Betting has become a national pastime. Each sports-related show includes a segment touting best bets. ESPN even offers a show dedicated to sports betting. All televised sporting events feature advertising by FanDuel, Fanatics Sportsbook, Draft Kings, Caesars, or other Sportsbooks. Most NFL teams sponsor a betting site. 

But now there is a new game in town, predictive markets. Individuals bet on binary (yes or no) predictions, that can range from “Will Trump win the Presidency?” to “Will Gobble be the turkey pardoned in the annual Thanksgiving Presidential pardon.” Bets can include words Trump uses in a speech, “Will he use the word stuffing?” to “Will a certain leader wear a suit?” “Will ‘X’ win Best Actor in the Academy awards?”.

Predictive market bets are based on politics, culture, and sports. But, by far most bets are sports bets.

Online sports betting was made possible by two Supreme Court decisions in 2018. The Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and allowed each state to enforce its own sports betting laws. At the same time, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a New Jersey law allowing sports gambling. To date, almost 40 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of sports betting. But companies that are in the predictions market can also include sports gambling, allowing those whose states do not allow gambling to gamble using sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

In 2024, it was estimated that $150 billion was gambled on sports. An estimated 50 million people bet $16 billion on last year’s Super Bowl. Fifty-five percent of adults engaged in some form of gambling in 2024. In the predictive markets arena, Polymarket has almost 500,000 online active users and Kalshi has almost 2 million.

At present, only one Sportsbook has reported a profit, but this is believed to be due to the cost of customer acquisition. Online betting is more flexible and easier to access than illegal bookies. The revenue potential is beyond prediction.

To be successful, the predictive and sports betting markets must set the arbitrage precisely. Sites make their money by booking the losses and charging a percentage fee from the winnings. 

While predictive markets are binary bets (yes or no), sports bets fall into several categories. The simplest is win/lose (betting on which team will win). Another well-known bet is the point spread (for example, the Patriots were 4½ point favorites in the NFL playoffs). 

A popular binary bet is called over/under. Gamblers bet if the total number of points will exceed or go under a number set by the Sportsbook (e.g., if 30 points is the over/under for a game, gamblers can bet that the total points from both teams will be over 30—called over or less than 30—called under) 

Some bettors choose is a future bet, for example, betting on which team will win the Super Bowl early in the season.

The most unusual sports bets are prop bets. They are limited only by the imagination. For example, you can bet the color of the Gatorade in the Superbowl, the number of receptions for a particular receiver, the total number of yards gained by a team, etc. Prop bets can be anything associated with the game.

For seasoned and frugal gamblers, parlay bets combine two or more wagers into a single bet. Parlays are popular because there are bigger payouts while risking less money. The number of legs (bets) in a parlay and the odds attached to each of those legs determine the winnings. 

Predictive markets bet on anything that can include politics, sports and culture. For example: “Will the United States confirm that aliens exist?”. An enormous concern is with insider trading. It is virtually impossible to determine if a bet was due to insider trading (for example, one person made a considerable amount of money betting that we would capture the president of Venezuela long before we did it). 

What makes online betting unique is both the breadth of possible bets and online access. You can even bet on a game while it is happening. Online gambling websites are capable of recalculating odds in real time.

But the question that always follows is, what is the risk of this betting?

Short answer: it is a problem. A recent study found a correlation between easy access to sports and predictive market gambling and significant declines in credit scores, increases in bankruptcies, debts, and missed loan payments. As predictive market betting grows, this will only increase.

Many experts are concerned about the rise in gambling addiction, especially among young people. In 2024, an estimated 2.5 million U.S. adults suffered from severe gambling addiction, with an additional 5 to 8 million experiencing mild-to-moderate, or “problem” gambling behaviors. Roughly 10% of men aged 18–30 exhibit signs of problem gambling.

One thing that we do know is that the country is not prepared for a gambling addiction crisis. NIH (National Institutes of Health) has agencies dedicated to alcohol and drug use, but none for problem gambling, and there are no federal regulations for sports betting advertising (e.g., tobacco). 

So, for now, we have to watch and wonder. Is this merely a form of entertainment or a potential looming crisis? 

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Fear. Politics depends on it. The conservative news stations sell it. PBS and NPR give it away. And it invades us and causes us to lose our ability to process rationally.

