Brabec Bulletin Tidbits on Life
January 14, 2026
How the Brain Moves From Waking Life to Sleep
Who Owns the Art You Create Using AI?
The Enhanced Money Match Program
Make it a Good Day
The Comedy Genius of Danny Kaye
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How the Brain Moves from
Waking Life to Sleep (and Back Again)
Neuroscientists probing the boundary between sleep and awareness are finding many types of liminal states, which help explain the sleep disorders that can result when sleep transitions go wrong.
I have suffered from insomnia most of my working life, due largely to being unable to shut my mind down after an intense day of writing or other work on the computer. But any kind of business or personal problem I’m thinking about at bedtime will also keep me awake. If I’m not asleep in an hour, I take a non-habit-forming sleeping pill. I’ve read countless articles on this topic, but I’m linking you to one of the most interesting, informative, and fascinating scientific articles I’ve ever found on sleep disorders and the mystery of what’s happening in our brains as we go to sleep each night.
Read it here. It’s a long read, but if sleeping is one of your problems, you will want to read it to the end to see how your brain is working at night, and why.
Who Owns the Art You Create Using AI?
Copyright lawsuits are piling up, with some corporate violators being charged millions of dollars for copyright infringement. But I’m most concerned about the individual business owners who are using AI to generate book covers, logos, and images for use on websites and in articles. The rule is that only human-generated art can qualify for a copyright, which means that anything you create is likely to end up in the Public Domain, so you can’t protect it. Kim Komando discussed this topic in her 11/19/25 newsletter, explaining that one can “run into trademark issues if the AI generates something that looks too close to a real brand or celebrity.”
Many artists are finding that AI has included their work in its databases, and this “Who Owns AI Art?” video explains the kind of personal and career damage this kind of copyright infringement can cause a commercial artist or designer. (Despite several short commercials, it offers an excellent perspective on the problems involved in creating and using AI-generated art for profit.)
I found several articles and videos about the complexities of using AI-generated art for business use, but here are two articles you might find helpful:
• Who Owns AI-Generated Images? Copyright Law, Human Input, and the Future of AI Art (an attorney's advice).
• Who Really Owns AI Art? What Businesses Need To Know About Generative AI And Intellectual Ownership (from Forbes).
The Enhanced Money Match Program
You may be entitled to unclaimed property your state is holding for you and obligated by law to pay if you search for it, claim it, and submit proof of your identity.
“Unclaimed property” can include forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, stock dividends, and more. When property remains unclaimed for anywhere between three to five years, it is turned over to the State Treasurer’s office, which acts as a custodian. The state then attempts to reunite the rightful owners and heirs with their property so individuals can claim it.
Here’s how I received four checks from my state for a total of $139 I didn’t know was mine. Sometime in 2024, the state of Illinois notified me that I was entitled to a $34 refund for an overpayment of sales taxes on my books going back several years. I didn’t have to claim this money because the state simply sent me a check I happily deposited. As advised, I searched to see if I was owed anything else, but turned up nothing.
But the state emailed me in July 2025, saying there was a new program called “Money Match” that all states were paying attention to now. This time, I was directed to the website where I could search for my name and see what I could find. I was surprised to learn I was owed some money, one amount for $5 (whoopee), the other for $50. I filed a claim for both amounts and soon received two checks. To prove my identity, I uploaded a PDF of a W-2 form and a JPG of my driver’s license. (Pay attention to the instructions on how to name the documents.)
You can search for your name in your state or any other state in which you’ve lived, but note that several people may have your name. (I found a couple of Barbara Brabecs in my searches that didn’t match my identity.) I checked the other two states where Harry and I had lived and turned up one more Illinois listing for “up to $50.” It turned out to be a refund for water usage on a utility bill. I had no idea we had a balance left on this particular bill when we moved and closed the account.
I was happy to bring in more than $100 that day in July, but much more than that may be waiting for you. One in seven people in the U.S. has unclaimed money or property waiting to be found, which amounts to about 33 million people who collectively are owed an estimated $70 billion. Unless you’re rich, it may be worth spending a few minutes to visit MissingMoney.com and see what money you may have left behind.
I don’t expect to find any more missing money, but I wonder if I will leave money behind when I die and my heirs close out all my accounts. Perhaps you should consider a search on behalf of the heirs of a deceased family member.
Make it a Good Day
Every day is a good day—if we make it so. It’s all up to us. Each new day is our opportunity to start all over and breathe a prayer of gratitude for all that we have instead of focusing on what we do not have or may have lost. No matter how bad our circumstances or how dark our world becomes, let us thank God each morning for giving us one more day of life.
The Comedy Genius of Danny Kaye
~ January 1911–March 1987 ~
Famous for his linguistic abilities, his acting, dancing, and zest for living, Kaye’s performances on stage and screen were nothing short of brilliant. Decades after his death, he continues to make us laugh. One of my favorite movie scenes was in the 1955 film, The Court Jester, where the plan changes from the “vessel with the pestle” to the “flagon with the dragon,” leading to the iconic tongue-twister. If you need a laugh today, this short YouTube clip should give it to you.
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