Weekly Ephemera #132

• This week was preparation for our Guatemala Trip.  As you are reading this it is very likely we are winging our way south to Guatemala City.  In preparation we cleaned the house and did laundry so we had all the clothes we needed for our trip and could come home to a clean house.  I also started piling things I needed so that I wouldn't forget to pack them.
• During my prep I reread my Mom's travelogue entries from 1972.  I wrote so much better back then.  I feel like I rush my writing now and do it with minimal thought.  I would like to get back to that more relaxed form of slow writing though the real world is interfering with my stress levels.
• I was going to walk twice this week but, due to sloth, I only did one.  It was 13.1 miles (21.1 km) - not bad.  It was longer than I expected and nearly killed my legs but I survived.
• We bought tickets for Bob Dylan at the Orpheum theater in April.  We sort of saw him once before when we lived in California.  I'll have to tell that story before we go to the concert.  Suffice it to say, I don't remember anything about that concert not because of my crappy memory but because I was completely distracted.
• We have not really had any 'real' snow this winter season so far.  I've missed it and I was looking forward to seeing the first snow.  Naturally it's supposed to snow this coming week when I'll be out of the country.  *sigh*  

Book: Orlando Figes' "Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991 A History

With my third book I returned to non-fiction history.  I read Orlando Figes' "Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991 A History" to partially fill in a large hole I have in my knowledge of history.

The book discusses the rise and fall of the Bolshevik revolution from famines at the end of the Tsarist era to the collapse of the Soviet Union.  It is an overview.  It is not a deep dive but it was just enough for me, what I was looking for.  I knew little about Lenin or how Stalin consolidated power.  Sadly our situation today was an echo of what I was reading.

The book is well written and flows nicely.  At times I wanted a little more information but, as I said, this is not an in depth study.  I came away knowing more than I did before.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  It did what I expected in an easy to read way.

A Return To Guatemala

I grew up, from age nine to eighteen, in Guatemala.  I documented our travels to Guatemala back in August 2009.  I graduated from high school in August 1981 and left for college soon after.  I returned to visit my parents during Christmas/New Years 1981-82.  I have not been back since - just over forty-three years ago.  The Wife, who has never been there, and I will be going to Guatemala next week.  It will be interesting to see how things have changed.

When I was there I saw the first fast food place open (Hardees).  Many of the amenities we took for granted in the USA were missing or not quite 'there' yet.  Looking at Google Maps I can see the western world has completely moved in with a Starbucks not far from our hotel.  We will be on a tour - Guatemala is still not a very safe place to be.  When I graduated in 1981 you often heard gunfire in the distance and going out at night was never a wise thing to do.

The two week tour will be taking us to several places I visited as a pre/teen.  The market at Chichicastenango.  Lake Atitlan.  The old capital city of Antigua.  The Pacaya volcano. Tikal.  There are a few places I've never been to including Mayan ruins in neighboring Honduras, Copán, and Rio Dulce, among others.  I was not a good traveler when I was a pre-teen.  I'm sure I didn't get as much out of where we visited as I could have.  This trip will be a second chance for me.

As I entered the trip information into Tripit.com and drafted this post I began to feel excited.  It's been a while since I've been excited before we travel.  Usually I don't get excited until we've started on the trip.  I think this is a good thing.

As usual I probably won't post about the trip until I get back.

PS: The picture above was AI generated using Google's Gemini Imagen 3.

Weekly Ephemera #131

"I will not give into the lies.

I will not give into the fear."

      - Jim Acosta

        ex-CNN correspondent/anchor

• I have spent most of this week doomscrolling.  I have spent too much time on Bluesky watching our great nation starting to corrode and crumble in darkness.
• On Tuesday I had an MRI taken of my abdomen to check for lesions in my prostate.  None were found (yay).  I am not a claustrophobic person most of the time but after nearly an hour in the tight spaces of the MRI machine, I was getting antsy.
• Wednesday was the Lunar New Year.  Happy year of the snake everyone!
• Saturday was the first day of February which is kinda blowing my mind.  Where did January go?
• I walked three times this week for a total of 30.8 miles (49.6 km).  Next week I plan to walk twice.
• My television watching this week was of a scientific nature.  Namely, I watched episodes of "Nova".  I watched one on Quantum discoveries, one on Astrophysical discoveries, and several on the different planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system.  In my early years I had most of this type of knowledge memorized.  I was fascinated with it.  But over the last few decades I have not kept up with the cutting edge research.  These episodes helped bring me up to speed.
• In a week the Wife and I will be traveling to our next international destination.  It's somewhere I've been before - Guatemala.  I intend to post about the upcoming trip later this week.  Stand by.

