Barbara Billingsely and Benoit Mandelbrot

OK -- I have decided to get back in the game. My hiatus started when I missed the Steinbrenner death and I just couldn't bring myself to look at another obituary. It's not that I was sad about George Steinbrenner. I just got burned out on this whole thing.

But Barbara Billingsely deserves this. I had the great privilege of being alive when "leave it to Beaver" reruns were still in rotation. She's the ultimate Mom persona. Doesn't really exist, but it sure would be great if she did.

My children can't seem to sit through anything black and white for more than five minutes, which is a darn shame. I blame it on all the amazing colors available in the world, best portrayed through Benoit Mandelbrot's fractals.

Yes, it's equally a sad day for mathematicians around the world, as old Benoit (I never knew is first name until today) died from pancreatic cancer. For nearly seven decades Mandelbrot worked with dozens of scientists and made contributions in fields such as geology, medicine, cosmology and engineering. He used fractal geometry to explain how galaxies are grouped, how the price of cereals or how the mammalian brain is multiplied as it grows. Pretty powerful stuff, and it looks terrific on a T-shirt!