Book: Robert M. Sapolsky's "Determined: A Science Of Life Without Free Will"

The latest read in my very slow progression through my reading list is Robert M. Sapolsky's "Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will".  The book explores the concept of Free Will and determinism.

Sapolsky comes from the school of thought that Free Will does not exist.  Basically, since everything we do and every decision we make are influenced/determined by history and events beyond our control, we cannot have Free Will.

Half of the book covers the arguments for the existence of Free Will and basically shoots each one down.  The second half of the book touches on how a world with no Free Will would work.  For example, Should you punish a person for doing a crime if he had no real choice but to do it?  Would a world where no one thinks they have Free Will be chaotic?

The book is very interesting since I lean towards agreeing with Sapolsky even though, frankly, I still live as though I do have Free Will.

I gave the book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  It's well written, though a bit repetitive at times, and I tended to agree with the author.

Weekly Ephemera #95

• The bathroom is ... almost finished.  In a week our tile guy will be putting down the tile floor.  After that the bathroom folks will be back to install the toilet and finish a few minor things.  If all goes well it should be done by the end of the month.  The Wife has started to take showers in the new, larger shower.  I am still using the guest shower.  I want to wait for it to be completely done before I use it.  Of course this could change at any time.
• Work on our sprinkler system was completed this week before the rain moved in.  A blockage was bypassed and a couple sprinkler heads were relocated.  So far this spring has been wet and we have had no need for the sprinkler.  This will change soon enough.
• I watched "Fallout" on Prime.  It was pretty good for a video game adaptation.  This weekend we reupped our Paramount+ subscription and I had started to work my way through the second season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds".  It's some of the best 'new' Trek.  (New Trek is all Trek television starting with "Star Trek: Discovery".)
• I didn't hike this week.  I just didn't.

Music: Joe Satriani w/ Steve Vai at The Astro

On Sunday I went to The Astro, a relatively new music venue just five minutes from our home.  I was there to see Joe Satriani, a guitarist introduced to me by one of my coworkers, who I used to listen to back in the 90s.  It brought back a lot of memories.

The warm up was Steve Vai.  Vai, at the age of twelve or thirteen, knocked on Joe Satriani's door and asked him to teach him how to play guitar.  I'd never heard him play and his skill on the guitar was incredible.

Steve Vai playing a three neck guitar.

Vai's style is a bit chaotic, jamming, and improvisational.  Some people like this style.  I'm not a big fan but I have to acknowledge the skill he displayed.

Joe Satriani and his band.

Joe Satriani came on and I immediately recognized his style and I was pulled back to time when I listened to his CDs and rocked out.  His style is more 'orderly' and is infused with virtuoso guitar play. I really enjoyed it.

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai side by side jamming on their guitars.

Near the end Steve Vai joined Satriani on stage to play together and it was mind blowing.  They really did compliment each other and Satriani brought some order to vai's playing.  The only rough spot was when they did two covers - "You really got me" by the Kinks and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.  The keyboardist sang the lyrics and he didn't quite get there vocally.  The guitar playing was incredible on both though.

This was my first concert in The Astro which opened up a year ago.  It's a medium sized venue with an attached outdoor amphitheater.  There were a few quirks like being able to enter a row of seats from only one end instead of both and only some of the seats are padded theater style seats with the rest being unpadded folding chairs.   A little more interior design planning would have been helpful.

