Notes From A Bear's Journey

    That rather famous phrase --"The only thing you have to fear is fear itself"-- actually came from Teddy's cousin, fifth removed, FDR (just as Jimmy Carter was related to George Washington, sixth-removed, wrote History Facts ).  Personally, I'd never heard of those terms "x-removed" but I guess it's sort of like that six degree of separation theory (or think Kevin Bacon if it's easier).  What??  Did someone say bacon?  Okay, I'm drifting off again so let's get back to being fearful...seems that I was doing fine, even with all that is happening in the news, until I read a piece in The New Yorker on just how unprepared we in the US may be for another war.  Here are just a few tidbits from the piece:      --30% of our Javelin antitank systems went to Ukraine, and it will take around 3 years for us to build that supply back up (that is, assuming we stop sending over more of those weapons; and don't even bother asking how low we are on b...

Police description of "wife-beater" outfit of alleged gang member      You've likely heard that old joke of two peanuts walking in the park: one was a salted.  Ha-ha, and it's something most of us can chuckle about because few of us have actually been assaulted, that is unexpectedly confronted, pushed and suddenly finding ourselves dodging punches or heaven forbid, knives or guns (and here I openly apologize to the millions of women and children who are victims of domestic violence and are indeed physically or verbally assaulted every day in their homes).  And one certainly doesn't expect this to happen when walking with your friends on a popular hiking trail, but that is exactly what happened.  Apparently, my friend had asked some girls to turn down their phone's music at a lookout by a lake, a place where pretty most everyone came to enjoy not only the view but also the quiet (there were people who thanked him for saying something to the girls).  Whe...

     Press photo of skating duo,  Frick & Frack       Don't worry, I am no good on the ice, nor am I a mathematician or scientist capable of explaining what a fractal is.  There are already plenty of people and algorithms working away to find the "perfect" shape, something partially credited earlier to  Buckminster Fuller  (think geodesic domes).  But fractals are quite different, but similar (what??).  Here's a quick explanation (and the only one I'll foist upon you) from  Scientific American :  Fractals are geometric figures.  They are difficult to define formally but their features and beauty make them accessible and intriguing.   One feature is self-similarity, which describes how fractals have patterns that recur at different scales.  In other words, when you zoom in, you will find a smaller version of a pattern you had seen initially.  When you zoom in some more, you will find an eve...

    Right off the bat (or club), I don't understand golf, which is not saying much because I don't understand a lot of things.  And if you chanced to read the last post, you already know that sports are quite low on the totem pole of my interests (no offense meant because I don'tunderstand how to read totem poles either).  Onsides, offsides, green lines, blue lines, birdies, double-eagles, black diamonds, Parkinson's...wait, what??  I'll get back to that in a minute; but have me watch a hockey or soccer game and I'll enjoy it even if not fully understanding it.  No harm, no foul.  But golf?  While most folks keep being told to tear up their sidewalk strips of grass and take shorter showers, I keep seeing bright green golf courses contrasted by players who are primarily Caucasian (and have the money to pay for the green fees).  As the late George Carlin asked, when have you regularly seen a black, brown, red, yellow (or whatever other col...