So I may be getting to do some karaoke in the near future. In preparation for that, I have been working on my favorite karaoke song of all time...be prepared everyone.
Posts
5 hours ago
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sooooo not platinum...
So, DCist just posted this:
For my part, I just do not get tax holidays. The obvious goal of tax holidays is to get people to buy more stuff by lowering the cost. If the problem is under-consumption, why not just stop taxing me so much all the time! As anyone who lives in the District can attest, marginal tax rates are nuts in there. This is one of several big reasons (bad schools, poor services, Marion Barry) why people have moved to the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
I just don't get the whole notion that we (politicians) will give you (me) a holiday from having to pay exorbitant taxes that we (politicians) recognize hurt the very businesses that we proclaim to need to stay competitive with those darn foreigners. If that's the case, shouldn't it just be permanent? More business means more more employees which means fewer people on welfare and more people that have access to stuff like healthcare through jobs and their own money rather than government programs that are poorly run. What am I not getting here?!
The same holds true for getting people to give to charity. If you want people to donate more to homeless shelters, food kitchens, and the like, don't tax them more; give them incentives by way of lower taxes and deductions from their taxes. Speaking as someone who's entire job is paid for by someone elses tax write off, I can say the American tax system has a great deal to do with job growth. My buddy Calvin wrote a great op-ed on this which you can find here. That's all I've got to say. Now I'm all angry and it's before breakfast.
Just a reminder that the District of Columbia is having another sales tax holiday week starting at 12:01 a.m. this Friday, November 28, through midnight Sunday, December 7. Most clothing, shoes, and accessory items that are under $100 will be exempt from the District's 5.75 percent sales tax during this time. For a complete list of eligible items, click here.
For my part, I just do not get tax holidays. The obvious goal of tax holidays is to get people to buy more stuff by lowering the cost. If the problem is under-consumption, why not just stop taxing me so much all the time! As anyone who lives in the District can attest, marginal tax rates are nuts in there. This is one of several big reasons (bad schools, poor services, Marion Barry) why people have moved to the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
I just don't get the whole notion that we (politicians) will give you (me) a holiday from having to pay exorbitant taxes that we (politicians) recognize hurt the very businesses that we proclaim to need to stay competitive with those darn foreigners. If that's the case, shouldn't it just be permanent? More business means more more employees which means fewer people on welfare and more people that have access to stuff like healthcare through jobs and their own money rather than government programs that are poorly run. What am I not getting here?!
The same holds true for getting people to give to charity. If you want people to donate more to homeless shelters, food kitchens, and the like, don't tax them more; give them incentives by way of lower taxes and deductions from their taxes. Speaking as someone who's entire job is paid for by someone elses tax write off, I can say the American tax system has a great deal to do with job growth. My buddy Calvin wrote a great op-ed on this which you can find here. That's all I've got to say. Now I'm all angry and it's before breakfast.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Raph this is for you...
...washed up celebrity makes a career changing comeback by reorganizing best works into youtube montage. Said celebrity only assumed idea was original, public knows better. Come on buster, when's the next flick!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrfIjYACPU0&eurl=http://yourdailychum.wordpress.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrfIjYACPU0&eurl=http://yourdailychum.wordpress.com/
Friday, November 21, 2008
Snow!!!
So this morning I woke up with an unusual bounce in my stride. I couldn't quite explain it but for some reason I found myself humming and singing in the shower. Then in the process of ironing my shirt I was thoroughly delighted and it was fun. And for the first time all year I remembered not to eat my cereal so as to leave room for the bagels we get every Friday. It was gearing up to be a whopper of a day. Then as I was headed back to the office from a lunch meeting in the city it struck me... in the nose... a small flaky ice crystal. Then another. No wonder! Today was the first day of snow. Apparently it doesn't snow much in DC but I've recently spent some time in Wisconsin and this was just a delight. Here's to you, you magical snow goddess. If you aren't platinum... then my name isn't Lincoln McLain.
More Socially Platinum Behavior
I'd like to thank Raph for keeping the ball rolling, and I apologize too for lacking in regularity and frequency.
Every morning I wake up around 9am (I know, the bliss of a grad student), take the elevator down to the first floor, walk outside my apartment and grab a copy of the Express and two complimentary coffees on my way back up. Usually I'm just in time to grab one of the last copies in the two bins relatively close to my apartment. For some reason, the Express was in high demand on Monday, and there were no copies left in either bin. The homeless man who usually sits by one of them saw me check both, and then offered his own copy to me for which I thanked him. I've seen him around a lot, but I'd never given him anything before. Guess he made the first gesture. How ironic. So this morning, when we woke to the fire alarm (there actually was a small fire in the building), I brought my wallet with me and gave the homeless man $1. Next time I plan to bring him a pumpkin cupcake if he'd like.
Platinum Public Behavior
Sorry again gang for not posting more often. I know that it kind of lets the steam out of a blog when we're not doing our part. For the record, in the course of any given day, I probably think of five separate ideas for posts. My problem is that I'm rarely in a position to post them within the time frame necessary before I've forgotten the idea. So I'm going to try and post immediately as i get an idea from now on, to help deal with said problem. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, so every morning I walk to work (it's been cold in case you didn't notice). Since I walk to work every day, I've gotten pretty good at several things. The first is street names in the ten blocks between home and work. Second is my newfound knowledge of the timing for all the traffic lights I walk through. I pretty much know at this point where and how fast to walk after I see an one light in an intersection. The good news is that this means I can get to work fast without almost causing an accident in the middle of a pretty well trafficked area of Arlington. But of course, like all good things, there are always free riders.
