Weekly Ephemera #152

TV and walking ... That was it.

• I watched "Foundation" season two and part of season three.  I didn't realize there was a season three.  The last three episodes haven't dropped yet but will be available before our month of Apple TV+ expires.  It's not following the books that closely but it is entertaining.
  
  Next I watched "Murderbot" season one.  I liked it, but the episodes were too short and the voice in the main character's head doesn't sound like the one I had in my head when I read the novella.  Obviously this is more of a me problem than a problem with the show. I look forward to the next season.
  
  I needed a break from binging series so I watched "The Gorge".  This movie is cheesy action and it fit the bill.
• This was a very successful walking week.  I walked three times, totaling 30.6 miles (49.25 km).  More importantly, I felt very good during these walks and I wonder if it's the new diabetes medication.

The Wife's Camino - Photos Along The Way

I didn't take many pictures during the second part of the Camino.  I'm sure the Wife took far more than I did.  She shared her pictures on her Bluesky accounts.  I took a few sunrise pictures and pictures of, and inside of, churches.  I took them all on my phone and a few didn't come out, but the ones that did were pretty good.

Here are a few pictures I took along the Way of Saint James.

Early summer poppies along the Way.

A view from the last 'big' hill on the meseta facing west.

The cottonwood fluffy was everywhere and looked like snow in places.

Sunrise ... the figure on the road is the Wife.

The obligatory shadow shot.

The templar castle in Ponferrada.

My pictures really don't do the Camino justice.  I realize now that I took only half as many pictures during the Wife's Camino than I did on my first two.  I also think I took better pictures during the first part of the Wife's Camino than the second.  I was in a different headspace during the second part and didn't look around enough.  I think I wanted to see it through her eyes and her pictures.

You can see all the pictures I took during the Wife's Camino, both in 2023 and 2025, in my 2023 - 2025 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos' album.

Weekly Ephemera #151

The last three weeks have been quiet, and my Weekly Ephemera posts reflect this.  This last week was just as quiet as the last.  I'm OK with this as I know there is some travel coming soon.  Anyway, this is what my week was:

• We have a vole (or possibly a mouse) living in one of our succulent pots.  Every time I water, it jumps out and nearly scares me to death.  Earlier this week, I spread some vole poison in the pot.   Yesterday, when I watered the pot, it jumped out again, and this time I swear I saw six legs.  I'm guessing it was mama vole carrying baby vole. More poison will be going into the pot.  I suspect when it's time to bring the pots in for the winter that succulent pot will be getting dumped out.
• College football has started up again so Saturdays, the Wife will be in the she-shed, enjoying some sports ball.
• My walking streak is continuing.  I walked three times this week, totaling 23.8 miles (38.3 km).  The walk on Wednesday nearly killed me.  Not sure why but I suspect it was a combination of the high humidity and the fact that the sun came out after several days of overcast.  This coming week will have much nicer weather for walking.
• This week we subscribed to Apple TV+.  I have at least five series to catch up on and a couple that I may start.  This week I watched "For All Mankind" season four.  All I can say is I wish this was the timeline I was living in.  I then watched "Severance" season two, which I also liked, though not sure I would like to live in that timeline.
• A while back I promised a Camino pictures post.  I'll try to get that done this week.

Weekly Ephemera #150

• Well, my blood tests were pretty lousy, as I expected they would be.  My A1C and glucose were too high.  My LDL Cholesterol was high, and my  HDL good cholesterol was low.  I've tried my best to lower my numbers by diet and exercise alone but I realize now that it's not enough, and I'm not disciplined enough to make it work.  I met with my NP and I'm starting on a medication to lower my glucose/A1C.  She thought I should be on cholesterol medications as well but I have had issues taking statins in the past so we are going to revisit this in three months.  I guess I've reached that age when I have to get a pill box to keep my medications straight.  *sigh*
• I walked three times this week.  I finally got into my desired distance range walking 23 miles (37.1 km) in total.  Now to push closer to 30 miles per week.
  
  It's been really hot here this summer and the humidity has been terrible.  It only takes ten to twenty minutes to be completely sweat soaked.  I can't wait for Fall to arrive and the temperatures drop below 80℉ (27℃) .
• Our Netflix subscription ended.  I reached episode 682 of "One Piece", which is about halfway through.  I watched season two of "Poker Face" on Peacock.  It reminds me of old-style crime shows like "Columbo", though its writing is a bit hit or miss.  This coming week I will probably be subscribing to Apple TV+ for a month.  I have several series to catch up on there.

Thank You, Old Friend. Time For A Rest.

I bought my black, Hyperlite Southwest backpack in 2016 for my Appalachian Trail (AT) attempt.  Through the three times I walked that trail, the pack performed remarkably.  I carried it again on the Wife's Camino in 2023 and 2025.  In all, I carried it 2,620 miles.  I only had to make three minor repairs – none of them showstoppers.  I could always depend on that pack.

