About Rod's word of the day
I have been mostly retired for about the last three years. Unfortunately, I am not doing what I want with my retirement due to the confines of caring for my invalid wife. Still, I am making the best of it. I do not have near as much time in retirement as I thought I would and sometimes wonder where the time goes. A lot of my time goes to blogging. I have blogged for about twelve years, now. My blog, called A Disgruntled Republican, takes a lot of my time. Much of that time is simply devoted to being informed.
One thing I have found in retirement is time to read at a more leisurely pace. I have read National Review most of my adult life, but always was behind on the reading and never took the time to read the "other" parts of the magazine. I would read the news analysis and feature articles, but seldom read the humor column or the book reviews or movie reviews. I don't think I had ever read until recently the "Arts and Manners" section. Now, I have started reading it cover to cover. In addition to National Review, I have started reading other publications from time to time and reading more thoroughly.
Reading at a more leisurely pace, I became aware when I would sometimes come across a word I did not know. In the past, I would just skip the new word and not think about it. A few months ago, I started looking up new words. With voice google on my cell phone it is easy to look them up. Even when I don't pronounce the word correctly, google can usually figure it out.
I almost never come across a word I do not know in the daily newspaper. In National Review, I only occasionally come across a word I do not know in the news analysis and feature articles. I was finding, however, in reading the other parts of the magazine there were quite a few words and cultural references I did not know. I started looking up words I came across that I did not know. At first I was doing it more causally and not looking up every unfamiliar word. Recently, I have become more systematic about it. Any word I cannot define, I am looking up.
After some months of my new policy of looking up unfamiliar words, I decided I wanted a way to help me remember them, so I started this blog. This blog is more for my benefit than to attract readers. I am not doing anything to promote it. If you found it, however, I am pleased to have you.
To be so transparent about my ignorance is humbling. If some of my more educated friends read this, they may feel superior when they see some of the words I did not know. That is okay; I am going to be honest. If you were doing the same, I might know a word you did not know. Maybe not; but maybe. Anyway, if I keep doing this, someday I will be as smart as you, if I live long enough.
One thing I have found in retirement is time to read at a more leisurely pace. I have read National Review most of my adult life, but always was behind on the reading and never took the time to read the "other" parts of the magazine. I would read the news analysis and feature articles, but seldom read the humor column or the book reviews or movie reviews. I don't think I had ever read until recently the "Arts and Manners" section. Now, I have started reading it cover to cover. In addition to National Review, I have started reading other publications from time to time and reading more thoroughly.
Reading at a more leisurely pace, I became aware when I would sometimes come across a word I did not know. In the past, I would just skip the new word and not think about it. A few months ago, I started looking up new words. With voice google on my cell phone it is easy to look them up. Even when I don't pronounce the word correctly, google can usually figure it out.
I almost never come across a word I do not know in the daily newspaper. In National Review, I only occasionally come across a word I do not know in the news analysis and feature articles. I was finding, however, in reading the other parts of the magazine there were quite a few words and cultural references I did not know. I started looking up words I came across that I did not know. At first I was doing it more causally and not looking up every unfamiliar word. Recently, I have become more systematic about it. Any word I cannot define, I am looking up.
After some months of my new policy of looking up unfamiliar words, I decided I wanted a way to help me remember them, so I started this blog. This blog is more for my benefit than to attract readers. I am not doing anything to promote it. If you found it, however, I am pleased to have you.
To be so transparent about my ignorance is humbling. If some of my more educated friends read this, they may feel superior when they see some of the words I did not know. That is okay; I am going to be honest. If you were doing the same, I might know a word you did not know. Maybe not; but maybe. Anyway, if I keep doing this, someday I will be as smart as you, if I live long enough.
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