As for the latter, might I suggest learning a foreign language (eg, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Chinese — something not written in Roman letters which can also recruit right-hemisphere learning) to while away the hours, as well as forestall dementia's setting in.
Which reminds me of the
recent incident on an airline. A mathematics professor was writing some mathematical thoughts of a symbolic nature. The woman sitting next to him saw these, did not recognize the script, saw that he was "Middle Eastern in appearances", he had spoken to her curtly ("Is Syracuse your home?" "No.") and notified a member of the flight crew of suspicious behaviors. The professor was pulled off, questioned but allowed to return to his seat and the flight continued
Oh, the professor was an award winning Italian mathematician.
