tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11968838665059515802024-03-14T11:05:10.984-05:00My ReputoI am an unabashed capitalist! I believe that government should have limited powers. Most importantly, I believe that individuals should help their fellow man. You can email me at myreputo-at-yahoo-dot-com if you have any suggestions on things you want me to write about.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.comBlogger258125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-7878652703549711952013-07-24T06:00:00.000-05:002013-07-24T06:00:00.994-05:00Stop and Frisk - Effective Murder Deterrent? I Don't Think So...Ray Kelly, the NYC Police Commissioner, seems to believe that "Stop and Frisk" has been responsible for the decrease in murders during Mayor Bloomberg's term. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324448104578616333588719320.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop">He says so himself in an op-ed</a> in the Wall Street Journal. As usual, when someone starts throwing around statistics, I think it is a load of horse hockey.<br />
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To begin it rests on the premise that <em>"In the 11 years before Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, there were 13,212 murders in New York City. During the 11 years of his administration, there have been 5,849. That's 7,383 lives saved..."</em> So lets start without even looking at any statistics.<br />
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The 11 years before Mayor Bloomberg took over (1991-2001), included the years 1991-1994 which is when the US saw some of the highest violent crime rates in all categories. NYC also had rates that were usually reserved for nearly lawless third world countries. But Guiliani cleaned that all up, right? At least that is what he took credit for.<br />
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Using the <a href="http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/">FBI Uniform Crime Report tool</a>, I did a quick analysis of what happened in NYC and the US during two periods 1992-2001 and 2002-2011. Ten years each (because the FBI doesn't have the final 2012 numbers online yet). If "Stop and Frisk" has been effective, then not only should it show an improvement from the earlier years, but it should also show an improvement compared to the rest of the country which doesn't have "Stop and Frisk."<br />
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I compared three geographic areas: New York City, New York State minus New York City, and the United States minus New York City. Comparing the two 10 year periods, Bloomberg had only 49% of the murders as the previous. New York State had 92%. The US had 84%. So, initially it is looking like Bloomberg may be on to something with "Stop and Frisk."<br />
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But those are total numbers of murders, and as already mentioned it was comparing a time when we had the highest murder rates of the last century to a time when we had some of the lowest murder rates of the last century, not exactly a fair comparison. So lets compare rates instead. The population of New York City has grown by about 10% over the last 20 years. The State of NY (minus NYC) has grown about 5%. While the US has grown by more than 20%.<br />
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Between 1992 and 2001 the murder rate in NYC dropped by 67%. In New York State, it fell only 41%, and in the US it fell 37%. So, if Guiliani wants to tout his crime fighting prowess, he definitely has a leg to stand on (although I would dispute this as well).<br />
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How about Bloomberg. From the start of his reign, 2002 through 2011, the murder rate fell 14%, with "Stop and Frisk." In the rest of New York State, without "Stop and Frisk" the rate fell 21%, and the US it fell 17%. Both of those more than Bloomberg's fiefdom. But New York City is a big city, right?<br />
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Right, so I used the UCR tool to compare with other Metropolitan areas over 1,000,000. There are 10 in the US. Only two had a change in murder rate from 2002-2010 that was worse than New York City. Los Angeles cut their murder rate by 55% in that period. More impressive is San Diego which had a murder rate already half of New York's and they cut their's by more than 40%. So, seven out of nine large cities had larger decreases in the murder rate than New York City, without using "Stop and Frisk."<br />
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So, is "Stop and Frisk" effective? I don't know, but the murder statistics that Ray Kelly uses certainly don't show that they are. New York's decrease in murder rate has been rather anemic. Even if I look at the overall violent crime rate, two cities are less, three are the same, and three are more than New York. So New York appears to have had a typical decrease in crime for the time period.<br />
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So, the question that should be asked is, if "Stop and Frisk" doesn't show a significant decrease in violent crime and it has the potential to violate the rights of citizens, then why do it? There doesn't appear to be an upside (decreased crime) but there is all sorts of downsides (less trust of police, civil rights violations, etc.). Sounds like lousy policy to me, but that may be why I am not an elected official.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-16188642393192333772013-05-09T08:36:00.001-05:002013-05-09T08:36:43.507-05:00Even Sensible Politicians Show Their Ignorance on GunsChicago's ordinances on guns apparently make it <a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130508/downtown/ban-on-displaying-guns-at-city-museums-should-be-lifted-ald-burke-says">illegal for museums</a> to even display them. At least one Alderman is somewhat sensible in proposing legislation that would allow museums to display firearms. Just like everywhere else in the country. Not even Washington DC is that draconian to disallow museums from displaying firearms.<br />
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Now, I hate to bring this up because it may disuade Alderman Burke from his proposal. The gun he uses as a reference is a WWII era German Walther PP that was donated to the Pritzer Military Library (as an aside, how do you have a military library or museum and not have firearms? - Firearms are banned from campus where I went to school, Texas A&M University, yet right in the middle of campus there was a museum with a rather impressive display of firearms). Alderman Burke's ignorance quote follows:<br />
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<em>"I don't know if someone's going to find ammo for a German handgun from WWII all that readily."</em><br />
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Really? The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_PP">Walther PP family</a> comes in calibers .32 ACP, .25 ACP, .380, and .22. Every single one of those calibers is sold today. And not just as a novelty. You can buy boxes of 500 or a 1000 if everyone wasn't buying up everything like crazy (which just means that instead of on store shelfs, all of that ammo is sitting in people's garages).I know Alderman Burke is thinking that by saying ammo isn't readily available he is trying to appeal to people's sense of safety. But that is no excuse for ignorance. All of these calibers can be found as readily as 9mm or .45 ACP.<br />
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The only thing that would make the guns in museums more "safe" would be to disable them completely by welding up the barrel. Of course this would destroy about 80-90% of the monetary value of the gun. A gun that can't fire is a paperweight. This isn't like a computer that is a piece of junk after 10 years. I have seen 500 year old guns that have been fired. I have personnally fired guns that are more than 100 years old.<br />
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Some technologies from WWII are obsolete. I can see where the mistake may lie. But this just shows that the people making laws in Chicago are totally ignorant of the objects that they are seeking to regulate. Here is a quick rundown of common ammunition cartridges that were invented in the last 100 years (meaning there are firearms that are older than the World War I that you can still find ammunition for):<br />
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.22 LR - 1887<br />
.25 ACP - 1905<br />
.32 ACP - 1899<br />
.32 S&W - 1878<br />
9mm Parabellum - 1901<br />
.38 Special - 1898<br />
.380 ACP - 1908<br />
.45 ACP - 1904<br />
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For those non gun people, these are all common cartridges. Many of which are still used by militaries and law enforcement throughout the world. If I went into odd ball cartridges like the Nagant, the list would be much longer and it would take about 5 minutes of searching on the internet to find someone that sells something.<br />
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So, allow the display of firearms for historical purposes, don't try to pretend that you can't get ammunition for it.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-27145554074056792812013-03-28T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-28T06:00:16.295-05:00Grandfathering GunsAssume for a moment that less guns in public hands means higher levels of public safety. I know that studies have not shown this and there are few data points that even support this, but for the moment, pretend this is so.<br />
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Grandfathering is a tool of scoundrels when it comes to gun restrictions. The point of putting gun restrictions in place is usually touted as being for public safety. "It's for the children." "If it saves one child's life its worth it." However, the politicians that propose these laws and then include a grandfather clause show their true colors. The 1994 AWB had a grandfather clause, the SAFE Act and the Colorado laws have grandfather clauses.<br />
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As an aside, "grandfathering" got its start as a technique used by Democrats in conjuction with other laws to ensure that whites could vote (because their grandfather did) while blacks couldn't (because they couldn't pass a reading test or pay a poll tax). Since gun control has its roots in racism, I find it appropriate that the technique of grandfathering would be included.<br />
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Back to the topic at hand. What are the true colors of politicians who propose such laws? Well, just take a look at what is said to pass the law and what the law does. The law is said to increase public safety because these guns or magazines that are being banned are so much more dangerous than "safe" guns. Yet because of the grandfather clause, the public is allowed to keep the ones that they already own. Furthermore, since many laws don't get enacted for 30 days to 180 days after passage, people are allowed to stock up on the items that will be banned, but aren't yet.<br />
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So which is it? If the guns and magazines that are being restricted are so dangerous and public safety will be increased so much more by passage of these restrictions, then why would you allow people to continue to own the firearms in question. If the public is still allowed to own them and stock up on them in the days before the ban starts, then why bother with the ban in the first place?<br />
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Put simply, if the politician really cared about public safety and they really thought that restricting certain guns would increase that safety, then they would call for a confiscation. Except they have said they aren't going to confiscate anyone's guns. Which means there is no reason to restrict them in the first place.<br />
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Any gun law that has a grandfather clause in it should be voted down by gun control supporters, because it obviously isn't going to increase public safety. However, if control of the populace and not public safety is the chief concern, then vote for it. Vote for everything that restricts the people.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-10176523397542199152013-03-27T14:46:00.001-05:002013-03-27T14:46:36.603-05:00Chewing Guns Can Be DangerousEvery now and then, misspellings can lead to hilarious headlines. Found on Drudge yesterday:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXkvcm7Epikdg99E2MMx_YzsG3BQpumsJH3p8AUkXGiGLyKaanKru9NQto-3QVSFzafI1yU2mmBTcyvBLqkddaM4N-Wrozj871Eu_RPekfCC19hfyS4jbn_wObcovleIc63p-q-51GAc/s1600/Chewing+Guns+Can+be+Hazardous.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXkvcm7Epikdg99E2MMx_YzsG3BQpumsJH3p8AUkXGiGLyKaanKru9NQto-3QVSFzafI1yU2mmBTcyvBLqkddaM4N-Wrozj871Eu_RPekfCC19hfyS4jbn_wObcovleIc63p-q-51GAc/s320/Chewing+Guns+Can+be+Hazardous.JPG" usa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<em><strong>"Does chewing gun help colon recover from cancer surgery?"</strong></em></div>
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Where does masticating guns fall under the rules of safety? And why so narrowly focused on helping your colon recover from cancer surgery? Does this mean it is not helpful for after having a colonostomy or a prostate exam? Does it matter what type of gun? What about the parts: is the barrel more effective than the butt stock? How does this differ from those who just chew on trees or scrap iron? There are a lot of questions that this headline brings up.<br />
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Most important though, we need to find out where this kind of research was funded.<br />
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-68101518227863826232013-03-27T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-27T06:00:03.362-05:00Good Deals for the TakingI love to get a good deal. What most people don't realize is there is a lot of work involved to get a good deal. You may think that you are getting a good deal, but unless you have done your research, you probably just got what looks like a good price.<br />
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<br />So how do I get good deals? First, I have to identify what is worth getting a good deal on. Milk may be $2.99 at WalMart but only $2.29 at Aldi. With that kind of minimal price difference, I am not going to go out of my way just to save 70 cents. It may be more in gas just to get there (although where I live right now, Aldi's is right next to Walmart). On the other hand, a quality dining room set may be $1200. If I can find something equivalent for $800 or less, then I have found a good deal. Finding a good deal starts with knowing what is worth looking for the good deals.<br />
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Second, you need to figure out what a reasonable price is and what you are willing to spend. These can be two separate things. For instance, $500 for an iPhone is reasonable. On the other hand, I am not willing to spend more than $200 since I wouldn't use it enough. Hence, I don't have a iPhone. Reasonable prices can be found by shopping (not buying). Stores, internet, and classified ads can all give you an idea of what things are selling for. The key here is to remember to factor in all of the costs (shipping and taxes). After seeing what a reasonable price for something is, it is now time to do the emotional decision and decide what you are willing to pay. It is important to set your price limit before you start looking for the good deal.<br />
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Third, the fun part begins - finding the good deal. This phase could take a day or years, depending on what you found in step two above. A good deal should be at least 25% less than what you are willing to pay (which hopefully is less than a reasonable amount). A lot of people stop when they find something less than their reasonable price and buy it then (even if it is only a few percent). Really, you should hold out for the good deal. Patience is key. While you made an emotional decision about what you are willing to pay, at this point emotion should no longer be a part of your decision. If the price isn't at least 25% less than your reasonable price, it's not a good deal.<br />
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Some may say that I am being stingy by trying to get such a low price. Actually, I am doing a net benefit to the economy. For one, by spending less money on each item, I am able to buy more, thereby spreading my dollars to more establishments. Second, a lot of the good deals happen on closeouts/inventory reductions/slightly damaged/etc. By me buying them, I am helping to clear out their inventory and giving merchants the chance to stock newer items. By me not buying more expensive items, I am allowing the supply to be available for those who just have to have the item at any price.<br />
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One of the great things about getting a good deal is you get to hear more sales pitches than ever before. I love salesmen, they have a job to do and their goal (in spite of what they may tell you) is to get you to buy as much as possible. Because of this it is always funny about some of the things that are told to you to "close the sale." I should start recording sales pitches to share some of the ridiculousness that is heard. Let me share some of them:<br />
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When we were shopping for a piano, the music store salesman told us that they were the "17th largest music store in the nation." I guess if you are in the 148th largest city in America, then this might mean something. Honestly, how "big" you are doesn't matter. What matters to me is price. I don't shop at WalMart because they are the largest retailer in the nation. I shop there because they have the right price for the things my family buys.<br />
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In looking for a hotel I am amazed that the rooms will be advertised with such amenities as a hairdryer or marble sink. 20 years ago, the major draw to motels (based on their advertising) was free HBO. The other thing that I laugh at is seeing them "brag" about their 250 thread count sheets or even 350 thread count sheets. I'm sorry, at home I sleep on 650 thread count sheets (and I don't want to go back to anything less - I splurged one year for our anniversary). If your business is going to brag about something, be sure that it is worth bragging about.<br />
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The last part of finding a good deal is to make sure you check the non-traditional places. Ebay & Craigslist are great resources. I once sold a pool table on Ebay for $350. It came with the house I bought and was really worthless to me. The person that bought it probably would have paid $600-$1000 for a new one. He got a good deal. I got it out of my house. Both of us were happy with the transaction. Another place my wife and I have found good deals is at Aldi's. We bought a breakfast nook (seats 6) for $170 (we had budgeted $700). I found out it is renamed from another company's brand which sells it under their label in department stores for $450-650. That breakfast nook has served us well for more than 5 years and still is going strong.<br />
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Shopping just to shop, I can't stand. Finding good deals while shopping I can handle.<br />
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-55205511385956171712013-03-22T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-22T06:00:10.872-05:00Who is Supporting All the Spam???I don't think that I am alone in saying that the vast majority of my email is Spam. Even with the Junk filtering tools of Thunderbird, I still get the privilege of deleting 30-50 messages a day from my various emails. While I understand that sending Spam is free, I have wondered who is buying the products that are trying to be hawked.<br />
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Spam comes in various forms. There is the phishing spam. This is meant to get you to give them your data to some bank or other account that has money that the perp will then access and clear out for your convenience.<br />
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Next is the porn spam. I understand this completely. Some people just have a need to see some girl named Natasha take it all off. Yahoo is big on this, everytime I log in there are 50 bazillion chat requests from "girls in my area."<br />
