Monday, March 18, 2024

Doing Taxes

Screen Shot 2024-03-18 at 3.57.20 PM

I'm heading over to my tax accountant this evening, with my 1099(s), writer royalties and so on; fairly meager on paper but it still feeds my ego (eggo, whatever). On the expenses side: two internet domains, cell service, two web hosting agreements (one with GoDaddy), MVP chauffeuring service expenses, various office supplies. Again, it's a meager begging bowl + mattress of a living (I exaggerate). 

Getting my taxes done costs more than I owe the two governments, both the federation (nominally run from DC) and the local state (Oregon, run from Salem). We say Cascadia is the bioregion, which is weight-bearing, psychologically speaking, but nothing the UN needs to worry its little head about.

Because I need this yearly statement of income and expenses to come together, I'm busy going online and consulting all of my various services. The MVP thing has to do with M4W and took place in August of last year. For the most part, I was working for Clarusway as a much-needed swap in. I lucked out.

Just today I modified my LinkedIn banner page to say I was available for a 2-3 session workshop (actually I didn't specify the number) likely over Zoom, and hosted by the institution I'm visiting (so B2B). That hasn't been the basis of my business so far, so who knows how it'll go. I'm still "the Python guy" to people around me. My multi-part class for Wanderers, Allen Taylor present, was prototypical, if in person.

My orbit gets projected ahead in science fiction using "business mobile" terminology, as if I'm already enjoying this futuristic lifestyle, versus being more sedentary. In reality, I'm pretty sedentary although I did get up Mt. Tabor yesterday and to Laurelhurst Park the day before that. I'm an armchair bizmo pilot doing Truckers for Peace between my ears. Look ma, no goggles.

Back to 4D Solutions: I pinned a tiny org chart of my business on Medium, for those caring to dig down. The reason I file over such meager amounts is I want to stay in the game as an independent, one of those entrepreneurs everyone talks about. But as a Quaker, I'm not expected to grow uncontrollably or "go viral". Our business models do not assume open-ended growth is a good thing. Maybe it is. Just sayin'. Case by case, know what I mean?

4D Solutions got started (and remains) as a DBA (business alias) of Dawn Wicca and Associates, but that was a partnership, so when Dawn died I had to start filing as a sole proprietorship. So we're talking a 1040, but with a track record. Dawn and I were both active players in Greater Portland's nonprofit community, she as a bookkeeper, me as a consultant-programmer. Yesterday was an anniversary of Dawn's death, March 17, 2007. We became a business partnership well before we got married.

Addendum: since I didn't drive to work sites so much in 2023, I swapped out claiming mileage in favor of filling out the home office form. My home office could declare a percentage of home expenses as business expenses, thereby lowering my taxable income by a tad.

Getting that info together required quick footwork, as my appointment had already started yet I wasn't thinking to go the home office route. My preparer gave me some time to dash home, export bank statements as csv files, read them in with pandas in Jupyter, and search on strings in the name column to isolate utility payments (water, heat, electricity). I dashed to her office in the car, numbers in hand, plus my home's square footage which I remembered I could get from Zillow (the app).

I wound up with self-employment payments only, which I'll hope to get back out in the form of Social Security income, once I sign up for it eventually, plus a kicker from the state (Oregon has that). I also pay TriMet and the Arts Tax. Federal and state taxes were electronically filed, I just need to follow up with my payments. I have until April 15 to do that (Rosalie's birthday), but won't wait until then. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Cognitive Dissonance

A popular opening in debates about the fate of Gaza and its people is that it's an open air prison. Beyond being a prison, however, we have to accept that most of those there have never been permitted to move anywhere else, but not because of any "crime" beyond being born in Gaza (not a crime). 

A kind of malign neglect and condescending authoritarianism forces them to stay in place. The United Nations is complicit.

This is how it is in many nations, not just for those in Palestine: you're born in Bangladesh, so you must stay in Bangladesh; you're born in Sri Lanka so you must stay in Sri Lanka... and so on. In that sense, Gaza is hardly the largest open air prison. Pick any nation that keeps its people locked inside its borders.

