Riverwalk Gym @ the Heritage Hotel, Southbury, CT. Wednesday, mid-day, January 8. I had just finished my treadmill walk at a blistering 4.0 pace listening to the Rolling Stones \u201cDon\u2019t Get Angry With Me\u201d and Fritz and the Tantrums \u201cHand Clap\u201d &c, when it was time to enjoy the Riverwalk\u2019s hot tub, with its Jacuzzi. I placed the jet strategically on my right knee. On most days, my session in the warming hot of the Jacuzzi is solo. What I prefer. But, on occasion I am joined by a house guest staying at the Heritage Hotel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I do my best to avoid interactions with others who I don\u2019t know. But then there are the unforeseen encounters that become memorable. For example, how could I ignore this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, do you like dinosaurs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fellah could have asked, \u201cWhat do you love about quantum physics?\u201d or \u201cIsn\u2019t the breeding pattern of the rose aphid fascinating?\u201d or \u201cDo you like goat cheese?\u201d But dinosaurs? He was worth a sideway glance. Which he then took as an invitation to proceed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m from Pocatello, Idaho and I love dinosaurs. Have since I was a kid. The Natural History Museum of Pocatello has some cool stuff on Ice Age Mammals; but I\u2019m a Dinosaur guy first an\u2019 foremost. Ya\u2019 know how there are guys who are crazy baseball fans an\u2019 they make it a thing to go to every baseball spring training site an\u2019 then follow it up with taking in a ball game at each big league stadiums? Well, I\u2019m like that with dinosaurs. And I\u2019ve set my mind to visit the Museums of Natural History of the world! I\u2019ve already been to nearly two dozen museums including the Museum of Natural History of L.A. County which has a display of a juvenile, a sub-adult, and an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex. But the best T-Rex by far is at the Chicago Field Museum. They named her Sue! Ya know I saw several posts on Facebook of this couple who own 3 little monkeys that they have trained to do all manner of stuff like fetching bowls from the pantry for their snack. Stuff like that. And these little monkeys are fully dressed in diapers an\u2019 cute dresses or pants. And when I think of Sue the T-Rex I don\u2019t think of her in a plaid lumberjack flannel shirt from L.L. Bean; but in a floral smock with capped sleeves, leggings and a pedicure. Yeah, I\u2019ve been to museums all over the place. Been to Natural History in New York, an\u2019 Smithsonian in D.C. I am here in Connecticut to visit Yale\u2019s Peabody Museum in New Haven. They have just renovated their Great Dinosaur Hall. Originally they had the wrong head on their Brontosaurus, an\u2019 had its huge tail dragging on the ground. But they got that fixed up now. And on the ground at its tail end is the best part of the display — it\u2019s a Smart Car<\/em>-sized corprolite<\/em>! Do ya know what that is? It\u2019s fossilized dino poop! I\u2019m not kidding! Too bad we can\u2019t retrofit dinosaurs with diapers! They learn alot from studying corprolites, like what type of food did the dino eat an\u2019 whether it was a meat eater like a T-Rex, or a plant eater like a Triceratops. Triceratops is my favorite Dinosaur. And from analyzing a Triceratops corprolite they\u2019ve identified a plant from the Cretaceous period that produces a Sulphur compound called mercaptan. And get this; it\u2019s the same compound in asparagus that makes our pee stink! Can you imagine that when a Triceratops had to take a piss, which in all likelihood could fill a good sized hot tub\u2026 man, the smell would clear the forest! Well, as I say\u2026 I am a Dinosaur guy, first an\u2019 foremost!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can see that. Diapers on Dinosaurs? You may be onto something.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Riverwalk Gym @ the Heritage Hotel, Southbury, CT. Wednesday, mid-day, January 8. I had just finished my treadmill walk at a blistering 4.0 pace listening to the Rolling Stones \u201cDon\u2019t Get Angry With Me\u201d and Fritz and the Tantrums \u201cHand … Continue reading