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Now on to the spam that I don't understand. The sad story/joke/incorrect blurb spam. This is usually sent by well meaning friends and family to let you know that an angel is watching over you, or that some political figure is trying to take over the world, or the signs of a redneck. The reason why this stuff is so annoying is in many cases the sender never bothered to remove the long list of headers that were left by all of the other morons who forwarded it. Also, spelling and grammar were not on anyone's priority list. Finally, I would estimate a good 95% of the time they are false to begin with. I rarely read forwarded spam, but when I do one of the first places I look is <a href="http://www.snopes.com/" title="Snopes">www.snopes.com</a>. This website does an excellent job of fact checking on all of the various urban legend emails that are out there. For a while I would reply back to whoever sent the email with the information from Snopes. Since I still keep getting the same kind of junk from the same people, I gave up on that.<br />
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The stock picks of the day. Why would anyone buy an investment based on an email that was unsolicited. Most of what is advertised needs to be capitalized on daytrading (or week trading). I am not that kind of guy. In the last 5 years, the only stock that I sold was TXU and that was really because they were bought out (so I really didn't sell it, the new company just bought it and I am forced to pay taxes on my windfall). Here is a hint. The last place you should look for investment advice is your Inbox.<br />
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Next in a similar vein is the Rolex/Breitling/Viagra/Cialis/other product. More often than not, one of the words in the subject is misspelled or numeralized on purpose to avoid the spam trackers. Who in their right mind is buying expensive watches from an email? Unfortunately there has to be one or two people, otherwise we wouldn't be getting all of these emails. As for drugs, don't you think you should maybe be getting them from a pharmacy rather than the world wide web? If you need the Viagra that badly, maybe you should click on the porn spam a little more.<br />
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Finally, the foreign language spam. This comes in two forms, one that my computer can understand and prints out the characters (in Russian, Chinese, Korean, Tamil, etc) and the one that my computer can't understand which usually results in boxes or wingdings. If I knew what these said I could probably classify them as one of the others above. As it is, they just simply get deleted.<br />
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Facebook has largely replaced a lot of the spam. Now, instead of seeing it in an inbox, you can view it on your timeline. There has to be some scientific studies out there about the social drive to create spam, because we have been doing it for at least the last 100 years (possibly even thousands of years if we had better records to review). It has come in every communication format that we have developed and I see no sign of it slowing down.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-16953631705229109872013-03-21T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-21T16:06:12.906-05:00GUN "Almost" FACTS 101: Can Terrorists buy guns in the US?There is a series of videos from the organization "Protest Easy Guns" titled Gun Facts 101 that can be found on YouTube. Comments are not allowed so originally I had the idea of fisking them with my own video. Alas, that takes way too much time. So I just will do a line by line analysis of the "Almost Facts" (in italics) that are presented. This one is on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_ziDfh5IrQ"><span style="color: yellow;">Terrorists and Guns</span></a>.<br />
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<em>Absolutely, in fact Al Qaida training manuals were found that recommended that potential terrorists acquire weapons inside the United States. </em><br />
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I can’t really deny this. Not because I have seen the training manuals, but because it makes logical sense. Do you know what else makes logical sense? If you are going to operate in Britain, wait until you are in Britain to acquire your weapons (even with their draconian gun laws which don’t seem to keep guns out of the hands of their criminals – as seen by their rising gun crime rates). If you are a terrorist from say Saudi Arabia, and are assigned to carry out a mission in the US which won’t take place for another year, does it make any sense to risk your capture by trying to smuggle weapons into the US (unless you happen to be a professional weapons smuggler)? Or would it make more sense to enter the US with a clean record, and get the weapons needed later (because the only weapon you may need is a boxcutter and they sell those at hardware stores in every one of the 50 states)?<br />
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Do you know what else the terrorist training manuals recommend? Blend in. Don’t be overtly “muslim”. Don’t attend mosque. Wear western clothes. Hang out with westerners. Heck, even indulge in some of the western vices like alcohol. So, with this logic, we should be targeting everybody in the US who DOESN’T look like a terrorist.<br />
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<em>They specifically mentioned how any type of weapon is available at gun shows.</em><br />
They would be gravely mistaken then. Probably got that misinformation from the US media though, so it is understandable. Unlike the writers of these terrorist manuals, I have been to gun shows. You can’t buy any type of weapon there. What you can buy are knifes, revolvers, pump shotguns, lever rifles, semi-auto shotguns and rifles, and ammunition. You know the kind of weapons you can buy in sporting goods stores across America. No grenades, no rocket launchers, no C4, not even a fully automatic machine gun. <br />
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But what about all of those books that tell you how to convert your semi-auto into a fully automatic bullet hose? Well, have you ever read any of them? Some of them aren’t illegal to do – because they don’t work! Some of them will turn your $500 rifle into a $500 paperweight. And some of them will actually make a fully automatic rifle (its still illegal in the US). Unfortunately, the books don’t tell you which kind they are. And even if they did, there is this wonderful thing called the internet, it is available in nearly every library across the nation – no criminal background check required. And even if the internet wasn’t invented, a basic knowledge of how semi-autos or full autos work will be enough to allow a passably mechanically inclined person to make their own. They make fully automatic weapons with hand tools in the caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This isn't rocket science people. It is a technology that is older than the moveable type printing press.<br />
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<em>In fact around our country we offer a virtual flea market for terrorists because we can buy assault weapons, 50 calibers, concealable assault weapons, handguns, and we offer them whatever they want.</em><br />
Like boxcutters. In spite of the fact that boxcutters were the weapon of choice in the largest terrorist action in the world, I can still buy them at a dozen places in my city and never have to show an ID. This country also provides a virtual flea market for terrorist who wish to construct explosives or poisonous gas. I know how to make both from components I can buy at any grocery store, and I didn’t even read a terrorist manual. <br />
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<em>In fact we offer them conversion kits, so if they want to make their semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons they can buy that here too.</em><br />
Really? Where are these conversion kits? Does Wal-Mart stock them? I am not saying that people can’t turn their semi-automatics into automatics (which is still illegal), what I am saying is there is not a market that someone can buy a conversion kit off of Ebay and be set to go. Semi-to-full auto conversion kits are sold in this country, both above ground to FFLs that are allowed to make full auto (for law enforcement) and on the black market. Terrorists wouldn’t be going the FFL route since they are not law enforcement. Which leaves the black market. Besides Vatican City, which country doesn’t have a black market?<br />
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<em>It just seems absolutely outrageous that at a time when we are taking off our shoes in the security at the airport lines,</em><br />
Perhaps it is the taking shoes off that is outrageous. There are 700 million airline passengers a year in America. Taking our shoes off and then putting them back on probably only takes 30 seconds on average. That is 5.8 million hours of time. At a wage rate of $20/hour, we are spending minimum of $100 million/ year of lost productivity to do what? There was one instance of a terrorist trying to ignite his shoes on fire (before the taking off of shoes at screening). He was subdued by passengers. In fact every terrorist attack against airlines since 9/11 has been stopped by the passengers on the aircraft. Funny how knowing that you will die changes your perspective and what actions you are willing to take in an emergency.<br />
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The TSA likes to brag about all of the weapons that they confiscate in airports each year including loaded guns. However, having read several of the tests that have been done of airport security and the abysmal pass rate, there are probably hundreds or thousands of passengers a day that have something illicit on the airplane. Yet there haven't been an uptick of airplane bombings - because the people have no ill intentions. Likewise before the TSA found all of this stuff, it was likely getting past security and on to planes. Yet there wasn't a rash of airplane bombings before either. Terrorist attacks on airplanes happen to be a rare event both before the TSA and after the TSA.<br />
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<em>and just yesterday morning I was pulled aside because I had a tiny bottle of water that I had forgotten about in a bag that I was taking on a plane,</em><br />
And that tiny bottle of water posed no threat. In fact, it was so dangerous that they simply tossed it in the garbage can near the screening line. Do you know why a terrorist hasn’t just waited for a packed security line and detonated a bomb there. 1) its not flashy enough, terrorists want to get noticed, and right now the gold standard was 9/11 – unless they can top that, they aren’t going to get the publicity they want 2) while it would provide a temporary disruption at that airport, what are we going to do, move the security barrier back farther? 3) we have already disrupted our economy enough with air travel through the TSA, I doubt that attacks at airports would have any other effect.<br />
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<em>so we go through all these measures for security and yet terrorists can come here and acquire weapons in great numbers.</em><br />
"Measures for security" do not mean that security is present, only that there is the outward appearance of doing something. Do you want to see real security? Go to a Las Vegas casino. Except that you won't "see" it. Doesn't mean that it isn't there though. <br />
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Part of living in a country of immigrants that is open to visitors is the fact that some of those immigrants or visitors might not have the best of intentions. The only 100% effective way to stop this is to stop all immigration and tourism. I don’t think that is going to work and I happen to like the immigrants and the tourists. Besides, terrorists can come here and acquire gasoline in large volumes. Is there a push to limit the sales of gasoline or even tanker trucks?<br />
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<em>And if you put the availability together with the fact that Congress and the current president have long advocated destroying gun background check data after 24 hours</em><br />
There is the law, which says we will not have a national gun registry, and to meet this law, we destroy the records that could be used to assemble that registry.<br />
<br />
<em>that has gotten in the way of law enforcement who have been trying to get leads on potential terrorists and go after them.</em><br />
Huh? There is no question on the form that you check if you are a terrorist. Terrorists are not buying guns in large numbers. At least not in the US. If they were, we would have had terrorist shootings all the time, instead we have one – which the US government won’t recognize as a terrorist action, and which very well may have been a lone wolf with terrorist sympathies. The federal government has far better databases to check for terrorists – they are called visitor visas.<br />
<br />
<em>When the background checks that are conducted when that data is destroyed right away we are losing an opportunity to go after terrorists.</em><br />
No, we are preventing a registry of gun owners from being formed. But using this logic, by not having a background check for boxcutters, we are losing an opportunity to go after terrorists. By not asking everyone if they are a terrorist, we are losing an opportunity to go after terrorists. There are only a finite number of resources that can be used. It is to our benefit to use those resources in a way that will provide the best results. <br />
<br />
<em>So certainly in a time when library records are being looked at with greater scrutiny and other personal information on Americans yet somehow gun information is held sacred and destroyed because nobody can see that.</em><br />
Perhaps we need to hold more information sacred. Why does the federal government or any government care what library books I check out (besides, this is so easily bypassed by just reading the books in the library and never checking them out)? The outrage shouldn’t be that gun information is held sacred, the outrage should be that all of our personal information is not held sacred. We live in a society where we are innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, without a suspicion of guilt and some corroborating evidence, there is no reason for any government agent to go snooping around looking for more evidence of illegal activity.<br />
<br />
<em>So again you put that together with the availability and you have a definite destination for terrorists.</em><br />
No, America is a destination for terrorists because we represent everything they hate. We don’t subscribe to the philosophy that if you don’t follow X group’s interpretation of Y then you are an infidel and deserve to be killed. There is no more better definition of barbarism than that. America has been dragging the rest of the world away from barbarism for a long time – it doesn’t mean we haven’t had our faults or backsliding but the world looks to America as the antithesis of barbarism, otherwise they wouldn’t come running to us when trouble happened. (I mean really, even Great Britain asked us if we would side with them over a second war for the Falklands – thankfully we have said we would stay out of it).<br />
<br />Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-74154823642967234072013-03-19T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-19T06:00:04.039-05:00Mayor Confused by Article?Mayor Nutter wants an <a href="http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/15/controversial-article-published-in-local-magazine-has-mayor-nutter-asking-for-investigation/">investigation</a> because of an article? Well, there must be something very controversial so I decided to read the <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/articles/white-philly/">article</a>. Now, having never lived in Philadelphia, I am looking at this as an outsider. In fact, the largest city I ever lived in was Tulsa, and even then, I lived right at the edge of town (or at least at the time it was the edge of town, it has grown since then).<br />
<br />
The article about Philadelphia is rather interesting. Let me sum it up some. Philadelphia has gone through a large demographic shift since the 1930s. Some white people have no problem interacting with the black people in their neighborhood. Some white people do. Some black people have no problem interacting with the white people in their neighborhood. Some black people do. So where is the controversy?<br />
<br />
This isn't a story about race relations in Philadelphia so much as it is a microcosm of race relations everywhere in the world, throughout the history of the world. Some people don't like to mix with others not of their "race" while others don't mind at all. We look at race as a black/white issue primarily in the US, largely as a relic of our slave history.<br />
<br />
But go to Africa and talk among the Tutsis and Hutus. They hate each other. Well, some of them hate each other. To the point that they are willing to slaughter each other. They can see differences between themselves, but I doubt many westerners could. <br />
<br />
In the US we like to lump Asians together (because they aren't that large a percentage of our population). But in many cases their families have been in America more than 100 years (which is longer than some of my family has been here) and only genetically resemble their cousins from across the Pacific. Furthermore, try telling a Chinese person they are the same as a Korean or a Japanese (or vice versa), and don't ever think of lumping them in with Thai or Vietnamese.<br />
<br />
So what investigation needs to occur? How about none. How about we recognize that some people are different. How about we realize that we don't live in a Utopia. How about those of us who don't care about the color of the next person's skin continue on with life and enjoying each other's company. How about we just leave those that do alone, they are the ones missing out on friendships.<br />
<br />
There is nothing controversial about this article. I didn't learn any new general ideas from it. What it did tell me is the specific opinions of several different people around Philadelphia and how they look at race. I wasn't suprised to find that their opinions run a broad spectrum.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-83785062054850618832013-03-18T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-18T06:00:05.956-05:00Recycled BloggingI started blogging in 2007. Actually, I more started dabbling in blogging. Really, it was mostly just dipping my toe in the water. I wrote two blog posts in 2007. 2008 was a much more productive year, I wrote 9 blog posts. Naturally, back then I didn't have a lot of people reading. Looking over the statistics, it is interesting to see that the vast majority of my posts were read by less than a dozen people.<br />
<br />
So, I thought I would be lazy and recycle some of them. Recycling a blog post is easy. Pull it up, up date the information on it. And then slap a new publish date. BAM! New blog post. In case you are one of the 5 people that may have read it in the past, I am not trying to insult you. It has just been a few years, and some of the posts are still relevant today.<br />
<br />
And that's OK, because its my blog. And since so few read them the first time, it will probably be new to you anyway!Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-56761936325169923632013-03-15T06:00:00.001-05:002013-03-15T22:34:42.194-05:00The Cost of Universal Background ChecksThe Senate now has a bill that would require universal background checks in the hope that this will keep guns out of the hands of criminals. While we can all admit that it won't keep <u>all</u> of the guns out of their hands (afterall, Great Britain's criminals have had no problem getting their hands on guns), we should ask ourselves two questions before considering whether this is a viable solution 1) How much is this going to cost (and to whom)? 2) How many guns is this going to keep out of criminals hands (and thereby how many crimes are averted)?<br />
<br />
OK, that is 4 questions. And I haven't even brought up the 2nd Amendment. Let me look at this issue universally so that it could be applied whether there was a 2nd Amendment or not and whether people had a natural right to self defense or not. In other words, if it passes the "economics" test we can consider it and debate other issues, if it doesn't then there is no need to debate this further - i.e. it is unicorn rainbow farts. <br />
<br />
