Just Finished Reading Perehelion Summer by Greg Egan

It had been quite a while since I last visited my local public library branch on NW 43rd Street here in Gainesville.  But I wanted to make sure my library card still scanned, so once I had that taken care of at the counter, I browsed around the book aisles until I came up with a couple interesting enough to check out, both fiction: a mystery novel with a cat and dog as sleuths (press HERE for my earlier review) and a short science fiction novel by Greg Egan titled Perehelion Summer, published in 2019.  I just read it, so here are my reactions.  Not big on character development, this story concerns a scenario that could happen in our own time: the invasion into our solar system of a black hole sizable enough to wreak havoc with planetary orbits and threaten our own lives.  "Mandjet" is the name given to an innovative sea ship designed to handle climate change by creating a self-sustaining floating ecosystem within which people could survive...and possibly even thrive...through natural calamities such as global warning.  But when a black hole is detected entering our solar system, heading in the general direction of Earth, the alarms...and subsequent panic...go off planet-wide as the crew of Mandjet, including the novel's protagonist Matt, prepare to use their ship to save whatever lives they can.  The Earth gets slightly knocked off its orbit, just enough to plunge the northern and southern hemispheres into extreme summers and winters. This causes the human population to undergo drastic migration twice each year to the more habitable polar areas of the planet.  What ends up happening with Mandjet, the main characters, and how they respond and adapt to the many challenges coming their way comprise the bulk of the book.  I found it all a bit dry and heavily loaded...as "hard" sci-fi often is, with highly technical passages that challenged my capacity for visualization.  So I didn't enjoy reading this story as much as I had planned...those are the breaks when you pick out a book almost at random from the library shelves and take a chance on it.  Not a bad story, Perehelion Summer...but a little difficult to digest, nonetheless.  Maybe this says more about me as a reader than about anyone as writer, but I preferred the more fanciful mystery novel with the smart pets taking center stage...

Weekly Short Stories: 1999 Science Fiction, Part 14

It's Wednesday again, time for another look at what I've read in the realm of short fiction this past week.  I'm continuing the Gardner Dozois anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction, Seventeenth Annual Collection, showcasing short sci-fi from the year 1999.  I managed to get through the next story in the book, which I discuss below...

A MARTIAN ROMANCE by Kim Stanley Robinson

In this "hard" science fiction tale, it is in the not-too-distant future, but well enough ahead in that people can have their lives extended some threefold.  Also, terraforming has been accomplished on the planet Mars to make it Earth-like, with sustainable temperatures, flowing water and breathable air.  Sadly, though, for this story the planet has undergone a sudden, severe ice age, and a party who had worked on the terraforming are visiting it to assess how badly their project has gone.  As it turns out, very badly!  So in the end, it all comes down to whether making our neighbor planet livable again or abandoning the notion.  The author, as do some of the characters, conclude that dealing with setbacks like this is just a part of the expected process and that people need to broaden their perception on how long things take...chances are that the goals people set...especially on a cosmic scale like this...cannot be fulfill within one lifespan, even if that lifespan has been enhanced...

Next week: more stories from 1999...

Making Better Use of YMCA Pool

Melissa and I are beginning to make better use of our nearby YMCA pool, as both of us stand to benefit from resistance exercises in the water while I am working to improve my swimming form and endurance.  Its hours vary from day to day in the week, closed on Sunday.  We've gone various times, and accordingly the pool was either crowded with seniors, relatively empty, or crowded with little children having swimming lessons.  Although I enjoy water walking...forward, backward, and sideways...with Melissa, my main activity there is swimming laps.  I have a snorkel I've yet to use, which should facilitate my breathing while I improve my form for better endurance as I work on increasing my workout distance.  As we are now rushing in northern Florida through the spring season into our typically very hot and humid summer, going to the pool meshes well with the weather. In swimming, you just don't get the kind of racing events that benefit the general public in running/walking, so my progress will always be a more personal kind of thing: no links in my blog articles to websites posting swimming results!  Ultimately, we should be able to settle on a consistent time, two or three times per week, when the pool is relatively empty and we can make good use of this great resource, just one mile down the road from our home...

