Month: April 2011

Why didn’t the corporations pay taxes?

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

People are up in arms about corporations not paying taxes. Here’s how they do it.

These companies do most of their business in the United States and other moderate-tax countries such as Germany, England and Spain.

But they often put their intellectual property – such as trademarks or patents – into subsidiaries in low-tax countries such as Switzerland, Ireland, Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

When one of the company’s subsidiaries in a higher-tax country sells a product, it pays a royalty to the subsidiary in the tax haven. That shifts profits to the low-tax country, while the subsidiary in the high-tax country gets a tax deduction for the royalty payment.

“The income is taxed at a lower rate, and the deductions are enjoyed at a higher rate,” says Robert Willens, a Wall Street accounting expert.

And there’s other ways it moves around too. Read the article.

So all that’s happening is people are seeing large, faceless, evil corporations with their fat wallets and rich CEO’s wheedling out of paying taxes. It’s not fair… especially because it’s depriving my favoriate government entitlement program of funding!

I see.

But is anyone asking the more fundamental question? Why are these corporations shifting money around like this? Why are they not wanting to pay the taxes?

Because they want to keep their money.

You know… like you and I do.

You work hard for the things you earn in life. You want to keep a hold of them. You want to reap the benefits of your blood, sweat, and tears. And when someone comes along and takes it from you and leaves you with little left over because “they need it” or “they deserve it” for whatever reason you don’t see fit… it really gets you upset.

So how about this.

Why not figure out how to keep that money here in the first place.

Why not address the more fundamental issue — that people (and corporations) want to keep the things they earned. Allow people to keep their things, even if it is just their GPA.

You’re worried about a growing deficit? That the .gov’s S&P rating was downgraded? So then, why are you still spending money like a madman? If money isn’t coming in, you need to stop sending it out.

People really aren’t all that unwilling to part with their money — when it’s going to be spent on something they consider worthwhile. So imagine… if people and corporations are working so hard to not part with their money and not give it up, seems to me it must be being spent on a lot of things that aren’t worthwhile.

Maybe we should address that issue first.

Second thoughts

/ hsoi

There’s always been something about the Scout Rifle concept that’s always struck a harmonious chord with me.

I’ve got an M1A Scout Squad and I love it. I’d love it a lot more if it wasn’t so heavy; which really isn’t too big a problem for me but… read on.

I have a Savage bolt-action rifle in .308 Winchester, and it’s been my go-to hunting rifle putting more meat on the table than anything else. It’s a solid performer. I have no qualms about buying another Savage, and their 10 FCM Scout of course has much appeal to me. Not sure how well it’d really hold up if it was put through a rigorous weekend of rifle training, but being a somewhat light and handy hunting rifle? More than adequate.

And when Ruger announced their Gunsite Scout Rifle well…. I groaned. Part of the price tag is of course the Gunsite logo, which adds nothing but money to their pockets, which is alright, but I’d rather be getting more gun than branding/marketing. I didn’t want to like it. But this month’s American Rifleman features the rifle and it’s made me look at it again. I think the reason I reconsider it? How well could my kids handle it? I saw how Oldest handled the Savage when he took his first hog, but if not for being able to fully rest it on the sill of the blind’s window, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it out there (just too long, too unbalanced for his size/frame).  But the Ruger? Hrm.

Yes I know… the whole reason I bought the 6.8 was for the kids. 🙂  But go with me… I’m trying to find excuses. 😉

I’m not saying it’s good, I’m not saying it’s bad. I’m saying I’d love to get my hands on one to give it a fair shake.

2011-04-21 Workout

/ hsoi

Today’s workout was good. I’m getting locked into good working ranges and getting more comfortable with things.

I strove to be a little more strict today, but obviously wasn’t strict enough as the owner corrected my form a bit on the dumbbell overhead presses… keep things in line with my ears. I thought I was, but I was focusing more on seeing my form in the mirror in front of me and not feeling where the weight was.

I also didn’t do those “machine crunches” because they really are only working the hip flexors; the abdominal muscles are only being worked as a supporting muscle. Owner suggested to me to use the big Pilates ball, lay on my back over that, and crunch that way. I liked that more than I thought I would. Because of the ball curvature I got a bit more stretch and range of motion for the crunch, and if I keep my feet close together it requires a lot more work to remain balanced. Plus my neck muscles (e.g. sternocleidomastoid) got some work too. I like.

I felt like I could do more, which I take as a good sign that my body is getting used to things. I’ll probably stick on this 2x-week, whole-body-each-workout routine for at least a couple more weeks, no real change-ups in the routine. I don’t want to rush things at this point and let my mental excitement get ahead of my physical capabilities. 🙂

Aging bands

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Wow. KK Downing, guitarist for Judas Priest, is retiring from the band. Official press release.