Obviously, I am prejudiced. We all are. The dispicable ones are those who don't admit it. I am prejudiced for facts. I am prejudiced for truth. So, before you say that I am opinionated and discount my opinion, back up your opinion with facts.<br />
<br />
Lets start with question 1) How much is this going to cost? Well, last year there were <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/20130205_1998_2013_monthly_yearly_totals.pdf">19.5 million</a> NICS background checks. Not all of these represent a single firearm purchase. Some of them are for carry permits. Some of them are for multiple firearms. Some states allow firearms to be bought with a carry permit without another NICS. This number averaged between 8 and 9 million from 1999 to 2005. It appeared to level off at 14 million in 2010, then election season came. The three highest months were Dec 2012, Feb 2013, and Jan 2013. So, if this keeps up all of 2013, we could see NICS checks of 25 million. <br />
<br />
For simplicity sake, lets say the multiple gun sales cancel out the carry permit checks. Also, lets assume that NICS checks are artificially high. Therefore, I'll use 15 million firearm sales checks a year as the baseline. Now, the figure I have heard most bandied about is 40% of firearm sales are in the secondary market (i.e. no background check). Since this is an unregulated market of no records, there is really no way to verify this one way or the other. So without any other information, I'll accept this as is. Coincidentally, I did a tally of my firearms and just under 40% were bought on the secondary market.<br />
<br />
So universal background checks will cover an additional 10 million sales. Now the states that already require all private transfers to go through an FFL as well as internet sales give us some idea of what the pricing will be. I have seen rates from $25 to $50 as the basic charge. So, I'll use $35 as the average.<br />
<br />
How much is universal background checks going to cost? $350 million a year. This of course assumes that none of the transfers are exempted (which the current bill allows) and that the secondary market isn't depressed because of the increased cost (why would you buy a $75 used rifle if there is going to be a $35 mark-up when you can buy the same rifle from an FFL for $105). So let me cut this down to $200 million for a more realistic idea of what the price entails.<br />
<br />
Which leads us to the next question 1a) Who is paying this? Well, that would be the people who are buying guns. What was the problem trying to be solved? Oh yeah, criminals getting their hands on guns. So, how does charging gun owners more money help decrease criminals getting their hands on guns? <br />
<br />
Let's go to our next source of information, the Department of Justice report about <a href="http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/fuo.pdf">Firearm Use by Offenders</a>. This compared survey results of incarcerated criminals in 1991 (before background checks) and 1997 (after background checks). Now, I have taken the liberty to do some corrections because the background check requirement didn't go into effect until 1994. Also, some of the prisoners in 1991 would still be prisoners in 1997. So, I am going to assume that 100% of the prisoners from 1991 are still serving time in 1997, therefore, I'll subtract out their numbers from the 1997 numbers and re-calculate (there were significantly more prisoners in 1997 than in 1991, and significantly more prisoners that had firearms in 1997 than in 1991) ro get an approximate idea of how the background check requirement changed the procurement of firearms.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; height: 151px; width: 494px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 3876; mso-width-source: userset; width: 80pt;" width="106"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 3437; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="94"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2706; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="74"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="51" style="height: 38.25pt;"><td height="51" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 38.25pt; width: 80pt;" width="106"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 71pt;" width="94"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Reputo Estimate w/ NICS</span></b></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 56pt;" width="74"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">DOJ FUO 1997 Inmates</span></b></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 56pt;" width="75"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">DOJ FUO 1991 Inmates</span></b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl25" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Retail</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="7.6429124249522334E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">7.6%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="0.13900000000000001"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">13.9%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="0.20799999999999999"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">20.8%</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl25" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Friends/Family</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="8.2023071390112015E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">8.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.39600000000000002"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">39.6%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.33800000000000002"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">33.8%</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl25" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Illegal</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.84154780436036569"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">84.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.39200000000000002"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">39.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.40799999999999997"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">40.8%</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
Assuming that all of the friends and family abide by the new law, and assuming each of the 500,000 crimes involving firearms each year represent unique individuals/firearm acquisitions, then 41,000 * $35 = $1.4 million will be paid by the people purposefully supplying firearms. $1.4/$200 million is 0.7% of the total cost will be shouldered by the portion of the population who may be responsible. 99.3% of the additional costs to this are paid for by law abiding gun owners. Can you imagine if we charged the everyone in the country $10 a year to pay for the costs of car accidents, regardless of whether they drove or not or how safe of a driver they were? That is what is being proposed here.<br />
<br />
And a reminder for those anti-capitalists. All of this money is not going to crime prevention. All of it is going to FFL dealers. I don't fault them for charging whatever the law will allow. I fault the law for being stupid. Continuing on.<br />
<br />
Question 2 How many guns is this going to keep out of the hands of criminals? Well, looking back at the chart above, the DOJ report provides evidence that prior to the background check requirement, 21% of criminals bought guns from retail outlets (I included flea markets and gun shows because they only made up 2% of this figure). After the background check requirement, it appears that the number dropped to 14%. Except that we have the problem of substitution. Because if you will notice Friends and Family had an <i>increase</i> of 6%. But that is a 1% difference still, right? Not quite, at the end of the report it identifies standard errors of up to 2%, for these numbers. So 6% and 7% for purposes of this report are essentially equal.<br />
<br />
Remember though that a lot of those criminals in 1991 were still in prison in 1997, so if you look at my estimate, then yes, the background check was very effective at driving criminals away from both retail outlets and friends and family. So, the question then becomes did the number of guns decrease overall? Simply put, no. In 1997 there were 70% more prisoners than in 1991. Furthermore, those prisoners who had a firearm during their latest crime also went up (Table 3). If a larger percentage of criminals have firearms, you can't really argue that a particular gun control measure has been effective at reducing the number of guns criminals get a hold of.<br />
<br />
Well, surely we can crack down on the Retail sales to criminals? No, because criminals are already prohibited from buying guns (whether retail or private party). The current background check already drove them out of the retail market. What about that 7.6% that are still buying from retail? Well, take a look at Table 7. 25% of inmates were first time offenders and 20% of them had a firearm for their most recent crime. Which means that they would have passed a background check so buying at retail was not a problem. 25% * 20% = 5%. Close to 7.6%, then if you recognize that using a fake ID and lying on the forms will also get you to pass a background check and the last 2.6% (if it isn't statistical noise anyway) is easily explained (Table 9 .<br />
<br />
What about the family and friends aspect? Won't universal background checks prevent those people from providing guns? Probably not. Look at the table again. Using my estimate, the introduction of background checks also drove people out of the family and friends market. Why? Increased enforcement of straw purchaser laws, increased publicity of the fact that providing a firearm to a felon is illegal already. I don't know specifically since you would have to do a survey of family and friends of criminals. The fact remains though, friends and family who were selling firearms to criminals before the background check system were breaking the law. If they were willing to break the law before, what is going to prevent them from continuing to break the law.<br />
<br />
Finally, it should be noted that the illegal market has shown that it can adequately supply the firearms needed by criminals. In 1991 it accounted for the largest percentage. In 1997 it was equal with Family and Friends (which had a significant rise). My estimate based on the DOJ numbers is that the illegal market is already supplying the vast majority of firearms, 84%. This market will be unaffected by the universal background check law.<br />
<br />
In summary, universal background checks are going to cost about $200 million per year. They won't prevent criminals from getting guns and the vast majority of the cost will be paid by law abiding gun owners. Retail outlets already do not sell to criminals, and law abiding friends and family don't either (those that do are criminals themselves). The illegal gun market has always been a sizeable amount of the source of guns for criminals and could easily expand. So, universal background checks don't pass my simple economics test, therefore, it is a form of sniffing unicorn rainbow farts (don't worry while sniffing farts may not sound appealing, unicorns are imaginary and rainbows are just the reflection of light through droplets of water, in other words a mirage).Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-19966736514364226822013-03-14T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-14T06:00:02.748-05:00Economies of SodaStreamSoda Stream appears to be making a splash in the beverage market. I'm not much of a soda drinker so I don't know. It is a way to make your own carbonated beverages and hopefully save money. So, does it really save you money? As with all things, it depends.<br />
<br />
There are three major costs to Sodastream. I used the <a href="http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=sodastream&category=0%7CAll%7Cmatchallpartial%7Call+categories&lnk=snav_sbox_sodastream">Target website</a> to find the information I needed to evaluate this. The initial machine is about $80 (although some models go up to $200) which comes with flavor packets and a carbonation tank. There are the carbonation tanks which run $15 and carbonate up to 60 L of drinks. And finally, there are the flavor packets which run from $5 to $12 for about 12 liters of servings. So then, how much soda does one have to drink to make this economical?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 229px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 2998; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="82"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2633; mso-width-source: userset; width: 54pt;" width="72"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col><tbody>
<tr height="51" style="height: 38.25pt;"><td class="xl26" height="51" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid; height: 38.25pt; width: 62pt;" width="82"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Total Liters Made</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid; width: 54pt;" width="72"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5 flavor Cost / 2L</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid; width: 56pt;" width="75"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$12 flavor Cost / 2L</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">60</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="4"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.50 </span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5.166666666666667"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4.67</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">120</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.6666666666666665"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 2.00</span></span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3.8333333333333335"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.58</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">180</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.2222222222222223"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.78 </span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3.3888888888888888"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.56 </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">240</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.67</span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3.1666666666666665"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.54</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">300</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="1.8666666666666667"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.60 </span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3.0333333333333332"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.53</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">360</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="1.7777777777777777"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.56 </span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.9444444444444446"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.52</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td class="xl24" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext; height: 12.75pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">420</span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="1.7142857142857142"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.52 </span></span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.8809523809523809"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.52 </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
</div>
<br />
Now, like I said, I am no soda connoisseur, but I am pretty sure that those prices are much higher than what I can buy in the store. So I looked. Sure enough, name brands go for $1.50 to $2.50 for 2L bottles and generics for $0.50 to $1.50 for 2L bottles at the local grocery store. But the next question would be at what consumption is this economical?<br />
<br />
That depends on the durability of the machine. The $1.50 for generics is broken at the 480 L level. Assuming a 3 year life, this is almost 7 Two liter bottles every month (our family maybe goes through 7 in an entire year - unless I am buying them for Mentos geysers in which case I'll go through 7 in about 5 minutes, but I digress). But that is the top of the generic price level. Unfortunately, because of the cost of the carbonator and flavoring, the cost for 2L will never be less that $1.33. For name brand it looks even worse, the flavoring and carbonator make the bottom price $2.50 per liter. So I would judge this as not that much of a money saver. It is almost always going to be cheaper to pick up your soda at the store - even with ridiculously high deposit fees. <br />
<br />
Let me alter that statement: Unless you are accustomed to drinking premium sodapop, this is not a good buy. However, if you like the flavors or like to make other things carbonated, then have at it.<br />
<br />
About 20 years ago, I was at a party where a friend had something similar. We were using it to make carbonated eggnog. It worked sporadically at best and made a mess when not used exactly right. I have no idea whether the Sodastream has similar problems. My guess is that the fad will wear out within a year or two as machines break down and people realize sugar, water, and carbon dioxide are REALLY cheap to mix together (which is why they have specials for 2L bottles as low as 33 cents!), ergo not worth the time to do it yourself.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-69229807966668918292013-03-13T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-13T06:00:04.674-05:00Movies to Cry Over: Here Comes the Boom!My wife cried at this movie. I know that sounds weird. How can you cry during any movie that Kevin James is in? I don't know, but she did. <br />
<br />
I loved this movie. Kevin James was his usually hilarious self and even got a scene in of some dance moves (a reason in and of itself to see Hitch). Salma Hayek was her normal gorgeous self. It's great how Kevin James always gets the hot girl! I first saw this movie on an airplane coming back from LA and told my wife about it. She picked it up from Redbox for our date night movie.<br />
<br />
The best part of this movie was the fact that it has the whole "based on a true story" feel without being based on any true story. Reading over the actual incidents that resulted in "based on a true story" movies, this one could have been slapped with that label and been just as truthful.<br />
<br />
My wife's big comment was "Wow, he actually has some muscles!" Now, he is no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it was apparent that a) he did a lot of working out for this role or b) they hired an awesome team of post-production video editors.<br />
<br />
Naturally, the climax occurs when he has gotten beaten to a pulp over two rounds and his friend gives the inspirational speech that they have accomplished their purpose and inspired the students. (This is the speech that my wife cried at and admitted to, she had been having allergies for the last few days so she could have used that excuse.) He then pulls out a Rocky in the third round to come up with the knockout.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-7735313390248012422013-03-12T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-12T06:00:08.702-05:00GUN "Almost" FACTS 101: Waiting PeriodsThere is a series of videos from the organization "Protest Easy Guns" titled Gun Facts 101 that can be found on YouTube. Comments are not allowed so originally I had the idea of fisking them with my own video. Alas, that takes way too much time. So I just will do a line by line analysis of the "Almost Facts" (in italics) that are presented. This one is on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ65blTiSfw"><span style="color: purple;">Waiting Periods</span></a>.<br />
<br />
<em>The waiting period can make sure that the individual involved takes some time to think over their purchase.</em><br />
<br />
Buying a firearm is usually a big ticket item. Typical quality handguns run the gambit of $500-$1000. The most popular rifle in the US, the AR-15, runs around $1200 (although the recent buying spree has jacked those prices up to $2000 or more). So, buying a gun is not like buying a candybar. But few people I know – let me rephrase that – no one I know buys guns like candybars. I have thought over every single purchase of a firearm I made. Usually for days or weeks before. Afterall, I am basically spending the equivalent of a month of food for my family to buy a gun. That being said – a government mandated waiting period is crap! Do you support a government mandated waiting period before buying a car? What about a waiting period before visiting a doctor (I know Obamacare is sort of making that a default)? How about a waiting period before paying your credit card bill? All of these are major decisions that people should take time to think over. Of course, that is part of being an adult, knowing when you should take some time and when you don’t need to. We don’t need the government to tell us.<br />