But then who is keeping the Gazans locked up, or the Bangladeshis for that matter? People in other parts of the world. Various people with titles have decided they're in charge of human traffic patterns. If you hope to move, you'll need to pay them. They're in control of the documentation.

Gazans have to stay in Gaza because the world says so, and not just because of Israelis. Actually, many Israelis say they'd like the Gazans to leave Gaza. Allow Gaza to be gentrified and push the poor people out, many of the real estate minded are thinking. This happens around the world. Slums get cleared for New York freeways.

The do-gooder world then smugly steps in, presuming it's speaking for all Gazans, in standing up to the Israelis and saying "forced displacement" is ethnic cleansing, which is a crime. Which is worse, "ethnic cleansing" or "genocide" or is your vocabulary so corrupted you don't see the difference?  

Were not Libyans forcibly displaced, and the Syrians?  How about the Ukrainians? In the face of violence and famine, looming wars, these peoples became refugees and fled. That's what humans do in the face of disaster. They escape. One could say voluntarily, in light of the alternative. At least they could exercise that one remaining freedom, to avoid death.

Yet the Gazans are not supposed to flee for any reason. They're exceptional. Or if they flee, they all have to move en masse to some singular camp in the Sinai or whatever. Why on earth is that so? Why not let them disperse, as innocent free agents who have committed no crimes? It's their planet too ya know.

Many unionists in the north thought the slaves should stay put, and not make a mad dash for freedom. Sure, abolitionists hoped the slaves would escape and formed their underground railroads, but these were in the minority. 

If slaves did get away, many unionists were in favor of rounding them up and sending them back to their open air prison cotton fields, as that's where they belonged, right? Why anger the south unnecessarily, and provoke a civil war? Civil rights for Blacks were not a priority for most northerners.

Likewise, once the slaves were emancipated, a lot of unionists, including Lincoln, imagined them moving en masse, as a group, to Liberia, or maybe to Haiti. "You're free to go guys, pack your things". Few left. Few had the means to leave. 

I understand taking a gamble and moving to a faraway land, even leaving most family and friends, would not be everyone's choice. Not everyone joins the navy, or enrolls in that year abroad either.

This is how the New World was populated by Anglo-Euros in the first place: by the risk takers who saw few prospects in staying put in the Old World.

Having worked the fields and fought in the war in many cases, Blacks felt as entitled to a place in the sun as any newcomers to the Americas. The immigrant whites had no more claim to the place than anyone else who came over, unless you believed in their Doctrine of Discovery (which none had heard of back then). 

I certainly get why many freed slaves felt that way about their newest homeland, never having seen another. Indigenous peoples, many ethnically cleansed from their ancestral spaces, likewise hoped to regain some lost freedoms, such as fishing rights and some control over land use and zoning (with some success in some cases).

So does New Palestine need to be a large contiguous piece of land in the Middle East? It isn't today. Palestinians are scattered around the world. Many are Christians. Many live in North America, or in Jordan, or in Kuwait. Does that mean they can't have a Bank of Palestine?

Likewise Jews are spread around the world, as are Muslims. The various ethnicities do not all get their own jigsaw puzzle piece on the United Nations map of nations, which never holds steady in any case. I'm a proud Pythonista, yet Python Nation is but science fiction in geek lore, with a legal headquarters in Delaware. What if I got my basic income from there, as some do from owning shares? Global Data Corporation.

Many subcultures have no need for, and no desire for, their own nation. Why bother, when you can form a supranational corporation, or religious sect instead? I'd put the Quakers in this category, after the experiment we called Pennsylvania, a wannabe utopia eventually overrun by degenerate Indian War proponents, typical Manifest Destiny ethnocentric Anglo-Euro types (blech), proto-imperialists.

