Life of Steve

Debate over XMAS Cookie Season

My wife and I are having a debate about the appropriate XMAS Cookie Season. I have always thought that the cookie season goes as follows: Cookie Baking and Freezing begins after Thanksgiving. Eating of Christmas cookies can begin anytime during the Advent Calendar. Maybe while watching some of the Christmas TV specials on TV the Parents and Kids could eat a plate of Christmas Cookies. Also it could be fun to have the Christmas cookies while decorating the Tree or the House with all of the Christmas Decorations. Or when you get that first batch of snow in Dec. and you start to think about the holiday you could be drinking the hot chocolate and eating a cookie. Sounds great, Right!?

However, according to my wife the Cookie season begins on Christmas Day (which according to me means it ends on Valentines Day.) I love having the Christmas cookies while opening the presents. The problem comes in around the 3rd week of January when I am still eating the cookies and I just feel like I am eating badly vs. participating in the holiday that ended 4 weeks ago. Instead of feeling joyful and anticipating XMAS instead I just feel pathetic that I am eating a Christmas Tree Cookie on Martin Luther King day. 

Anyways, that's my take. Thoughts?

No Upcoming Events

My calendar seems to be very clear these days. Oh, I still have all the typical Birthdays and Holidays but the usual planned Trips, Big Project Deadlines, Vacations, Adventures, etc are all strangely missing from my upcoming 2010 calendar. It actually feels a little bit strange. I suspect the reason it feels strange is that I like to have something to look forward to. Usually the events I look forward to are recreational trips (different than business trips) parties, big life events (ex: Weddings, Births, etc.) I am sure part of my reluctance to plan has to do with the baby and also wondering what I will be up to from a Career perspective next year. However, since such things are always changing I probably should not let such uncertain concerns affect my decision to do things and go places I wanted to go anyways.

Now to just plan something different and exciting to do. Hmmmmm.

What I did on my Summer Vacation

Since the baby was born in April and we were not sure about what we could do with traveling vacations in 2009 my wife and I scheduled vacation for this week in August. We were not really sure what we would do other than we would remain in Pittsburgh, PA and that the baby would still attend daycare during the day Mon-Fri of that week.

Turns out we chose a very good week weather wise. We had some showers on a couple of days but most of the time our weather was in the 80's and Sunny. Late Summer is the safe bet when it comes to getting warm and sunny here in Pittsburgh.

So this week we did a lot of fun things. We spent a couple of days just soaking up some sun at the community pool for our neighborhood. One day it looked like the pool had been invaded by 2 or 3 of the nearby Primary Schools but the second day was pretty mellow with far fewer kids jumping in the pool and screaming. We also went up north to Moraine State Park to do a nice 15 mile morning bike ride followed by a delicious lunch at The Iron Bridge Restaurant. One day we went down to The Strip for Breakfast at Pamela's and to shop at some of the wholesale shops since it was supposed to be rainy that day.

I did stray from my usual policy of never doing any type of chore during a vacation today by cutting the grass so I wouldn't have to do it this weekend while the baby is with us all day. I also took multiple naps on multiple afternoons and felt somewhat caught up on sleep for the first time since April.

Friday came way too fast and starting tomorrow I will be back in my usual weekend routine and then completely back in the grind when I start work on Monday. This week of being off in the summer even without traveling made me realize that I really need to use up more vacation days in the summer when the weather is nicest.

Even though this long week of vacation is ending I do have a short beach trip coming up at the very end of the month to cap off this summertime. One more relaxing trip to kick back before the Fall Weather and College Football Season starts!

Back on the Health/Fitness Train Part II

After the baby was born I tried to keep up a healthy routine (at least from the working out side of things) but after a couple of times when I was 7 minutes into a cardio session and I had to go upstairs to take care of a screaming baby at 0 dark thirty in the morning and ended up walking around like a zombie with no sleep I decided this needed to be put on hold for me to function in my life.

I wisely decided to not bother to weigh myself since I knew it would just annoy me during those times. After a while though the baby started to sleep better through the night and we also got into a new routine that was somewhat predictable. Then I decided that before I completely let my body and my health go to hell I needed to get back into some healthy habits again.

I started with Weekday morning workouts again. Not as long as I would like since I need to shower up and get the baby fed, clothed, to day care, and get back in time to begin work. Still It is better than nothing and it helps me wake up in the morning. The days that I decide to skip this to grab a couple of extra zzz's (not often. only 1x or 2x) I usually feel worse even though I did get the extra sleep.