<br />
<em>You can avoid some impulse purchases by imposing a waiting period.</em><br />
This is absolutely true. But it also assumes that it is to your benefit to wait all the time. It isn’t. One time I decided to buy a Saiga-12 at a gun show. I went there specifically for it. I had researched it for two months before hand (a self imposed waiting limit). While there, at another vendor I saw a Saiga 7.62 for an excellent price. I took another stroll around the tables and impulsively decided to buy that one too! Good thing, I haven’t found it since for any less than $100 more than what I paid. Impulse purchases are good sometimes. Not everyone is a criminal. In fact, very little of the population are criminals that need guns (less than a couple percent of the population). Can you imagine if we had laws to control all the bad things that only apply to 2% of the population? (Murder, rape, and assault are already illegal, yet that hasn’t caused them to decrease). That would not be a fun place to live in this country. There are more drunk drivers than criminals with guns and yet we still allow alcohol to be served freely.<br />
<br />
<em>Sometimes with gun crime, especially in cases of domestic violence, we see an impulsive action.</em><br />
Ummm … NO! What you see in domestic violence (according to the UCR and NCVS) is a long pattern of escalating violence. Sometimes just from one party, but in many cases from both parties (yes, that would be women beating up their husbands). The current law prohibits persons convicted of domestic violence (even misdemeanors) from possessing firearms (although in California there is a backlog for confiscating them so what good does the law do?). The problem here is that in the vast majority of cases where the police are called to a home for domestic violence, no charges are filed. Ergo, no conviction. Plenty of spouses have shown that if a gun isn’t handy, they will just use a kitchen knife or a baseball bat. The one thing they are not doing is leaving the home, driving down to Walmart, buying a gun, driving home, and shooting their husband. This is the only time a waiting period would be effective, yet the number of times this scenario has happened in the US is probably less than 5. Ever. On the other hand in states that do have waiting periods, there have been plenty of times when someone took out a restraining order, tried to buy a gun, had to wait, and while waiting, they were assaulted (in some cases raped and murdered) by the person who didn’t bother to obey the restraining order. Funny how criminals don’t follow the law. Now, in the case of these dead people, you can’t say that having a firearm would have made the situation worse? <br />
<br />
<em>It gives the purchaser time to cool off.</em><br />
See above. For the vast majority, 99.99999%, of purchases, there is no cooling off needed, because there is nothing to cool off from.<br />
<br />
<em>There is potential depending on the state and local laws involved for a background check to go further than the instant background check or if there are questions that are raised in the instant check they can be addressed.</em><br />
The instant background check is already set up to address this. If it comes back as a hold, then the purchase isn’t made. Law enforcement has 72 hours to make a final determination. If they don’t then the firearm can be sold. If law enforcement does nothing, then this obviously isn’t a priority for them (probably because 99.99% of the time there is no issue – Bayesian logic).<br />
<br />
<em>One of the critical things is that this is a very serious purchase and an individual should not be able to just, especially someone who is in an agitated state, the fact that they can just go in and buy a gun and act on that impulse.</em><br />
My guess is that the agitated impulse buy is a creation of Hollywood. I know that I have seen it at least 3 times on different crime shows. I honestly have never read of a single incident like it in a newspaper or on the internet. All of the gun stores I have been to, and the vendors at gun shows had responsible sellers. As a businessman, I highly doubt that any of them would sell a firearm to someone who is visibly agitated.<br />
<br />
There is a home near where I live, a mansion. More of a mega mansion. It is completely not appropriate for the neighborhood and looks out of place in a big way. After two years, no one had moved in and I asked around and found out the backstory. There was a couple who were going through a separation/divorce. Apparently the wife built the mansion as a means to get revenge and tie up a significant amount of the couple’s funds. Should we have waiting periods for things like this also?<br />
<br />
But most important of all, waiting periods have not been shown to have any affect on the crime rate. That is not me talking, that is the National Academy of Sciences and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. If things don’t work, we shouldn’t do them.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-38777810203341564012013-03-11T06:00:00.000-05:002013-03-11T06:00:08.268-05:00Motivational Posters: Teacher EditionWith South Dakota passing a bill to allow teachers to be armed, my supermodel wife was willing to pose for another round of photos.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZCP_ZAbOxY14vwvcSBkO2fj079aAQDLOLCsznS0_yv8TF4FuWtS39xDxFkdZHByR-v5ZmVMSjvl5yCtEie0UI4DzxnEJmFk9JrRF2WZNZFX_KYCfZaaHpwkacRxd5uZUdF7iex4MOGg/s1600/Armed2_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZCP_ZAbOxY14vwvcSBkO2fj079aAQDLOLCsznS0_yv8TF4FuWtS39xDxFkdZHByR-v5ZmVMSjvl5yCtEie0UI4DzxnEJmFk9JrRF2WZNZFX_KYCfZaaHpwkacRxd5uZUdF7iex4MOGg/s320/Armed2_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We home school our kids, and they are surrounded by a wide array of armament at all times of the day. Most of it intellectual, but there is some metallurgical stuff too!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc8l79rZ1Jew7KNgrHtN8FPdAUiSbte1Z9FM49qQE-cIiZr-yGtwJsEM026WLytAgaW6bRO9HQIvTRTFANm-avQbK-EHf_4k60JFurCO9uMD8k4TXO5DrHWCN0pAw-iDk0SIGnvqb06w/s1600/Armed_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc8l79rZ1Jew7KNgrHtN8FPdAUiSbte1Z9FM49qQE-cIiZr-yGtwJsEM026WLytAgaW6bRO9HQIvTRTFANm-avQbK-EHf_4k60JFurCO9uMD8k4TXO5DrHWCN0pAw-iDk0SIGnvqb06w/s320/Armed_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Trust, that is what allowing people to be armed is about. Why would you trust a police officer any more than you would a teacher? More than likely, your child will have very few interactions with a police officer in his/her life.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwY4ndwxC120d1gaFNb7WLhg3xwZh6CiDMv0fnUsUZlxFLs6zxm4Ro364Q-wSXrHt3OFWnLypstzR-G_efsKzqpObZbWyO4D4v9rfqbvm_11hYNJgqi_wZe7HsJOvnGDZmZyzazcN43PQ/s1600/GunFreeZone_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwY4ndwxC120d1gaFNb7WLhg3xwZh6CiDMv0fnUsUZlxFLs6zxm4Ro364Q-wSXrHt3OFWnLypstzR-G_efsKzqpObZbWyO4D4v9rfqbvm_11hYNJgqi_wZe7HsJOvnGDZmZyzazcN43PQ/s320/GunFreeZone_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
There are all sorts of subjects that can be taught with a firearms theme.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfFBpiNs1eenBtaH-ahoQ0c7Aj9g-nBt3F1rF3Ll9Jp0hqij5EGoWojlNHR9yIa1MOcet9W4-iGbNW833VCl4yumvKsZc_wkcxg4Bewq5rPcfT0NlO00BGCn1R0jZzpIakKG0KPrBX0I/s1600/Geography_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfFBpiNs1eenBtaH-ahoQ0c7Aj9g-nBt3F1rF3Ll9Jp0hqij5EGoWojlNHR9yIa1MOcet9W4-iGbNW833VCl4yumvKsZc_wkcxg4Bewq5rPcfT0NlO00BGCn1R0jZzpIakKG0KPrBX0I/s320/Geography_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Educate the children. There is nothing better you can do.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUr4HEjSnN5sw7L6XZue3JYL1QQn5Qkwm-54paJlZ-1QF1y_iizxZdod54ZET_vkgA5ludsABeHjzNnvC-abew-fTBxuIJLg_LcwOxmja96q5P-9UsJ1FXHOmAD-C19oTnDq_MPzUXSMs/s1600/Education_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUr4HEjSnN5sw7L6XZue3JYL1QQn5Qkwm-54paJlZ-1QF1y_iizxZdod54ZET_vkgA5ludsABeHjzNnvC-abew-fTBxuIJLg_LcwOxmja96q5P-9UsJ1FXHOmAD-C19oTnDq_MPzUXSMs/s320/Education_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And just to whet your appetite, I got Russian Origami shirt (from <a href="http://www.wallsofthecity.net/">Linoge</a>) for my wife and she has consented to photos of that as well. I just need to think of some clever phrases (I'm willing to take suggestions).Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-46536481846671575482013-03-08T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-08T06:00:04.256-06:00My Tax Return Savings AccountIt is interesting how the circumstances one finds oneself in can dramatically change their opinion of something. For instance, 15 years ago, I was adamantly against tax refunds. Not getting your money back, just the concept that people wouldn't pay enough attention to their finances such that they would receive thousands of dollars as a overpayment (or more likely an overwithholding) of taxes. At the time it was obvious to me that it was much more profitable to scrutinize and adjust your withholding on a regular basis (every couple of months) so that at the end of the year you were as close to breaking even as possible. I could put this money to work for me by investing it or at the very least put it in a savings account earning interest (as opposed to the interest free loan I would have been giving the government). I was pretty good at it for a few years, netting myself refunds of a couple hundred dollars or having to write a check for a couple of hundred dollars.<br />
<br />
Then times changed. I started making more money and my taxes became more complicated. Now, at first glance one would think that making more money would be an incentive to implement my strategy above even more so. Afterall, 15 years ago, I was only making about $25K a year. My opinion on this issue has changed 180 degrees. Now, I would laugh in your face if you suggested the strategy above.<br />
<br />
There are several factors that go into this. While there is some profit to be made from investment, it doesn't come without it's own cost, namely the time necessary to adjust your withholding (or in the case of quarterly tax filers, the amount of time - ergo rigor - into estimating the taxes owed). Couple this with exceedingly low interest rates and put a dollop of the ever changing tax code as politicians try to curry favor with this group or that group each year and you are left with a much more complicated task - so the rewards better be worth it.<br />
<br />
In 2004 and 2005 I started a different job that had a significant amount of money made from bonuses and overtime. Because of tax law, this income was withheld at a higher rate (remember withholding, tax owed, and tax paid are completely separate concepts and not necessarily related). So, while my base pay was withheld at the legal minimum for federal income tax ($0), I was still being withheld on my bonus and overtime income. And there was no way to not have it withheld.<br />
<br />
My time was also more valuable, while as a college student I might jump at the chance to earn $10-$15/hour, I was making much more than that. To put it in perspective, if my base rate was $30/hour and my boss wanted me to work overtime, he would have to compensate me for my time, usually at a rate of $45 per hour. So, in effect my leisure time was worth $45 per hour. On the other hand, if I wanted to make more money, I had to go and find that work and I might only be able to find something for $10-$15. <br />
<br />
The only "extra" work I ever did during this time was I was an usher at Texas A&M football games. I was paid $50 per game (and I didn't have to spend $50 per ticket). I was able to see most of the game - in particularly the 4th quarter since my shift was done at the end of the 3rd. I did have to show up a couple of hours before the game, and the game was 3 hours, so figure about 5 hours total. For $50-$100 of value (since I would have bought tickets to go to the game anyway). And the first couple of hours, I brought a book or headphones to do what I normally would be doing at home. This was a great gig. To bad I didn't find out about it until my senior year.<br />
<br />
So, only on rare occasions have I been willing to trade my leisure time for less than $25/hr. When faced with a job that was out to defeat my tax philosophy, I decided to evaluate and determine if it was worth it to find some way around it. Turns out, in my situation (and the vast majority of Americans situations), it's not worth it.<br />
<br />
Let me illustrate. For the last 8 years, I have been getting tax refunds of $3000-$7000. Well above the national average of $2000 to $3000. The question one has to ask is what would you do with the money if instead of getting it in one big lump sum, you got a little bit more in every paycheck? Investing in the stock market historically has been the best performer. I assumed that I get a refund of $5200 each year (it makes it easily divisible by 26 paychecks a year). So each paycheck I would have a theoretical $200 to invest in the stock market (I'll use SPY the S&P 500 ETF).<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 447px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 4059; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col><col span="4" style="mso-width-alt: 3072; mso-width-source: userset; width: 63pt;" width="84"></col><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt; width: 83pt;" width="111"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Value</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$ Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">% Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$/hr</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="5355"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,355 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="155"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$155 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="0.03"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3.0%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="15.5"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$15.50 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2006 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5613"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,613 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="413"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$413 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="7.9000000000000001E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">7.9%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="41.29"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$41.29 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2007 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5177"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,177 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-22"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($22)</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-4.0000000000000001E-3"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">-0.4%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-2.26"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($2.26)</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2008 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3814"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$3,814 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-1386"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($1,386)</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-0.26700000000000002"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">-26.7%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-138.61"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($138.61)</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2009 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="6265"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$6,265 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="1065"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$1,065 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.20499999999999999"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">20.5%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="106.5"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$106.50 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2010 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5729"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,729 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="528.5"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$529 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.10199999999999999"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">10.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="52.85"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$52.85 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2011 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5184"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,184 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-16"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($16)</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-3.0000000000000001E-3"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">-0.3%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-1.61"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($1.61)</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2012 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5375"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,375 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="174.61"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$175 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="3.3599999999999998E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3.4%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="17.46"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$17.46 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005-2012 S&P</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="42511"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$42,511 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="911.48"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$911 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.1899999999999999E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="11.39"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$11.39 </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
<br />
Basically, at the end of the year, hopefully you have more money than you put in. Now, in order to game the tax withholding every couple of months you are going to need to go through and project what your tax return is going to look like at the end of the year (taking into account the money you have not yet made and the changes that the politicians have not yet proposed). Then you can adjust your withholding allowances/exemptions to change the amount that is withheld. Bear in mind that you probably want to err on the side of caution because while there is no bonus for having too much withheld, there are penalties for not having enough withheld. So, I conservatively assumed 10 hours per year spent analyzing and adjusting your tax withholding to calculate how much per hour this is equal to.<br />
<br />
You can see from the list above, there are only three of the eight years in which crunching numbers for 10 hours a year would exceed my $25 free time price. Yours may be lower, but there were still three of eight years when the ROI was negative, so no amount of tinkering would have made it worth your time. Overall, $11.39/hour average doesn't sound too shabby - but remember, I make enough money to have $5200 refund each year, if you are only getting the national average of $2600, then cut this $11.39/hr in half and you have something that is less than minimum wage - in other words it would be more profitable for you to just go out and get a job at McDonalds for two days (five hour shifts) each year and then quit rather than try to monkey around with your tax withholding throughout the year.<br />
<br />