Another of the old pictures my cousin sent me:

My cousin's sixth birthday.  She is on the right.  My brother is left of her.  I am the three and
a half year old covering his face on the left.  My Mom is standing behind me.
1967, our house, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.

Weekly Ephemera #130

Theme of the week: I do not get it. I just do not understand anything anymore.

• This week started with avoidance.  I avoided watching the inauguration by watching/listening to non-political podcasts and music.  Unfortunately, since I steep myself in news nearly everyday, this reprieve from politics lasted twenty-four hours.
• Took my car for its first service since I bought it.  I drive my car so infrequently that I usually don't hit the mileage maintenance target in a year.  I think I actually walk more in a week than I drive.
• Went in for a teeth cleaning.  This may be one of the few dentist appointments when I didn't have any issues.
• I walked twice a this week.  I skipped my Monday walk due to the single digit temperatures accompanied by negative wind chills temperatures.  I probably could have walked as I know how to properly layer and bundle up for cold weather but I cocooned in podcasts instead.  The two walks I did totaled 24.1 miles (38.8 km).  Next week we're having spring-like weather so I should be able to get three walks in.
• Watch 'The Wild Robot".  It has been nominated, and in many cases won, best animated film rewards.  It's pretty good.  A bit on the saccharine side but definitely a safe place in our current situation.  It reminded me, at least superficially, a bit of the robot in Becky Chambers' Monk & Robot books.
• I am getting an MRI this week to check my prostate.  I think they are being overly cautious but better to be safe I guess.  I wish it wasn't so expensive though.
• My cousin sent me a bunch of family pictures my Aunt had.  I may start posting a few.  Here's one:

"Bruce giving PJ a Pepsi"
Developed January 1975
Picture taken in Guatemala.  Probably taken around Christmas 1974.  PJ was a peekapoo.

Book: Cory Doctorow's "Red Team Blues"

Just like I got my Scalzi book from a Humble Bundle deal, my second book was from a Cory Doctorow Humble Bundle deal.  I've never read any of Doctorow's books but I've listened to him on This Week in Tech (TWiT.tv) and I've read some of his posts on Mastodon (@pluralistic@mamot.fr) and I find him very interesting.  He has gained some nerd notoriety by coining the term Enshittification to explain how internet platforms start out good for the users and evolve to be bad for everyone (essentially).

My first Doctorow book was "Red Team Blues".  This is the first of a trilogy that follows forensic accountant Martin Hench into the depths of dark money movements and cybersecurity.

I enjoyed this book.  It never went too deep into the weeds but it did graze the tops of said weeds a few times which was fine for me.  Is this for everyone?  I'm not sure.  You need some understanding of tech and cybersecurity to follow it at times.  I would call it a nerdy thriller.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  There were a few loose ends that didn't get tied up to my satisfaction but it was well written and I liked Martin Hench.  I will be reading other Doctorow books this year I think.

How I Rate Books

Since I started publishing book reviews on Homer's Travels I've always given some ratings.  It started with just recommended or not.  I eventually moved to Goodreads which uses a five star scale.  Here is what those stars mean to me.

For fiction I basically consider three criteria.  (1) Do I like the story/characters.  (2) Is it well written.  (3) Is there something novel/unique in the story that surprises/delights me.  If these three criteria are met the book gets five stars.  Most books will not meet all three.  If two are met then it will get four stars.  The most common situation is criteria one and two are met but not criteria three.  If it meets criteria one, but misses on criteria two and three, I would likely give it three stars.  If it misses all three, but I am just disappointed, it will get two stars.  If it makes me angry, or I do not finish the book, it will end with one star.

For non-fiction the criteria are similar.  (1) Am I interested in the subject and approach of the book.  (2) Is it well written.  (3) Do I learn something profound and/or am I surprised by what I learn.  Five and four stars are the same as for fiction.  Three stars means I disagree with the premise/argument but it is well written.  One and two stars mean I think it is wrong, written/argued poorly, or makes me angry in some way.

Obviously there is lots of subjectivity in my ratings.  Sometimes I let things slip.  Other times I give them no leaway.  Reading, especially fiction, is always read in the eyes of the reader.

Weekly Ephemera #129

• This was a medical week as I mentioned in this post.  This coming week I have a dentist appointment which I expect to go smoothly as I have no issues with my teeth at the moment - yay!
• The Wife and I went to the REI outlet on Tuesday to get some stuff for the Wife's Camino this summer.  The Wife is looking for shoes that will work with her bunions.  While they didn't have a shoe in her size she did confirm that she should be wearing a wide shoe.
  