We've Had Our Dog Daisy for Three Years Today

 

 

Daisy is a mix-breed rescue dog that Melissa and I picked up at a pet adoption fair held at a PetSmart store in southwest Gainesville on May 12, 2022...exactly three years ago.  Daisy was a tiny puppy back then at 7 lbs...but she had a loud, menacing bark even back then.  She's grown to full adult size for some time now, leveling off at 50 lbs.  She's a sweetie, for sure, and is sitting right now on my favorite recliner in the living room.  Even though Daisy is an adult dog, to me she is a big baby, especially whenever her "mommy" steps out of the room for a few minutes and Daisy starts her pathetic whimpering, just as she did on adoption day three years earlier when I was holding her and she wanted me to lay her back down next to her litter mates...

Happy Mother's Day, Melissa!

I'd like to wish my dear, sweet wife Melissa a most deserved happy Mother's Day.  She has always been a great mother to our wonderful children Will and Rebecca.  Will, taken by the Lord last year, is no longer with us on Earth and we miss him terribly.  Rebecca is here with us and we look forward to celebrating this wonderful holiday together.  I also appreciate my own mother and Melissa's...they both passed away in 2002 and 2007 respectively.  Our mortal bodies are indeed fragile on this broken world, and I think that sometimes we forget how transitory life can be...let's enjoy that all-too-brief time that we have been privileged to be here and show our loved ones how important they are for us.  Happy Mother's Day, Sweetheart!

Ran the Depot Parkrun 5K This Warm and Muggy Morning

The weather forecasts this past week looked ahead to a wet and stormy weekend here in north-central Florida, so I knew there was a chance of rain for this morning's Depot Parkrun 5K.  It's a free weekly event held Saturdays at 7:30 at Depot Park a few blocks south of downtown Gainesville...you can sign up online where they issue you a barcode you take with you to be scanned following the race in order to get your results posted online.  I got up around 5:45 and went outside...no rain yet, but I did hear some ominous, rolling thunder from high in the overcast skies.  Almost going back to bed knowing that they'd cancel the Parkrun if there was any lightning, I decided in the end to make a go at it and drove down there.  As it turned out, there wasn't any rain or thunder during the race, but the combination of temperature (69 degrees) and humidity (94%) presented its own challenge to participants...and me.  I wasn't sure at first whether I'd run or speed-walk it today, but just before it started I decided to once again work on establishing a regular "groove" of a running pace and braved the crappy weather.  I wasn't comfortable at all throughout the race, but since I was passing a number of runners in the second half with no one passing me, I guess I must have been at least a little better conditioned to it all, finishing with a time of 28:04, 15 seconds faster than last week's.  You can see today's results by clicking HERE. Some time this month I intend to do another speed-walk, hoping to get my finishing time back to under forty minutes like it was before my surgery a couple of months ago... 

New Pope Enjoying Widespread Popularity Now

I'm glad to see that people in general, and especially the practicing Catholic population, seem to be okay with the new Bishop of Rome, that is, the Roman Catholic Church's pontiff or Pope.  Cardinal Robert Prevost, originally from Chicago in the good old USA but with dual citizenship in both America and Peru after serving there for more than a decade, was elevated to Cardinal status by Pope Francis two years ago.  He was then elected in the secret Vatican Conclave to replace Francis, who died recently.  The Pope, in centuries gone by, at one time actually did have a lot of direct political/military power...that's how the Crusades got started.  Now, though, his power is that of persuasion, bringing to light in the world its spiritual, social and physical needs through the bully pulpit that his high office accords him.  I wish Pope Leo XIV, as he has renamed himself, the best and hope that he isn't surprised when he inevitably gets around to ruffling the feathers of our Narcissist-in-Chief. Leo is also the first Pope to be around my age level, born the year before me...he looks pretty fit, wonder what kind of exercise routine he has, if any...