But the 2005-2012 S&P line can be misleading. This is calculated by just adding up each of the yearly amounts. I did this since we plan our tax refund into our budget and mainly have it targeted to pay for big ticket items (replacing roof, buying car, etc.) that we know are happening in the next year. What about if you plan on saving this for the long term, there could be a lot of good benefits, right?<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 447px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 4059; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col><col span="4" style="mso-width-alt: 3072; mso-width-source: userset; width: 63pt;" width="84"></col><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt; width: 63pt;" width="84"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Value</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$ Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">% Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$/hr</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005-2012 S&P Yearly</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="42511"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$42,511 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="911.48"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$911 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="2.1899999999999999E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="11.39"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$11.39 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005-2012 S&P Combined</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="48765"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$48,765 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="7165"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$7,165 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.17199999999999999"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">17.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="89.56"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$89.56 </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
<br />
Well, the Combined column (assumes you don't spend it each year) is starting to look really good. $89/hr is a heck of a lot more than I make. Obviously, if the S&P 500 does average or even good in 2013, then this doesn't change the rosiness of this picture. But what if instead 2013 becomes another 2008?<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 447px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 4059; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col><col span="4" style="mso-width-alt: 3072; mso-width-source: userset; width: 63pt;" width="84"></col><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt; width: 63pt;" width="84"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Value</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$ Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">% Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 63pt;" width="84"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$/hr</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005-2012 S&P Yearly</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="42511"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$42,511 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="911.48"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$911 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="2.1899999999999999E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="11.39"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$11.39 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2005-2012 S&P Combined</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="48765"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$48,765 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="7165"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$7,165 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.17199999999999999"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">17.2%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="89.56"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$89.56 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">One More Bad Year</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="46325"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$46,325 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-475"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($475)</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-0.01"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">-1.0%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-5.27"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($5.27)</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">One More Bad Year Combined</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="33580"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$33,580 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-13220"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($13,220)</span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-0.28300000000000003"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">-28.3%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="-146.89"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-ignore: color;">($146.89)</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
<br />
So, I calculated for one more bad year, assuming that you spend it every year and it is bad, but if you were using it as long term savings, then that $89/hr turns into -$146/hr. In one year, of course the next year may be better than before. Or it could be worse. You don't really know, so, I would suggest not using this as the basis to make a decision. Don't get me wrong, I invest in the stock market and encourage others to as well. Its just not a place to put money that you may need in the short term.<br />
<br />
So, let me look at something that is more stable, like bank interest rates. I can count on this to always be positive. <br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 372px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 3364; mso-width-source: userset; width: 69pt;" width="92"></col><col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2816; mso-width-source: userset; width: 58pt;" width="77"></col><col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt; width: 69pt;" width="92"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 48pt;" width="64"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Value</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 56pt;" width="75"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$ Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 58pt;" width="77"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">% Increase</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; width: 48pt;" width="64"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$/hr</span></strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1% Savings</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="5227"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,227 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="27"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$27 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="5.0000000000000001E-3"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">0.5%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext 0.5pt solid;" x:num="2.71"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$2.71 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2% Savings</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5254"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,254 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="54"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$54 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="0.01"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1.0%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5.43"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5.43 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3% Savings</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5282"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,282 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="82"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$82 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="1.6E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1.6%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="8.18"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$8.18 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4% Savings</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5309"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,309 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="109"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$109 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.1000000000000001E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2.1%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="10.94"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$10.94 </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><td height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #ece9d8; border-left: #ece9d8; border-right: #ece9d8; border-top: #ece9d8; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5% Savings</span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="5337"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$5,337 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="137"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$137 </span></div>
</td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="2.5999999999999999E-2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2.6%</span></div>
</td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-left: windowtext; border-right: windowtext 0.5pt solid; border-top: windowtext;" x:num="13.72"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">$13.72 </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
<br />
<br />
Nope, this certainly doesn't change things. Unless interest rates are astronomically high, there is no sense in me using my leisure time to play with taxes. In fact with some of these, I know my daughter has made more operating a lemonade stand.<br />
<br />
So, for the last 8 years, my opinion has changed. At one point in my life the $25 extra a year in interest I might have made sense, but I had a whole lot of extra time back then. Yes, I have been giving the government an interest free loan for thousands of dollars, but on the flip side, the actions I would need to take to not give them that loan are not worth it. If there was no penalty for underpayment, then I wouldn't because it would make the decision easy (arrange to have nothing withheld and just write a check on April 15th).Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-63657278123183010302013-03-07T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-07T06:00:11.063-06:00Computers Were Invented to Play PongHistory looks back on itself and subdivides into neat categories based on common attributes of the time. The Bronze Age, The Dark Ages, The Industrial Revolution. Some have proposed the name of the current age we are in as the Computer Era or the Information Age. However, I take a more simplistic approach. We live in the Period of Pong. To explain this, let me go over what Pong is, how Pong has influenced the development of computers, and how all real computer games are merely a variation of Pong.<br /><br />Pong was invented in 1972, not by Atari, but by Magnavox. Atari ripped off the idea and mass marketed it as one of the first arcade games. It is sometimes described as a tennis game, but looking at the antiquated graphics of the early 70s, it merely has two bars that alternate hitting a square ball. At the time it was a technological breakthrough and the arcade games were making more money than anything previous. A home version came out in 1975 and the world has not looked back. Pong is such a simple game that any programmer could make their own version in about a day and my Mom swears that she is certain the keepers of the Mainframe at the university were just playing Pong most of the day. In its simplest terms, Pong is a game where each player uses a limited motion object (the paddle) to project a faster, more tactile object (the ball) at an opposing player.<br /><br />But we know that computers were invented before Pong. Long before Pong in some cases. Herman Hollerith had a mechanical computer that was employed for the mundane task of counting the census. Alan Turing postulated the framework for a programmable computer and his concepts were used to crack the Axis codes in World War II. Unfortunately, after the war, they found no use for the computer and destroyed them. ENIAC was born shortly thereafter. Over the next 25 years, computers progressed at a snails pace. Transistors were introduced and then microchips, but by 1970 there wasn’t any real talk of computers being ubiquitous. And why would they? The average person didn’t need to count the census or break German codes. We put a man on the moon with the sliderule. The scientific calculator hadn’t been invented.<br /><br />Then Pong came. All of the sudden there was a need for computers in every arcade, convenience store, school, and home. This was something people could relate to. This was a task that people needed a computer for. A tennis court is too big to have in your bedroom, and besides, it is really tiring to play tennis all day long. But Pong demanded that the computer equipment become available to the masses. Both the personal computer and the game console were born. The late 70s and 80s saw an explosion of games: Space Invaders, Pac Man, Galaga, Centipede. When properly analyzed, they all come back to the tried and true concept of Pong: one object makes another object go towards an opponent.<br /><br />As people whetted their appetite with Pong, they wanted more. Computing power increased to meet the demand. The Atari 2600 was a 1 MHz machine. Nintendo a 2 MHz machine. The Sega Genesis an 8 MHz machine. The Nintendo 64 a 96 MHz machine, and the Playstation 3 a 3.2 GHz machine. Home computers followed the same exponential growth. From the lowly 8086 to the Pentium 4, computing power increased and the chance to play ever better versions of Pong increased. It is to the point now, where the best computers are specifically designed for gamers, in other words Pong Players.<br /><br />In recent years, computers have become ubiquitous. Laptops, GPS, smartphones are all computers. So does the idea that Computers were Invented to Play Pong still hold true? Isn’t there some other higher purpose? The quick answer is OF COURSE! This can be seen from the most popular game of all time. Angry Birds. In two years it has been downloaded more than 500 million times. To give you an idea of how much that is, the computer operating system that is installed on the most computers is Windows XP. It is on 500 million. And every computer needs an operating system. And is Angry Birds some revolutionary game? No, simply an object (the slingshot) projecting another object (the bird) at an opponent (the pigs and their buildings). The exact same formula that started the computer revolution in 1972.<br /><br />Now some may say that there are other types of games. Shoot-em-up. Same outline as Pong. Mario Bros. Same outline as Pong. Driving/Flight simulators. Same outline as Pong. All of these computer games can trace their lineage back to Pong. Sure they may substitute a gun, turtle or car for the paddle or ball. Even the most advanced game system, the Xbox Kinect which has a full motion camera so that you don’t even have a controller comes packaged with Pong (its called Rally Ball). Of course, if you want to buy the Sports pack, you get Table Tennis (Pong), Soccer (Pong with Feet), and Beach Volleyball (Pong with all parts of your body).<br /><br />There is one genre of games that do not fit the Pong category. These are puzzle games. Solitaire, Sudoku, Mahjong, Chess. But lets be honest with ourselves, the only reason you are playing these on the computer is because your too lazy to deal a deck of cards.<br /><br />In conclusion, computers would never have reached their full potential without Pong. It was the game that started the computer revolution. The dawn of the Information Age. <br />
<br />
Oh, what’s that? ... No, that can’t be right. Are you telling me the first computer game was SpaceWar! It came out in 1961. Forget everything I just wrote, we are living in the World of SpaceWar.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-9538464337200664622013-03-06T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-06T06:00:15.307-06:00Death of the CannonIn 2009, I built myself a cannon. You can read about it <a href="http://myreputo.blogspot.com/2010/01/cannon-fodder-brief-history.html">here</a>, <a href="http://myreputo.blogspot.com/2010/01/cannon-fodder-building-cannon.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://myreputo.blogspot.com/2010/01/cannon-fodder-applied-science.html">here</a>. Over the last three years, it has brought much joy to people. It was used at a family reunion, to celebrate holidays, and just for fun in the backyard with friends. The cannon was first shot off on January 1, 2010. It had its final shot on December 31, 2012. Three years of black powder goodness.<br />
<br />
I was down at my brother's place, and we had decided to make some potato guns to entertain the kids. We used some PVC left over from construction of his house and the remainder of my other cannon that I had never finished. After about 30 minutes of work we had a 3" shooter and a 2" shooter. Later that afternoon, we took the kids (age 5 to 13) out to fire off some spuds.<br />
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THWUMPF! That is the sound of igniting hairspray as the best of Idaho's soil goes sailing through the air, landing 200 yards away. THWUMPF! THWUMPF! THWUMPF!<br />
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One bottle of hairspray and a 5 lb sack of potatoes is a lot of fun. The kids were practically beating each other up for a turn to press the trigger.<br />
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On New Year's Eve we planned a big night of exploding goodness. It started with a trip to the grocery store, oranges would fit, along with another sack of potatoes. To stay with the vegetable theme, for the cannon I selected a large onion, a grapefruit, and something from the lettuce family.<br />
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Then it rained that afternoon. By evening it was still drizzly. We decided to do it anyway, blowing stuff up at night to celebrate the new year is a time honored tradition in America that a little precipitation is not going to get in the way of.<br />
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So, we started with some stuffed animals. The cannon performed beautifully as usual and the kids were pleased to ring in the New Year. Then the rain started more, things were getting wet and icy (it had snowed earlier in the day). So, I decided one more shot, the lettcue thing. I loaded up 6 tablespoons of blackpowder, stuffed in the wadding, and then the lettuce. It fit snugly, but not quite as snug as the stuffed animals do.<br />
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In conjunction, my brother and I decided to light off the spud guns at the same time. Did you know that the explosion in a spud gun is bright enough to cause the gun to glow? It is a great sight at night (although slightly ennerving at first when you realize that this is about 3/16" to 1/4" of white plastic that is glowing momentarily). Everything was loaded up, and I lit the fuse on the cannon.<br />
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10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... KA-BOOOOOM!<br />
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The sound reverberated off of the hills and sounded only slighly quieter but much deeper than a shotgun blast. The blast had knocked the cannon backwards and it skidded along the ground until it hit the deck. It was pouring down rain now, so I left the cannon out until the next morning and just grabbed my explosion tool box.<br />
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The next morning when I went out to retrieve the cannon, I found this:<br />
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That final blast had literally blown the end off of the cannon. It wasn't that there was too large of a charge, I had put up to 8 tablespoons of powder in it before. But in retrospection, there were three possible contributing factors.<br />
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1) The angle at which the cannon was aimed. Since I am using this for enjoyment of friends and family, I like to have a nice arcing shot (more like a mortar than howitzer), I I usually set up the cannon at a 60-70 degree angle. This allows the ground to be used as a backstop and absorb much of the recoil. Since the cannon was seen skidding across the ground after the shot, it is entirely possible that I had a shallower angle, which would mean that the recoil forces could send the cannon flying backwards.<br />