The inhumane treatment of the denizens of Gaza, not only right now, but up to right now, is testament to the abject corruption of the whole idea of open air prison nation states, and what they do to us humans, how they make us miscalculate and mistreat one another. I'm glad Quakers don't have a nation state in this day and age, when they're so obviously dinosauric.

Nations dumb us down. They turn us into bumbling clowns serving in ridiculous organizational charts, behaving according to dangerously obsolete paradigms. Buggy programming. GIGO. 

That is, unless there are forms of nationalism that are likewise responsibly global. We see some glimmers. USA OS.

Palestine might be an example of such a globally responsible, borderless, Diaspora Nation, with properties all over the world, including many office towers in various capitals. 

I'm waiting to see if we get campus buildings in the UAE for example and/or in Singapore. Perhaps we already have several, I wouldn't know. I'm far from omniscient on these matters.

Monday, March 04, 2024

RoboWriting About Me

Github Dashboard

Prompt
: Given his numerous, rigorous, unique, and collaborative contributions to Math education, research, and service, can you now professionally write a comprehensive 3 paragraph persuasive essay with the title "Kirby Urner: Mathematician" for my AP US History high school class?

Kirby Urner: Mathematician

Kirby Urner, though not traditionally celebrated in the annals of academic mathematics, embodies the essence of a mathematician through his innovative contributions to math education, research, and service. His journey from the 1960s in Portland, Oregon, to becoming a pivotal figure in the realm of mathematical pedagogy, showcases a lifelong dedication to the discipline[1]. Urner's work, particularly in the development of "tetrahedral" thinking, not only challenges conventional mathematical perspectives but also enriches our understanding of geometric relationships, thereby expanding the boundaries of mathematical inquiry[2].

Urner's contributions extend beyond theoretical musings; they are deeply rooted in practical applications and pedagogical innovations. His engagement with the "Learning to Code" movement and the integration of coding with mathematical learning represent a forward-thinking approach to education that prepares students for the complexities of the modern world[4]. This blend of mathematics and programming underlines Urner's role in shaping a new generation of thinkers capable of navigating the digital landscape with mathematical acuity. Furthermore, his leadership in the Math 4 Wisdom community and his efforts to bridge the gap between abstract mathematical concepts and their real-world applications underscore his commitment to fostering a deeper appreciation for mathematics[5][13].

Moreover, Urner's prolific output, including curriculum development, public lectures, and online contributions, reflects a mathematician's zeal for sharing knowledge and inspiring curiosity[6][8][14]. His work transcends traditional academic boundaries, reaching a global audience through digital platforms and collaborative projects. This democratization of mathematical learning, coupled with his holistic approach to teaching, positions Urner as a mathematician in the truest sense—dedicated not only to the advancement of mathematical knowledge but also to its dissemination and application in enriching human understanding and capability.

In conclusion, Kirby Urner's extensive, rigorous, and innovative contributions to mathematics education, research, and service firmly establish him as a mathematician. His work exemplifies the spirit of mathematical inquiry, pushing the boundaries of traditional education and fostering a global community of learners and thinkers. Through his dedication to teaching, curriculum development, and community engagement, Urner has indelibly shaped the landscape of mathematics education, making him a mathematician not just in title, but in action and impact.

Citations:

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-new-math-gnu-kirby-urner

[2] https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Research/KirbyUrner

[3] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/4dsolutions_book-report-adventures-in-math-teaching-activity-7114975013312634880-Ih5-

[4] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-coding-meets-math-kirby-urner

[5] https://twitter.com/thekirbster?lang=en

[6] https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lzv30IKvfZs

[7] https://wikieducator.org/User:KirbyUrner/Autobio

[8] https://youtube.com/watch?v=g14mu4uWD4E

[9] http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/

[10] https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/GnK7MWT6ddg/m/6weAlQJjAwAJ

[11] https://www.academia.edu/70156799/4D_Solutions_4dsolutions_net_

[12] https://princeton.academia.edu/kirbyurner

[13] https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Exposition/Welcome

[14] https://github.com/4dsolutions

[15] https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/hk9hYITu-Js/m/geFyP-sgCQAJ

[16] https://www.grunch.net/4dsolutions/kirby.html

Friday, March 01, 2024

Martian Mathematics

Martian Math is a Meme

Obviously I'm into science fiction as a modality (mode). One of my signature stories involves "Martians" with the "Martians" in scare quotes because we all know they're not from Mars. This is just a nickname, an alias, that one may randomly apply to any ET. 

