the month in snapshots

 

the year in books [XI]

The twelfth installment of 2021's 'Year in Books' is a collection of historical fiction of the Second World War. P.T. Deutermann leads the pack with three books from his Pacific Series: Pacific Glory, The Nugget, and Sentinels of Fire were all 5-star reads. Deutermann pictures naval and aerial combat in the Pacific Theater with exquisite and poignant ease. Jeff Shaara's To Wake the Giant is the first in his new World War Two series and covers the attack on Pearl Harbor. Kevin Miller's excellent The Silver Waterfall captures the drama and destruction of Torpedo Eight at the Battle of Midway. Edward L. Beach's Run Silent, Run Deep is the prime historical novel of Pacific submarine warfare. Given that he served in submarines during the Pacific Theater, his novel captures the terror in a way only someone who's been there can do. I look forward to reading more of Deutermann's series next year, along with Shaara's newly-released novel of the Battle of Midway. 

the year in books [X]

The next gauntlet in my 2021 Reading Queue is a series of western novels. I sure do love American westerns, particularly in the summer and autumn. Whenever I read a western, I make sure to wear my cowboy boots as much as possible (even though they make my aging knees hurt like hell), and I eat a lot of chili, corn mush, and beans to get into that western atmosphere (oh, and I forgot to mention grits: lots and lots of grits). This year's first six westerns are a spattering of authors. Craig Johnson, author of the infamous Longmire Mysteries, takes the lead with three novels. The Longmire novels are great, and every time I read them I can't help but give a nod to the casting department of the Longmire TV show. They really nailed the casting, and I can't read the novels without picturing the actors in their respective roles. Naomi's namesake Loren D. Estleman wrote another great yarn in Wild Justice, and William and J.A. Johnstone's A Good Day for a Massacre was a surprisingly good read. With Johnstone's books you're never guaranteed a good read; some are a sludge, some I can't even finish, and some - like this one - are solid reads. The last western in this group is Larry McMurtry's Boone's Lick. McMurtry is a modern-day Louis La'Amour (sp?), and his westerns always pack a punch. 

the reformation [2/2]

The last time I posted about my physical 'reformation,' I was at 173# and shooting for 145# by the end of December. Shortly after that post, covid-19 ran rampant through my family. The girls weathered it just fine - the worst Naomi and Maggie had was a slight fever one day and some sniffles - but Ash and I were a different story. We didn't have any of the 'fearful' covid-19 symptoms, with difficulty breathing or anything like that, but we were physically wiped out for about two weeks. Compounding the physical exhaustion was a mental fatigue or brain fog unlike anything I've ever experienced. Those Chinese sure make weird sicknesses! 

\All this to say, perhaps the biggest aftereffect of covid-19 was that for months afterwards, I was plagued with muscular exhaustion. My workouts were reduced to about a third of what they were before the sickness, and as a result I began losing muscle and putting on weight. By mid-summer I was back up to 180#. Thankfully over the past six weeks, I've been regaining my strength and endurance. It's been an uphill battle, but - barring any unforeseen circumstances - it seems I'm out of the woods. I've begun setting new personal records, am enjoying hour-long grueling workouts once more, and am generally feeling fit, healthy, and energetic. I've added a trap bar to my workout regimen, so now I'm not just confined to dumbbells, bodyweight exercises, and handle-bands. When you work out from home and don't have the time to physically go to a gym, you've gotta slowly accumulate your equipment. My ambition over the next few years is to get a rowing machine and a bench. 

My original goal of 145# by Christmas just isn't realistic anymore, given the covid-19 sickness and the fallout. I've scrapped that goal and replaced it with a realistic goal of 160# (though I wouldn't mind hitting 156# and being no longer 'overweight'). I'm keeping my daily caloric intake around 1600 calories; it's a very slight caloric deficit, but I don't want to go too low because I'm working on building muscle at the same time. I'm not a big fan of the binging and cutting cycles, so I'm embracing the 'slow and steady wins the race' technique. And since I won't be cutting this autumn or winter, I'll have enough of a caloric window to enjoy some of my favorite of Ashley's homemade meals: meatloaf, potato soup, homemade bread, pork chops and apples, and on and on. Autumn and winter is definitely when she pulls no punches in treating me to delicious homecooked meals. 

Dino of the Week: Sinosaurus

Type Species: Sinosaurus sinensis

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia – Theropoda – Tetanurae

Time Period: Early Jurassic

Location: China

Diet: Carnivore

The medium-sized predatory theropod Sinosaurus lived 201-190 million years ago during the Hettangian and Sinemurian stages of Early Jurassic southern China. It bore a striking resemblance to the North American Dilophosaurus: it could grow up to eighteen feet in length, and both Sinosaurus and Dilophosaurus had dual crests atop their skulls. Sinosaurus is the only ‘dilophosaurid’ known from a complete braincase. Sinosaurus’ skull had a deep notch between the premaxilla and maxilla (bones of the upper jaw), which scientists speculate was used to house jaw muscles; if so, this meant that Sinosaurus had a terribly ferocious bite force. Some paleontologists have speculated that the premaxilla was covered in a narrow, hooked beak used to puncture and tear into the flesh of its prey. The function of the dual crest has been debated, as is the case with all dilophosaurids. Because it was relatively flimsy and would break in heated combat, it most likely played a role of sexual display or species recognition (though one scientist speculated, in the case of Sinosaurus, that it was used to ‘prop open’ the prey’s abdominal cavity while the carnivore rooted around). Sinosaurus’ feet were shaped like those of modern vultures and may have been used to help it feed on large-bodied sauropodomorphs. 

