In October '23 I ran a total of 306 recorded miles...I don't keep track of the walking mileage although this may change in the future. I also ran on every day of the month, with my general state of fitness seeming reasonably good. As far as public races (or "runs", as one event likes to call them), I did three: the Florida Track Club's Tom Walker Preview 10K along the Hawthorne Trail on the 14th and two Depot Parkrun 5Ks, on the 21st and 28th, all Gainesville events taking place on Saturday morning: you can read about them by scrolling back to the specified date on this blog. I missed racing on the weekend of the 7th since Melissa and I had a higher mission: relaxing on the beach! I have been hitting my local gym (Gainesville Health and Fitness, if you must know) after work usually once or twice a week, and always used their treadmills. They have a feature you can choose while running called Virtual Active. It presents continuous videos, each one about five minutes long, showing virtual runs in various scenic parts of the world: it's helped me a lot with my training there! I also run in my house and in my grassy backyard...not too much neighborhood road running these days. In November they are holding two races I'm interested in: on Sunday the 12th will be another addition of the Tom Walker Memorial Half-Marathon on that Hawthorne Trail, originating from Boulware Springs Park in the SE part of town. Then, on Thanksgiving Day the 23rd Lloyd Clarke Sports is hosting a 5K/10K Turkey Trot race being held at Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary north of Gainesville off County Road 231. Of course, the Saturday morning Depot Parkruns will continue...I just attained one of their milestones of 25 finishes: going for 50 now! I also began this month what I hope to be a new tradition, running a little bit further after races are completed. Oh, there is also a strange event called the Cupcake Run held at a section of the Hawthorne Trail on the 19th (10K, half-marathon and full marathon offered), originating from Hawthorne near their high school. But that's a longshot dark horse, as far as my own participation is concerned...seems they can't properly post their race results online...
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Monday, October 30, 2023
Does AI Pose a Future Threat to Us?
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Just Finished Reading Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel
Make It Stick...a 2014 book I just read by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel, has as its co-title The Science of Successful Learning. I heard about it from a podcast of Steve Kaufmann, a polyglot who had also just read it and endorsed many of its points. The premise of the book is that learning is more effective when approaching it in some ways that our traditional educational system tends to avoid. Instead of learning material in blocks and regurgitating it on tests, the authors emphasize techniques such as expanding on the material as it is presented...sometimes even before the teacher lays it out in class. Interleaving the material with other assignments also accomplishes the goal of spacing it more, with the result that, although it seems to be counterintuitive to memory retention and permanent learning, the opposite in fact happens, with the subject matter better learned. Although I was interested in the book's topic and sympathetic to the authors' viewpoints, it was still...albeit probably necessary...rather bathed in academic language and something of a slog to get through. One thing brought up struck me personally: the notion that if you pick certain specific settings to consistently do your learning, then recalling those same settings can be a great aid in recalling what was learned. It's the first time I have heard anyone affirm this truth that I have known for decades. There's plenty to digest in Make It Stick...I probably should have assiduously followed its own suggestions in reading it...
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Ran Gainesville's Depot Park 5K This Morning
Friday, October 27, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Jimmy Buffett
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Constellation of the Month: Aquarius (the Water-Carrier)
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1993 Science Fiction, Part 7
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Podcaster Says to Stop Doing These Nine Things
In yesterday's article I was critical of Daniel Amen using his professional title as a doctor of psychiatry to present a comprehensive bible of life and how to live it, noting that were he only to present himself as a fellow traveler through life without all the self-aggrandizing hoopla, I would have been more receptive to his message. In a similar vein, I tend more to relate to podcaster Rob Dial on his Mindset Mentor show. Dial to me has just as much insight into "life"...however you might frame it...as "doctor" Amen, but he doesn't hide behind professional titles in giving his views. Even so, sometimes I agree with Dial and sometimes I don't...that, I'm sure, would suit him quite well as he is no stickler for perfection (read numbers 4 and 6 below). The other day he listed nine things that he insists each of us stop...nip it in the bud, as Barney Fife would say. Here they are...
