Allan Donsig

@adonsig.bsky.social

191 Followers 580 Following

Math Prof, Nebraskan of Canadian origin,

A tub of ice cream labeled Sweet Corn with a picture of an ear of corn and a waffle cone of yellow-colored ice cream resting on the tub.
A precisian professor had the habit of saying “…quartic polynomial a*x^4 + b*x^3 + c*x^2 + d*x + e, where need not be the base of the natural logarithms.” (It might be.)
A post by Jessica Taylor of Cook Political Report gives 4 changes in ratings: NCSen Toss Up -> Lean D GASen Toss Up -> Lean D OHSen Lean R -> Toss Up NESen Solid R -> Likely R
2018 Poster with portrait of Frederick Douglass and text reading If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never had and it never will.
Book cover with punch cards, title is Fortran IV With Watfor and Watfiv
Interior of a large chamber showing a wall with gothic decoration, wood paneling below, and 3 large paintings of ruins and troops in World War One.
A picture of a freighter passing in front of a bridge (The Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia at the south end of Lake Huron).
A rectangular flag with a golden circular design at the center and dark blue in the bottom half and light blue in the top half, with golden rays radiating out from the central circle.
Back cover of a book listing two titles “ex-prodigy: my childhood and youth” and “I am a mathematician: the later life of a prodigy”, by Norbert Wiener. The blurb begins These two volumes (both are available in the MIT Paperback series) comprise Norbert Wiener’s autobiography. Sometimes with humor and sometimes with sadness, they render an account, without sentiment, of the life of the world-renowned mathematician and scientist. …
How Does Medicaid Expansion Affect Employment? Ninety-one percent of non-elderly Medicaid adults in 2022 worked full or part time, acted as caregivers for family members or loved ones, attended school, or had an illness or disability affecting their ability to work; 61 percent were employed. [71] Most people enrolled in Medicaid expansion who can work do work; their jobs generally don’t offer employer-based coverage or pay enough for them to cover the costs of individual market coverage.
Dog and Priest, by Alex Colville: a black-clad man and a large black dog recline on a dock, both looking out to sea.
Magna Carta Libertatum, or the Great Charter of Freedoms, has been described by scholars as one of the most important documents in the Western world.
First penned for King John of England during an open revolt by his barons in 1215 — and offered as a kind of peace treaty — the charter famously declares that even the king must follow the rules.
Diamond and Sapphire in a display case, with a caption that reads Bejewelled! We love jewellery! But precious metals and gemstones must be mined. Our desire for beautiful jewellery has affected politics, economics, and the environment worldwide. Diamond and Sapphire Jewellery Set, 2010 This jewellery set was a state gift from the King of Saudi Arabia to Laureen Harper, wife of former prime minister Stephen Harper, and by extension to the Canadian people. Made by Al Moallim Jewellery Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Artifact no. 2014.0192
Image of James Baldwin and then text reading “I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
A pine tree stem with green needles and 3 purple pine cones
A sign labeled The Legacy of Peace that starts Peace takes time and commitment. Perhaps no simpler lesson emerges from the history of increasing friendship and cooperation among the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. . . . It endures not under the shadow of fear or threat, but because each nation has resolved to avoid violence, even in cases of conflict. . . .
Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, driving a Vespa scooter with a look of glee
Sign at Perry’s Victory Monument, discussing the slow development of friendship between Canada and the US since the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812.
Image of Peace Tower in Ottawa, Canada against a grey sky with the Centennial Flame in foreground.
A pond with a bare tree in the foreground and clouds lit by the just set sun in the distance
Image of Samuel Johnson and his statement: No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.
The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. The marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot as “Your Plastic Pal Who’s Fun To Be With.” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy defines the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as “a bunch of mindless jerks who’ll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes,” with a footnote to the effect that the editors would welcome applications from anyone interested in taking over the post of robotics correspondent. Curiously enough, an edition of the Encyclopaedia Galactica that had the good fortune to fall through a time warp from a thousand years in the future defined the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as “a bunch of mindless jerks who were the first against the wall when the revolution came.”
Bester's first published short story was "The Broken Axiom", which appeared in the April 1939 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories after winning an amateur story competition. Bester recalled, "Two editors on the staff, Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff, took an interest in me, I suspect mostly because I'd just finished reading and annotating Joyce's Ulysses and would preach it enthusiastically without provocation, to their great amusement. ... They thought "Diaz-might fill the bill if it was whipped into shape." This was the very same contest that Robert A. Heinlein famously chose not to enter, as the prize was only $50 and Heinlein realized he could do better selling his 7,000-word unpublished story to Astounding Science Fiction for a penny a word, or $70. Years later, Bester interviewed Heinlein for Publishers Weekly and the latter told of changing his mind for Astounding. Bester says that he replied (in jest), "You sonofabitch. I won that Thrilling Wonder contest, and you beat me by $20.”
Cover of “Stars” A Golden Nature Guide, a book published in the 1960s.
Poster with picture of Frederick Douglas and text “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who wants crops without plowing up the land. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.”
Tshirt with text: Programing is 10% writing code and 90% understanding why it is not working.
From Shrek, Lord Farquaad says “Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make”.