Fear causes an automatic reaction in the limbic system. The reaction begins in the thalamus of the brain, which receives the signals, then the amygdala alerts the pre-frontal or sensory cortex. The cortex alerts the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, and it heightens our senses to an almost superhuman degree and triggers fight-or-flight response. Once the fear pathways are ramped up, the brain short-circuits more rational processing paths and reacts immediately to signals from the amygdala. 

When in this overactive state, the brain perceives events as negative and remembers them that way. Constant exposure to fear can weaken long-term memory and cause constant feelings of anxiety. Fear can also have long-term consequences on our health, including “fatigue, chronic depression, accelerated ageing and even premature death,” again according to the University of Minnesota. And that’s only the start of their bad news:

If we stay attached to these fear stimuli, the world can be a scary place, the fear interrupts our ability to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues, process information rationally, overreact and reduce our ethical brain. So being inundated with messages of fear and constantly processing them prompts tons of negative consequences for our body and psyche. But we don’t have to accept them. We can beat fear; we just need to train ourself.

We have several choices, we can recognize this fear and refuse to be stimulated by it, we can set up our own resolutions to address them, or we can learn to control our response to these stimuli.

That is not what the news and politicians want from us, so they continue to ratchet up the fear.

I watch PBS, especially NOVA, Nature, American Experience, and pretty much all of the documentaries that they produce. But it seems that at the end of every Nature show, I am bombarded with the bleak future for our planet, extinction, climate change, poachers, these things that I just fell in love with will be gone. 

Admittedly, organizations such as PBS are trying to send an alarm to politicians and decision makers…climate change is real, and there are real dangers. But politicians aren’t listening. (Fortunately, the military has recognized climate change as a fundamental threat to American security and is funding research on it.)

What do we do? After many sleepless nights about our political situation, climate change, and its implications for the next generation, I decided to stop worrying and to start thinking about what I could do. I have committed to buying only hybrid vehicles, voting every election for candidates who share my concerns, driving fewer than 10,000 miles per year, buying recycled paper and plastics, buying organic, and trying to eliminate my use of single-use plastics. My resolutions matter very little, but what if everyone fulfilled their own resolutions? In the absence of coherent leadership, we can still make changes.

We have other choices, we can stop listening to fear-based stories; or we can “feel the fear”, then question the story using facts (and not Internet or AI misinformation). Afterall, addressing fear is important to our health and well-being. If we continue to be products of fear-based thinking, we will become more polarized, less objective and continue the current path that we are on.

Admittedly, it is easier said than done.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St. Michaels and Key West, Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I was flipping through channels last month and stopped at the NCAA Women’s Volleyball championship. I was surprised that a women’s volleyball game was televised on national television.

Women’s sports have a way to go, but they have made progress. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has become a popular spectator sport.

All of the women playing were physically beautiful. Some wore make-up and earrings and had their hair tied back, others let their natural beauty shine through. After each point they formed a circle and held hands to support each other. Their performance, athleticism, comradery, and appearance made them all stunning.

It allowed me to think about how the view of women’s beauty has changed over the centuries. Athletics for women was often discouraged in my time. 

In the Victorian era, the ideal woman was characterized by a very small, corseted waist, rounded shoulders, and a generally subservient and dainty appearance. Any form of strenuous activity was discouraged, believing it could harm a woman’s reproduction or general health.

In the 1950s the hourglass figure was the ideal, with a philosophy that women do women’s work and stay away from sports. 

The aversion to female athleticism came from norms that associated strength, aggression, and competition with masculinity. Women who excelled in sports were often questioned about their femininity. 

But changes in the viewpoint of feminine beauty started with the women’s movement (which resulted in Title IX). The consensus about women’s beauty has increasingly become athletic-friendly. Beauty now embraces strength. Traditional views that women should not engage in physical effort have dissipated.  

There has also been an increase in collaborations between major beauty brands and female athletes and sports leagues (like the WNBA). These partnerships redefine beauty to include strength and athleticism.

Media coverage of women’s sports, especially around major events like the Olympics, have brought female athletes into the public eye, allowing their athletic prowess to be viewed and appreciated. It promotes a more inclusive view of beauty that celebrates the diverse forms and capabilities of women. 

We still have a way to go, models tend to be very slim and appear unhealthy.

But I like the direction in which we are headed. 

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

When I selected a place to live, I chose a location that was bicycle friendly. Key West is known for cycling and St. Michaels has a nature trail and back roads to cycle on. Both offer a flat terrain. Key West has bike lanes and the strength of numbers as many people ride bicycles. I rarely use a car in Key West. I get around town and run my errands riding my bicycle.