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2) The cold weather might have made the material brittle. I had set up the cannon earlier in the afternoon, so by the time we were shooting it, it was probably at 20- 30 degrees. The break was a clean circumferential break, it didn't shatter, so that is telling me that the force of the combustion chamber acting backwards caused the break. If the combustion chamber couldn't contain the pressure, then I would expect the whole thing to blow up, or at least have evidence of shattering the PVC shell. There was no evidence that this happened.<br />
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3) The lettuce probably had way more friction than a teddy bear. Plush stuffed animals with their cotton/nylon fur glide out of the tube. Lettuce leaves tend to grip the sides and only move on brute force. I know this from ramming stuffed animals down the tube. Once I get them moving, as long as I apply pressure, they continue to move (i.e. I just have to overcome starting friction). When putting the lettuce in, there was comparatively less force required, but each push only moved it down the barrel a little ways.<br />
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Of course, it may have been the deck that arrested the movement which ultimately caused the cannon to fail. But, that is life. On to my next adventure.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-68307932102721100482013-03-05T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-05T09:51:08.032-06:00GUN "Almost" FACTS 101: High Capacity MagazinesThere is a series of videos from the organization "Protest Easy Guns" titled Gun Facts 101 that can be found on YouTube. Comments are not allowed so originally I had the idea of fisking them with my own video. Alas, that takes way too much time. So I just will do a line by line analysis of the "Almost Facts" (in italics) that are presented. This one is on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeE9ZoKyBh8">High Capacity Magazines</a>.<br />
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<em>A high capacity magazine is filled with bullets. </em><br />
Not to start off by being a English grammar junkie, be “A high capacity magazine may be filled with cartridges” would be a more accurate statement. A bullet and a cartridge are not the same thing. A cartridge is a combination of shell, primer, gunpowder, and bullet. Only the bullet comes out the muzzle of the gun (if you have more than the bullet coming out the front end of the gun, then you have some bigger problems to worry about). If you loaded a magazine with bullets, you would have a great paperweight. If you want to look at it from a weapon standpoint it would be a blunt force object, although, there are many cheaper, more available, and more effective alternatives (i.e. rocks). So, if you want a high capacity magazine to be effective, then you need to fill it with cartridges. Also, when you buy a high capacity magazine, there won’t be any cartridges in it. You have to buy those separately. I know, I know, I am nitpicking here, but if your organization is suppose to “educate” people then you open yourself up to nitpicking when you are wrong.<br />
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<em>And the number of bullets can be anywhere from say well six is considered rather standard</em><br />
Actually, there is no such thing as a universal standard. Some handguns have a standard magazine capacity (assuming that a standard magazine fits completely – or nearly completely – into the grip) of 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17. Its all a function of the cartridge size, grip width, and grip length. For the most popular sizes of handgun (.380, 9 mm, .40, .45) very few can be purchased with a OEM 6 round capacity or less magazine. For rifles and shotguns it gets even more complicated. <br />
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Tubular magazines may hold only two or three rounds, but that is usually because there is a plug taking up the extra space. Why the plug? Because many state laws limit the amount of ammunition loaded into a firearm while hunting. I don’t hunt, so any firearm I own currently or in the future would have such ridiculousness removed so that I can have the maximum designed capacity or greater. Anything less just means I need to reload more when I go to the range. Standard tubular magazines can fit as many cartridges as will fit along the length of the barrel. For a .22 Short, this could be upwards of 20 rounds is an off the shell rifle.<br />
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For detachable magazines, the options are nearly limitless (and the standard magazine that is purchased with a firearm is likewise nearly limitless). For instance, the standard image one has of the Tommy Gun is probably with a 50 or 75 round drum magazine.<br />
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<em>and that’s basically around the capacity that hunters use. </em><br />
No, not really. That’s what SOME hunter’s use because they are limited by state laws. And in a lot of cases, hunter's only need one round (particularly if you hunt with a muzzle loader). In some places (or with some calibers), there are no such limits. For instance, there are crazy people who hunt hogs or bears or other wildlife with handguns that have capacities of more than 6 rounds. This is far more sporting than using a rifle at 300 yards, but in this case “more sporting” to me also means more insane. Our primate hunting instincts and skills long since were discarded on our evolutionary journey to the top of the food chain. In any case, hunters use magazines with less than six rounds because A) they only plan on taking 1 shot or B) state law limits them to less than six rounds. The firearm still works the same way with 7-30 rounds in it.<br />
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<em>High capacity is considered generally anything above six rounds of bullets as you see in this picture here, in the magazine. </em><br />
Um, actually, the only time that high capacity magazine was defined in federal legislation (1994 Assault Weapons Ban) the cutoff was set at 10 rounds. More than 10 rounds was considered “high” capacity. New York has now defined it as 7 rounds. But other states have defined it as 15 rounds or 20 rounds, so even the various governments who believe in high capacity magazine limits haven't come to a consensus as to how many that is.<br />
<em>The capacity can go up to 20 rounds, 30 rounds, 40. </em><br />
I know, isn’t it great! And then if you have a belt-fed weapon it has the same effect of having a 100, 200, 500, 1000 or more round magazine. So, if great hunters only use 1 shot per trip, why have 20, 30, or 40 round magazines? Because everyone who shoots is not a great hunter, or even a hunter period. As mentioned before, “high” capacity magazines allow me to reload less at the range.<br />
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<em>This is an example of a magazine in an assault pistol. </em><br />
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And this is an example of a cute cuddly sidearm. See its pink! </div>
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<em>An assault rifle generally has a magazine that hangs down</em></div>
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Unless it comes out the side, or the top, or contained within the pistol grip, or is belt fed like I mentioned above. All of these configurations have their advantages and disadvantages. All of them have varying capacities.</div>
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<em>and ones that we have seen in photos from the Iraq war we see a lot of soldiers with them</em></div>
That is because soldiers shoot their guns a lot in combat (just like I shoot my guns a lot at the range – except that I am not trying to kill anyone and no one is shooting back). So it would make no sense to reload after six rounds. These photos are not limited to the Iraq War. Any war since the beginning of the 20th Century has featured “high” capacity magazines (they have also featured a lot of “low” capacity magazines).<br />
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<em>you generally will see what folks call banana clips sometimes they’ll use that expression.</em><br />
Well, if we are talking about third world nations, former eastern bloc countries, communist countries, or terrorists then yes. The “banana clip” (it is really a magazine, not a clip) is a unique feature of the AK-47 and its 7.62 x 39mm derivatives because…..<br />
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<em>Because as the number of bullets increase, the magazine kind of comes around in a curved shape.</em><br />
Actually, it has nothing to do with the number of cartridges (not bullets). It has to do with the geometry of the cartridge. Most cartridges are straight walled (i.e. the shell is cylindrical). The 7.62x39mm round is tapered (i.e. the shell is conical). The 5.56 round used in the M-16 is straight walled. Sometimes, on their magazines, there will be a slight angle. This angle serves no function in regards to the ammunition, although it may aid when using the magazine as a grip. Personally, I think the designers were just jealous with the total coolness of the AK-47 and wanted to pretend that their weapon was just as cool. Its not. Face it, for all of its backwardness, some good things came out of the Soviet Union. They are primarily limited to the AK-47 and Anna Kournikova. (The Mosin-Nagant was developed in Tsarist Russian so it doesn’t count).<br />
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<em>There are also round magazines that can hold even greater than 50 rounds.</em><br />
These are properly called drum magazines. Having cartridges stacked up in a magazine has practical limits to the amount you can put in. A drum uses a spiral or circular spring to put 50, 75, 100, or 150 rounds in a fairly compact package. For more than this, you basically have to go the belt-fed route.<br />
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<em>And the reason that these are so dangerous is that as the Long Island Railroad Shooter showed,</em><br />
No, the Long Island Railroad Shooter was dangerous, irrespective of whether he had a gun in his hand or a Molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb (of course then he wouldn’t be called a shooter, but a bomber or an arsonist – either way, he is still a murderer). <br />
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<em>when you put a high capacity magazine in a gun you can just keep firing.</em><br />
…Until your cartridges run out, in which case you need to reload.<br />
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<em>It makes it much more difficult for Law Enforcement to take the person down </em><br />
What makes it difficult for shooters bent on mass murder to be taken down by law enforcement is not the “high” capacity magazine of the shooter, its that the law enforcement personnel are not there when the shooting starts (and usually not there for several minutes after the shooting starts). Gun Free Zones make it more difficult to take a shooter down.<br />
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<em>and we end with tragically many more victims when high capacity magazines are used. </em><br />
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Depending on how you define “high” capacity. Using the AWB definition of 10 rounds as the cutoff most mass shootings were accomplished with low capacity magazines. Even when a weapon was used that had a "high capacity" magazine (such as Aurora, Newtown, or Virginia Tech), the shooter also used another weapon which did not have a "high capacity" magazine. In most of these mass shootings, the perpetrator had several (in some cases dozens) of magazines and did frequent reloads to the point that even though a "high capacity" magazine may have been used, it was reloaded before being fully expended. In other words, a low capacity magazine could have been substituted just as easily.<br />
<em>So when the Assault Weapons Ban expired in the United States in ’04, the ban on high capacity magazines also expired.</em><br />
Of course, the ban didn’t actually ban the magazines. It just banned the manufacture of new magazines. All of the old magazines were still legal to own, sell, and use. <br />
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<em>So it’s only in a few localities where that ban exists.</em><br />
Massachusetts and New York have been known recently as the keepers of Liberty. Oh wait, I was thinking about the beginning of the country. Recently, Massachusetts and New York have been the epitome of the nanny state. Unsuprisingly, comparing crime in areas that have the ban and don't have the ban has shown that it has done nothing to decrease crime or mass shootings.<br />
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<em>So in most of the United States it is now legal to purchase high capacity magazines.</em><br />
It’s also legal to purchase “high” capacity gasoline vehicles. You don’t even need a driver’s license to go fill up two five gallon gas cans. Flour is sold in 50 lb bags to every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Matches are given away like candy. Bleach and Ammonia can be found in most every grocery store in the US and aren’t even in locked cabinets (in most cases there isn’t even a foil seal on them).<br />
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And this is good, because a criminal justice system that is focused on the object rather than the person will provide little justice and breed more criminals. <br />
<br />Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-62606532475310765132013-03-04T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-04T06:00:12.046-06:00Hollywood is a Dump!Not all of Hollywood mind you (I haven't been to most of it), just the Hollywood Boulevard. The place made famous by having stars of the stars in the sidewalk. I was in LA for a business trip and some friends and I went up to Hollywood.<br />
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Coming out of the Hollywood and Highland Metro station, we immediately saw the stars on the walk of fame. The first corner had a Frederick's of Hollywood, so there really is a place, not just randomly named stores in malls across America. It went downhill from there.<br />
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Walking East, we were met with following 6 types of businesses:<br />
1) Lingerie shops, none of which looked as classy as Frederick's<br />
2) Smoke shops (and I should include Marijuana Clinics in this as well - I was told by the worker that it was legal and he could get me a doctor's referal if needed)<br />
3) Tattoo parlors (sometimes as part of a lingerie shop or smoke shop or both)<br />
4) Mom & Pop restaurants (we never went in one of these, but they might be good)<br />
5) Tour companies to take you around and see the homes of the stars<br />
6) Scientology shops/temples/recruit centers, I don't know what you would call them, but when the front window is covered with 1000 copies of the same L. Ron Hubbard book it has something to do with Scientology<br />
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The further East we went, the seedier it looked. By Hollywood and Vine, we turned back on the other side of the street. Same stuff. There are three things on Hollywood Blvd that don't look like dumps. The TCL Chinese Theater (with all of the concrete handprints), across from this the El Capitan Theater (owned by Disney - they were getting ready for the premiere of The Great and Powerful Oz that night) and the semi shopping mall/strip mall next to these.<br />
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Everything else looks like you wouldn't want to be there after dark. Except for the stars, they do look pretty cool.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-82753113434694884212013-03-01T06:00:00.000-06:002013-03-07T18:09:13.857-06:00Security Theater: Our Asinine Gun Laws<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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People who don't deal with the ins and outs of federal regulations on a daily basis really don't know how ridiculous some of the are. Recognize, federal regulations are written by bureaucrats (who may not have any idea about the subject they are writing regulations on), commented on by the public (who may not have any idea about the subject they are writing regulations on), to implement federal law passed by Congress (who may not have any idea about the subject they are writing regulations on), and enforced by various law enforcement agencies (who also may not have any idea about the subject). Unfortunately, these regulations are enforced against people who are intimately familiar with the subject that is being regulated.<br />
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Firearms are a subject that many people not familiar with firearms say have few regulations. The regulations for firearms are located in <a href="http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=27:3.0.1.2.3&idno=27">Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations</a>. So lets go through a few of those.<br />
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First off, what is a firearm? The regulations define 4 things which are firearms and 1 which is not. 1) any weapon which will expel a projectile by explosive force. 2) the frame or receiver of #1. 3) a muffler or silencer. 4) a destructive device. And the item which is not is 1) antique firearm - any firearm manufactured in or before 1898 or replica of such firearm not designed to take centerfire or rimfire ammunition.<br />
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So what are the ramifications of this. Well, lets use the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosin%E2%80%93Nagant">Mosin-Nagant</a> as an example. This rifle has been manufactured since 1891. So by the definitions above, those made from 1891 to 1898 are not firearms. Those made since 1899 are firearms. Even though they all fire the exact same ammunition and in most cases their parts are interchangeable. So the same gun is a firearm but also not a firearm. The implication of this ridiculous designation is that a Mosin-Nagant built before 1898 is not subject to the sale and possession restrictions of the regulations. So, prohibited persons (criminals, mentally ill, etc.) could buy a pre-1898 Mosin-Nagant and not break any law. Also, anyone could have a pre-1898 Mosin-Nagant shipped to their door - no background check, no waiting period, no nothing. But if it was made in 1899 all of the rules apply.<br />
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Next, a frame or a receiver is also a firearm. When transporting firearms on aircraft they have to be declared and in a locked case. And the case cannot be opened (even by the TSA) except in the presence of the owner. A frame or a receiver is a single part. It is the part that all of the other parts attach to. By itself, a frame or receiver is incapable of firing a projectile (no firing pin, no barrel, etc.). The BATFE has further ruled that a receiver/frame has to be more than 80% complete to be a receiver/frame (and therefore a firearm). An <a href="http://ak-builder.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=171">AK-47 80% receiver</a> can look like a flat sheet of metal with some holes in it. So, I can put 100 of these in my checked baggage and not declare them. Furthermore, I can buy 100 of them and have them shipped to my house (so could a prohibited person) since they are not a firearm, just sheet metal with holes in it. But, if I make just one bend in the flat piece of sheet metal, it is now a firearm and when I go to the airport, I have to have it in a locked case and declare it. If the TSA opens up my bag with flat sheet metal, they are within their rights to do that. If however, they open up my bag with declared bent metal without me present, they have broken the law. Likewise, the same receiver can come pre-bent, just without the holes. Once I drill the first hole it is a firearm.<br />
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Next, a sound suppressor or muffler (popularly called a silencer) is also a firearm. So, if I am transporting the silencer on an airplane, I also have to declare it as a firearm (even though I may not have a firearm that it connects to) and have it in a separate locked case (that the TSA can't open outside of my presence).<br />
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I have been using the example of transporting firearms on airplanes. Except that falls under the TSA jurisdiction and they are under 49 CFR Subtitle B Chapter XII. Unfortunately, they don't define the term "firearm" so, that 1891 Mosin-Nagant (which according to the BATFE is not a firearm) may have to be declared as a firearm at the airport; and that sound suppressor (which according to the BATFE is a firearm) may not have to be declared. It's a little hazy as to what is what in the world of federal regulations, especially when you have to jump from one agency to another.<br />
