Information | Wheatworks Blog: Financial Matters

Handheld Calculator Virus

6/5/2007, 8:45 pm

Sooner or later it had to happen. Now, even the old faithful handheld calculator can be infected with a virus. eWeek.com has an article about the TIOS.Tiagra virus which attacks Texas Instruments TI89 calculators.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like a very destructive virus. And it can only be passed between two calculators when they are connected by a USB cable. In other words, this isn’t a mail worm that will storm across the Internet overnight deleting the contents of hard drives.

In my mind, the problem it raises is basic and related to trustworthiness. If a calculator is infected, there’s no reason to trust the answers it displays.

It really makes one wish for the good old days when life was simpler and one could always trust their calculator.

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Somewhere Along the Way We Crossed the Point of No Return.

6/2/2007, 2:50 pm

This can’t be good.

According to the USA TODAY article, “Rules ‘hiding’ trillions in debt: Liability $516,348 per U.S. household“, had the federal government used corporate-style accounting, the national deficit last year would have been reported as $1.3 trillion … NOT the official $248 billion which was reported.

Somewhere along the way we crossed point of no return.

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The Homeownership Myth

6/1/2007, 7:03 am

Dollars & Sense web site has a thought-provoking article written by Howard Karger titled, “The Homeownership Myth:
A contrarian asks whether homeownership really benefits low-income families.”

Howard Karger is professor of social work at the University of Houston and the author of Shortchanged: Life and Debt in the Fringe Economy. “The Homeownership Myth” is a clear outline of why, for many, homeownership may not be all it’s touted to be for the masses.

Dollars & Sense (subtitled, “The Magazine of Economic Justice”) is a non-profit publisher focusing on economic news and analysis, economic justice activism and critiques of the national media’s coverage of the economy.

If you’re interested in a perspective on the economy that includes ethical considerations, visit the Dollars & Sense web site. And if you like what you find there (in the online archive dating back to 1996) consider subscribing to the print issue.

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Nice Summary of Housing Bubble Issues

4/28/2007, 2:20 pm

If you’re hearing about the housing bubble on the nightly news and wondering what it’s really all about, let me refer you to the best summary of the housing bubble issues I’ve read yet. It’s on the Dissident Voice web site and was written by Mike Whitney. Posted April 26th, it’s at Housing Bubble Boondoggle.

Enjoy!