Photos of the concert can be found in my "2024-04-28 Joe Satriani w/ Steve Vai, The Astro, La Vista, NE" Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #94

• This week was dominated by the start of our bathroom remodel. The workers came in Monday to demolish the existing bathroom, the drywallers came in on Tuesday and Wednesday, the painter showed up on Thursday, and the installers started on Friday.  Most of the work will be done early this coming week.  A week later our tile guy will come in to tile the floor.  After that's done the plumber will come in to install the toilet.  So, by the end of May we should be using our new bathroom.  Until the bathroom is finished we are sleeping in our guest bedroom and using our guest bathroom both of which feel a bit cramped.  I can't wait for it to all be over.
• On Friday we spent our time looking out the window at the weather and watching the progress of the storm on TV.  We received nearly 2 inches (5 cm) of rain and a mix of pea-sized to quarter-sized hail.  Fortunately for us, we were missed by the tennis ball sized hail and the tornados that did so much damage northwest of Omaha and in Iowa.
• I did not walk this week as I was babysitting the bathroom remodelers.
• I watched "Peacemaker" on Max.  It was a fun comic book romp.  I also watched the "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" movie.  While I respect her talent and business acumen, I have to admit that most of the music sounded the same to me.  It didn't help that I recognized only one song.  Having said this, the concert looked like an awesome experience for the Swifties.
• Speaking of concerts, tonight I am going to a concert.  I will post more about that later this week.

Weekly Ephemera #93

• I had my post-surgery check with my doctor.  Everything is going well.  There is evidence of another kidney stone and I will be getting a CT scan in October to see if it is staying put.
• The Wife and I went to Minneapolis at the end of the week.  We visited with the MoH and the BM  and attended a charity gala for the Godson's school.
  
  We arrived and in Minneapolis Thursday evening and, like we always do, we talked until 2:00am Friday morning.  We slept in a bit, went out for a very good brunch, before we napped before the gala.  We got all dressed up and attended the school gala and had a fun time.  The exceeded their fund raising goals and, I believe, broke a new record.  After the gala we stayed up talking until 3:15am.
  
  We stopped by the Godson's to see his family, new house, and new puppy.  The puppy is a rascal.
• I walked 11 miles (18 km) last week.  Not sure if I will be walking or not this week.
• This week is a busy one.  We got the air conditioner checked out and serviced last week.  This week we are getting our bathroom remodeled starting Monday (it will take seven business days to finish).  On Tuesday we are having the sprinkler guys showing up to run some new pipe to bypass a suspected leak/blockage in our backyard sprinkler system.

Weekly Ephemera #92

• Travel season is approaching and we started money in motion in preparation for two adventures later this year.
  
  The first is a return to Spain for the second part of the Wife's Camino.  I purchased tickets to Madrid, train tickets from Madrid to Burgos (where we ended the first part of her Camino), and reserved a room near the Cathedral.  We will be flying the middle of June and returning sometime the first week of July.
  
  The second is a trip to the United Kingdom between mid September and early October.  We met with our travel agent and she made most of the flight, train, and hotel reservations.  The ones she couldn't do the Wife did.  During this trip we will be meeting with our friends we met on the Amazon - they visited us last year for the crane migration - and we will see the sights in England, Wales, and the southern part of Scotland.  (The Northern parts will have to be done on another trip due to time and money constraints.)  If the the gods of luck and fortune smile on us we will be attending a Wrexham game but it's a long shot now that they moved up a league and are more popular than ever.
• On Thursday and Saturday the sprinkler people came to fix some issues in our aging inground sprinkler system.  A third visit will be needed to bypass a suspected blockage in one of the sprinkler zones.  We turned on the sprinklers this weekend due the hot weather - twenty-some degrees Fahrenheit above normal for three days - we are having at the moment.  We even turned on the air conditioner though the temperatures are going back down to normal which means switching back to heat.  Both of these things are a few weeks earlier than 'normal'.
• I finished "True Detective" this week.  Liked all four seasons though seasons one and four are the best I think.  Now to look for something else to watch.

Color or Black & White - Seen on one of my walks.

• I walked twice this week.  My hardest hurdle to jump is my laziness.  The two hikes I did totaled 13 miles (21 km).
• Next week we are going to Minneapolis for the Godson's schools charity gala.  The ol' suit will have to be dusted off.