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Let's look at another area. Importation and manufacture. Here are three rifles. One of them is illegal.<br />
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If you guessed the middle one, then you would be wrong. That one is perfectly legal. The top one is the original configuration (minus the magazine) with all Russian parts. And, I lied. The bottom is also the exact same as the top one. However, if I put the American made 30-round magazine shown in the middle on to the other configuration, it would be illegal. If I switched out the 30-round magazine in the middle with the factory provided 10 round magazine, the middle one would be illegal. Regulations require imported rifles to remain in their imported condition, or have a minimum number of US parts installed. Any less than the minimum parts and you have an illegal configuration (which I believe is a felony).<br />
<br />
What is most hilarious about this, is there are several internal components which count and you wouldn't be able to tell without disassembling the rifle - except that many of these parts usually don't have a "made in the USA" stamp. So, the only way to show compliance would be to save your receipt - unlike the tax code, there is no time limit so you would need to save these receipts forever. But if you happen to be a closet machinist and manufactured your own parts (which is perfectly legal), you really have no proof that they are USA made parts (unless you video documented the manufacturing process). Talk about a regulatory burden.<br />
<br />
One of the types of Federal Firearms License is a Curio & Relic License, or a collectors license. It allows holders to purchase firearms for their private collection that meet certain criteria (mainly being more than 50 years old). They still shoot modern ammunition and some people even use them as their daily carry guns. The process involves a background check by the FBI. Purchases can be made from other FFLs by mail shipped directly to your home. Firearms not on the C&R list, though, cannot be shipped to your home, they must go through a retail FFL. So, let's say I want to buy two guns from Southern Ohio Gun Company. Both in 9mm Makarov. One is a C&R, the other isn't. For the C&R gun, I give them my FFL license number and they ship the gun directly to me. For the other, I have to find an FFL near my home (in my state) to do the transfer. SOG sends the firearm to the FFL, and then I go to the FFL. Do I show them my FFL? No, since this isn't a C&R gun, that won't work. They have to fill out the 4473 and call in to the NICS to do a background check (even though I just got the other gun in the mail the same day). Unless, I happen to have my concealed carry license, in which case they fill out the paperwork, but don't need to call it in (at least in my state, other states are different). Oh yeah, and I probably had to pay them extra for the gun. So in a nutshell, one gun is 51 years old and is shipped right to my door. Another is 49 years old and I have to pay more and involve another company including filling out paperwork. The guns are functionally identical. Makes perfect sense, if you work in the government.<br />
<br />
Finally, let me look at another issue. You can have a firearm registered as a short-barrelled rifle if the barrel length is less than 16 inches. So, hypothetically, let's assume you have two of the same rifle, one with a barrel of 16 inches, and one with a barrel of 15.9 inches which is registered with the BATFE. The short barreled rifle is registered by the serial number which is on the receiver, not the barrel. Both operate the exact same (they are both semi-automatic). One day after shooting, you happen to be cleaning both of them and inadvertently assemble the shorter barrel on the non-registered receiver. You have committed a felony. Even though you still own the exact same weapons as before. But don't worry, you're only going to get caught if you tell someone, so quickly you disassemble them and reassemble them correctly.<br />
<br />
People like to think that regulations help us and keep us safe. They couldn't be further from the truth. In many cases the regulations are impotent or unenforceable. In others, they are contradictory across departments. Most of them have little semblance of protection. I have only talked about four examples out of thousands. These four do nothing to keep us safer. Would we be better off without these regulations? Absolutely! But no politician wants to go on record as repealing our gun laws. Even if they are stupid and do nothing to help us. The saddest part about all this, like calling the IRS for tax advice, my analysis above could be wrong. I may have said something was legal when it really wasn't, and vice versa.<br />
<br />
So the next time someone says guns aren't regulated, laugh in their face. And don't be ashamed if you spray some spit while doing it. <br />
<div>
</div>
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-85831281172048444882013-02-28T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-28T06:00:02.175-06:00Let's Pay Teachers What They are Worth (exactly what we are paying them now)The most popular post that I have by far is about mothers not being worth $100,000. It probably made some people mad, but my wife and mother still talk to me. So today, I am going to tackle another shibboleth. Teachers, specifically public school teachers. I attended school in 4 different districts growing up. If there was one universal theme that I remember from all of them, it is that teachers weren't paid enough. They even went on strike one day, for the children.<br />
<br />
I have several friends who are teachers. If there is one universal theme that can be had from them it is that teachers aren't paid enough. So, I feel safe in saying that for the last 30-50 years, teachers don't think they are paid enough. I say that is a big fat pile of steaming cow dung. Before you tar and feather me, hear me out first. One piece of glurge you may have received in you inbox is this diatribe:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year. It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – babysit. We can get that for less than minimum wage.</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>That’s right. Let’s give them $3 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan– that equals 6 1/2 hours).</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>However, remember they only work 180 days a year. I am not going to pay them for any vacations.</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>LET’S SEE…That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on. My calculator needs new batteries.)</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What about those special education teachers and the ones with master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here. There sure is.</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The average teacher’s salary (nationwide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student– a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>WHAT A DEAL!</i></span></blockquote>
<br />
Someone was having a little fun and tried their hand at sarcasm. Of course in their zeal to make teaching look like a simple business where they are getting shafted by averaging $50K a year while giving services worth $105K made me laugh. Whoever wrote this failed any business classes they took. If you are going to do a teacher=business comparison, you have to go the whole way. So to start with I put the above numbers into a spreadsheet:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="2" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="223"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="223"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Email</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Students</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="30" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">1st Student (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$3.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Additional Students (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$3.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hourly Rate</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="90" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$90.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hours worked per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="6.5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">6.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Billed amount per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="585" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$585.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Days per year</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="180" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">180</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Total Classroom Revenue</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="105300" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$105,300.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
No, funny math, I agree that their calculations are correct. For the total revenue. Except that I thought I would adjust it a bit. First off, I am not a scrooge, so I'll pay them for a full 8 hours (there are lots of full time jobs that don't pay for the casual overtime you put in so I'm not shorting teachers any more than society is shorting other non-hourly workers). I am also going to pay them for 20 extra days in the year, so 200 days total work days.<br />
<br />
Now the per kid charge I have to disagree with. Since the author uses babysitting as the yardstick, I'll do the same. Most babysitters (and day cares) have a first child charge, and then it is discounted for each additional child. Now normally they do this by family, but in this case, people are not individually choosing the teacher, the state is. So I'll assume that the state gets billed $5 for the first child and $2 for each additional child.<br />
<br />
So, my analysis looks a little different, but close enough for a starting point:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="3" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="223"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="223"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Email</b></td>
<td align="CENTER" width="86"><b>Reputo</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Students</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="30" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">30</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="30" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">1st Student (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">3</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Additional Students (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">3</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hourly Rate</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="90" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$90.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="63" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$63.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hours worked per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="6.5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">6.5</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="8" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Billed amount per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="585" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$585.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="504" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$504.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Days per year</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="180" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">180</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="200" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Total Classroom Revenue</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="105300" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$105,300.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="100800" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$100,800.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
If you are satisfied with that, then pat yourself on the back and keep believing that the average public school teacher is worth $100,000. Except remember, we are comparing this to a business, so the teacher is a revenue source, none of the expenses have been added in. The building space can be looked at similar to office building prices (especially since you have use of the library, cafeteria, and playground). School supplies are needed for each student including textbooks, computers, library books, etc. There are support staff that handle all of the office stuff and janitors who clean up. Administrators are needed (because everyone needs a boss). Teachers do get a sweet deal in benefits, thanks to the unions negotiations. So, here is what I think is reasonable (if you disagree, give me some information of why you do, and I'll change the numbers around):<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="3" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="286"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" width="286"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Email</b></td>
<td align="CENTER" width="86"><b>Reputo</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="66" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Building Rental per month (includes heating, cooling, plumbing, maintenance, grounds keeping, use of library, cafeteria, and gym facilities)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="50" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">School Supplies per student per month (paper, pencils, computers, curriculum, testing, library books, PE equipment, etc.)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="200" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$200.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Support Staff (1@ $40,000 per 4 teachers)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="10000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$10,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Administrator (1 @ $100,000 per 20 teachers)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="34" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Benefits (Pension, health insurance, employer portion SS/Medicare, etc.)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="25000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$25,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Total Expenses</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="66400" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$66,400.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Salary of Teacher</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="105300" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$105,300.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="34400" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$34,400.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
Uh-oh. $34,400 is a lot less than the $50,000 average. But even then, these numbers aren't realistic. According to the <a href="http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff15.html">Census Bureau</a>, there are roughly 55 million K-12 students and only 3 million K-8 teachers. To be conservative, lets ignore the high school teachers. That is only 19 students per teacher, not 30. If we assumed another 1 million high school teachers than we drop down to 14 students per teacher (coincidentally, I had several classes that had this few students and a couple with even less). So, to be realistic, I'll cut the number of students to 20.<br />
<br />
Teachers that I know also put in more than 8 hours a day, so I'll assume an average of 9. Plus I'll assume they work an average of 220 days a year. I'll keep the $5/$2 split for kids, except that we have one more expense to add in if we are going to stay with the babysitting motif. Day cares have a minimum number of staff required for the number of kids - somewhere around 1:7. So, in each classroom, a fine needs to be assessed, per student, per day for the overage.<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="4" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="286"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="286"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Email</b></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Reputo</b></td>
<td align="CENTER" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;" width="86"><b>Realistic</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Students</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="30" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">30</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="30" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">30</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="20" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">1st Student (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">3</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Additional Students (per hour rate)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">3</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hourly Rate</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="90" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$90.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="63" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$63.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="43" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$43.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Hours worked per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="6.5" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">6.5</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="8" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">8</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="9" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Billed amount per day</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="585" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$585.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="504" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$504.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="387" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$387.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Days per year</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="180" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">180</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="200" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">200</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;" sdval="220" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">220</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Total Classroom Revenue</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="105300" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$105,300.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="100800" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$100,800.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="85140" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$85,140.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="66" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Building Rental per month (includes heating, cooling, plumbing, maintenance, grounds keeping, use of library, cafeteria, and gym facilities)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2,000.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="2000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$2,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="50" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">School Supplies per student per month (paper, pencils, computers, curriculum, testing, library books, PE equipment, etc.)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="200" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$200.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="200" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$200.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Support Staff (1@ $40,000 per 4 teachers)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="10000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$10,000.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="10000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$10,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Administrator (1 @ $100,000 per 20 teachers)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5,000.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="5000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$5,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="34" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Benefits (Pension, health insurance, employer portion SS/Medicare, etc.)</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="25000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$25,000.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="25000" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$25,000.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Total Expenses</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="0" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$0.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="66400" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$66,400.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="66400" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$66,400.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Salary of Teacher</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="105300" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$105,300.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="34400" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$34,400.00</td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="18740" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$18,740.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="34" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Fine for violating 1 adult per 7 children ($25/person/day)</td>
