is a betrayal of their own side's interests...
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1992 Science Fiction, Part 5
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Podcaster Lays Out Ideas for Focusing and Being More Productive
Personal development coach Rob Dial's latest Mindset Mentor podcast was about unlocking productivity and creating focus. This is a recurring theme of his, and one that tends to attract my attention...so here goes. He says that focus is saying yes for a set period of time to ONE thing while saying no to everything else. In other words, eliminate distractions. There's a lot of common sense distilled in Dial's message, which he breaks down to seven items: (1) remove your distractions, (2) prioritize your to-do list, (3) break down your large tasks into smaller tasks, (4) focus on your progress, (5) get enough sleep, (6) stay hydrated, and (7) take breaks. I could do better with all of these...yet it's the first one, removing distractions, that is my most difficult. There are two kinds of distractions as I see them, internally or externally imposed. If I have the TV on in the background while I'm trying to study or write, then that's something I'm doing to myself. If I'm around other people and haven't effectively communicated my own boundaries about my temporary need to be free of their interruptions, then that's on me as well. Still, in those situations, distractions, however minor they may seem, can wreck concentration and focus and markedly set back progress. Rob Dial is a big opponent of multi-tasking, which he claims greatly diminishes the value of any directed activity. I agree if they are similar in nature, but something like, say, running or walking while listening to an audiobook shouldn't cause any problem. Better though, to focus on the one thing, as the Australian rock group INXS once sang about more than forty years ago...
Monday, August 14, 2023
Gloveless Glover Wins FedEx St. Jude Golf Championship Sunday
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Walked a "Hot" Neighborbood 5K This Evening
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Skipped Today's Depot Parkrun Because of Mugginess and Heat
Friday, August 11, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Jimmy Conway in the movie Goodfellas
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Back to Gym
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1992 Science Fiction, Part 4
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Podcaster Steve Kaufmann's Compelling Views on Language Learning
Podcaster Steve Kaufmann, a 77-year old polyglot who has learned 20 languages, often has some good advice about learning foreign languages. He stresses the need to build up a vast passive vocabulary of known words in whatever the target language happens to be...that Babbel commercial showing the woman proudly given directions to the Parisien taxi driver just won't cut it in real conversation. Although some 80% of the words in a spoken language tend to arise from just 20% of its words, both Steven and I can guarantee you that you won't get very far in a regular conversation with a native speaker if you just know that 20%. When I worked many decades ago at a local Chinese restaurant, much of its kitchen was staffed by Vietnamese people, several of whom I befriended. I decided to try to learn a little Vietnamese then and could engage in some conversation with them as we worked. Of course, the big pressing need here was for them to learn...and quickly...how to speak English, and our talking was overwhelmingly in MY native language, for their sakes. Kaufmann reiterates this important point of engaging with a native speaker of another language, especially if it takes place in their country. According to his experiences, he must already be at a reasonably proficient level in that foreign language, else the native speaker may well revert to English if it is the best means for communication. And many people across the world want to practice their English on travelers! Kaufmann often exhorts people not to be so concerned about being perfect in their speaking efforts with others...communication is the goal, and you will make many mistakes, there's no getting around that. But the flip side is that whoever you're trying to speak with in the foreign language may decide that the mistakes are too many. For me, "speaking" a foreign language has never been my primary goal, but rather being able to fully understand it when I hear it, along with reading fluency. What I like about Steve Kaufmann is that his expert observations over the years affirm my own: build up that large passive vocabulary first. And if conversation opportunities arise, then fine: take advantage of them but don't let your speaking ability at any given time define your progress for you...
Monday, August 7, 2023
Podcaster Has Good Advice on Developing Good Habits and Skills
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Enjoying Watching Golf on TV
Saturday, August 5, 2023
Blog is Back, Vacation Good But Not as Planned
As my two-week vacation winds down...initially planned as an ambitious out-of-state (and country) excursion...Melissa and I find ourselves content with staying here in Gainesville. We both experienced very untimely illness at its onset and had to cancel those plans, which we intend to follow through with at some future date. Yet recovery has been good for both of us, and I am looking forward to resuming my active lifestyle at its previous level. And yes, the blog is back after a two-week break from it...