Pennies: Who Needs 'Em?

The penny is completely useless and it costs more to produce than it's worth (1.3 cents per penny). If it were up to me, not only would I immediately stop the circulation of pennies, but I would can nickels and dimes too. I would prefer it if every cash transaction were rounded up to the nearest quarter. Just please don't make me carry around a pocketfull of useless change.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/05/09/the_price_of_a_penny_stirs_calls_for_steel/

Fruit Kick

I'm on a pear kick right now.
Last year it was apples. I've been trying to get more into oranges, but I haven't been able to make it stick.

Yes, TexasTwinsTwice, It Does Happen.

Just yesterday TexasTwinsTwice wrote the following comment on my Taxes: Round 3 post:


Texastwinstwice:
"I put my comments in 'Taxes Round 1' as to how my family has worked 'hard' to earn our income. In addition, my husband worked 40 hrs a week as a ditch digger & dishwasher while he took a full course load of college classes (which he paid for himself). I admit--he was crazy, but DEFINITELY a hard worker. Now if a lettuce picker spends the day working & the evenings in night school, he/she won't be picking lettuce for long..."

My response...

Tyler:
"...in theory I'd like to subscribe to your view of "all it takes is hard work." Practically however, I believe there will always be a segment of society that doesn't view opportunity the same way you do.

...if the "lettuce picker" went to night school it wouldn't be the same one your husband went to. I presume your husband went to night courses in college, am I correct? Or was he learning english at night?"



Well, it looks as though one field worker did just that. Worked hard, got an education and is now a world class brain surgeon.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25802159/&GT1=43001

Great story. Would that there were many more of these. However, things like this are still rare enough that the story made national news.

Note: If you read the article carefully you will also see that he had a college education (at the age of 18) before he ever illegally immigrated. Not your typical immigrant.

Holy Cow...Charlie Counts!

I'm so proud, I can't stand it. Just a few minutes ago Ashley sat down with Charlie to try to get him back to bed (he'd been crying in his crib for the past 15 minutes). While sitting in the chair she held up her index finger and said, "What's this?"

"One." He said. I had never heard him say "one" before. I was impressed.



Then she held out two fingers. "What's this?"

"Two."


I stopped checking my email and focused all my attention on Charlie. Just counting to "two" was much more than I thought he was capable of.


Three fingers. "What's this?"


"Three."


My jaw was on the floor. With each additional finger came the right answer.


"Four."


"Five."


"Six."

Then he skipped seven.

"Eight."


"Nine."


I was on the edge of my seat by the time we got to Ashley's pinky finger.

"Ten."


Linda (his grandmother) is always swearing up and down that Charlie is "sooo smart." I wasn't ready to put him up at the top of the class just yet. Dude can't speak worth a nickel. Now? I've got no choice. He got a 9/10 on his first math test. Now if he could only learn to say his name.

Ashley: My Tree-hugging Sister

Meet Ashley, my tree-hugging, animal loving, gingerbread house building, liberal sister. Here she is with Jose, her vegan boyfriend.

Like Jose, Ashley is also a vegan. And she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet...especially if your a tomato, a kitty-cat or poultry.

• She loves to cook. Check out her blog about vegan recipes for disasters to see just how much she likes to cook and bake. Note: I think you can use these recipes during periods of calm too.
• She loves to garden. A couple months ago when Ashley (my wife) started a garden, Ashley (my sister) brought over a few tomato plants and a pumpkin plant, which survived this summer's heat wave (unlike some of our store bought plants). She has also been known to drop off potted plants or flowers just because she's nice. Thanks Ashley.
• She loves animals. From the time she was young she loved all types of animals, especially horses and dogs. She was always bringing home pets (birds, rats, dogs, cats, turtles, fish, etc.) but unlike most kids who quickly lost interest in pets, Ashley did a great job of caring for them. (Ashley, there was nothing you could have done for that parakeet.)
• She loves school. She must because she's been going to college for over 10 years. In those ten years she's studied everything from horticulture to other stuff.
• She loves nature and the environment. She's always respected living creatures and the environment. I once squashed a spider just to make her mad and I still feel bad about it. I think she probably does too. I don't think she prays much, but if she did I'm sure she would pray for all the creepy crawly creatures along with the cute kitty-cats, tomatos and poultry.

We don't always share the same political or religious views, but I've definitely learned a thing or two from her about animals, trees and even people.

Plastic or Styrofoam?

I just went into the office breakroom to get a bottle of water. As I reached for the 1/2 liter plastic bottle I could almost hear my sister Ashley saying "you shouldn't drink bottled water when you've got perfectly good tap water just a few feet away." So I deciced to get it from the tap today.

But as I reached for the styrofoam cups we have stocked next to the sink another voice popped into my head. This time it was a co-worker who had recently lectured me about how using styrofoam cups was environmentally irresponsible.

So which is worse, plastic or styrofoam?

Taxes: Round 4

I finally got around to looking for government budget breakdowns. Here's a pretty detailed pie-chart on the 2008 federal budget. Just follow the labels around clockwise starting with the biggest one, Social Security.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget,_2008


I also looked into the California state budget (below). As expected, it is much more relevant to what I'm concerned with day-t0-day. So if we're going to raise taxes at any level, it should be the local state level, not federal.

source: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/BudgetSummary/SUM/1249561.html

Taxes: Round 3

What if we lowered taxes? Wouldn't we all benefit from giving less to the government and spending our money on what we need most?