<td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="58500" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">$58,500.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="18" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">Actual Salary of Teacher</td>
<td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;[$$-409]#,##0.00;[RED]-[$$-409]#,##0.00" sdval="-39760" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">-$39,760.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
So, just from a babysitting perspective, each teacher should be paying $40K for the privilege to babysit. But as the author pointed out, your kids get an education too! Well, hopefully, in too many cases you don't. So look at it as a teacher has to be providing at least $90K worth of information/training/mentoring in their job in order to be paid an average of $50K. If not you are a drag on society. $90K is a lot of information (particularly in this digital age).<br />
<br />
But don't get on your high horse just yet. Check out some publicly traded companies revenue and divide that by the number of employees and you will find that many of them average $150-300K of revenue per employee (and their employees are not making more than teachers on average). That's a lot more than the above hypothetical teacher is bringing in.<br />
<br />
So, teachers get paid what they are worth, sort of. Most of them operating under union contracts get paid by seniority regardless of how well they teach. Private school teachers, on average, get paid less and have less benefits than public school teachers, but you don't hear them complaining. My wife and I home school our kids. As part of it, the school district has the come for half a day once a week to meet state progress requirements. The kids don't get assignments or tests from this half a day, it is just fun learning art, music, PE, and science. Talking with the teachers, they love the job. It has all the positives of being a teacher - seeing kids grow and develop, teaching what they like, involved parents; with none of the negatives - grading papers, teaching to a test, parents that don't care.<br />
<br />
If you are a teacher and are not getting paid what you think you are worth, did you not realize this before getting into teaching? Like I said, this complaint has been going on for more than 30 years. The US has put a value on teaching our kids at $50K per year average. If you want to make more than that, practice putting a ball through a net or hitting it with a stick. Society values those people who do it best at around $750K per year (just be aware that if you are only almost the best at those skills, society only values it at around $6K per year, so maybe teaching isn't so bad after all). You're all adults now. Live with your decision, or change your circumstances. Just stop the whining about how unfair it is.Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-70454031814078311752013-02-27T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-27T12:06:01.004-06:00Making BreadI like to make bread. I wouldn't say I am very good at it, I just follow the recipe. Fresh bread from the oven is addicting. I have been known to wolf down half a loaf smothered in honey. And there are very few breads I have come across that I don't like.<br />
<br />
Currently, I am trying to grow a good sour dough starter. A week ago, it was just flour and water with a pinch of sugar. It smells nice, so I'll use part of it this evening to make some sour dough English muffins. But from everything I have read, it takes several weeks for a sour dough starter to get really good. And you have to feed it every other day, which means I need to make something at least once a week. Guess the kids will like that!<br />
<br />
I also like flatbreads. I haven't been very successful getting pita to have the pocket on the inside, but even just pieces of it taste good with hummus. When my family lived in New York we couldn't find good tortillas (they all tasted like cardboard), so for Christmas (or Mother's Day) I bought a tortilla press. That made some good tortillas.<br />
<br />
I have used a bread machine, but I really don't like the output from them. For a while, we would use the bread machine just to mix the dough. But, it can only mix one loaf. So our bread machine has sat in our cabinet for a couple of years, untouched. Perhaps its time to get rid of it...Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-3216753164185570682013-02-26T06:00:00.001-06:002013-02-26T06:00:06.199-06:00Soda Ban Unintended ConsequencesSo one of the unintended consequences of the <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/soda_ban_to_sap_your_4t5pEK0hvo3PoNZEBOdZ2L">Soda Ban</a> in New York City is that you can't get a 2 Liter bottle of regular coke with your pizza. Apparently a 2 Liter bottle of Diet Coke is OK though. Also, no more pitchers of root beer at birthday parties - because you know it is too tempting for some little kid to just down the whole thing. However, if you go to your local grocery store, you can by 2-liter bottles of Coke (and Mountain Dew) until they run out and order more. Just don't buy them from Dominoes. It is times like these that I am glad I don't live in New York City and wonder why 8 million people still do. But then again, they elected Bloomberg, so they got what they wanted.<br />
<br />
I looked at the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/notice/2012/amend-food-establishments.pdf">regulation</a> a little more and found out something. First off, the regulation specifically defines a "sugary drink" as meeting these 4 criteria:<br />
<br />
1) Non-alcoholic (so if you are worried about not getting your giant margarita in a 20 oz glass, don't its perfectly legal - unless its a virgin margarita!)<br />
<br />
2) Sweetened by manufacturer or establishment with a caloric sweetener (hence the reason Diet Coke is kosher, but regular Coke is not - to say nothing of Mexican Coke which uses real sugar and probably would cause the entire city of New York to go into diabetic shock)<br />
<br />
3) More than 25 calories per 8 oz serving <br />
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4) Does not contain more than 50% milk or milk substitute<br />
<br />
I deal with government regulation on a daily basis. This one is a beauty. There are some obvious work arounds here. So let me use the <a href="http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list">USDA Nutrition database</a> for some examples of what is legal and illegal. Since a "sugary drink" has to meet all four criteria, as long as we don't meet one criteria, then we're good to go.<br />
<br />
Criteria 4 is the first hit. If I have a glass of milk, it can be as big as I want it (because it is more than 50% milk). So, milk is legal. In all of its varieties. Milk, Chocolate Milk, Strawberry Milk, etc. Do you understand that. Milk has 130 calories per serving. Skim milk has 90 calories per serving. Both of them have 50 calories from sugars per 8 oz serving. And since they are more than 50% milk, criteria 4 is not met, therefore, I can order a 2 Liter bottle of milk from Pizza Hut or McDonald's and they can sell it to me without fear of being fined.<br />
<br />
Which means Chocolate milk is also legal. Because it is more than 50% milk (unless you use a whole crap ton of Hershey's syrup, in which case, just drink the syrup). So chocolate milk with 200 calories per serving (100 of them from sugar, 50 calories from added sugar) is also legitimate. But a 16.1 oz bottle of Mountain Dew is worth a fine.<br />
<br />
Now Eggnog is a bit of a quandry. If it is alcoholic, then it is legal (Criteria 1). If it is the non-alcoholic kind, though, we might have issues. In a typical recipe I have seen, you have a pint of milk, a 1/3 cup of sugar, 4 eggs, and a cup of heavy cream. Now if we can count the heavy cream as milk, then we are safe. If however it doesn't count as milk, then we are going to be cutting it close. A pint is two cups, one cup of cream means 4 eggs and 1/3 cup of sugar have to be less than 1 cup. Maybe if they are small eggs. I'm going to err on the side of caution and say non-alcoholic eggnog is illegal to sell in greater than 16 oz cups. We can call this the Virgin Margharita Loophole. From a health standpoint, the non-alcoholic beverage has to be better for you, yet the city has chosen to leave the alcoholic beverage legal.<br />
<br />
Fruit Juice is also OK. And Vegetable Juice. I looked through the nutrition database and obviously numbers vary, but every single fruit or vegetable juice I could find had more than 25 calories (usually a lot more) per 8 oz serving. But since the manufacturer is not adding the sugar (Criteria 2), they are perfectly legal.<br />
<br />
Lemon juice in particular, is OK. But Lemonade is NOT! Because they have to add sugar. So, lemon juice with 54 calories per 8 oz serving = good, but lemonade with 106 calories per 8 oz serving = bad. But Chocolate milk at 200 calories per 8 oz serving = good. (Don't ask me what geniuses figured this out.)<br />
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Most soft drinks (that aren't diet) have around 100 calories per 8 oz serving. Less than what normal milk has and about the same as Fruit juice. But they are banned from being served in a size greater than 16 oz.<br />
<br />
Now with any amount of regulation, people will find ways around it. So let me share mine.<br />
<br />
1) Drink more milk. It is ridiculous that the pizza company can't deliver a 2 liter bottle of Coke, but they can send over a gallon jug of chocolate milk.<br />
2) Add alcohol to everything. This could revolutionize the industry, although I admit some combinations might not be appetizing. In college, one of my dorm mates wanted to have a Root Beer - Beer mix. This was after he had already had a few beers. He said it didn't taste that good, and he was inebriated - imagine if you try this sober!<br />
3) Sell components. Have a packet of Coke syrup to be added to a 2 Liter bottle of carbonated water.<br />
4) Stock up on those miny sugar packets and sell unsweetened (not even artificial sweetener) drinks. People will quickly catch on to how many packets are needed for a pitcher. It is ridiculous that you can't sell the customer a 2 liter bottle of coke, but if they have a cup of coffee and like it REALLY sweet, they are allowed to add as many packets of sugar as the establishment stocks.<br />
5) When people order a self serve drink cup, give them two. One for ice and one for the drink. Then they have their full 16 oz of drink and can pour it over the ice as needed.<br />
6) Move out of New York City. Come on, 300 million people in this country don't live in New York City, and yet we get along fine with our lives. Some of us don't even drink sugary drinks that often.<br />
<br />
Except Eggnog. I love Eggnog!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-5634588571523844772013-02-25T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-25T06:00:08.053-06:002 Shillings and 6 PenceI have been collecting coins since I
was a child. A previous job had me travel to England regularly and
while filling up my passport with stamps of her Majesty, I began my
collection of British coins. Since that time, British coins are one
of my favorites to collect. Understanding British coinage is
important to making sense of the great English literature.
Unfortunately, they don’t tell you this in high school. Today I am
going to use the novel <i>A Christmas Carol</i> to explain the monetary
amounts.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First we need to understand a little
about British coinage. Let’s begin with the pound sterling, the
official name of the British monetary system. This has its roots all
the way back to Charlemagne who minted small silver pennys that had
240 to a pound, which has its basis in old Roman coinage. In later centuries in England, these were called
sterlings. The fineness of silver was 92.5% which didn’t wear as
much as pure silver, so 92.5% silver came to be known as sterling
silver and that usage extends to today. The symbol, a fancy L with a
line through it, comes from the zodiac sign of Libra, the balance or
scales.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The major subdivisions of the pound
prior to 1971 are the shilling, of which there are 20 in one pound;
and the penny or pence of which there are 12 in one shilling, for a
total of 240 pence in one pound. The symbols for these two coins, s
and d, come from the Roman coins solidus and denarius. So, we can
see that this system of coinage has its origins long before the
English language.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If we wanted to stop here, we would be
missing out on a number of important coins in the British history.
For instance, two farthings equaled a halfpenny and were minted from
the 1300s all the way up to 1960. This was probably one of the most
common coins for everyday life in the middle ages.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The crown first appeared in the 16<sup>th</sup>
century and was a coin worth 5 shillings, or a quarter pound. There
was also a half crown which was worth 2 shillings and six pence. But
to confuse things, in 1990, the crown was remonetized at 5 pounds.
So, if you want to know how much a crown is worth, you better be sure
what year of coin you are talking about.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The guinea was a gold coin first minted
in the 17<sup>th</sup> century that originally was worth one pound or
20 shillings. However gold price fluctuations made its value as high
as 30 shillings. In 1816 its value was fixed at 21 shillings. While
no coin currently bears this name, it is used colloquially for one
pound, although the exact amount 21 shillings is still used in horse
racing and livestock trade.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There’s more.</div>
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The florin was equal to two shillings.</div>
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The tanner was equal to six pence.</div>
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The groat was equal to four pence.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In 1971, all of this changed. The major
denomination, the pound sterling was retained and now divided into
100 new pence. The government was hoping that people would use the
term "new pence" to distinguish it from the old pence, but people don’t
always do what the government wants, and called the new denomination
by its symbol, "p". So pence is an old penny, and p is a new penny,
although some people still call the new penny, pence.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On to A Christmas Carol. This story
was written in 1843 so I have used online calculators and historical
British inflation rates to determine what these values would be in
2013 US dollars.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bob Crachet is poor, how poor? He makes
15 shillings a week - $135 or $7020/yr, less than a minimum wage job
today.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
How punitive were the laws in England?
A Tailor was fined 5 shillings for being drunk - $45, less than the
$300 you’ll pay today for a public intoxication charge.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Fezziwig spent a few pounds on the
Christmas Party - $900. Since the party was in his shop, there was no
need to rent a hall, the band was probably employees or
friends, so the $900 was spent on food for the 50 or so guests.
Pretty comparable to today.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Scrooge’s nephew hoped that his good
will towards his uncle would inspire Scrooge to leave Bob 50 pounds - $9000. This gives us an
idea of Scrooge's wealth. His nephew talks about this amount as if it
is a paltry sum of Scrooges wealth. Assuming it is just 0.1%, he and
Marley amassed a fortune of $9 million dollars, in a two person shop.
Impressive.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mrs Crachet's ribbons cost sixpence -
$4.50 This is also comparable to going down to the mall to buy a
hairbow today.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Peter Crachet was going to make 5
shillings and six pence each week - $49.50 Far below minimum wage,
although coincidentally, my first job was as a lifeguard at Boy Scout
Camp, and I got paid, $49.50 per week. Of course they also provided room and board, but maybe Peter was getting that as part of the deal too!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Did the ghosts really change Scrooge’s
generosity? Scrooge offers a boy half a crown for coming back in 5
minutes - $22.50. Have you ever tipped the pizza man $20. This
isn’t even comparable. This is tipping the guy who took your phone
order $20, because the boy was just a messenger. In the movie adaptations, he gives the actual delivery man a nice tip as well. Scrooge was
definitely a changed man.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As you can see, knowing a little about
foreign currency can help you bring out details in a story that
millions in our country read every year, unawares. I have enjoyed
coin collecting over the years, and even more so, I have enjoyed the
tidbits of trivia it has given me.</div>
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1196883866505951580.post-44582173382842003382013-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-22T06:00:02.793-06:00How Many Computer Operating Systems are in Your Home?I often point out to my kids how lucky they are. I didn't have a computer in my home until I was about 8 years old, an Apple IIc. My Dad would bring the portable computer from work home on occasion and we were able to play a Centipede like game. But that thing was as big as a suitcase. The Apple IIc was sleek, it had a 10" monitor (although some of my friends had a monitor up to 13") and we could play games like Oregon Trail and Loderunner. Oh yeah, and we could keep track of our allowance and write school reports. It was awesome!<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fast forward to today. I have probably gone through a dozen computers in my life. Currently (considering computers, laptops, and tablets) there are 6 working computers in my home all far more powerful than that Apple IIc was. Can you imagine telling Isaac Asimov in 1960 that 50 years from then, multiple computers in homes would be common? He would laugh at you as if you were talking poppycock (I had a book about the using the slide rule that he wrote where he specifically states that there would never be computers in people's homes and that was one of the reasons to learn to use the slide rule).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Currently, three of my machines run Windows 7, one runs Windows XP, one runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and one runs Android Honeycomb. Four different operating systems. But I have had more there was one time for about 6 months that I had 6 different operating systems in my home. That can get confusing as to where everything is.</div>
Reputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845157593799270355noreply@blogger.com0