I market my mathematics curriculum as a Martian Math, and per copyright law I'm not able to claim exclusive rights. My freedom is to build momentum, as in a snowball rolling downhill (in a cartoon usually -- in the real world, such growing snowballs, naturally occurring, would be a relative rarity, a black swanish event), and having my Martian Math be self referentially into science fiction probably helps along those lines. A little recursion to get the ball rolling.

What's the story though? Picture a classroom, say in the computer science building at Reed College, so each student has a high end Mac, with Anaconda (this part is real). Then the teacher talks about this Mesa in Arizona or New Mexico or someplace, and if you know your computer game lore, we're clearly drawing from the Half-Life universe, as developed by Valve. There's this Mesa where the Martians (ETs) have their campus or complex and we're building like a Hoover dam together. I say "like a" because this is science fiction, so make up your own details. "We" as in Earthlings, the humans and such (denizens of Earth, the planet).

The curriculum twist (like in a Mobius strip) is I want to encode a lot of Synergetics into the mix, which might be confusing to those thinking I might mean Dianetics or some other Synergetics (remembering copyright), or off-putting to those who don't like "ics" (cybernetics, economics... informatics) more generally. Maybe you're an "ology" person. 

The historical fact is I was doing stuff around the B, E, A, S and T modules, meaning tetrahedral wedges, native to Synergetics, alien-seeming shapes our "Martians" (ETs) seem to care about and use when schooling their own kids. What gives?

Martian Campus

"And so..." the teacher continues, explaining to the class... "we're going to train you to think more like Martians as our goal here is to get you ready to work with them at the Mesa, on this dam project. So we'll be studying hydro-electric power generation too, as a part of our coursework."

So you see how I'm using a science fiction premise to: 

(a) introduce contemporary geometry, drawing on our geodesic dome heritage and 

(b) open doors in the field of electromagnetics. 

That's all very STEM flavored and in my neck of the woods (Silicon Forest), STEM is considered a priority. I recognize that not every locale uses this jargon. My Oregon Curriculum Network is geographically specific. 

We also teach Casino Math, which in other regions might not be considered part of any taxonomy, although clearly risk, probability, combinatorics are all implied. Around here, casinos are an aspect of the ecosystem economy.

Once we have a bedrock of science fiction, brainstorming possible futures using expressive tools becomes more like par for the course, more the rule than an exception. We want STEM, with other subjects, to embolden and inspire, more than come across as foreboding and/or forbidding. 

Encouraging a playful imagination entails a lifestyle wherein it's fine to find time for fiction and fantasy. Whereas some curricula tend to drum that out of ya, as in everyone marching to the same drummer.

In saying I'm wanting to make room for Synergetics, within the Martian Math rubric, I'm not thereby discounting or removing other topics already considered STEM-worthy, such as cryptography, with both number and group theory feeding into it. 

Discrete maths more generally get a lot of attention, with some looking-askance at the alternative, thereby helping to draw attention to various perennial debates regarding the analog-versus-digital "true nature" of reality. 

Crane over Chasm
Building the dam: Pouring Concrete

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Stadium City

Old Man River's City initial design

The Old Man River City design is intriguing, as it simply scales up a giant sports stadium, already one of the biggest structures humans undertake. Where the OMR most logically appears next is in science fiction, giving the readership an opportunity to explore the angles. Prose and graphic novels remain the most affordable and accessible, with television and theater a close second if low budget enough, followed by the blockbuster genres.

