PRODUCTIVITY: Some times people come down the up ramp

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Lesson Learned: Always watch the traffic.

Interesting, during my recent trip to LV, there must have been a bad accident on the interstate. Let me start at the beginning, departing one casino, we were waiting at the traffic light. (If you miss a light in Vegas, you have a lot of time to admire the scenery!) I noticed a helicopter hovering in the distance. It had to be a “traffic” copter. You just don’t see helicopters hovering in one spot. What would they be doing — drying a lawn? Upon closer study, it was over my road. So I immediately began thinking of alternatives. (Who wants to waste gambling time stuck in traffic?) So as I closed the distance, I could see the interstate was bumper2bumper. (Hey great, I ain’t going that way, and I wasn’t planning to go that way. Thanks Intelligent Designer for not putting it on my path!) As me, and two of my closest competitors to get across town first raced down Flamingo Boulevard, we approached the on ramp to the interstate. Did the guy in the right lane (I was in middle) get a surprise when some bozo from the on ramp made a tight left turn in front of him. Right-lane guy was doing 65; down-the-on-ramp guy was doing 5 as a result of that tight reverse 135 degree turn! People were streaming down the on-ramp. It was like a TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) movie where people were escaping from Godzilla on the interstate. Luckily, the right lane guy wasn’t turning to get on the interstate, or it would have made an even bigger big mess. More importantly, (after all this is all about me), I recognized the situation, and in true Christian fellowship, ever mindful of the Pontiff’s directive on Christian Driving, I had slowed down to permit the right hand guy to use my lane to escape the accident that was going to happen should he not have an escape route. (The fact, that if right-lane guy had hit down-the-on-ramp guy, there was a very good chance one or both of those bozos would have hit me, thus delaying me from my appointed rounds delivering my cash to casinos though out the Las Vegas valley! Of course, that fact never entered my mind.)

Lesson Learned: Don’t assume that on ramps won’t have exiting traffic! There may not be a traffic helicopter hovering over the road to alert you.

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RANT: Hillary’s Health Care

Monday, October 1, 2007

DINNER WITH HILLARY: TALKING POINTS FOR THE NEXT ROUND
Dick Morris Reports
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on TheHill.com on September 26, 2007.

*** begin quote ***

Even for her, Hillary Clinton showed tremendous skill at batting aside questions asked of her on the Sunday shows this past weekend and giving, instead, her standard talking points. Pinning this lady down is admitted ly not easy. Two of the best interviewers on political TV — Chris Wallace and Tim Russert — asked tough questions but got scripted and memorized retorts for their pains. But here are some questions (along with follow-ups) that I suggest they ask during the next round of Sunday shows — if she ever goes back on the circuit.

{Extraneous Deleted}

• You base your healthcare proposal on the need to cover 47 million “uninsured Americans.” Since about a third of them are illegal immigrants and another third are eligible for Medicaid right now and just don’t apply for it, aren’t you overstating the problem?

(As a follow-up to No. 4) In 2005 you co-sponsored legislation to provide health insurance to the children of illegal immigrants who have lived in this country for five years. In other words, their children would get subsidized healthcare under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program as a reward for dodging the cops for five years. Do you still support that proposal?

• You say that your healthcare proposal will leave alone those who are happy with their current insurance. But if you provide health benefits for close to 50 million new people, thereby generating huge new demand for medical care without any increase in the supply of doctors, nurses or hospitals, it will drive up prices radically. Won’t that force you to institute cost controls by limiting the care those now on health insurance can receive?

{Extraneous Deleted}

*** end quote ***

Hillary’s Health Care for illegal aliens. Rationing. And gooferment healthcare? You have to be kidding.

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MONEY: Bullion coins in turbulent times

Monday, October 1, 2007

I never read any stories about the Iraqi economy during the regime change process. I would believe that bullion coins would be a store of value. Better than the worthless fiat currency.

Any one see anything?

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TECHNOLOGY: Fob-iciszing your data

Monday, October 1, 2007

Lessons Learned: Putting all your data on a fob is useless without a USB port to plug it into. Seems obvious now.

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RANT: Hey Continental what’s wrong with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands) TLD?

Monday, October 1, 2007

Continental Airlines does recognize CC as a valid email address!

Argh!

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UPDATE: NOW it’s working. Go figure.

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INTERESTING: People “forget” their casino loyalty cards … … hmmm?