My Updated Cumulative Running and Walking Race Record

I've updated below my cumulative running race record...you can see that since the previous update on May 11, 2024, most of my ventures have been to a single location: Gainesville's pretty Depot Park where, on Saturday mornings, they hold a free 5K race/run/walk called the "Depot Parkrun"...I've covered it 73 times at this writing on May 8, 2025.  I also ran marathon, half-marathon, 15K and 10-mile races during the intervening weeks.  Races 10K (6.2 miles) or longer I have highlighted in red. If you see a race you'd like to read more about, just click on the listed title to read my same-day blog article (the first five, though, are "ancient history" from the previous century).  Each entry contains, from left to right: date, distance, my finishing time, event name, location. As for the distance abbreviations, m=miles, K=kilometers, M=marathon and HM=half marathon. And now, on to more running (and walking) adventures...

3-23-73        2m       11:56      Nova HS at Piper track meet         Piper High School, Ft. Lauderdale

4-10-73         2m       11:35      Broward Country South Division Meet    S. Broward HS, Dania

11-27-74      ~2m      ??            Turkey Trot  (BCC) (1)                  Davie, FL

11-?-75      ~2m      ??            Turkey Trot (BCC) (2)                     Davie, FL

7-?-76      ~5m      ??            -unknown-                                         Hollywood, FL   

10-04-08    5K       25:10      Red Cross                                         University of Florida

10-18-08    5K       24:07      Hope Heels                                       Westside Park

11-01-08    5K       24:28      Dog Days                                            Westside Park
2-14-10     HM    2:17:10     Five Points of Life (1)                      Gainesville
3-27-10     15K    1:23:55    Climb for Cancer                                Haile Plantation
4-24-10      5K        23:05     Run Amuck                                        NFR Office Park
5-22-10      5K        25:00     Somer's Sunshine Run                   Orange Park
6-05-10      5K        23:23     Cpt. Chad Reed Memorial                     Cross City
7-04-10      3m        23:04     Melon Run  (1)                                Westside Park
11-6-10    HM    2:01:41       Tom Walker Memorial (1)              Hawthorne Trail
1-23-11      M       6:04:35    Ocala Marathon                                South of Paddock Mall
11-12-11    HM    1:59:38    Tom Walker Memorial (2)              Hawthorne Trail
1-01-12      HM    1:56:07    De Leon Springs                              De Leon Springs
7-04-12      3m        25:45     Melon Run (2)                                Westside Park
11-22-12   10K       53:10     Turkey Trot (1)                                 Tacachale
1-20-13      HM    1:55:20    Ocala Half-Marathon                    South of Paddock Mall
3-03-13      HM    1:50:53    Orange Blossom                             Tavares
11-09-13    2m     untimed    Gator Gallop                                   University Ave, SW 2nd Ave
2-01-14      5K        25:53     Education for Life                           Westside Park
2-16-14      HM    2:07:36    Five Points of Life (2)                    Gainesville
11-27-14   10K        56:56    Turkey Trot (2)                                Tacachale
12-20-14    HM    2:03:30    Starlight Half-Marathon               Palm Coast
1-31-15     15K    1:18:21       Newnan's Lake (1)                          West of Newnan's Lake
2-15-15     HM     1:58:48    Five Points of Life (3)                    Gainesville
3-14-15     10K        56:24    Run for Haven (1)                           Tioga
12-05-15   6.5m   1:03:52    Lumber Around the Levee           Micanopy
1-30-16     15K    1:31:20    Newnan's Lake (2)                           West of Newnan's Lake
3-12-16     10K       59:00    Run for Haven (2)                           Tioga
5-14-16       5K       28:36    May Day Glow Run (1)                    Tioga

7-4-16         3m      28:22    Melon Run (3)                                  Westside Park

11-24-16    10K    1:01:13    Turkey Trot (3)                                Tacachale

2-26-17     HM    2:24:29    Five Points of Life (4)                    Gainesville

3-11-17      10K        58:45   Run for Haven (3)                           Tioga

5-21-17        5K        33:00   May Day Glow Run (2)                 Tioga

1-27-18       15K    1:38:41    Newnan's Lake (3)                        West of Newnan's Lake