Just this morning, someone watched me jaywalk and about 5 seconds(too late) jumped off the curb and just blindly started walking. First rule of jaywalking; Look the fuck out! Anyway, the woman almost got hit and definitely got honked. The expression on her face was something close to perplexed/startled with a hint of indignant. I laughed. Definitely not platinum behavior. For the record, I can honestly say that I learned the rules of jaywalking from my mother, an avowed New Yorker who I clearly remember describing her unhappiness with jaywalkers in St. Louis, my home. Having been to NYC many times, I can say honestly that jaywalkers there really are of a different class. Oh well. Here' s to hoping the lady on the street lost some social capital and recognized the need to look at the cars/lights and not what song to listen to on her IPod.
Anyway, so every morning I walk to work (it's been cold in case you didn't notice). Since I walk to work every day, I've gotten pretty good at several things. The first is street names in the ten blocks between home and work. Second is my newfound knowledge of the timing for all the traffic lights I walk through. I pretty much know at this point where and how fast to walk after I see an one light in an intersection. The good news is that this means I can get to work fast without almost causing an accident in the middle of a pretty well trafficked area of Arlington. But of course, like all good things, there are always free riders.
Just this morning, someone watched me jaywalk and about 5 seconds(too late) jumped off the curb and just blindly started walking. First rule of jaywalking; Look the fuck out! Anyway, the woman almost got hit and definitely got honked. The expression on her face was something close to perplexed/startled with a hint of indignant. I laughed. Definitely not platinum behavior. For the record, I can honestly say that I learned the rules of jaywalking from my mother, an avowed New Yorker who I clearly remember describing her unhappiness with jaywalkers in St. Louis, my home. Having been to NYC many times, I can say honestly that jaywalkers there really are of a different class. Oh well. Here' s to hoping the lady on the street lost some social capital and recognized the need to look at the cars/lights and not what song to listen to on her IPod.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A post-election post about....
Absolutely nothing related to the election. Yeah, done with it.
What I really wanted to do was write about platinumness as it relates to my daily life. I was having a conversation with a friend and he asked me the following question about a recent technology acquisition I made. The conversation went something like this:
Friend: So, how's the new IPod?
Me: Oh, it's great. I don't even think about it.
Friend: Really?
Me: Yeah, it's one of those things that is so good, I tend to forget how simple and awesome it is.
The moral of the story is that I think it's pretty interesting how often we take for granted all the platinum things around us. It's helpful to remember things were not always as they are now.
What I really wanted to do was write about platinumness as it relates to my daily life. I was having a conversation with a friend and he asked me the following question about a recent technology acquisition I made. The conversation went something like this:
Friend: So, how's the new IPod?
Me: Oh, it's great. I don't even think about it.
Friend: Really?
Me: Yeah, it's one of those things that is so good, I tend to forget how simple and awesome it is.
The moral of the story is that I think it's pretty interesting how often we take for granted all the platinum things around us. It's helpful to remember things were not always as they are now.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A test of the [ir]rational voter?
This is the last post about voting from me for a long time, but this I simply couldn't pass up.
I woke up this morning to find this in my inbox:
I woke up this morning to find this in my inbox:
"date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 1:16 AM
subject Election Day Update
To the Mason Community:
Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."
This email was followed soon after with this:
Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."
This email was followed soon after with this:
"date Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 8:08 AM
subject Urgent Voting Information
Dear Colleagues,
It has come to my attention early this morning that a message was hacked into the system fraudulently stating that election day has been moved. I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax, it is also a serious offense and we are looking into it. Please be reminded that election day is today, November 4th."
Next, I find myself reading about this in the Express.
Sure, this isn't platinum behavior. But I still had a good laugh. I can't imagine anyone falling for these schemes, but anything's possible. Let it be clear I don't support purposefully disseminating incorrect information. But in jest, perhaps these pranksters were simply encouraging the "civic duty" of the extremely uninformed--not voting.
It has come to my attention early this morning that a message was hacked into the system fraudulently stating that election day has been moved. I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax, it is also a serious offense and we are looking into it. Please be reminded that election day is today, November 4th."
Next, I find myself reading about this in the Express.
Sure, this isn't platinum behavior. But I still had a good laugh. I can't imagine anyone falling for these schemes, but anything's possible. Let it be clear I don't support purposefully disseminating incorrect information. But in jest, perhaps these pranksters were simply encouraging the "civic duty" of the extremely uninformed--not voting.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Can I preach fiscal conservativism while also spending all my money on beer?
It seems counterintuitive—or at least ironic—that I could be able to strongly advocate responsible spending in the government at the same time as I race to the local water hole with my months earnings… Is this platinum? Am I, in fact, sending mixed messages to my enthusiastic followers? Maybe it could be more platinum of me if I were to… (oh here it comes) invest in Platinum!! Yes you’ve heard buy gold bars and stick ‘em under your bed. But with platinum you can do the same while also not looking like a Ron Paul loony. And let us face it, buying gold is so 1980’s rapper. This generations big-wigs know how to roll with the P-funk… that is essentially the same as putting star shaped glasses on a lump of the worlds most valued metal: platinum..
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