For example, what would happen if we lowered taxes across the entire socio-economic spectrum, say by $4000 per household? If this were 2004 (see the chart below), that would mean that the average household in the bottom 20% wouldn't pay taxes at all. Wouldn't those poor folk suddenly be able to pay for health care? Wouldn't the middle-class be able to put a little more money towards their mortgage or retirement? Wouldn't the rich be able to buy that much needed new wardrobe (which in turn helps a bunch of poor people who work for the clothing manufacturer)?
However, if this hypothetical scenario actually took effect, I wonder if each group would use the additional money for what they needed most (like health care and a mortgage payment)? Or would most of the money go to waste? And if that money did go to waste, should the rest of society have to bear the financial burden for those that squandered their govenment bonus so everyone could have health care and college tuition?

Taxes: Round 2

This is a continuation of my thoughts on taxes from the last post. Take a look at the chart below from a 2007 report from the Tax Foundation. It highlights a Robin Hood type effect of the rich giving to the poor we have built into our system of taxation and spending in the U.S.
This chart shows that the top 20 percent (the rich) pay way more in taxes than they ever receive in government services/spending. On the other hand, the bottom 20 percent (the poor) get way more benefit from govenment spending than they pay for. Is that fair? Not for the rich. But that's the way it should be. I think most would agree. The rich have more so they give, the poor have less, so they get. It's not fair. It's right. Robin Hood knows it and so does the U.S Government (that's us).

Taxes: Round 1

Does Warren Buffett really pay lower tax rates than his secretary? According to him, absolutely.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece

According to the numbers, maybe not.
http://www.texasstartupblog.com/2008/01/23/warren-buffett-cheap-skate/

Whatever the case, one should be careful in applying Warren Buffett's logic to areas (or individuals) that don't apply.

He is not talking about personal income taxes here, he is talking about "the rate of tax that private equity and hedge fund staff pay on their share of the profits" (which for them might as well be the same as personal income). Would it be fair to adjust these rates so those wealthy hedge fund owners are taxed appropriately? Sure. It might be fair. However, please don't throw all CEOs, corporate executives and well-to-do individuals into Warren's bucket. They work hard for their money just like you and I do, and they get taxed even harder.

The top 1% of U.S. income earners pay almost 40% of all the federal taxes collected in this country. (Source: My friend Kyle, who said he got his numbers from 2005 IRS numbers)

We should be thanking the wealthy for all they do for us and our government, not accusing them of being villains and thiefs. Thanks rich guys.

My Artificially Flavored Beverage of Choice

I don't think I've ever purchased a Diet Dr. Pepper...in my entire life. Yet, it is my favorite diet drink.

The end.

Lazy Sundays

For about five minutes (literally) this afternoon both Charlie and Max were asleep.  The house was perfectly peaceful and I thought I might have some time to myself.  So I pulled out "The Complete Calivin and Hobbess" a collection of all Bill Waterson's Calvin and Hobbes work.

Ashley got this set for me over a year ago and I've only cracked the books open twice.  Regardless this set of books remain one of my prized possessions.  They remind me of lazy afternoons growing up when I would sit on my bed for hours reading through all the Calvin and Hobbes books I owned.  (I don't think I ever told Ashley that I own almost all the individual books where they still sit at my parents house.  She probably wouldn't have given this current set to me if I had.)

I still laugh out loud at many of the cartoons.  This one above was always my favorite, and may still be.  I've also decided that if I were to ever own any artwork it would be an original Bill Watterson piece.

A "Whole-nother" Topic

I've never heard of a "half-nother" so why do so many people think it is okay to talk about a "whole-nother?"

Speaking of Water

I love bottled water like Diet Coke addicts love gettin' it from the fountain. I recommend the following brands:

1. Dasani - We took a load of this stuff up to Tahoe this weekend. It impressed me enough to add it to my list of approved waters.
2. Nestle Pure Life - They've got cases of Nestle at work sitting in all the rooms. Not a bad bottle of water. Keeps me hydrated whilst I toil and sweat to earn a living.
3. Kirkland - Not sure who the supplier is, but Costco's water delivers. This is a staple for me. Some might be quick to point out that Costco's water, like many others, is nothing more than tap water run through a filter with minerals added back in for flavor. More power to them.

There are other brands I don't much care for:

1. Perrier - Water shouldn't come in glass bottles. Every time I drink water (carbonated or not) from a glass bottle I'm let down that its just water.
2. VOSS - Have you ever had this stuff? Artesian water from Norway? "One of the purest waters on the market." Give me a break. Putting water in a fancy bottle doesn't make it taste any better. If you ask me, the Kirkland water I get from Costco beats the pants off VOSS. Bring it Norway!
3. Arrowhead Water - I loathe Arrowhead Water. Apparently it comes from a spring somewhere in the mountains. Someone tapped the wrong spring, cause this stuff tastes like chalk.

"Flesh Out" vs. "Flush Out"

Do you"flush" out your details or do you "flesh " them out?

Dad, Golf and Hobble Creek

Last week I took a golfing trip to Utah with my dad under the guise of going to my brother-in-law's wedding. Our last day there we played Hobble Creek Golf Course. It's a beautiful course tucked into a narrow valley in Hobble Creek Canyon above Springville, Utah. It's also tight enough to be challenging and fun making it one of my top 3 favorites and probably the best value I have ever seen in terms of golf.