2-18-18    HM      2:19:37    Five Points of Life (5)                   Gainesville

3-17-18        5K        29:17    Chris Lacinak Scholarship           Gainesville

12-8-18      15K     1:37:33    Season of Hope (1)                       Hawthorne Trail

1-5-19          5K        30:00    Depot Parkrun (1)                        Gainesville

2-9-19         5K        30:36    Depot Parkrun (2)                        Gainesville

3-16-19       5K        31:16     Miles for Meridian                        Tioga

4-27-19      10K    1:01:52    Run the Good Race (1)                 NFR Office Park

5-5-19         5K        30:38    May Day Glow Run (3)                Jonesville

11-10-19    HM    2:35:20   Tom Walker Memorial (3)          Hawthorne Trail

11-28-19    10K    1:02:16    Turkey Trot (4)                             Tacachale

12-7-19      15K    1:35:48    Season of Hope (2)                       Hawthorne Trail

4-3-21         5K        32:40    Headwaters (1)                             Gainesville

5-29-21      5K        30:50    Depot Parkrun (3)                        Gainesville

6-12-21       5K        33:06    Depot Parkrun (4)                       Gainesville

12-4-21       5K        33:03    Depot Parkrun (5)                        Gainesville

2-12-22       5K        31:28    Depot Parkrun (6)                        Gainesville

2-20-22     HM   2:33:51     Five Points of Life (6)                  Gainesville

3-19-22      10m  1:48:24    Micanopy Ten-Mile (1)                    Micanopy

3-26-22       5K      30:45     Depot Parkrun (7)                        Gainesville

4-9-22         5K       29:28     Headwaters (2)                            Gainesville

10-15-22     10K   1:04:55    Tom Walker Preview (1)                   Hawthorne Trail

10-22-22    10K   1:03:20    Run the Good Race (2)                Gainesville

11-06-22     HM  3:05:29   Tom Walker Memorial (4)           Hawthorne Trail

11-12-22       5K       31:38   Depot Parkrun (8)                         Gainesville

12-10-22      5K       31:46    Depot Parkrun (9)                        Gainesville

1-1-23           5K       32:59   Depot Parkrun (10)                      Gainesville

1-15-23       HM   2:34:42   FTC Mary Andrews (1)                 Hawthorne Trail (east end)

3-11-23        5K         34:02  Depot Parkrun (11)                      Gainesville

3-25-23       5K         33:19   Depot Parkrun (12)                     Gainesville

4-22-23       5K         32:47  Depot Parkrun (13)                      Gainesville

4-29-23       5K        33:34   Depot Parkrun (14)                      Gainesville 

5-6-23         5K        33:08   Depot Parkrun (15)                      Gainesville

5-20-23       5K        31:46    Depot Parkrun (16)                     Gainesville

5-27-23       5K        45:14    Depot Parkrun (17)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

6-3-23         5K        31:22    Depot Parkrun (18)                     Gainesville

6-10-23       5K       33:38    Depot Parkrun (19)                      Gainesville

8-19-23       5K       32:52    Depot Parkrun (20)                     Gainesville

8-26-23      5K       31:29     Depot Parkrun (21)                      Gainesville

9-9-23        4m      41:59     Is It Fall 4-Miler (1)                      Squirrel Ridge Park, G'ville

9-16-23      5K       32:17      Depot Parkrun (22)                     Gainesville

9 -23-23     5K      30:23     Depot Parkrun (23)                      Gainesville

10-14-23    10K    1:04:51  Tom Walker Preview (2)               Hawthorne Trail

10-21-23    5K       30:19     Depot Parkrun (24)                      Gainesville

10-28-23    5K      30:38     Depot Parkrun (25)                      GaineGainesvillesville

11-4-23       5K      30:14     Depot Parkrun (26)                      Gainesville

11-12-23     HM  2:18:06    Tom Walker Memorial (5)          Hawthorne Trail

11-25-23     5K      29:47     Depot Parkrun (27)                      Gainesville

