Mixing Work and Play

 

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the spirit (nešāmâ) of life; and man became a living soul.—Genesis 2:7; cf. Qur’an 32:7-9.

 I breathed in its nostrils and now the metallic creature got a living (clockwork) soul, yet shows no signs of intelligence, artificial or otherwise. Maybe it is my soul the one missing intelligence. Now, the robot is working and I am playing. Wasting time, anyway. 

Arnold Kling Thinks about Inflation

 From Arnold Kling's Blog: 

I think of inflation as causing the following problems: it rewards the most alert and aggressive economic actors, and it punishes people who are passive and habitual; it interacts with the tax system to reduce productive investment; and it makes planning for the future difficult, particularly when it comes to buying a home.

I also think that inflation hurts the middle class and the poor more than it hurts the rich, because inflation creates confusion, and rich people are better able to navigate through the confusion. 

Big-Assed Girls

 

Yesterday my daughter (26 y.o.) took us out to a crowded "hipster" coffee house. The waitresses circulated among the public seated on low chairs. I am an old flâneur yet never experienced such impressive big asses at eye level and zero distance.   

Jew with a good head.

 

My head is still useful for something. 

A Conspiracy I can believe in

 So if it sounds like "the crusade against climate change" is one giant con game meant to enrich a handful of kleptocrats here and now, while the nebulous benefits - and the all too certain debt and hyperinflation - of this revolutionary overhaul of the global economy are inherited by future generations, it's because that's precisely what it is. Source

I know nothing about global warming. In my latest drainage report, found that rainfall is NOT decreasing nor significantly increasing in Israel. But fighting climate change, objectively, functions as a war: it makes overtaxing and national indebtment acceptable. It also frightens oil exporters. The future Earth may - or may not - be cleaner, that is uncertain, but we are being over-taxed today, that is certain. 

TASE - Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

The total value of the companies traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) passed above the one trillion shekel threshold last month, equaling $310.1 billion. The increasing prominence of Israeli stocks on the global stage is led by the country's technology sector. In fact, Israel is one of the most tech-forward markets in the world outside of the U.S. and some Asian economies.

The total value of all the companies traded on the TASE has risen 25% from just over NIS 800 billion at the end of 2020. Since then the number of companies traded on the TASE has risen 18% from 450 to 530. Since the end of 2018, the value of all the companies traded on the TASE has risen by more than 40%,” according to Globes.

How safe is TASE? I am getting older and for the first time, it seems that income from work is disappearing and I'm becoming dependant on savings. That is natural, but frightening. World inflation is worrying. In Argentina, it is 45% per year, yet people live and most are happy.  

Lebanon Meltdown

 Lebanon has no centrally generated electricity after the country's biggest two power stations shut down due to a fuel shortage. "The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days,".

Lebanon used to be the most prosperous country in the Middle East. Amazing.