Monday, October 23, 2023
Just Finished Reading You, Happier by Daniel G. Amen
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Looking (and Laughing) at Ridiculous Trends of the Past...and the Present
Sometimes people post old pictures of themselves and their buddies on my high school nostalgia website. Everyone...especially the boys...has long, long hair that's screaming for professional style haircuts. And those sad omnipresent bell-bottom jeans: give me a break! I don't know of anyone back then in the early seventies who deliberately preferred, on their own initiative, this style of clothing. No, it was something that the fashion industry imposed on the population and one day, that's all people had to choose from...at least that's the way I remember it. In any event, I think everyone looks kind of dopey in those old pics, and it's largely because they were following the herd mentality in trying to fit in and look like everyone else. Don't think that I'm letting our present time off the hook. Nowadays the "in" public appearance revolves around carrying one's cell smartphone in the hand, spending inordinate time looking down at it instead of paying attention to their ongoing surroundings and situations. I know this because I regularly drive to work here in Gainesville down US-441 past the University of Florida, midday when the students are flooding the sidewalks with their presence. Students who walking in couples or groups don't stare at the phones, but a large percentage of the "singletons" just go walking down the sidewalks...even crossing busy streets...with their eyes glued to their object, even when the sun is glaring down on them making actually seeing anything at least theoretically impossible. I couldn't do that simply because I'm afraid I'd trip on something and fall on my ass...these kids must have an inner gyroscope guiding their motions! I'm speaking from 1973 to 2023 here, but what will be it like fifty more years in the future, in 2073, when these very students are old fogies like me and are themselves observers of the passing scene: how will the inevitable changes manifest themselves? I don't see this smartphone culture as static in the least. Cyber technology will become more internalized and private, to the point I think that folks from the future will be laughing at images of these people stuck on their phones today. In that sense I'm already way ahead of my own time. On the other hand, those 2073 folks may be laughing at stuff they see from 2023 that I think is perfectly normal...
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Ran Today's Depot Parkrun 5K...and a Little Beyond
For a while I had been considering driving all the way down to Ocala, about 37-38 miles away from my home, and trying one of the bi-monthly racing events being staged in Baseline Trailhead Park, on the eastern side of town off 58th Avenue. But instead of shelling out the fee for their race this morning...I'll probably do it some day in the future anyway...I once again ran my hometown's free, volunteer-run regular event, the Depot Parkrun 5K (3.1 miles)...and for the 24th time since 2019. The weather was pleasant at the 7:30 race time, in the mid-sixties and a little over 90% humidity. I felt energetic and my running reflected it as I got myself into a brisk pacing groove early on and finished strong with one of my better times for this event at 30:19. You can see the results by clicking HERE. After last week's 10K race on the Hawthorne Trail held by the Florida Track Club, I waited a few minutes after finishing it and then ran an additional 1.5 miles on a part of the Trail I hadn't covered before. So why not do the same here? I waited about ten minutes after finishing my 5K and then set out to get back on the Hawthorne Trail...it's connected to Depot Park. I went south on it until I reached Williston Road and then turned back, covering an extra 1.9 miles. That stretch of the Hawthorne Trail has some of the prettiest scenery I've experienced along it so far, with a bridge going over a creek that looked like something from northern Georgia. I like this "going the extra distance" strategy following races and plan to implement it in future events, although I think I might take a pass whenever a half-marathon rolls by...
Friday, October 20, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Jordan B. Peterson
If you are not willing to be a fool, you can't become a master. Jordan B. Peterson
Thursday, October 19, 2023
A Good YouTube Video of Recent Staten Island Half Marathon
Over the past year I have become a pretty avid viewer of YouTube, a video platform run by Google (the same company that backs this blog). Among the many kinds of videos I like to watch are the virtual runs...the YouTube channel Runners Digest contains some of the best, with Treadmill Trainer also providing good material. These videos tend to be designed with treadmill running in mind, with the user pretending to be in an actual race while training at home or the gym. For me, I watch the videos at home while jogging around the house...no treadmill necessary. On this past October 8th, Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City (and the starting point for the NYC Marathon), held a half marathon there. One of the entrants has a history of filming these types of races in the New York area from the perspective of a runner, and this video, posted on the Runners Digest channel, shows how much he has progressed in developing his video-making skills. Along with the usual screen of how a developing race looks to a runner in it, he also put at the top a sort of virtual "rear view mirror" showing how it appears looking back. And there are ongoing stats presented in the corner of the screen. Although on these sorts of race videos I prefer to just hear the actual sounds of the event, this one...like many others I've experienced...has pretty background music to accompany it instead: I can handle that, though. My only "experience" of Staten Island is with the NYC Marathon videos I've seen of it: in these there's just a large "herding" area for the tens of thousands of runners and then they're suddenly on a steep, long bridge out of there, leading to Brooklyn where much of the event takes place. In this race I just saw, though, you get to see a lot more of this interesting part of New York...click HERE to view it like I did...