12-2-23       5K      30:39     Depot Parkrun (28)                     Gainesville    

12-9-23      15K   1:33:02    Season of Hope (3)                       Hawthorne Trail

12-16-23     5K      28:57     Depot Parkrun (29)                      Gainesville

12-23-23    5K       42:20    Depot Parkrun (30) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

1-1-24         5K       27:38    Depot Parkrun (31)                      Gainesville

1-13-24       5K    1:00:40   Depot Parkrun (32) (walked with Melissa) Gainesville

1-14-24      HM  2:07:40   FTC Mary Andrews (2)                Hawthorne Trail (east end)

1-20-24     5K        57:26    Depot Parkrun (33)  (walked with Melissa) Gainesville

2-3-24       5K     1:10:25    Depot Parkrun (34) (volunteer walker) Gainesville

2-10-24    10m   1:39:18    Micanopy Ten-Mile (2)               Micanopy

2-24-24     5K        27:36    Depot Parkrun (35)                      Gainesville

3-16-24     5K        28:19     Depot Parkrun (36)                      Gainesville

3-30--24   5K        28:18     Depot Parkrun (37)                      Gainesville

4-13-24     5K        28:47     Depot Parkrun (38)                     Gainesville

4-20-24    5K        39:43     Depot Parkrun (39) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

4-27-24    5K         27:10     Depot Parkrun (40)                     Gainesville

5-4-24       5K        28:19     Depot Parkrun (41)                      Gainesville

5-11-24     5K        29:11      Depot Parkrun (42)                     Gainesville

5-18-24    5K        38:58     Depot Parkrun (43)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

5-25-24    5K        49:27     Depot Parkrun (44)  (social walk/running)  Gainesville

6-1-24       5K       27:23      Depot Parkrun (45)                      Gainesville

6-8-24      5K       38:49     Depot Parkrun (46)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

6-22-24    5K       27:41      Depot Parkrun (47)                       Gainesville

6-29-24    5K       27:01      Depot Parkrun (48)                      Gainesville

7-4-24      3m       26:55     Melon Run (4)                               Gainesville

7-27-24    5K       38:19      Depot Parkrun (49)  (speed-walk) Gainesville

8-10-24    5K      38:19      Depot Parkrun (50)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

8-17-24    5K       26:51      Depot Parkrun (51)                       Gainesville

8-24-24   10K   1:00:45    US Road Running (1)                 Gainesville

8-31-24    5K       27:25     Depot Parkrun (52)                     Gainesville

9-7-24      4m      36:46     Is It Fall 4-Miler (2)                    Squirrel Ridge Park, Gainesville

9-14-24    5K       39:15      Depot Parkrun (53)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

10-5-24    5K       27:28     Depot Parkrun (54)                      Gainesville

10-12-24  5K       26:58     Depot Parkrun (55)                      Gainesville

10-19-24  5K       27:17      Depot Parkrun (56)                      Gainesville

11-2-24    5K       26:56      Depot Parkrun (57)                      Gainesville

11-10-24  HM  2:54:40     Tom Walker  Memorial (6) (speed-walk) Hawthorne Trail

11-16-24  5K       26:31       Depot Parkrun (58)                      Gainesville 

11-24-24  M     5:07:49      Mega Cupcake Marathon (1)      Hawthorne Trail (east end)

11-28-24  5K      28:25      Depot Parkrun (59)                       Gainesville

12-7-24   15K   1:29:19      Season of Hope (4)                       Hawthorne Trail 

12-14-24  5K      27:39      Depot Parkrun (60)                       Gainesville

12-21-24  5K      39:22      Depot Parkrun (61) (speed-walk)  Gainesville 

12-28-24  5K     27:32      Depot Parkrun (62)                       Gainesville 

1-1-25       5K    1:11:58      Depot Parkrun (63) (walked with Melissa)  Gainesville

1-1-25       1m        8:25      Frank Shorter Mile                        Gainesville   

1-4-25      5K       27:42     Depot Parkrun (64)                        Gainesville