Weekly Ephemera #91

• The Wife got me on April Fools day.  She said she was having second thoughts about redoing the bathroom and she wanted me to cancel the job with the contractor.  I totally fell for it as you could tell by the hybrid confused and panicked face I made.
• We went to our local home improvement store and bought the tile, toilet mechanisms, lights, and mirrors for our bathroom remodel - the one we are not canceling.
• Mom had several doctors appointments ... most of them not really necessary but required by a doctor or insurance company policy.
• We went to see Peter Frampton on Wednesday as I posted about here.
• On Thursday night we went to see the Omaha Supernovas, our local women's pro volleyball team.  We got tickets from one of the Wife's friends and we had a good time seeing them win against the Columbus, OH Fury three sets to one.  A few crappy pictures can be seen in my 2024-04-04 Supernovas Volleyball Google Photos album.
  
  

  

  The Supernovas are in white and blue.

• I did not walk this week due to all the appointments this week.  I had an opportunity to walk on Wednesday but instead I went down to the she-shed and took a nap.  I expected it to last an hour but I woke up nearly three hours later.  I guess I was tired.

Music: Peter Frampton at the Orpheum Theater

On Wednesday the Wife and I went to our second concert of the year.  Like our first (The Eagles) this one was also someone we'd seen before, Peter Frampton.   We saw him perform back in 2013 at the Stir Cove.

There was no warmup and the show started with Peter Frampton coming on stage with a cane.  He sat done on a swivel chair and started an awesome show.  As a matter of fact everyone in the band were sitting down during the performance.  A couple times he mentioned he would be playing as long as it would let him.  It turns out he has Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) a form of non-fatal ALS.  Over time IBM suffered lose control of their legs, Arma, and hands.  It turns out Frampton is a special case because he still has control of his fingers.

Peter Frampton and his band.

The show was nearly three hours long and he covered a lot of his music.  He stopped a few times to talk to the audience and to give out signed copies of records (including an IBM sufferer in a wheelchair in the audience).  He was in good spirits and in good form.  His guitar skills have not diminished as far as I could tell.

His cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", which he performed both this and the other time we saw him, was amazing.

It was a great time, we had great seats, and I'm glad we went.

Photos can be found in my "2024-04-03 Peter Frampton, Orpheum Theater, Omaha, NE" Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #90

 Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates!

• 

  A cute minion seen during
  one of my walks.

  We celebrated Easter first at the Niece's house near Sioux City and second at my Mom's house.  It was a nice time at both dinners and we now have full bellies.
• We had a lawn service over to fix a leaking backflow valve.  Unfortunately this small repair is going to turn into a large replacement of valves and manifolds next month.  When it rains it pours being a homeowner.
• I started watching "True Detective" this week.  The first season was interesting in a strange way.  The second season (each season is an independent storyline) is not as weird but still interesting.  There are four seasons.
• I hiked three times this week and pushed my distance to the longest since the Wife's Camino last May,  I walked 29.4 miles (47.3 km) over the three walks.  My legs felt the extra distance but it felt good getting out and pushing it.

Weekly Ephemera #89

• On Tuesday the Wife and I met with our travel agent to go over our fall trip to England and Wales.  Originally we were going to include Scotland but after going over the transportation options our agent pointed out Scotland could be three to four weeks on its own.  Since we wanted to limit it to only three to four weeks for the whole trip we decided to postpone Scotland, possibly combining it with Ireland.
  
  For those who are curious, the only thing we are interested in doing in Wales is going to see a Wrexham Match.  If you are asking why take some time to watch "Welcome to Wrexham".
• I walked three times this week which was what I was hoping to do.  I managed a respectable 20.3 miles (32.7 km).  My individual hikes are still too short and increasing the distance is my new goal.
• I watched "Harley Quinn" this week.  It's a raunchy, irreverent, and very funny animated series centered on a Batman Villain. Not recommended for young children.  I'm enjoying it.  I have one more season to go.
• The Wife, after returning from the Big East basketball tournament on Sunday has been submerged fully in the Madness of March.  It's been quiet upstairs ... and intermittently noisy in the She-Shed.