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1993 Science Fiction, Part 6
THERE AND THEN by Steven Utley
In yet another time travel story, it’s the Silurian period during the Paleozoic era and humans are there studying it all while, true to their nature, hatching schemes to exploit what they find to bring it back home to the (story’s) present. During this the protagonist, along with the other crew members and some begrudgingly welcomed visitors from “back home”, behave like characters in a dumb reality TV show in spite of their incredibly exotic surroundings. Yep, that sounds like the human nature I’ve come to know…
THE NIGHT WE BURIED ROAD DOG by
Jack Cady
A brilliant, unforgettable tale about like in the 1960s in
the rural, mountainous American northwest when and where well-built, souped-up legendary
cars speed dangerously down the treacherous highways and one man decides to
begin a graveyard for them, complete with headstones. Only there’s something Jesse isn’t sharing
with others, including the narrator: there’s somebody who looks just like him
prowling the roads while leaving behind cryptic messages: the Road Dog. And here’s where the story heats up. As good or better than anything Stephen King
has produced, and that’s saying a lot…
FEEDBACK by Joe Haldeman
This story deals with a future when people can temporarily
blend their identities through technology.
Of course, human nature being what it is (see previous story), it
becomes big business as an artistic painter hires himself out to blend
identities with a sinister, wealthy man to paint the portrait of a nude
model. And with this kind of story being
what it is, the artist gets more than he bargained for…
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Just Finished Reading Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Monday, October 16, 2023
Truly Pleasant Fall Weather Day Here in Gainesville
This morning I walked out in the back yard and marveled about the coolness...so pleasant, for a change! I checked my phone weather app, and it said here in Gainesville it was 58 degrees with a humidity of 77%...this a little past 10:30. I think we may now be entering a "Goldilocks" zone with the weather in northern Florida...not too hot and not too cold, with rain at most presenting occasional umbrella opportunities. On the other hand, I would probably like it even more if today's "high" were 58, with the nighttime lows dipping into the upper 30s...yes, that's my Goldilocks zone. Still, I'll take any break from the unbearably hot and humid year we've been experiencing. Hopefully, the cool weather break will extend into a properly autumn seasonal trend and stay with us for a while without reverting to the months-long stagnation plaguing us this year...
Sunday, October 15, 2023
About This Blog and a Potential Podcast
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Ran the Florida Track Club's Tom Walker Preview 10K This Morning
Every November...unless there's a pandemic or something else dire going down...the Florida Track Club holds a half-marathon south and east along the Hawthorne Trail, titled the Tom Walker Memorial and named for a former FTC president who passed away far too young at age 38 in 1989. The last couple of years they have also been holding an October 5K/10K race along the same trail called the Tom Walker Preview: I ran it last year and repeated this morning. This time the race time temperature, while around 71 degrees, was accompanied by a pleasantly low humidity at 39%, according to my phone app. Add to these factors the presence of mostly overcast skies and the conditions were very conducive to a pleasant run. My strategy was simply to alternate five minutes of running at a steady pace with a minute of brisk walking...repeated until the run's end...oh by the way, I opted for the 10K (6.2 mile) distance. It all went quite well, and for the last 17 minutes I had enough energy left over to just flat-out run the rest of the race, finishing with a "gun" time of 1:05:05 (chip-timed at 1:04:51)...better than planned. Click HERE to see the "official" results posted by the Florida Track Club through Second Wind Timing. The difference between the "gun" time and "chip" time is the number of seconds it takes for the runner, often stuck back in a crowded pack, to finally reach the starting line when the race begins, so the chip time actually more accurately reflects my run from start to finish. They awarded me another coffee mug for finishing third in my age/gender category, to go with the identical one I won last month. This race, as well as the half-marathon scheduled for November 12th, originates and ends at Boulware Springs Park off SE 15th Street, accessible via Hawthorne Road. I was also hoping that the Tyler's Hope 15K, held at the same location in the past in early December, would already be on the racing calendar but perhaps they're not holding it this year...that would be sad. A few minutes after this morning's run I decided to run north along the trail to SE 22nd Avenue and back...an additional 1.5 miles. It's been a good running day for me so far...I think I'll rest a bit for the remainder and watch sports on TV...
