R. I. P. Martin Gardner

Damn.

Martin Gardner died yesterday. To say that he was a major influence on my developing worldview would be an understatement; my love for mathematics and science owes more to him than to anyone else, with the possible exception of Isaac Asimov. His Mathematical Recreations column in Scientific American was always a joy; as a teenager I read most of his published collections of columns, and now have the full set on CD. I've seen other people mention The Annotated Alice and others of his works; for me, The Ambidextrous Universe is the one I love most. I still use some ideas from it when I teach linear algebra.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gardner. You were too a mathematician!

One Month Later

The Padres took over first place on April 20th. More than a month later, they are still in first place. (Well, they fell out of first place for a couple of days, but were never more than half a game out.) Their bullpen has been absolutely outstanding; the offense has frequently sputtered, but - well, one game was a 1-0 victory, in which they got one, count it, one hit. Mat Latos has picked up where he left off last year; his won-lost record is only 4-3, but that includes several no-decisions in games the Padres eventually won. Chase Headley has settled in at third base and is hitting a ton, and team speed - Venable, Cabrera, Gwynn Jr - has been driving other teams nuts.

There are warning signs: Kyle Blanks has been struggling badly, in particular with a horrendous strikeout rate. Everth Cabrera hasn't been hitting all that well either, and there are several other weak spots in the lineup.

But they're winning. I'll enjoy it as long as it lasts. (And wait till Simon Castro gets here....)