Posts

Homelessness as Metaphor

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... synopsis of novel by Lorrie Moore, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Lorrie Moore’s novel “I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home” (2023) weaves together three interlocking narratives centered on grief, memory, and the persistence of the past. The primary story follows Finn, a middle-aged high school history teacher in Illinois, who is suspended from his job after teaching math and defying school policy.  He travels to New York City to visit his dying brother, Max, in hospice in the Bronx, grappling with his own emotional unraveling and unresolved feelings for his ex-wife, Lily, who has recently died by suicide in a surreal, symbolic drowning. After discovering Lily’s body in her home, Finn becomes convinced she has returned—partially resurrected—and embarks on a bizarre, road-trip journey across the Midwest with her decomposing corpse, seeking to fulfill her final wishes and confront their shared past. Along the way, Finn checks into a decaying, gothic inn known as the South ...
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Fiddler on the Grave

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... search the Rich Man song from Fiddler on the Roof If I Were a Rich Man is a song from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, composed by Jerry Bock and written by Sheldon Harnick. It is performed by the main character, Tevye, and expresses his whimsical dreams of wealth, blending material desires with spiritual aspirations. The song's title draws inspiration from a 1902 monologue by Sholem Aleichem, Ven ikh bin Rothschild, though the lyrics incorporate elements from Aleichem’s 1899 short story The Bubble Bursts. The song features a distinctive "bidi-bidi-bum" chant, originally invented by Harnick to evoke Chassidic chanting, later altered by actor Zero Mostel for authenticity. The song has been widely covered and adapted, and remains one of the most iconic numbers in American musical theater, noted for its cultural depth and emotional resonance.  ... the song's use of the "were" verb form is a grammar textbook example of the subjunctive mood Yes, the use ...
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The Daily Robot

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On February 10, 2026, Electrek.co published a story, written by "Scooter Doll," about the Rivian R2 prototype electric vehicle. To be honest, I'm perfectly satisfied with my Toyota gas burner, and this wasn't exactly headline news—I simply noticed it among the day's many stories. What caught my attention was the striking black-and-white photograph capturing "the moment the first validation build of the Rivian R2 electric SUV rolled off the production line at the company's factory in Normal, Illinois." The description came from Google Lens. Photo credit is attributed to Rivian/X. A Google Lens image search reveals the original X post along with several reprints by different publications. While other images of the Rivian R2 vehicle exist, this particular photograph appears unique in its black-and-white presentation—at least based on a preliminary search. In this age of high-resolution photography and extensive photo manipulation technology, I find myse...
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Now, the AI is Talking its Book.

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... what is the financial definition of "the carry trade" A carry trade is a financial strategy where an investor borrows money in a low-interest-rate currency or asset and invests the proceeds in a higher-yielding currency or asset to profit from the interest rate differential, known as the "carry." This strategy is commonly used in foreign exchange (forex) markets, where traders borrow in currencies like the Japanese yen (JPY) or euro (EUR) and invest in higher-yielding currencies such as the US dollar (USD) or Australian dollar (AUD). The goal is to earn a steady income from the interest rate spread while potentially benefiting from favorable exchange rate movements. The funding currency (low interest rate) is borrowed, and the target currency (higher interest rate) is invested in. While the strategy can generate consistent returns during stable market conditions, it bears significant risk due to exchange rate volatility, sudden changes in interest rates, and mar...
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Don't lose your validation

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This Blogger blog site was initiated to put my own artwork, specifically that of the homeless, into the larger context of art. It is intended as the linear language expression of my visual work's thesis. Eventually, the correspondence between linear and pictorial expression branched-out into other areas, over time. Given the many diverse topics discussed since the blog's beginning, even I must concede art - much less art about the homeless - constitutes a minority share. Art (for me) is second nature; linear science-including mathematics-is what I find hard. My verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were quite high, even as I tested miserably on the mathematical. Nobody knew what to do with me. Usually shy, if the opportunity arose to interpret the meaning of a nonlinear expression, I shined like a performer in the spotlight. My take ended the discussion. The instructor glared at me, and moved-on to her next topic. When I say, 'nobody knew what to do with me,' what I me...
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Soup Kitchen Economics

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... which post-Marxist economists have commented on the perception of diminished asset value as stolen Introduction to Post-Marxist Views on Value and Exploitation Post-Marxist economists and theorists have critically re-evaluated Karl Marx’s labor theory of value, particularly the idea that capitalist profits derive from value "stolen" from workers.  While Marx framed exploitation as the extraction of surplus value through labor, many post-Marxist thinkers have moved away from this labor-centric model, challenging both its historical applicability and conceptual coherence in contemporary economies.  Rather than accepting the notion of value as something concretely produced by labor and then expropriated, these theorists often interpret value as a socially constituted, abstract relation embedded in capitalist structures.  This shift re-frames the perception of diminished asset value—not as theft in a moral or economic sense, but as a systemic outcome of capitalist dynamic...
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You can take that to the bank.

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... expand on news headline "quantum computing would pose a risk not only to bitcoin, but also to the finance and defense industries that are dependent on traditional cryptography" Quantum Threat to Cryptography Quantum computing poses a significant and immediate threat to the cryptographic foundations underpinning Bitcoin, traditional finance, and national defense systems. While Bitcoin's decentralized architecture and immutability make it resilient to many attacks, its reliance on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)—which secures digital signatures—makes it vulnerable to future quantum attacks. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could use Shor’s algorithm to derive private keys from public ones, compromising wallet security, especially for dormant or legacy Bitcoin addresses. The risk extends far beyond cryptocurrency. Traditional financial institutions are particularly exposed due to their heavy reliance on long-lived RSA and ECC keys for authentication, interbank ...
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