Monday, October 1, 2007

Now I am not turning to the “dark side” but … …

I find it interesting that people “forget” their casino loyalty cards. The leave the inadvertently in the machines when they finish playing. Could it be NOT an oversight but an attempt to capture other people’s play to their benefit. So while one would assume that the majority is “forgetful” and the minority is “capturing”. It mildly annoys me. OTOH is there any benefit in “collecting” these “misplaced” cards?

As an airplane exercise, sitting in the plane — or somewhere else — with nothing better to do, I brainstormed:

(1) An AC’s Borgata black card can let you use the short lines. No one says you can’t say pay cash for your buffet, but just get to the food faster, like a true black card player. I’ve never seen any one check. (This idea comes from the fact that once I was cut out of line as a black card holder when the hostess spotted another card that looked “black”.)

(2) At AC’s Showboat, you have to show an upgraded card to use the casino valet at certain times.

(3) At AC’s Borgata, if you can guess someone’s pin (a four digit number — ten thousand tries?), you could use their slot dollars and win money.

(4) At LV’s Station Casinos, just having the card gets you some discounts.

Just some thoughts.

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RECOMMENDED: TPIR show

Sunday, September 30, 2007

If you are in Vegas, they have “The Price Is Right” show. (It’s NOT the TV program and tix ain’t cheap.) But it’s fun.

Tip: If you’re called as part of a foursome to bid on an item (win and you get up on stage), the THIRD player must bid UNDER the next higher bid. Else the Fourth (Last) Bidder will always go over you by a dollar. So for example, without this tip, when #1 bids $100 and #2 bids $200, you can’t bid $300. The fourth player will bid $301 and the only shot is if you hit it on the head. In the example, with this tip, you’d bid $150 and the fourth player would bid $201. You’d at least have a shot. If you want to be nasty, you could bid 101 and take the whole number space, but I believe The Universe would see that and make the right price exactly $100 to rub your nose in your immoral behavior. (But that’s just me.) For the second bidder, I’d always bid a dollar, and take the under. In the five showcases, I saw taking the under would have won at least one.

Tip: If you get to the final showcase, take care not to “overbid”. In my visit, both contestants overbid. My recommended strategy for the second contestant is to ALWAYS bid a dollar. They have the wrinkle that if you come within a dollar you win the showcase. If you are the correct bidder, you win a prize. Not the showcase.

As always YMMV!

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NATIONAL: All nations need to revise their “social insurance” schemes

Sunday, September 30, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/hornberger/hornberger134.html

Libertarian Paternalism
by Jacob G. Hornberger

*** begin quote ***

Libertarianism stands for the principle that people should be free to keep their own money, handle their own retirement, and take care of their own parents and others through voluntary charity. That’s what genuine freedom is all about – the freedom to be responsible or irresponsible, the freedom to honor one’s parents or not, the freedom to help those in need or not. If people are forced to be responsible or caring, then they cannot truly be considered free.

Under Social Security, the state forcibly takes a portion of people’s earnings and distributes them to the elderly. Despite the illusion that the government has created with IOUs issued to the Social Security Administration by the Treasury Department, and contrary to what people have convinced themselves over the years, there is no Social Security fund and there never has been. The idea of a Social Security fund has long been a deception by the state and a self-deception by the citizenry. It consists of nothing more than IOUs issued by the Treasury Department in exchange for the cash that the Social Security Administration has collected, IOUs that cannot be paid until the government first raises the money (by additional taxes) to redeem them.

Thus, in actuality Social Security is a straight socialist transfer scheme – one in which the state takes a young Peter’s money to distribute it to an elderly Paul. In other words, it is a classic socialist or paternalistic program, one in which people look to government to play the role of a parent watching over and taking care of his adult children.

*** end quote ***

These socialist programs represent the worst of socialism.

Racist / Sexist in that the transfer goes from poor black men to rich white women.

It’s an immoral theft. Left to their own devices, people could easily beat the negative one percent return.

It’s a Ponzi scheme where the current recipients are paid by the current taxpayers. As the population ages, the demographic change will swamp the system.

It’s a slush fund. Politicians “stole” the funds “deposited” for their favorite programs. Just another way, they can spend us into poverty.

There is literally nothing good about this program.

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TECH SERVICE: TOPIX takes too much …. …

Sunday, September 30, 2007

I was a TOPIX editor for two areas — Kendall Park and Manhattan College NCAA. I’ve dropped those activities as well as the Jasper Jottings Sports blog. I am re-focus-ing on things and there was no R for the I in the ROI.

