Thankful Thursday

Today I am grateful for...

• Distractions (not quite sufficient, but they help).
• E.g., vorpal rabbit holes, including the Riemann ζ function, the related contention that 1 + 2 + 3 + ... = -1/12, Monstrous Moonshine, and the Monster Group.
• The associated math and physics videos on YouTube. (Follow links from the Monster Group lecture in 2.)
• The housemate responsible for describing said rabbit-hole as "vorpal".
• My other housemates, both human and feline. (I would have said two- and four-legged, but then I would have had to explicitly exclude rodents. Not that I have any of those at present -- see "felines".)
• Also with regard to Monstrous Moonshine, I'm grateful for my relationship with Colleen teaching me that it's okay to be obsessed with something I'm not likely ever to understand.

I'd be grateful for optimism if I had any. It seems to have gone missing.