I've been busy living...

I just saw a commerical on the MLB network, and older commercial, against using steroids. In it, a voiceover tells you that steroids are bad for you, and while that's happening, a bunch of sports balls (a football, a baseball, a basketball, what have you) shrink and shrivel up. The announcer then tells you there's a special bad side effect for the boys out there. A classy commercial, but hey, it's a good message. If you use steroids, your balls will shrivel up.

I haven't written in a while, as I've spent the last two weeks being quite sick, if not the flu, something really close to it. High fever, bad, bad cough, congestion, aches and pains, the whole nine yards. I had to leave work early one day, and I had to call out as well, something I hate to do, as I have so much work to do in a day, it's almost impossible to catch up without working late and/or weekends. But I would have just made errors and such had I tried to work, as well as making myself much worse. As it is, with all the rest I've had, my cough is still around, though it's much, much better.

I'm going to start working out again tomorrow, as I've taken the last two weeks off, having no lung capacity, and generally feeling like crud. But tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, and it's a good time to start up again. I've lost ten pounds since the beginning of the year, and look to make a big push over the next forty days, to try and make my mark of thirty pounds by August. I'm a third of the way there, but it's only going to get harder.

Usually for Lent, I give up a lot of stuff, like a good Catholic (which I am by no means). But I like the idea of Lent, the sacrifice of things you like and enjoy, to show your understanding of the sacrifices others (mainly Jesus) made for you. Also, I like the triumph of my will over my desires (another strange thing I'm proud of, for that blog post that will always be teased).

So what this year? Usually I give up booze, but with my brother owning a bar, I'm not doing that this year. I'm already not eating junk food, so maybe dessert? Pizza again? Perhaps. I'm giving up ordering in dinner, which will save me money as well, though it'll make dinner boring, as I don't really make dinner all that much. Of course, I could just cook more. Only time will tell.

I've been watching a lot of the MLB network, which is just a great channel, as baseball is everything about America, not only good, not just bad, but everything. The triumph, the desire, the mythos...it's not just the National Pasttime because of it's popularity, it's...well, it's more than that. And thus, my next blog post is born, as I really want to take the time to explain why this sport, that I spent most of developing years, my youth, not paying much attention to at all, has so enraptured my thoughts as an adult.

So there's a bunch of random thoughts and such. I have to say, the last two weeks have been tough ones, and not particularly good over all, but nevertheless, I'm hopeful for the future. But then again, I always am.

Free Will?

I finished reading a rather good book last week, enititled 13 Things That Don't Make Sense. It's a book describing 13 science conundrums, things that modern science hasn't figured out or can't explain. It was entertaining, and informative, without getting bogged down in too many science details that would confuse the casual reader.

I just had one problem with the book, and that is it's chapter on Free Will. The central conceit of the chapter is that ask any human, and they'll say they have free will; it's a central tenant, not only religion-wise, but society wise, of what seperates us from other creatures, what makes us sentient. However, says the chapter, science seems to have proven that free will doesn't exist.

The book goes on to give examples of how, using magnetic waves, or electric currents applied to the brain, your body could be made to move seemingly of it's own accord, even if you try and stop it from happening. This, apparently, is something akin to what happens to you if you have Parkinson's disease.

This is disturbing, undoubtedly, but the problem is, this isn't a question of free will. Free will could be defined many ways, certainly, and those definitions could clearly be split by semantics, but having a scientist perform a procedure on your brain to get you to move your arm isn't over-riding your free will, it's not making you choose to move your arm. This is akin to a bully grabbing your arm and making you slap yourself with it. Annoying, yes, but your free will allows you to make the choice not to steal a gun and shoot that bully.

The problem with free will and science is that free will is a concept more suited to philosophers, and less to people who study empiric data. It's not something that can be measured, or even really proven. It's a completely subjective motivation, because it's a term used to describe the impetus for things that take place completely inside your head.

Anyways, I just thought that was interesting. Thoughts on free will, or the lack thereof?


Oh, and next time: weird things that I'm proud of!