The Gerbert Report

Rhymes with the Colbert Report, but not quite as funny. Who was Gerbert - Born as Gerbert d'Aurillac, in France in 946, in a time before anyone had a last name.

As a teenager, he went to Spain for his education. He heard that only the Arabs had the key to mathematics - the numbers we use today - so he snuck out at night to learn from these scholars. Then he took modern math back to the rest of Europe.

Gerbert was a mathematician, astronomer, inventor and musician, and he led an adventurous life political intrigue and technological development. As if to celebrate his life, in 999 they made him the Pope.

What can he do now for us? Report on seemingly extraneous, occasionally funny, sometimes strange pieces of news and information.

* Last month, I asked if anyone recognized the codename "Vigorous." It turns out the word is "Vigorate," and the name of someone sending emails to 12 people in the new energy movement. Vigorate speaks with authority, but not in the same style as "Anonymous" in the "Dirty Tricks" posting in the center column…part of the adventure is trying to accurately name the players. Fiction is out, I favor true mystery.