Roget's Thesaurus & Other Dinosaurs

According to many sources, today is Thesaurus Day, an unofficial holiday commemorating the birthday of Peter Mark Roget, best known for Roget's Thesaurus. I still have a battered, dog-eared hard copy of Roget's aboard … 1977 pub date. I knew you'd be impressed. We don't always have internet and I never know when I'll need just the right word and Roget's is chockablock full of them. I admit, however, that having a hard copy of any book aboard makes it a dinosaur..

When we have internet, I do use thesaurus.com and love it, but on the boat, we do not have the luxury of staying on-line all the time … nor even keeping our laptops plugged in and on continuously for that matter. I use an off-line dictionary/thesaurus, Artha, on occasion, but I find pulling the thesaurus from the bookshelf and thumbing through the pages is just as easy and probably more satisfying.

Some thesaurus trivia for you (because you know how I am). The word thesaurus comes from the Greek word, thesauros, meaning treasure or storehouse. First published in 1852 with 15,000 words, Roget's is still one of the most widely used reference books in the English language around the world. Since 1852, the book has never gone out of publication. It is believed that Roget worked on making word lists as a way to combat depression and mental illness, much like Word Find and crossword puzzles are encouraged to ward off (or at least delay) the onset of dementia

Roget is also known for inventing the log slide rule in 1814. Talk about dinosaurs! Just as an aside, I asked David if he'd still be able to use a slide rule and he said “Of course, I would. It's easy!” Anyone out there remember taking a trig class in high school and having to figure out how to use a slide rule? Not one of my favorite memories. I'll stick with the thesaurus. By the way, when I located this slide rule pic on Wikopedia Commons, it's listed as an “artifact”.

The topic of dinosaurs aboard, however, stirred up a conversation with the captain. We started listing techno-dinosaurs like dial telephones, pay phones, dial-up internet, tube tvs and typewriters. Then there were those we think are near extinction like landline phones, fax machines, telephone books, travel agents, hard copy newspapers and magazines and brick and mortar bookstores. We kind of mourn the fact that kids no longer have to learn cursive writing nor the multiplication tables nor how to tell time on an analog clock or count back change. Are we sounding like old curmudgeons?

We wondered just how many items we might have aboard that are extinct or on the verge. Our paper charts, for sure, though we find ourselves relying on them less and less. We've still got CDs and DVDs aboard, too. Our chartplotter (2008) requires us to turn knobs and dials instead of using a touchscreen. Yikes … nine years old and a dinosaur already.

Don't get us wrong. We really do try to embrace new technology. ATMs, GPSs, Wifi and on-line banking allow us to live the life we lead pretty-much hassle-free. Amazon Prime, now that we're back in the USA, has been a godsend.

Yet technological advances are coming so fast and furiously and there are so many things out there that seem superfluous, we have to sit back and wonder if we need all the extra gear, aka “stuff”, that's available and we're encouraged to buy. There's something to be said for a simpler life with fewer toys and a bit more expended effort. Perhaps, we're dinosaurs?

New Year's Resolutions 2017

I just looked back at my 2016 New Year's Resolutions and 2015, and 2014, and 2013. They're all suspiciously similar which means I rarely keep my resolutions. So … why make them? Well, for one thing it forces me to decide what self-improving aspects of my life are important and even if I don't actually accomplish them, I'm at least cognizant of them.

I'm pleased to report that I did manage one important resolution this year. I ate healthier and lost weight and now weigh much closer to my “ideal” body weight (whatever that really is), have lost two full sizes in jeans (very important) and I do not qualify as obese using the AHA website scale (what a relief!).

No secret diet … I've been eating less carbs which means I've pretty much eliminated junk food and sweets (but not wine!). I also bought a Fitbit last June and have used it fairly religiously (until this holiday season). I've found it to be an excellent incentive for walking and exercise.

On the other hand … I did NOT finish writing a book. I've made absolutely NO progress on the new website. We've actually reduced the daily blog to 3x per week instead of daily, mostly because we didn't do as much sailing/traveling this past year. And as for being kinder, gentler and better-natured … man, this is the hardest one of all. David is the patient, kind, gentle one and I need to counter-balance him, I think.

Nevertheless, looking ahead at 2017, I resolve to ...

1. Finish writing a freakin' book, for heaven sakes!
2. Maintain a healthy diet and exercise
3. Spend less and enjoy more
4. Stay in better touch with friends
5. Be kinder, more patient, less judgmental (maybe impossible, but worth another try)
6. Learn something new … perhaps #5 above??

I encouraged David to make his resolutions and share them, but no dice. The Captain doesn't resolve!

So … did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Will you keep them?

Remember, January 17th is Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day, so there's still plenty of time.

Hunting for Herons - Chesapeake, VA

We originally saw the decorated, much celebrated Chicago cows in … well, Chicago, of course. That was eons ago and I never snapped a photo. In fact, there weren't digital cameras available then now that I think about it, nor phones that took photos. We thought the painted cows were cool, but hey, it was Chicago, what would you expect? Then we found painted lobster statues in Rockland, Maine. Well over a decade ago, we found a school of mermaids in Norfolk, Virginia. There were much adorned giant-sized boots in Wyoming, colorful buffalos in South Dakota and classy catamounts in Vermont. The list went on and in each place, we appreciated the local color.

Well, now we're in Chesapeake, VA and it's blue herons that have stolen the show and are popping up all over town. The work of local artists makes each blue heron sculpture unique. Each proud-looking, cold-cast bronze sculpture stands 6' tall. The Blue Heron Project is a Chesapeake City community initiative that adorns the city with public art in the form of its icon, the blue heron. It not only beautifies the city, but its ambitious goal is to raise $1 million for education.

We're limited by where our feet will take us, but we've found at least a half dozen within a few miles of the marina and it's been well worth the walk.

The blue heron seems to be an appropriate icon choice for Chesapeake City. We've seen blue herons a-plenty on our morning walks along the Elizabeth River.

Even the local weather vanes tout this celebrated avian fellow.

Evidently there are many more locally decorated icons in the Chesapeake Bay area … the mermaids we spoke of in Norfolk, but also pigs in Smithfield, horses in the Outer Banks and dolphins in Virginia Beach, to name a few. We'll be on the look-out for more celebrated icons in our travels.