1-11-25    5K       27:51      Depot Parkrun (65)                        Gainesville

1-18-25    5K      27:45      Depot Parkrun (66)                        Gainesville 

1-20-25  HM   2:05:13     FTC Mary Andrews (3)                  Hawthorne Trail (east end)

1-25-25  15K    1:25:22     Newnan's Lake (4)                         West of Newnan's Lake

2-1-25     5K       39:15       Depot Parkrun (67) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

2-8-25   10m   1:36:50     Micanopy Ten-Mile (3)                  Micanopy

2-15-25   5K       27:32      Depot Parkrun (68)                        Gainesville

3-29-25  5K       44:52      Depot Parkrun (69) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

4-5-25    5K       42:28      Depot Parkrun (70) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

4-12-25  5K       41:23       Depot Parkrun (71) (speed-walk)   Gainesville

4-19-25  5K       34:51       Depot Parkrun (72) (run-walk mix) Gainesville

5-3-25    5K       28:19       Depot Parkrun (73)                         Gainesville

5-10-25  5K      28:04       Depot Parkrun (74)                         Gainesville

5-24-25 10K  1:05:36      US Road Running (2)                      Gainesville

5-31-25  5K      39:42       Depot Parkrun (75)  (speed-walk)  Gainesville

6-7-25   5K      28:37        Depot Parkrun (76)                         Gainesville

6-14-25 5K      28:09       Depot Parkrun (77)                          Gainesville

6-21-25 5K      41:05        Depot Parkrun (78) (speed-walk) Gainesville

7-4-25   3m     28:17         Melon Run (5)                                  Gainesville

7-5-25   5K      29:25        Depot Parkrun (79)                          Gainesville

7-12-25 5K      41:44         Depot Parkrun (80) (speed-walk) Gainesville

7-26-25 5K   1:11:38        Depot Parkrun (81) (volunteer-walker) Gainesville

8-2-25   5K      30:16       West End Community Parkrun  (1) Tioga

8-9-25  5K      42:42        Depot Parkrun (82) (speed-walk)  Gainesville

8-16-25 5K     37:14         West End Community Parkrun (2) (walk/run mix) Tioga

8-30-25 5K    38:54        Depot Parkrun (83) (walk/run mix)  Gainesville

9-6-25   5K     34:36        West End Community Parkrun (3)  (walk/run mix) Tioga

9-13-25 5K     37:08        Depot Parkrun (84)  (walk/run mix)  Gainesville

9-20-25 5K    33:21        https://wmirwinsblog.blogspot.com/2025/09/ran-and-speed-walked-west-end-community.htmlWest End Community Parkrun (4)      Tioga

9-27-25 5K     64:13       West End Community Parkrun (5)       Tioga

10-18-25 5K   43:09       Depot Parkrun (85)  (walk/run mix)   Gainesville

11-8-25            56:06       Depot Parkrun (86 ) (walk)                   Gainesville

11-15-25          43:12        Depot Parkrun (87)  (walk/run mix)  Gainesville

11-22-25         70:03        Depot Parkrun (88) (walk)                   Gainesville

11-27-25         44:21         Dpeot Parkrun (89)  (walk/ran mix   Gainesville

11-19-25         67:38         Depot Parkrun (90) (walk with Melissa Gainesville

12-6-25          42:55         Depot Parkrun (91)  (walk/run mix)  Gainesville

4-45-26          65:16         Depot Parkrun (100) (walk)                Gainesville

*******************       

As for the standard-distance races from 2008 through the present, here are listed my total races finished for each distance along with my personal best time for them...

                         # of Finishes   Personal Best

1 Mile                     1                    8:25  (1/1/25)

3 Miles                   5                 23:04  (7/4/10)

5K                        110                23:05  (4/24/10)

10K                       13                  53:10   (11/22/12)

15K                         9               1:18:21  (1/31/15)

10 Miles                3               1:36:50  (2/8/25)

Half-Marathon  19               1:50:53  (3/3/13)

Marathon             2               5:07:47  (11/24/24)