It was kind of a long day today, not in the respect that today contained more minutes or hours than any other day, but in the sense that I started early and ended late. I made it to my office in time for my 9 o'clock appointment, then did a little bit of power-real estate. Then it was off to the board, where I met some colleagues for some photo acknowledgements of their TREPAC investments, and met up with my friend Candy who was presenting a class. Then it was back to the office for a little bit more real estate stuff, then Carrie and I went to visit our friend Steve who is convalescing in the hospital. Our friend Mike was to arrive at 2:30 this afternoon, but his flight was delayed (aren't they all delayed these days?), and he arrived at about 6 o'clock this evening. Got home, gathered up Jody and we all went in to Walburg for dinner. Now home, about to go to bed. This is a picture of Candy and Tami earlier today at the board office.Obnubilate -- Verb. to make cloudy or obscure. "Early street lighting had the disconcerting effect of obnubilating as well as illuminating urban space." Matthew Beaumont, Nightwalking: A Nocturnal History of London, 2015
Did You Know? The meaning of obnubilate becomes clearer when you know that its ancestors are the Latin terms ob- (meaning "in the way") and nubes ("cloud"). The word sounds high-flown, which may be why it often turns up in texts by and about politicians. This has been true for a long time. In fact, when the U.S. Constitution was up for ratification, 18th-century Pennsylvania statesman James Wilson used obnubilate to calm fears that the president would have too much power: "Our first executive magistrate is not obnubilated behind the mysterious obscurity of counselors...He is the dignified, but accountable magistrate of a free and great people."
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