  I broke one of my backpack tie down connectors during the Camino section back in 2023.  I finally purchased a replacement and my backpack is back in working order.  If we finish the Camino this summer my backpack will be retired.  It looks like it's been through a lot ... which it has.
• Even though we haven't left for Guatemala yet, we started planning our fall trip.  The trip will include Greece, Albania, Macedonia, and Malta.  We are still working out the details so I will have to post more detailed plans in a later post once things are finalized.
• Due to the doctor's appointments early in the week I only walked twice this week.  I did 21.9 miles (35.2 km).  I am trying to change up my routes going places I haven't walked before or have walked for a long time.  I still don't understand why a 10 mile walk one day feels terribly hard but two days later it feels merely difficult.  I was hoping, over time, these distances would get more consistently easier.  They are not.
  
  I am considering walking Monday when the high temperature will be 9℉ (-12.8℃) with wind chills in the negative double digits.  This would get me out of the house so watching the inauguration would not be a perverse temptation.  Hypothermia or depressing anguish ... thems the choices.
• I watched a couple of shows this week.  The Wife suggested "The Contestant" about a Japanese game show contestant.  It was weird, fascinating, and cringy cruel at times but in the end it was an uplifting story.
  
  As a light palette cleanser I watched the "Goosebumps" series on Disney.  It was aimed at a younger audience but it felt comforting to me.

Testing Update

Warning:  I'm an old man and I'm at the age when talking about my health is becoming more and more common.  This post is such a health post.

This week I went to two doctor's appointments.  The first was my biannual check up/blood draw.  Things didn't go as I'd hoped.  I met a new APRN (nurse practitioner) as my old one had changed jobs.  I like her.  She seems thorough and attentive.  We talked about my medical history, I had blood drawn for testing, and got vaccinated for tetanus (for our trip to Guatemala) and pneumonia.

My blood test results were disappointing.  I'd hoped to get my A1C and blood glucose down to a normal level but they both went up slightly since my tests last May.  It's frustrating when you exercise and watch your diet, things that were effective in the past for me, aren't enough anymore.  So I'm still pre-diabetic.

My lipid numbers (cholesterol) were mixed.  My bad cholesterol was too high (but trending downward) and my good cholesterol was going down (and trending downward).  I've only had 'good' good cholesterol levels once in the last twenty years so that wasn't surprising.  I have gained a little weight and I've noticed my lipid numbers are not as good when I'm heavier.  I am working on the last six or seven pounds but they are struggling to hang on.

The second appointment was with my new urologist.  She is a PA (physician's Assistant) of my previous doctor who also changed jobs last year. We discussed removing the remaining kidney stone I have.  My surgery will be in early March after I get back from our Guatemala trip.  It's outpatient so it should be fairly routine.

The PA is also concerned with my PSA.  While my numbers are in the green range, it turns out that after the prostate surgery I had in 2023, it should have been lower.  So ... I will be getting an MRI later this month and a biopsy will be taken when I get the stone removed.  My last MRI and biopsy taken prior to my surgery were clean so I expect they will still be clean.  Fingers crossed.

Book: John Scalzi's "Kaiju Preservation Society"

I follow John Scalzi on Bluesky (I don't actually 'Follow' him but he is in one of my lists).  I've enjoyed several of his books (the last being nearly six years ago) and I was happy to see the author offer a Humble Bundle of his books for charity.  I jumped at the chance and purchased the bundle.  I'd already read many of the books but, after removing these, I still got ten books for a reasonable cost and a good cause.  So, my first read of the year was John Scalzi's "Kaiju Preservation Society".

Kaiju is the Japanese word for giant monsters.  Think Godzilla.  This book has an interesting explanation of how Kaiju exist and where they come from.  The book is essentially a political intrigue involving rampaging monsters ... and Kaiju.

This book is a palate cleanser.  It's light, funny, and easy to get lost in.  By the third chapter I was laughing out loud, a rarity for me while reading.  Despite dipping its toe into real world politics, it takes you to a world where, with some minor suspension of disbelief, you can have fun with monsters.  It was the right tone for where we are today.

I gave this book four stars out for five on Goodreads.  There were a few things that didn't ring right so it lost a half star.  I look forward to continuing my read through Scalzi's library after a six year pause.

P.S. I should put a post together about how I rate books.  Some people have asked me why, when I like a book so much, I only give it a four out of five.  Maybe soon.