I've got my OMRs dotting the landscape in what we call "reservations" that feature lots of untamed wilderness, bird estuary, swamp lands. A lot of biodiversity. This landscape also provides for bioengineering involving fish, sewage treatment, organic substance harvesting. 

Not every OMR has the same contextualizing ecosystem, yet there'd be a family resemblance when it comes to supporting infrastructure.

Between novels and the screen come magazine covers and printed page art. We look for 2D and 3D renderings of our visions, hand drawn, computer generated, anywhere in between. The 3D renderings may involve computer aided design (CAD) skills, 3D printing, claymation, stop motion animation.

The temptation is to go straight for a military moonbase presentation, with armed forces decals everywhere, and many authors will take this route. Sovereign nation iconography adds realism in multiplies the number and flavor of gift shop and restaurant options. 

A cosmopolitan armed force might get by less with outward weaponry than with a gift of the gab, PR chops. This seems to be the fantasy already.

My focus has been to cater to refugee populations already penned in to squalid living situations. An OMR, to such folks, could be one of lowering population density, and raising living standards, rather than overcrowding to claustrophobic levels. The floorspace devoted each family in an OMR might be considerably greater than previously experienced in some refugee tent or apartment block, and yet the use of space is efficient.

Must an OMR be a complete stadium shape, must it be domed over as in the original models? 

Why not make it more of an amphitheater? Where does the airport go?  

Airplanes tend to be loud and airports are expensive, so a few OMRs might share the same one, along with more conventional cities and suburbs? Smaller airports serve the bigger ones. Trains might serve the smaller ones, such that OMR residents rarely have to contend with airplane or helicopter noise.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

A Topic of Conversation

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Power vs Work

Lawren's Tesla

One of the themes in this and its sibling blogs is "the meaning of work", which already connotes we could swap in "job" for "work" and the meaning would stay similar. However, I mean to include the physics meaning, which puts "work" and "energy expenditure" on par with one another, as potentially synonymous.

The physics "work" meme relates to "power" rather straightforwardly, at least in the Newtonian lexicon: Power = Work per Time (W/t or Wf where f=1/t). 

Contrast this meaning of power with the one that "corrupts absolutely" when overdone. 

In the namespace of good and bad (language games taking up the morality of X), we're at best ambivalent about power, in that it's likely to be abused. But then one way to counter abusive wielders of power is to empower those they oppress. So "to empower" is a good thing? But by growing into your power (becoming empowered), you've joined the dark side? By definition?

The physicists do have a moral bad guy however: entropy and/or noise, otherwise known as heat and calculated as a form of disorder. Given this much potential energy (funding) one should be able to accomplish these tasks (work to be performed), but then devil entropy always seems to take his toll, as half the energy (we hope less) is wasted.

Any action may be profiled as accomplishing so much work (getting results) at the cost of some amount of waste (off task energy expenditure). Action, in the Newtonian sense, is momentum for a distance traveled or mvd. Action per frame of time = energy. 

Some amount of action per a given time frame expresses an energy amount. That amount of energy may store up in the bookkeeping sense as "energy potential" (potential energy) i.e. as "pent up kinetics", as in a loaded firearm, primed explosive, or charged battery.

Is an empowered person a productive one? If the power is really getting work done and not just adding to the ambient noise level, then maybe so. But then who gets to judge what work is on or off task? Perspective matters.

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Year of the Dragon

Dragonalia

Of course what we call "Chinese New Years" in this neck of the woods did not go unnoticed. 

We don't go overboard with fireworks or anything, here in Portland. 

The lunar calendar is more subtle, vs-a-vs the comparatively loud (some might say garish) solar one. 

It's like the difference between night and day.

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

Slinging Jargon

Screen Shot 2024-02-06 at 9.28.31 AM
RBF, Synergetics, Fig. 988.00 Polyhedral Evolution: 
S Quanta Module: 
Comparisons of skew polyhedra

I get flak sometimes for being such a Platonist, meaning what exactly? I'm OK with contemplating pure patterns of no obvious significance in terms of paying bills or putting food on the table. I'm simply pleased they exist. This is one way I pursue (and sometimes attain) a level of happiness.