I like cycling because it gives me time to think. The breezes flow through my hair and I feel an intimate connection with the environment. 

When the wind is at my back, it feels like I am bicycling well and fast. It is only when I face the wind that cycling becomes a burden. 

This seems to be a metaphor for life, when the wind was at my back, I didn’t notice it, I thought that I was doing great. In fact, the wind at my back represented all of the luck and support that was behind me, my friends, my relatives, my husband, people who helped me in my career. Sure, I pedaled hard, but I was aided by all of these invisible forces. And when the wind turned and was blowing against me, that is when I realized how strong the winds had been at my back. I don’t always notice how strong they were until I lost them and faced a strong wind. 

When the wind is facing me, that is when life gets tough. When my career hit a crossroad, when circumstances did not favor me, when I lost my husband and other important support systems, the wind shifted. I had to pedal hard, and I only crept forward.

In hindsight, I now realize that I knew the wind was behind me, I just thought that I was doing the most of the pedaling.

The Irish blessing says it all:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm 
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The new Avatar movie uses fire as its theme. Fire is a transcendent part of our culture. Without fire we wouldn’t have had light, heat, create technological advantages (e.g., chemical reactions, tools), or be able to cook foods. It was especially important to early humans who probably used fire to protect them from dangerous animals. So, I got to wondering, how long has fire been a part of the human culture?

A long time, it turns out.

Scientists unearthed sediment that indicated fire might have been used in Kenya about 1.5 million years ago. Researchers suggested a red sediment could hint at early fire use. There are two sites in Israel dated approximately 800,000 years ago that had burnt animal bones and stone tools. 

Archaeologists found evidence of burning at cave sites in France, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and the U.K., and then more widespread use of fire in Europe, Africa and the Levant (the region around the east Mediterranean) 200,000 years ago.

But it is one thing to use fire and another to create it. For example, it is believed that the earliest humans may have gathered fire from natural sources (e.g., lightning strikes or forest fires). They may have stored it using certain fungi which can smolder and are portable, thereby keeping a fire going for a period of time.

Some scientists are convinced that Neanderthals were the world’s first innovators of using stone strikes to create fire, based on tiny specks of pyrite found at a more than 400,000-year-old archaeological site in Suffolk, England. (Of course, evidence of another method of creating fire, rubbing two sticks together, would not survive.) 

The Barnham dig site in England yielded stone tools, burnt sediment and charcoal from 400,000 years ago. In a study published in the journal Nature, the researchers revealed that the site contained the world’s earliest direct evidence of fire-making by Neanderthals.

Barnham was first recognized as a Paleolithic human site in the early 1900s after ancient stone tools were discovered. But recent excavations uncovered evidence of ancient human groups occupying the area more than 415,000 years ago. In one corner of the site, archaeologists found a concentration of heat-shattered hand axes as well as a zone of reddened clay. Through a series of scientific analyses, the researchers discovered that the reddened clay had been subjected to repeated, localized burning, which suggested the area may have been an ancient hearth.

The key discovery of a fire starter came when flecks of iron pyrite were found. Pyrite, also known as fool’s gold, is a naturally occurring mineral that can produce sparks when struck against flint. (While it is commonly believed that striking two pieces of flint together can create a spark, in fact that spark is too cool to produce a flame.) A metal such as pyrite is needed. Pyrite is rare in the Barnham area, suggesting that pyrite was brought to the site, most likely to build a fire.

While this was an important discovery, questions remain about the nature of early fire use: When did fire use become a regular part of the human behavioral repertoire? Was it ubiquitous or was usage scattered in a few groups? Were Neanderthals the first to discover it? Did they share it with Homo Sapiens? There are more questions than answers, but it makes you think more about the history of fire, something that we take for granted.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

‘Tis the season for giving. Some of us prefer to provide suggestions for gifts. But my favorite gifts are the ones that someone chooses for me. Gifts that show that the donor has thought about me and chosen something unexpected.

My daughter has a knack for giving special gifts. She thinks carefully about something that I might enjoy. I have a pair of slippers that she bought for me that are now threadbare.

Then there is my engagement ring. While my late husband and I knew that we would spend our lives together, we hadn’t really discussed marriage. He surprised me with a stunning engagement ring; I never would have let him pick out something so extravagant. It was what he wanted to give. I still wear it every day.