When the Wife's Camino came to an end, I said I would throw my pack away.  The Camino will likely be the last long-distance, multi-day hike, and it will no longer be needed.  But, when I got home, I couldn't find it in me to throw it away.  It is hanging on a hook in a room the Wife and I refer to as the Tornado Room with all my other hiking and camping gear.  I doubt I'll ever be able to let it go; it's been a good friend through the physically hardest days of my life and it deserves a dignified rest.

I asked Google Gemini to compose an Ode to my backpack and I liked how it came out on the first try.  Here it is:

Ode to a Hyperlite Southwest Backpack

My faithful companion, a shadow on my back,

Black as the raven's wing, you never once did crack.

Two thousand miles of Appalachian green,

A canvas for sunrises, the most beautiful I've seen.

You carried my burdens, my dreams, and my fears,

Through seasons of laughter, and a river of tears.

Five hundred more miles on the Spanish road,

You endured every step, and you carried my load.

Patched with tenacity, a testament to time,

A broken buckle fixed, a more successful climb.

Nine years we journeyed, a testament to fate,

Now you hang on the hook, a hero in the great.

My old friend, you've earned your eternal rest, A lifetime of stories etched into your composite fabric. You never complained, you never once did fail, A silent witness to my long and winding trail.

- Composed on my behalf by Google Gemini AI

Book: Yuval Noah Harari's "Nexus"

My tenth book of the year was Yuval Noah Harari's "Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI".  This book was not what I expected.  It ended up being a mix of interesting and irritating.

As a person with an electrical and computer engineering background, I have certain expectations when I hear the words Information Networks.  This book expanded the definition to include religion, politics, and social networks.  This is not a bad thing, as it expanded my view of networks and how they influence information and people.

The irritating thing about this book is the author's ideas on Artificial Intelligence (AI).  You would think, by reading this book, that AI is already equal to human intelligence.  Anyone who uses the current LLM AI soon discovers it is far from being intelligent.  The author almost treats it as some unknowable God.   It is not.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  I gave the book the benefit of the doubt because it did expand my views on networks, even when the AI adoration became a bit much.  I seem to like this author as this is the third book of his that I've read (see the others here).

One Year Gone

My Mom passed away a year ago.  It feels like it's been forever.

Mom and I were never really that close.  When I went to college, and then later moved to California for my job, we grew apart.  While we reconnected a bit during the last couple of years of her life, we still were never that close.  I guess that's why I've found it easy to move on after her passing.  I do miss her every now and then when something reminds me of her, but those occasions are fewer and fewer as time goes by.  

Weekly Ephemera #149

• I had my blood drawn on Friday.  I haven't received my results back yet, so more to come.  I did get my PSA results – they went up slightly but my urologist called them "stable".
• Our Netflix subscription is winding down (we only subscribe a month at a time, twice a year).  I finished "The Sandman" season two and liked it.  The last few days of the subscription will be watching "One Piece".  I am currently around episode six hundred, so only five hundred-plus to go.  "One Piece" has become my veg-out and forget the world show.
• I walked twice this week.  My first walk wasn't that long, but it was in the rain.  Fortunately, it was a light rain with no wind and I had my umbrella.  I tried to push a bit harder this week and managed 15.4 miles (24.7 km).  My plan is to walk three times this week as weather should be cooperative and I have no appointments on my schedule.

Weekly Ephemera #148

• The Wife and I went to see the procession at the Santa Lucia Festival today.  It turned out to be a bit underwhelming.  The food from the stalls did smell good after the procession but we didn't partake.
• One reason I didn't buy any food at the Italian themed festival is that I'm getting blood work done later this week and pasta, bread, and other carb-heavy food would not be helpful.
• I went to see "Fantastic Four: First Steps" in IMAX this wednesday.  I like how Marvel is moving to smaller scale movies and varying the styles and stories.  I enjoyed the movie and can't wait to see what's coming.
• I watched more "One Piece" before starting the second season of "The Sandman".  I like "The Sandman" but it's too bad that the author turned out to be so stupid.
• I walked twice this week for a total of 12.7 miles (20.4 km).  I need to start increasing the length of my walks.  I feel like I'm slacking off.

Book: Dan Simmons' "Hyperion"

I have seen this book in bookstores forever.  I have held it in my hand but never bought it.  Finally, thirty-five years after it was first published, I bought the ebook of Dan Simmons' "Hyperion".  I am very glad I did.

The book follows a group of people going to the planet of Hyperion for a pilgrimage.  As they approach the planet, they tell the stories of why they are going and what their connections to Hyperion is.  These stories are all unique and engaging.

I read this book entirely on the Camino de Santiago, and I couldn't wait to finish my walking and chores each day so I could dive back into it.

I gave this book five stars out of five on Goodreads.  I loved the characters, I loved the world, and I loved the storytelling.  It has been a while since a book engaged me so deeply.