"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it twirling a baton."spoken by Odd Thomas in Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

My plan was to write about fractals. Since I first learned about them I was fascinated by the concept: Symmetry in nature. Objects that appear to be asymmetrical or randomly constructed have a symmetry – what is referred to as self-similarity, a characteristic in which the component parts resemble the structure as a whole. A … Continue reading Fractal Lives

Today was the annual AIDS Walk/Run at Beaver Lake Nature Center. Amelia and I volunteered and checked in the 10K run participants. My daughter Sarah, her husband Jeff and several friends and co-workers were a team in the 5K walk. Amelia and Sarah have participated before but this was my first year. It was fun … Continue reading Are you listening Freddy?

Did you know that Stephen Crane, famous for his novel, "The Red Badge of Courage," was also a poet? I discovered this several years back, I think in my senior year of high school. I was never particularly interested in Crane until I found his poetry. Don't really like his prose but boy do I … Continue reading Beyond the Red Badge

Saturday - cool, breezy, threatening clouds, off-and-on rain. Still we saw plenty of birds and not just geese and ducks as we've seen on previous days this spring. At least one lifer for me - a Redhead (noooooo, not Lucy - think duck). Red-winged blackbirds are always everywhere around the preserve but of course since … Continue reading There’s Always Something to See at Montezuma

When I was a kid we used to buy our groceries at Curtis & Ward, the mom & pop store in the nearby village of Lysander. I remember Mom ordering chicken, pork roast and other meats from the butcher counter in the back. There was a big spool of string hanging from the ceiling that … Continue reading Penny Candy

If I hear one more person propose, in response to an unfortunate event, that "society just isn't what it used to be," I'M GONNA SCREAM!!!! Is nostalgia so potent that it blinds us - wipes the memory clean? I submit that the "good old days" weren't that great. Abuse, divorce, drugs, the atrocities of war.....all … Continue reading Were Those the Days?

Another great Sunday, overcast at times but warm. We drove down to Delhi hoping to see the nesting eagle. She obliged us by sitting regally next to her nest and allowing us to photograph her. We were lucky enough to get reasonably close and - HUZZAH! - my new camera did a pretty good job. … Continue reading The Eagle of Delhi

This week I found out about two more places to find nesting pairs of bald eagles, so when the sun finally came out this afternoon I took off in search of Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area just north of Baldwinsville. Of course I didn't know the name of it when I set out - all … Continue reading One Camera at Three Rivers

February 1, 2007New York Times "Exxon Sets Record on Annual Profits…Oil prices for the quarter ranged between $55 and $63 a barrel, averaging just shy of $60"February 1, 2008 cnnmoney.com: "Exxon shatters profit records""Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007....Crude prices skyrocketed nearly 60% … Continue reading We have seen the enemy and he is Exxon