Dino of the Week: Shuangbaisaurus

Type Species: Shuangbaisaurus anlongbaoensis

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda

Time Period: Early Jurassic

Location: China

Diet: Carnivore

Shuangbaisaurus was a theropod dinosaur from Early Jurassic China who’s become famous for the pair of thin, midline crests on its skull that extended backwards over its eyes. Shuangbaisaurus is one of several Jurassic theropods known to certainly have head crests; such crests have been positively found upon such Early Jurassic theropods as Dilophosaurus (from North America), Cryolophosaurus (from Antarctica), Sinosaurus (from China), and at least one species of Early Jurassic Coelophysis (from North America).  Other theropods such as Liliensternus of the Late Triassic, Dracovenator from Early Jurassic, and Lophostropheus from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic are assumed to have head crests because of skull similarities to the known crested theropods (such as mysterious bumps and pitting on parts of the skull). The purpose of the crests are unknown, but most believe they served as sexual displays to attract mates or intimidate rivals, or as instances of species recognition. Though some scientists believe Shaungbaisaurus is none other than its Chinese contemporary Sinosaurus, the skull crests on the two differ (Sinosaurus’ crest doesn’t extend over the eyes), so most paleontologists believe them to be different genera rather than two species of the same kind of dinosaur.

Shaungbaisaurus’ length is unknown, as its known only from skull fragments, but its head stretched just under two feet long and robustly designed. This has led researchers to argue that it was a medium-sized theropod who could take down large prey. Its environment would’ve been populated by early ornithischians, numerous crocodylomorphs, turtles and amphibians, and early mammals and their relatives. The largest creatures of its habitat were the sauropodomorphs, such as the early sauropod Chinshakiangosaurus and the prosauropods Lufengosaurus, Yimenosaurus, and Yunnanosaurus. It’s likely it hunted sauropodomorphs in its Early Jurassic environment. 

Dino of the Week: Panguraptor

Type Species: Panguraptor lufengensis

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda - Coelophysoidea - Coelophysidae

Time Period: Early Jurassic

Location: China

Diet: Carnivore

Panguraptor – whose name means ‘Chinese plunderer’ – was a coelophysoid theropod from Early Jurassic China. Its remains were found in the Lufeng Formation, which captures snapshots of an alluvial plain of sandstone and mudstone. This was the first coelophysoid dinosaur found on the Asian continent. Being small, it was nowhere near the top of the food chain: its environment was dominated by crocodylomorph predators and the much larger, eighteen-foot theropod Sinosaurus. While Sinosaurus likely preyed upon sauropodomorphs of the area, or even upon smaller ornithischians, Panguraptor likely hunted small animals like lizards and mammals. Undoubtedly it would’ve been an optimistic scavenger, ransacking the bloated corpses left behind by a satisfied Sinosaurus.

Dino of the Week: Pegomastax

Type Species: Pegomastax africana

Classification: Dinosauria - Ornithischia - Heterodontosauridae

Time Period: Early Jurassic

Location: South Africa

Diet: Opportunistic Omnivore

Pegomastax lived in Early Jurassic South Africa between 200 to 190 million years ago. This creature was much smaller than other heterodontosaurs of the environment, such as Heterodontosaurus and Lesothosaurus. While the latter dinosaurs reached between four and six feet, Pegomastax measured just under two feet head-to-tail. The parrot-like Pegomastax had a robust lower jaw with a short beak and an enlarged canine-like tooth at the beginning of the lower jaw’s tooth row. This canine-like tooth may have been a defensive weapon, or it may have been used to dig for roots and shrubs. 

Pegomastax had thin, porcupine-like spikes that sprouted over its body. These could’ve been used as a defensive function, like porcupines, or to make the creature unappealing to predators. Or, perhaps, they were used to make it look bigger – it was a little squirt, after all, who weighed less than an average housecat – in order to intimidate rivals or predators. Another theory is that they were used for sexual display to attract mates. World-renowned paleontologist Paul Sereno described Pegomastax as a ‘nimble two-legged porcupine,’ adding, ‘I think the bristles would’ve made it look at least a little bigger than it was – perhaps they could poke out more strongly when excited… [Its] main defense would be the speed of escape. These were very fast long-legged critters. They could inflict a nipping bite if cornered, using the fangs much like a peccary or fanged deer.’