You’d think with all the technology taking over our lives we would understand more about our surroundings and stumble over them less. But since we are all looking down at some device most of the time, with earbuds keeping out all distracting sounds of humanity, it’s little wonder we don’t crash a tea party or fall down a rabbit hole every so often. I suppose an even bigger distraction now are cyber security threats that could compromise our way of living, zap the national electrical grid and empty our bank accounts.

For the past nine months the Chilmark planning board has been working diligently on the question of how and whether to regulate very large houses in town. In-depth research, listening and open dialogue have marked the work of the subcommittee assigned to the task. Much information has been collected, and drafts and re-drafts of sample bylaws have been put on the table for discussion.

As Islanders late this week kept a close eye on Hurricane Sandy moving up the East Coast with a possible fury, a small group of world-class speed sailors patiently waited out the news. While everyone else was making mental lists for battening down hatches, the sailors were excited at the prospect of gale-force winds, perfectly timed for the 2012 North American Speed Sailing Championships taking place on the Vineyard this week and next with the top-ranked speed sailors in the world.

The swordfish hunt — what an enthralling segment, so redolent of the Islands. What a pity that This is Our Island, the film made by Katharine Cornell in 1971, is run so infrequently. Perhaps this Thanksgiving?

From the Gazette editions of October, 1908:

“Did you ever hear about the fish that was cut in two, away back, and has been cut in two ever since?” asked the etymologist as he passed the fish market and saw the fishmonger pouring a barrelful of porgies into a tank of ice. “Those fish used to be called ‘scuppaugs’ by the Indians, and the natural human tendency to shorten things cut the word in two.

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