Man… that feels strange. But yes, finish out the tour that’s already booked… lots of obligations, money, contracts, etc.. But it does make you wonder, is it time for the band to as a whole to retire?

I’ve been wondering about this with a lot of bands. ZZ Top… 40+ years, still going strong, but when is it time? Aerosmith had a lot of turbulence over the past few years with the notion of calling it quits being thrown around. I know Slayer is a band that feels with their sort of music that being up there at 60 years old and still playing doesn’t seem right.

I’d rather see someone go and leave us wanting more, than to be the last guy that never leaves the party… you know, like KISS. 😉  Don’t get me wrong, I love KISS, but 15 years of farewell tours seems kinda silly. Oddly tho, their latest album ‘Sonic Boom’ was pretty good, so should they keep going?

Then you think about personnel changes and when the only “original” member of some band is the guy they used as a touring keyboardist during the mid-70’s… is it really that band any more? When is a replacement too much? Which of course goes back to another key question: what makes a band that band? Replacing Bon Scott wasn’t horrible for AC/DC, nor David Lee Roth for Van Halen. But the guys from Journey keep wanting a guy that sounds like Steve Perry.

Bottom line is… we’re no longer the MTV crowd, we’re the VH-1 crowd, but that’s slowly being pushed out and off too. When’s the time to put the guitar back on the rack? When is the time to say we should leave with a solid legacy and dignity, even if it means leaving the gravy train behind?

Rite of Passage

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I took Oldest and Youngest shopping today.

For a suit.

Oldest needs a suit, Youngest just gets one (Easter and all). Full jacket and everything. A tie that doesn’t clip-on. And his feet are big enough that he shopped in the proper mens shoe department… ouch, that cost a lot for shoes he’ll rarely wear. But I also picked up a new shoe shine kit because the few things I have in the shoebox just doesn’t cut it any more.

Time for Oldest to learn how to care for good leather shoes.

Time for him to learn how to properly tie a tie.

Oldest looked mighty sharp in that full suit. Even he liked it…. which came as a surprise to me.

Damn. Do they have to grow older?

What Monty Python Taught Me About the Software Industry

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

A great blog post by David “Lefty” Schlesinger on what Monty Python can teach us about the software industry.

If you’re not in this industry, you might not get it all… but he nails it pretty well. The part that really struck a chord with me is Mr. Creosote:

“More” is Not the Same As “Better:” For years, the mobile phone industry — as typified by OEMs like Nokia and Motorola — marched along to the beat of the carriers’ collective “standards and requirements,” which essentially amounted to an extremely lengthy checklist of mostly extreme minor features, quibbles, and quid pro quos. In the case of one major carrier, the requirements specifications stretched to some 1,800 pages.

Apple turned that all upside down with its introduction of the iPhone, which failed to implement even such commonplace features as MMS messaging. Predictions of imminent doom for the device and for AT&T (the carrier foolish enough to go for an unproven phone from an inexperienced manufacturer) were rife (and I admit to being among the misguided doomsayers, initially).

It turned out that consumers didn’t care about the carriers’ checklists, and they pretty much didn’t care about niceties like MMS messaging, either. What they did care about was nice design and thoughtfully constructed — both surprising and consistent — user experience.

Adding features aimlessly guarantees that none of those features will be thoughtfully implemented; it reduces the likelihood that any of them are well-integrated. Worse, just-one-more-feature considerably increases the chances of the unexpected happening to your project (see point 1).

Product marketers love to try to squeeze just one more tiny feature — really, it’s wafer thin! — into everything they work on. It’s a bad idea.

Emphasis added… because I’ve dealt with this for so long.

Writing good software is a craft, which most people don’t get. It’s hard to do, it takes time. It takes iterations, revisions, even throwing everything out and starting over. We can add 1800 pages worth of features if you really want it, but the old saying stands: good, fast, or cheap — pick 2. Unfortunately they usually want it fast and cheap… with more features, and oh, can you just add this?

Your 4.0 GPA is excessive

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Your 4.0 GPA is excessive. We should take the GPA’s of the 10% of grade earners and redistribute it to the lower-GPA students to help them.

That would be fair, right?

Oh… it’s fair so long as it’s not YOU that’s being taken from. I see. You work hard for your GPA and you want to keep it. Well, I work hard for my money and want to keep it. If you think other people are entitled to my money, I would say others people are entitled to your grade… and your money too. So, whenever you want to write me a check, I’m waiting, because under your logic, I’m entitled. But yet, I haven’t received a check yet. Why not? If you think forced redistribution of wealth is a good thing, set the example and start redistributing your wealth.

More here.

Fire – follow up

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Those fires that were near my home? They know the cause:

According to fire investigators, it was 60-year-old Michael Weathers’ unattended campfire that caused the devastation in Oak Hill.