Over the years, I have been blessed with many gifts, large and small

When my husband died, I was lost in grief. Grief from knowing that I would never see him again, missing every moment of our time together. And one of the things that I missed was the gifts. My husband would surprise me frequently with a gift, “just because.” After he died, I knew that my birthday, our anniversary, Mother’s day, and Valentine’s day would never be the same. There was a void knowing that these days, which were full of joy and surprise, would slip away unnoticed, uncelebrated, and the loneliness and feelings of no longer being loved in that capacity would creep in. To my surprise, the first Valentine’s day that he was gone, my sister bought me some chocolates. A small gift, but it was deeply appreciated. I would not be given a Valentine’s gift again, but this one came at my lowest point and let me know that there were people who really loved me.

Then there are the handmade gifts. A close friend knitted me a sweater. Funny thing was, I never wore it (it was too big), but it was hanging up in my closet and every day it would make me smile.

Last year I got a surprise gift. My sister and I both commented on the exquisiteness of a Christmas decoration at a friend’s house. We both liked it, but that was it. Later I bought one for myself, and I decided to get her one even though we don’t normally exchange gifts. She did the same thing unbeknownst to me and both decorations showed up at my door step a week later. Now both of us enjoy two decorations. Almost like the gift of the Magi.

My wish for my readers (and everyone really) that you get at least one special gift this year and may your holidays be full of blessings.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I headed south for the winter this week. The cold weather let me know that it was time. When I travel to Florida, I fly with two sweet little dogs. Small dogs are allowed to fly in the cabin, under the seat, but American Airlines has a very strict policy of a 20-pound weight maximum (including the crate). The dogs must remain in their carriers through the duration of the flight. Since our flight was delayed by several hours it was a lot to ask of these poor little guys.

Watching them and marveling at how well they behaved (okay one had to be medicated, but the other was flawless), I wondered how their cousins, the wolves, would have handled this.

Recent research has discovered that almost two-thirds of modern dog breeds have some wolf ancestry from breeding within last few thousand years. Wolves and dogs genetically split around 20,000 years ago. But 61% of all dogs contain enough wolf DNA to reveal that they have bred with wolves since the split. The obvious ones with greater wolf DNA are shepherds, sled dogs, hunting dogs, huskies, and malamutes. However, the chihuahua also contains some recent wolf DNA. Researchers found that 264 modern dog breeds have wolf ancestry from an average of 2,600 years ago. 

There are also some ancient breeds that broke from the family tree of dogs very early that do not have wolf DNA, some should be familiar to you. Probably the best known is the Basenji which has the most ancient lineage and is at the very base of the dog family tree. It is more related to “primitive” dogs like the Dingo and African Wild Dogs. Genetically distinct from other dogs, Basenjis diverged early from the wolf ancestor. The Basenji was a pack hunter and watchdog of native tribes in Africa. It’s thought that Egyptian Pharaohs owned Basenjis. 

The Pharaoh Hound is another ancient breed, and has been hardly altered in the last 5,000 years. With features similar to the dogs seen across Egyptian and Greek art, the Pharaoh Hound is a medium-sized breed with a long, lean body and a short coat that is colored tan or chestnut. Pharaoh Hounds were bred to hunt rabbits in North Africa.

The Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced shoh-loyts-kweent-lee), also known as the “Mexican hairless dog,” dates back to the time of the Aztecs (3500 years). The Xolo has made a bit of a comeback since the 1950s. 

Another ancient breed is the Saluki. The Saluki can be traced to early Egypt, where it was used to run down foxes, hares, and gazelles in the desert. Salukis are beautiful, graceful, and fast. They are known for endurance and strength, which allowed them to hunt in deep sand or rocky terrains. 

Greyhound-like dogs are depicted in hieroglyphs from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times. The ancient greyhound breed became popular with the English. Known for their ability to run after and catch game at a very quick pace, Greyhounds sadly became racing dogs in America in the 1900s. Despite their racing credentials, greyhounds are calm and well behaved.

Many of the ancient breeds are known for being aloof, loyal, and sometimes difficult to train. But my little poodle and Maltese mixes clearly have no wolf DNA, nor do they have the characteristics of an ancient breed. My little guys are likely a modern breed, bred only to be cute, to snuggle, and demand lots of attention. Which is what they are getting now after their tiresome flight.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.