The good news -- Buddy (Megan's boyfriend) proposed this morning. Wedding date to be confirmed but one of the Saturdays in August.
The bad news -- two hours later, Megan and Lori left to go shopping and within the first hour of shopping - the ring was missing (it had not been fitted yet).
The good news -- after three more hours of tears, talking to security, picking up her boyfriend and explaining the bad news to him -- the ring was found by her boyfriend! Amazingly snagged on a t-top on a rack in a store they'd been at (luckily they'd only been to 3 stores!). They crawled on the floor in all the stores (am sure no once noticed! - but they did find the floors and under the racks amazingly dirty!) - shook the clothes which finally resulted in the ring falling to the floor.
During this time I was watching "The Dark Knight" and receiving several frantic calls about the ring. Since I was in Green Bay and the ring was lost in Appleton there was not much I can do.
I sure hope the engagement and wedding planning goes smoother than the first day!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Factual Political Commentary
Boy am I glad the election is over. Regardless of who you were hoping was going to win you have to be happy to no longer receive the annoying pre-recorded messages from the candidates. Stopped answering all calls from numbers that were not in my address book.
This quote, from Henry Kissinger, sums up I feel about politicians.
This quote, from Henry Kissinger, sums up I feel about politicians.
"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad name."
Monday, November 3, 2008
How taxes work
SUBJECT: TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED WITH BEER
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest ) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth (the richest ) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.” Drinks for the ten men now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share”?
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
The sixth man now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings)
The seventh man now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings)
The eighth man now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings)
The ninth man now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings)
The tenth man now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings)
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right”, exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too! It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”
“Wait a minute!” yelled the first four men in unison.
“We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!!
And that, boys and girls, and college professors, this is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest ) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth (the richest ) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.” Drinks for the ten men now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share”?
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
The sixth man now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings)
The seventh man now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings)
The eighth man now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings)
The ninth man now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings)
The tenth man now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings)
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right”, exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too! It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”
“Wait a minute!” yelled the first four men in unison.
“We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!!
And that, boys and girls, and college professors, this is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Stock Market Roller Coaster
I heard a great quote from Dave Ramsey, a financial adviser that I respect. In talking about the current market and in answer to a question about getting out of the stock market now that it is way, way down he said:
"You don't get hurt on a roller coaster if you don't jump off."
I can't say that we are at the bottom of the stock market plunge but the stock market has always come back - so if you are a long term investor (more than 5 years) you need to grit your teeth, look the other way, and go do something you enjoy doing. The stock market will take care of itself, over the long term.
"You don't get hurt on a roller coaster if you don't jump off."
I can't say that we are at the bottom of the stock market plunge but the stock market has always come back - so if you are a long term investor (more than 5 years) you need to grit your teeth, look the other way, and go do something you enjoy doing. The stock market will take care of itself, over the long term.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Going Green
A year ago I set a goal to "Live my life to have less impact on the environment". I believe that I was successful. Here are a few of the things that I did (and am still doing).
1. Walk or ride my bike to work one day per week. I live one mile from work and I found this easier than I thought it would be. I actually averaged two days per week and during the summer some weeks it was 4 days.
2. Re-use grocery sacks. I use the sacks to buy groceries again. As an added bonus a local grocery store, Festival Foods, pays you a nickel for each sack you re-use. Not only helping the environment but the pocketbook as well. I keep the sacks in the trunk of my car.
3. Recycle glass and paper at home. OK.. it's mandated by law but I still do it!
4. Mulch food scraps. All of the food scraps that do not contain fats go into my compost pit instead of the landfill. I have a stainless steel container on my counter next to the sink to put the materials when cooking.
5. Use compact fluorescent bulbs. About 3/4 of our bulbs are now changed. It takes a bit of adjustment to not have "instant" light when the switch is flipped and it's really no big deal. Can't say that I've checked the electric bill to see if we are getting the savings promised.
6. Use recycled paper to print. I use previously printed paper to print documents that are for my use only. Not only is this saving paper in the landfill but it is cheaper as well.
7. Pass magazines I've read onto others. I've found others that want the magazines I read except for Business Week.
Please share any ideas you may have. I'm always looking for ways to be "greener".
1. Walk or ride my bike to work one day per week. I live one mile from work and I found this easier than I thought it would be. I actually averaged two days per week and during the summer some weeks it was 4 days.
2. Re-use grocery sacks. I use the sacks to buy groceries again. As an added bonus a local grocery store, Festival Foods, pays you a nickel for each sack you re-use. Not only helping the environment but the pocketbook as well. I keep the sacks in the trunk of my car.
3. Recycle glass and paper at home. OK.. it's mandated by law but I still do it!
4. Mulch food scraps. All of the food scraps that do not contain fats go into my compost pit instead of the landfill. I have a stainless steel container on my counter next to the sink to put the materials when cooking.
5. Use compact fluorescent bulbs. About 3/4 of our bulbs are now changed. It takes a bit of adjustment to not have "instant" light when the switch is flipped and it's really no big deal. Can't say that I've checked the electric bill to see if we are getting the savings promised.
6. Use recycled paper to print. I use previously printed paper to print documents that are for my use only. Not only is this saving paper in the landfill but it is cheaper as well.
7. Pass magazines I've read onto others. I've found others that want the magazines I read except for Business Week.
Please share any ideas you may have. I'm always looking for ways to be "greener".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)