Friday, October 13, 2023
Quote of the Week...from Katrina Mayer
Books were my friends when no friends were around. ---Katrina Mayer
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Dentist, Storms, Feistiness
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1993 Science Fiction, Part 5
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Back from Extended Weekend Off
Well, after being off from work for four days, it's back to the grind...although truth be told, I don't have any problem with that. Acknowledging the many blessings in my life has become a worthwhile personal habit, and my gratitude furthers enhances my daily walk. It's a terrible shame that people, being what they are, just can't seem to get along in the world...or in many areas within my own country, for that matter. By most standards, you could call me a misanthrope, and yet I don't attach negative emotions to that label, only recognizing fallen human nature for what it is and refusing to adopt a Pollyannish worldview that would only continually crash down on me from letdown and betrayal. I love my family and close friends, but beyond that I'm a little like those European immigrants to this great land featured in the Godfather movies who, while engaging and interacting with others, at the same time entertained a healthy skepticism about their character and motives. Be nice to folks, sure, and don't always go around complaining about things, either. But at the same time, I'm hip to the ways of the world and it ain't always rosy, just in case you haven't been watching the news lately...
Monday, October 9, 2023
Some Comments on TV, News and Facebook
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Just Started Reading Rob Dial's New Book Titled Level Up
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Enjoying Beach Outing This Weekend
Thursday, October 5, 2023
New Running Strategy is a Return to My Old Running Strategy
As the temperatures grudgingly begin to fall while the fall season progresses, I am considering my running and walking strategy for the weeks and months ahead. I've decided to go back to a method touted by running guru and marathoner Jeff Galloway that alternates running with walking, and which I used to great success in my training for years. My plan now is to simply, whatever the distance, run at an appropriately brisk pace for five minutes, followed by a fast one-minute walk, and then going back to the steady run for five more...and then back to walking, alternating between the two for however long my distance is for that day. This will be for training as well as for races, although when I'm just jogging around inside the house, I don't see the need for it. Melissa and I will be going to the beach this weekend...I definitely will be doing the run/walk plan then on any runs from our hotel to the Daytona Beach Pier and back. I distinctly remember back in 2010 feeling that with this way of training, if I wanted, I could run indefinitely for whatever distance I chose without stopping...
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Weekly Short Stories: 1993 Science Fiction, Part 4
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
My Current Approaches to Foreign Language Study
Although I do like Steve Kaufmann's LingQ language learning website, which enables the subscriber to keep track of their new words learned in various foreign languages, I have found myself using other venues more recently. YouTube has an unbelievable amount of educational material on it, and the Kendra and Eko series each are very useful as they match up two languages, phrase by phrase...it enables me to build up vocabulary and familiarity without always having to use my native English as a translation reference. The Tunein Radio app enables me to listen to radio and podcasts in different languages as they are normally spoken, trying to pick up meaning when I can and letting the rest "wash over me", as Kaufmann likes to put it. And Wikipedia is fantastic with its different topics and languages...as with the Tunein audio material, I find myself reading different articles and just trying to pick up meaning as I go without trying to get everything right. So, while I'm not always using Steve Kaufmann's LingQ in my language study, I have adopted his approach to learning, which seems to make it all more fun as well as effective...
Monday, October 2, 2023
Mixed Feelings about High School and College Football
Sunday, October 1, 2023
The Misanthropic Volunteer?
Today's piece is more or less a continuation of yesterday's entry about my running and walking...with a marked misanthropic slant, if you can handle that. I mentioned that yesterday I volunteered at my local Gainesville Depot Parkrun event, sorting the plastic finishing tokens that are scanned along with the runners' own printed barcodes...I don't expect you to know what I'm talking about. But being where I was, I could observe the proceedings from a different perspective and, quite frankly, came to the conclusion that the vast majority of people around me were miserably unhappy. There was one lady there...there always seems to be someone like this in most public social situations I find myself in... who made a point of having me walk across the park to ask a park employee whether a sheltered pavilion there was available to us in case it started raining. She could have gone and done that herself, but I sensed a need in her to assert hierarchy and power, no matter how petty. I was fine with the task but filed away her behavior...that alone would convince me to never volunteer here again. But with the others, in spite of all the stuff I hear about how people want to be sociable and make friends, none of them seemed the least bit interested in doing so, with me or anyone else, for that matter. Everyone, frankly, seemed terribly reserved and formal...yeah, like I want to hang out with them! Not that I am necessarily passing judgment on anyone...I'm sure they could come up with some zingers to say about me as well. But I do think that it is a fraud, a big lie, to claim to be extraverted...or that there is something wrong with me that I am introverted...when the vast majority of folks out there are either put out, uncomfortable...or even frightened when in social settings, especially among strangers. Does any of this prove that I hate people? I don't think so, otherwise I wouldn't have been willing to pay attention in such a discerning way to those around me. Instead, I believe that people in general are much, much more misanthropic than they like to let others believe. And if it's not a sweeping dislike of humanity with them, at the very least they are tribal, with all of their efforts at sociability confined to their insulated little bubble of family and close friends. Oh heck, I'll probably volunteer here again, I'm such a glutton for punishment...