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RANT: You have NO idea what you pay in taxes!!!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

http://forwhomthebelltolls24.blogspot.com/2007/09/someone-is-stealing-money-out-of-my.html

Friday, September 28, 2007
Someone Is Stealing Money Out Of My Paycheck, And I Think It’s The Government

For Whom the Bell Tolls…

…The thoughts and rants of a white, upper-middle class, conservative, dangerously good-looking, super awesome, twenty-something mechanical engineer straight out of the not-so-mean streets of the not-so-urban suburbs of Bergen County, New Jersey…whose last name just happens to be Bell so that he can cleverly name his blog “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

*** begin quote ***

Have you ever bothered to calculate how much money the government actually takes out of your paycheck per year in taxes?

*** end quote ***

Well, ChrisBell, sad to tell, it’s even worse that you think. You can’t tell Bell what you are paying in taxes. There are additional factors to consider:

ONE, Inflation! The good old Federal Reserve Bank, which is neither Federal, Reserves anything, or a Bank, prints far more dollars — both with a printing press and electronically. This technically is monetary inflation, which allows the Federal Gooferment to “tax” everyone who has a dollar. If one pays attention in Ekkeynomics Class, when the sovereign debases the currency by printing more they get to spend these new dollars without taxing the people. Inflation ripples through the economy hurting all sorts of people. After all the stolen wealth has to come FROM somewhere. The net effect is a tax of some number per cent, no one knows exactly, estimated between 2% (Fed’s number, 12% some economists’ number, and 20% some conspiracy nuts number. So, each year, one can say you’ve paid an inflation tax. Someone has to pay for all the welfare warfare programs.

TWO, Businesses don’t pay tax; you do! Business only exist to make a profit. All of their costs are added into the cost of whatever they sell. Buy a widget and all of their costs are in that widget. Think they paid taxes? Nope, you did. Corporate income tax? Nope, it is deliberately misnamed. It’s a Personal Tax Paid By You Via A Business!

THREE, Hidden taxes! Did you know there are federal, state, and local taxes on gasoline? How much gas goes into the products and services you buy? (see item #2) How much gas do you use earning money and getting the stuff you need home to consume? Yup, you paid more taxes.

FOUR, Price rises raise taxes and fees! When the cost of goods and services go up, from inflation or greedy gooferment charges more, that is more taken out of the productive side of the economy and flushed down the rat hole of gooferment. So, inflation raises the “value” of your house, then your property taxes go up. So, you sell an “investment” that increased in “value”, you pay more in capital gains tax. So, the gooferment publik skoolz pay more for goods and services, they need to raise your taxes to pay it.

FIVE, Gooferment spending crowds out profitable growth! When the gooferment takes more for itself, it silently crowds out better uses of that money. (Basat’s Fallacy of the Broken Window) Some of those uses would be important. If I had an extra 100k, I’d probably do something frivolous like buy a car (which would employ lots of people in Detroit). But I don’t have it, so those people are not gainfully employed. They are probably on unemployment. But, imagine all the productive wealth building uses that are crowded out. Someone could have opened a new business, discovered a medical breakthrough, or who knows what! That effect is compounded. That is, when Mary didn’t find the cure for cancer, then Joe wasn’t around to discover the superconductor, that Peter could have used to make a faster computer, that Paul woul have used to halve the cost of your next book from Amazon.

SIX, What is a tax and what is a fee!?! The gooferment mislabels it’s revenue collection. If you can’t avoid paying it, then it is a tax! Not a user fee. Not anything other than a nasty tax. SO, when you register your car, that’s a tax! You can’t avoid it. Real Estate Transfer Fee. That’s a tax. Regulatory recovery fee on your cell phone. Tax. Rural Telephone Fund Surcharge. Tax! SO make sure when you try to identify all the taxes you pay, you don’t miss any.

Bottom line: We have no idea how much we pay in taxes! The number, that we come up with by adding the direct taxes we pay, is only a small portion of what we actually pay. The gooferment is the only think that can force you to pay for services that you don’t want, need, or can’t afford. And, those services are shoddy, over-priced, and often sometimes even undelivered.

And, the American revolution was fought over the Stamp Act which was a 1% tax on deeds.

Now how do you feel? I feel screwed. When you consider inflation, my tax rate is over 100% of annual year’s earnings. Hard to imagine? That’s just losing ground on every dollar I save for retirement!

Don’t get me started on property taxes for gooferment eddycation and the social insecurity Ponzi scheme!

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