Starting this week I also decided to start an effort to monitor how much I am eating. I know that 95% of the problem/challenge is on the eating side of the equation. Throw a giant extra load of stress into your life and suddenly all kinds of sugary treats start flying into my mouth. Even when I would have healthy snacks handy I would go for the "Junk" food. Not that there is anything wrong with an occasional cookie but it's not good for it to become a habit. Even after just 5 days of trying to stay away from this stuff I do feel better since I don't have junk snacks every day. Of course by body is fighting me tooth and nail (har har) and feeling hungry is no fun. However, it will take a little time for my body to adjust.

Hopefully this will become more of a healthy lifestyle than a "Resolution" to be abandoned the next time things get rough at work or the baby gets sick. Just like budgeting and living within your means it is a lot easier to talk about resisting overeating than to actually show restraint.

I want to be Sammy Hagar

Then I could live in Cabowabo.

Drink "Mas Tequila" and never "drive 55" (Most successful protest song of all time) while having "The best of both worlds" 

Actually what made me think of this is I was watching an episode of "Red Eye" that I had DVR'ed (DVR this show and watch it. You should be watching this since it is a humor based show about current events and we really need some humor now.) Sammy Hagar was talking about his life and he sounded like the happiest, most well adjusted human being I could imagine. Huge smile during the entire interview like he didn't have a care in the world!

Here is a clip of him on the show: Sammy on Red Eye

So much of what you see are celebs being jerks, self-important, know it all elitist scumbags. It was refreshing to see someone just happy to be himself.

Doesn't hurt to have your own tequila and tons of money either I guess.

US Laws abroad, Corporate Taxes, Competiveness, etc

Let's start with the obvious. It is really really arrogant and unlawful to assume that laws written in the United State should apply in other countries that have their own sovereignty and laws. It would seem to be really arrogant and laughable (by the government and citizens of that country) to presume to do so. Can you imagine the Chinese saying "Ok. We will agree to accept your jurisdiction and enforcement of US pollution laws just because you say so?" Yeah. That doesn't happen. 

Why am I bringing this up. Well, the US Government presumes to tax it's citizens and corporations on business activity performed outside of the United States! We are the only country to try this because most other countries actually acknowledge the rights of other countries to have their own laws within their own borders.

This has two very negative effects as it stands today. (Obama's plan to increase taxes on income earned outside of the US will cause these problems to get much worse.) First, This means that the US Company needs to pay both the local country taxes and the US taxes for business activity performed in that country. A Local company (Non-US company) only needs to pay the local taxes. This obviously is a major competitive disadvantage. Second, (and it ties to the first) this creates a major incentive for companies that will be doing business globally to not be US Companies. They could liquidate themselves and sell off the pieces to foreign companies, they could allow themselves to be bought out by foreign companies, or someone deciding to start a company could actively decide not to incorporate in the US or hire US workers at all (Acting proactively in their own self-interest.)

It would seem that this would create the opposite results that are intended by raising the taxes on these corporations. Instead you will end up having less and less revenue to tax because companies will not fall under the US Tax umbrella at all.

There are much better solutions. Make Corporate Taxes flat and very low or eliminate them altogether. Corporate taxes are a bad idea anyways and are useless as anyone who has had a company knows. Let me explain. A company earns revenue (Money comes into the company). Money also exits the company in a number of ways. One way the money exits the company is through salaries. We tax the salaries so that portion is taxed. Another way the money leaves the company is through distributions to owners (Could be shareholders or just owners in a private company.) Distributions to owners/shareholders are already taxed. The remainder is Retained Earnings. This money can be reinvested in the business. (Aha! This is tax free right? WRONG!) If the money is not spent it is pretty much useless. This money can be used to buy equipment (taxed) hire more workers to grow the business (taxed a lot) given out as bonuses (HOLY COW do they like to tax bonuses! They take about half!), etc. Are you getting the picture yet? Why do we need a corporate tax on profits when all the money gets taxed anyways anytime a person or business actually uses the money for something? Trust me. The IRS has got this one figured out.

Obvious answer: Eliminate the Corporate Tax. It's primary function appears to be to scare investment and anyone away from incorporating in the US. A secondary function is to make it more difficult for US companies to compete globally (Why would we want to continue to hurt our own companies?) Tax reform on everyone who receives money from these companies would be appropriate. My approach would be a 2 line 1040 using a flat tax structure (Multiply line 1 by line 2. Mail check to IRS. It doesn't get any easier or fair than that)

I'm afraid the obvious answer won't be implemented. This isn't about competitiveness or even about tax revenue. It's just politics as usual and vilifying big evil corporation's without thinking through the consequences. Just sounds great when he reads it off the teleprompter though, doesn't it?

What's old is new again: The New Style

This past weekend I have been unable to get the song "The New Style" by the Beastie Boys out of my head. Just out of curiosity I went ahead and googled the song to find out exactly when it was released which was (1986.) So I have a song in my head from 23 years ago called "The New Style." Not so new anymore though which makes it an ironic title in the year 2009!