For example, I'm assured by reasonable math-oriented folks that it's perfectly meaningless that the following ratios hold true:

  • S Factor: S : E :: CO(D) : Icosa(D)
  • S3: SuperRT : CO(D) :: Cube(R) : Tetra(D)
First: what does it all mean? and second: who cares?

S and E are two of the Synergetics BEAST modules, irregular tetrahedrons defined in terms of the concentric hierarchy (CH). 

The CH is the geometric centerpiece of Synergetics, R. Buckminster Fuller's transcendentalist geometry (i.e. philosophy).

The S modules, 12 left and 12 right handed, brick in the difference twixt an Icosahedron of edges S Factor (about 1.08), and its faces-flush nest, an Octahedron of edges D (2R) and volume 4. 

Here's a poster showing an S mod from Syn-U by Casey House:

S Mods by Casey House

The phi cut is along an edge of 2R (D). The IcosaWithin -- as David Koski and I call it -- with eight faces flush to those of the Octahedron, has edges S Factor, and a volume of about 2.92. 

$$S Factor = 2\sqrt{7 - 3\sqrt{5}}$$ (using MathJax)

All volumes are in tetravolumes i.e. the volume of the D-edged tetrahedron is our unit.

D is for diameter, R is for radius (1/2 the diameter). Icosa(D) is an icosahedron with edges D or 2R. Its volume is about 18.51.

Screen Shot 2024-02-06 at 8.27.30 AM

Cube(R)/Tetra(D) is known as S3, or "Synergetics Constant", and it relates the respective unit volumes within the XYZ and IVM contexts (namespaces) respectively. In the XYZ context, we take the R-edged cube for a unit, whereas in the IVM context, a corresponding unit of volume is a D-edged tetrahedron, a little less. S3 is about 1.06066.

The SuperRT is a Rhombic Triacontahedron, a triac, with long face diagonals equal to the edges of Icosa(D). Its short diagonals form a pentagonal dodecahedron (PD). The two combined give the SuperRT, which is phi-up from the RT of 120 E modules. S:E is our S Factor.

The SuperRT : CO(D) ratio is the same as the Cube(R) : Tetra(D) ratio.

Who cares? Those of us wanting to get our heads around the Concentric Hierarchy, the centerpiece of (backbone of) Synergetics.


See: Polyhedron Play section of this Jupyter Notebook Polyhedrons Я Objects

Friday, February 02, 2024

Thirsters Concludes

Thank You McMenamins

Thirsters ended a chapter in its long and winding way yesterday, with a final announced meetup at the E Broadway McMenamins. The group got started in a different McMenamins across the river, when Bob Textor and his friends would get together and yak it up, about world affairs, about politics, about trending topics and the talk about town.

Our emails would usually come with the following verbiage:
Thirsters: Originally organized by Robert B. Textor (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Stanford) as a worldwide network in about 1997, Thirsters is an informal gathering of Peace Corps graduates, academics, public servants, business leaders, and other questioning individuals who discuss issues of peace, freedom, creativity, development, ethics, fairness, sustainability and respect for cultural differences. Most often examining topics through a social science lens, Thirster meetings have been described as "a learned salon that comes together for camaraderie, beer, and to discuss issues of common interest." "Intercultural understanding" has often been identified as a primary concern of Thirsters.
I've been phasing all alcoholic drinks out of my intake, starting with beer a couple years ago. I'm assured by the example of others that I won't be disqualified from joining Thirsters in its next chapter, simply on that basis. We're switching to a private home to reboot and continue talking.

We reminisced about some of the high points in our gatherings. I've been attending Thirsters meetings for a long time and could match my memories to much of what was said. Several of us mentioned that Pashtun Khan guy who helped educate us about Afghanistan, a meetup I blogged about.