The beginning

I was thinking about starting a blog. Then I went looking for a friend on the web and having found her two down the list on Google, I wondered where I was. I had once been first hit. What came up was a blog by someone called Liz Gallagher, who lives really close to me. I know that there is another person with my name at my health club and at my hairdresser's. Maybe I am leading a double life and my alter egos have no awareness of each other's existance. I tried to get my name as lizgallagher, but it was taken, so was lizgallagher55, which is my yahoo adress. Ms Gallagher wasn't taken though. It must be a sign. I shall use this as a dumping ground for ideas.
First idea:
Why do so many people hate mathematics?
Does it really have to be so hard? It just requires paying attention to the rules and learning to use the language. It is a very human endaevour. It is an elegant creation.
I am just reading that Leonardo's mathematics was rather limited and that was a problem.
I would love to find a way to help kids learn to do the mathematics they need to get ahead in life. I already do this for students in my classes and would love to be able to help a wider group.