Officials said Weathers went to the convenience store to buy beer and left hot coals from his campfire unattended. During that time, the wind began blowing the embers and that’s when officials believe the fire started.

Burn bans mean nothing. Hell… not even common sense about not burning when it’s dry and windy out… or not leaving a fire unattended.

Eleven homes destroyed, ten damaged. Hundreds of people misplaced and their lives thrown out of whack.

*sigh*

It wasn’t a malicious act, merely a negligent one. But look at what it caused?

We’re human. We all make mistakes, even preventable ones like this. We have to do what we can to be better… because the costs of our mistakes can be high.

2011-04-18 workout

/ hsoi

Gotta make this a quick entry… need to get to other things with the day.

The workout went well. After doing a lot of reading over the weekend and giving how my body is feeling, I’m changing up slightly. Instead of aiming for 3 sets of 8-12 reps, I’m going for 4 sets of 6-10 reps, except the isolation exercises like curls and triceps extensions I’ll have those be 3 sets since those muscles will have gotten some good work already.

Exercises were the same as prior workout. Some weight increase too. I’m getting close to finding my groove in all the exercises and the amount of weight needed. When doing squats tho, the owner was walking by and just said “keep your core tight, push up through your heels”. Good advice… I’ve forgotten so much but getting it all back. 🙂

I strove to do that during the workout but found that there’s a part of me that’s trying to push more through the weight and letting form be a bit less than strict. Not sloppy by any means, but I’m focused on so many things and strict strict form hasn’t been one of them. For instance, keeping my core tight. Any time I did that, it made things harder, so that’s good. I’m thinking next workout I’ll keep everything exactly the same in terms of sets, reps, weight, exercises, but slow down a bit, try to exaggerate form to be uber-strict, really squeeze at the top of the rep.

Left ankle hurt a bit on the jog home so it was half jog half walk. That’s the ankle I blew out years ago doing jump spin kicks in Kuk Sool and landing badly from being exhausted and losing my balance.

Also tweaking some of my thoughts on nutrition. Only supplements I’m doing right now is a general multivitamin and fish oil in the morning, calcium and vitamin C before bed. Eating good food, ensuring good protein intake. Trying to space out meals every 2-3 hours and keep them small. Not being uber strict here… need to find my groove here too, but it’ll come. I figure after a month or two I’ll want to look at picking up whey protein and perhaps creatine, but we’ll see. I will likely also switch to a better multivitamin, but not until our current supply in the house is used up (e.g. we bought Centrum for the kiddos but it seems to bother their stomachs… so… I need to use it all up since I seem to be the only one that can consume it).

Another cool thing was finding FitnessTrack. It’s a barebones workout tracking app. It doesn’t have all sorts of sexy frills, but I don’t need that. It seems to be doing what’s needed, straightforward, and seems to work nicely. Of course being a developer myself I thought I could write something, but hey… let’s see what’s out there first. If this ends up fitting my bill, great.

Feeling good!

A reminder for you smokers….

/ hsoi

Texas is having major drought conditions. It’s dry, it’s windy, and that’s prime for fires.

We’re having them.

On Sunday afternoon I was out with some folks and we noticed a large plume of smoke rising in the distance. No question something big was on fire. I get home and Wife sees there’s a brush fire that broke out around 2 PM not a few miles from my house. Yes, a little scary to think about.

As of this writing, they don’t know what the cause is…. but I’m going to go out on a limb and wonder if it was caused by a smoker flicking their cigarette butt out the car window.

A few weeks ago Wife and Daughter were driving out of our neighborhood and saw some smoke rising up off the curb. All the Live Oak trees have dropped their leaves and pollen sacks, so all that tinder is pooled up along the curbs. At first they weren’t sure if it was exhaust from a car that was parked and running, so they didn’t think much about it. But on the way home, they still saw smoke and called the fire department.

Look… I used to smoke. I understand finishing a smoke and flicking the butt away. But it’s irresponsible and can cause so much damage, loss of property, loss of life. In general you shouldn’t do it because it is one of the biggest sources of litter. But even more so now it shouldn’t be done because it can lead to fires… to people losing their homes, massive disruption of their lives, and perhaps even loss of life.

I don’t care if you smoke — it’s your life, it’s your mouth, lips, heart, and lungs. But once you flick a lit butt, a fire starts… now you’re infringing upon others and their ability to enjoy and live their lives. That’s not permissible.

Find a more responsible place to extinguish your cigarette, please.

Updated: Looks like they have a suspect in custody and are charging them with arson. Glad to hear it. Doesn’t say how it was started, if it may have been a cigarette butt. I should make it clear that I don’t know if that’s how it was started and I’m not saying it is. But I have seen more than enough times in my life where such a simple, thoughtless act can cause big ugly things to happen. It’s completely preventable, so folks… let’s prevent it.