Goodbye, California

 

My wife and I are separating after 33 years. Harsh but true. We had a good run. I blame the current political climate, but the official reason is "irreconcilable differences." 

I have decided to "retire" to Wisconsin to write a book about my late father: a deeper dive into my "Revisiting Highway 61" series already blogged here (see the link). My brother and I are the only witnesses left to my father's incredible and early interest in scuba diving and his pioneering underwater photography. I don't expect to make any money off of this -- it's just a strong desire of mine -- it's something I feel I must do and do well. I'm giving myself 6 months. I'm also going to start an online business selling what I make. California is terrible place to start a business in case you haven't heard.

That photo was taken recently aboard a rented sailboat on Lake Pepin which is a natural feature of the Mississippi River. After the outing I saw another boat in the marina:

It was getting dark and the photo is a bit grainy but the other boat's name was πνεύμα. I instantly recognized the word "pneuma," but I guessed wrongly that it meant "wind." It actually means "spirit" which is an inspired name for a sailboat. Inspired in the classical sense. 

Word Verifications: Isotope and Allotrope

wv = "isotope": noun. The prefix iso is obvious and means the same in Greek.  Topos as in topography has the meaning of place. The word isotope was coined by a Greek-schooled physician named Margaret Todd to convey the notion of at the same place in the Periodic Table. Thus only chemical species with different numbers of protons get separate seats at the Table. Elements having different numbers of neutrons must share the same seat. This is also true for radioisotopes.

wv =  "allotrope": noun:  The prefix allo is related to the Greek allos meaning other. Trope is a confusing root and in my opinion is a vague word having several different meanings. The combination allotrope means a structurally different form of the same element ("Graphite and diamond are allotropes of carbon"). 

Phosphorus and especially sulfur are allotrope-rich. The concept of allotrope is akin to an elemental alias. Sulfur has several different aliases or allotropes. Yes, I like that.