Getting Mathematical on Weeds.

Dandelions amaze me. We tend to take them for granted. “Huh.  They’re just stupid weeds. “ , many of us might say. But if you look closer, they’re actually quite beautiful. And if you zoom in REALLY close, you’ll find something even more amazing. Notice, there’s definitely a spiral pattern there. If you connect the dots, [...]

Friar’s List of Favorites, Crappy and Otherwise.

a CRAPPY THINGS My favorite body of water Lake Titicaca My favorite character from a children’s book Winnie the Pooh My  favorite dog breed The shihtzu My favorite game of chance Craps My favorite type of mushroom The shiitake My favorite fowl dish Turducken My favorite polynesian dish The Pu pu platter My favorite Swiss [...]

Nothing Smells Fishy To Me

Ah.  The lilacs are in bloom. So today, I thought I’d try again. I grabbed a bunch, brought them to my nose, inhaled deeply, and smelled… …nothing! Well, what did I expect?   It’s not as if anything has changed. I should have known:  the odor of lilacs means nothing to me.   As do [...]

Stupid Sentimental Things I’ll Never Throw Out (*)

(*) Disclaimer:   No, I am not a hoarder. a Dog Carving I bought this in 1976, during a week-long Grade 6 field trip along the Gaspé Coast.  We stopped at the town in St. Jean Port-Joli, which is renowned for its wood carvings. I blew a big chunk of my budget on this dog [...]

Useful (?) Squirrels

Tulips growing right out of my lawn. Nice. Gee, I wonder who did that…huh? You SQUIRRELS wouldn’t have had anything to do with this, now, would you? a You varmints probably stole the bulbs from my own garden. Or maybe the neighbor’s. But I have to admit, it’s kind of neat, having tulips come out of my [...]

Yeah, but I caught a trout.

There’s something special about catching a trout, especially a wild one on a lake that hasnt’ been stocked. Because, as I’ve written about before, these are magical fish. When you catch one,  you’re not just happy at the moment it happens. There’s a lingering euphoria, a deep sense of satisfaction, that lasts for days afterward. [...]

A Tribute to Mother’s Day

This is Friar’s Mom, skiing down a double-black diamond run last winter. Friar’s Mom is 70. Friar’s Mom was in a wheelchair with a broken pelvis 18  months earlier. Friar’s Mom is insane…but in a good kind of way. And I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Useful Statistical Trends Everyone Should Know

Data Compiled by F-Stats (*) Canada. (*) Friar Stats   aa a

Bittersweet Crocuses

I always liked crocuses.     They’re kind of special to me. . They’re delicate, they don’t last long.   They’re the  ”real”  flower of spring. I remember as a kid, having fond memories of seeing the first ones come up. It meant that Easter (and Easter chocolate) was right around the corner. And it [...]