Steve is Damaging the Economy

It's me. I did it. I am still doing it. Worst of all I'm not sorry and I'm not going to stop.

I have been reading articles lately that finally the downturn in the Economy is causing Americans to stop buying crap they don't need, build some savings, and try to live within their means. The article follows up to say that because we are not spending more than we make we are going to slow down the demand for products which will create lower sales and result in more stores and manufacturers to go out of business.

Wow, I just just love the way the media always has to end on the down note of what is generally a positive trend.

Here's what I do.(Why I am guilty) I plan on having emergency savings. I have a household budget that doesn't exceed our paychecks. I decide to spend money only on things are are really required and save money to buy the special gifts and items we really want.

I'm the villian. People like me deciding not to prop up the sellers of things I don't need. Here is the rub though. We responsible savers will survive an economic setback and the spenders will not. Of course we will also pay taxes to bail out the irresponsible but I suppose that is just the unfairness of life.

Christmas Thoughts- Religious Intolerance during the Holiday Season

I know that some people tend to focus on a lot of the self-inflicted negatives about the Christmas Season: Ex: Consumerism, Travel Stresses, Other Holiday Stresses, etc. To me though the reasons we celebrate Christmas are so positive that they far outweigh the negatives.

Since the message of Christmas is generally one of love, family, giving, sharing, and salvation (if you are religious) I find it impossible to understand how every year we see groups attacking Christmas, Churches, and Christians around this time of year. If the intent of Christmas was negative I would have a greater understanding to why such people have declared war on Christmas (Ex: If we celebrated Christmas by beheading or burning a non-believer at the stake, you might have a rationale for the religious intolerance that is routinely displayed by certain groups this time of year.)

It is very sad to see groups display religious intolerance by placing signs in public places during the holiday season that have messages such as “Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell,” & "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." Our country has a tradition of Religious tolerance and many immigrants came to America to avoid such persecution. If there is such a thing as hate speech certainly this is it.

In addition, Christmas is a holiday of inclusion. I don't know of any group that claims everyone can't celebrate it. I'll be trying not to let such bigoted people make my Christmas less merry however it's just a shame that such people find it necessary to bring their hate to a holiday that is one of joy for so many.

Should McCain Supporters treat Obama as Kerry Supporters Treated Bush?

One could argue that a fair way to treat Mr. Obama would be the same way that the voters that opposed Bush treated him during his 8 years in office. All the unbalanced coverage, jokes, constant personal attacks, etc. It  would be fair to respond in kind now that the shoe is on the other foot.  However I say we treat Mr. Obama better than the lousy treatment that was given to Bush. The reason we should do this is not that Mr. Obama is personally more deserving of respect but because he will be holding the Office of President of the United States. The reason is that we are simply better than that and shouldn't stoop to the level of personal attacks like the liberal far-left does.

I was a supporter of President Bush and voted for him twice. I was not a supporter of Obama's proposed policies but I also was not a supporter of many of the proposed policies of McCain during this election. In 2008 neither Candidate got my vote (Appropriately) because neither one shared enough of my values and views to earn my vote. In my world you don't get a vote simply because there is a (R) after your name and I would hope other people would not simply vote for someone because there was a (D) after their name. I'll give you a hint he had a (L) after his name.

The issues I will have with an Obama Presidency will be fully dependent on the actions he takes, values he holds, and what results from those actions. The key thing here is that it's not personal. I probably would have a beer with Obama and I might even laugh at his jokes if they were funny. However, the taxes levied and laws passed by this far-left liberal congress and signed into law by a very liberal President Obama will have major effects on my family and this country. I will be holding the people (President and Lawmakers) accountable for the results and impacts of those actions on my family. I will oppose in the strongest terms decisions that I believe are incorrect and damaging.

There is a great amount of fear from fiscally responsible minded Americans that these ever exploding socialist entitlement programs will reach new unsustainable levels and having a realistic balanced budget and managed deficit will be politically impossible once a majority of the Americans are getting free everything (including money) from the government.  Can you name one of these programs that ever went away?  I can't. We still have Social Security from the early part of the last century.

In conclusion. It's not personal. The policies, impacts, and unintended consequences of the Obama Administration is what we need to be concerned and aware of. The Office of the President should be respected in spite of WHO holds the office even after the way it was for the last 8 years. America is better than that. Do the right thing in spite of the people who don't and haven't.

Oh and one last thing. Mr Obama. Could you do us a favor and take seriously the pledge to protect the Constitution (That means the Bill of Rights too.) It is the true guide of the Rights that the Government CANNOT take from the people. We would appreciate having some rights after all.