Monday, March 25, 2013
Plurals, Tax Season and March Madness!
Good morning blogger follower people,
I want to start off with something that I actually feel bad about. I don't consider myself a very petty person at all, but if you know me and you have witnessed something to the contrary, please let me know in the comments. For the past two days of class, I have had an instructor that throws his two Master's degrees around about as often as he does $5 (or more) words. Some people just get their jollies from bragging about their education, and I don't really even have a problem with that. Even though he is one of the smartest people on the planet (just ask him), for some reason he is either boycotting plurals or they didn't teach the concept in any of the schools he attended. For example, I don't think he knows how to say "tasks" or "databases", because he has yet to say either, even when he is reading from the projector screen. We all have our quirks with spelling, grammar, or speaking (like my overuse of commas), but you should not publicly judge the people you are teaching because they don't all know a word you are using if you can't read.
As all working American citizens should know, we are in the middle of income tax season and there are only about twenty days left to either file your taxes or an extension. I find it interesting that the IRS harps on April 15th every year when it is so easy to file one, two, or more extensions. Luckily, I have already received my return and due to the fact that I have a whole lot of kids, I am quite satisfied with it. I don't understand how I get more back in taxes than I pay into them and yet the majority of our citizens are attacking the "wealthy" and how they should pay a higher percentage of their income. Just in case anyone missed out on 5th grade math class, the way percentages work is that everyone is already paying more if they make more. Percentages are fair by definition. In my opinion, what we need to do is start getting rid of the exemptions and loopholes. I spoke to someone about my own situation (return) today and they said the reason I get more back than I put in is because I have kids (you think?). In other words, those “wealthy” people are paying me because I have children. Nowadays we are rewarding people for their irresponsibility (not saying I am responsible with my family at all, just an example). In either case and now that my tax rant is out of the way, I recommend TurboTax.com and TaxSlayer.com for those of you who want to knock it out quickly online and save yourself from the H&R Block headache.
I would be negligent if I ended this post without saying something about March Madness. Let me start this topic off by admitting that I do not watch any type of basketball. Some people are into it, but I typically hold out for the football season. The biggest question I have heard in the college basketball circles is, “Who the heck is Florida Gulf Coast?” I also understand that many brackets were completely destroyed when they beat Georgetown on Friday. This is however, a fairly typical situation as I understand it. All the little teams come out from under the bridges and surprise the world. What do you guys think about it? Any input would be fantastic, as I am obviously ignorant about the entire topic.
Thanks again for reading my blog! I only have about a month and one week remaining in my training, so after that I will have the ability to post videos again. Stay tuned!
-BCS
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Israel, Cyprus, NFL, Hawaii and Syria!
Hello Everyone!
I honestly miss making my videos, but these posts will have to suffice for now. I want to start off with the announcement from President Obama from Israel today, where he promised his "undying support" for our sometimes troublesome allies. The issues in Israel date back so many years that they are virtually irreparable, but apparently by pledging our support, we are hoping that all of Israel's enemies will back down, ensuing some sort of peace. I don't really know if it will help or if we are going to need Israel for something sometime down the line, but I suppose it can't hurt to scratch our friends' backs every now and then.
As many of my readers know, the Euro issues have been staggering lately. One country is taking extreme measures to help their debt situation by actually closing all of its banks and cutting off all online wire transfers, in hopes that they can use some of the money to pay the bills. I don't know if Cyprus closed the banks after their plan was released to lock the funds in place and keep people from withdrawing all their money to avoid it (as I could understand), or if this is a complete surprise to Cypriots (honestly, who knew that's what they call themselves?). On top of all this commotion, their plan to use the bank money was rejected, which will only further their economic concerns. Now when or if the banks finally reopen next Tuesday, who wants to bet that there will or will not be a massive run on the banks as soon as the doors are unlocked? The banks make investments that improve the economy from the money that their customers invest. If the banks have no money to play with, the country loses their biggest investors, which hurts the economy even more. Some people think this might be a sort of conspiracy by the United States to test the method on a smaller scale before trying the same "technique" on larger debt problems. Really, guys...? There is good news in all of this though, as it looks like Russia is going to help them out.
The NFL will see some changes in the upcoming season, as a modification to the "helmet-to-helmet" rule was passed today. Now, running backs aren't allowed to lower their head to break tackles. I am all for this change, since I think the former "helmet-to-helmet" rule was too strict and offensive players took advantage of it by lowering their head at the point of impact in hopes of creating a helmet collision and getting an extra fifteen yards. Now we might see some running backs who actually run the ball and make more precision cuts to avoid tackles instead of just plowing through defenders (Alfred Morris, anyone?).
I was just thinking today about how much I miss living in Hawaii. I actually had the opportunity to go back recently and I turned it down for a job that I thought would have a more positive impact on my career. I certainly yearned for the constant warm weather this winter, while I was scraping ice from my windshield in the mornings. If it weren't so expensive, I would consider taking a vacation to the islands this summer. If any of you are planning on making the trip, I would recommend Maui or the Big Island (Hawaii).
Lastly, the Syrian weapon of mass destruction topic is a hot one today, as U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham made the plea to the President Obama administration to send troops to gain control of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles. I don't know about you guys, but I found it slightly comical to see our current President talking about WMD's after all the talk about President G. W. Bush. To note, we did pull many weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq and there are still troops dying of cancer and other health issues, due to their physical contact with the radioactive substances. Now I ask you, should we send troops to Syria? Should we just be done with the wars altogether? I know many people slightly younger than I am who cannot remember a time that our country wasn't at war. The whole concept completely evades them.
Just to remind you all, I am in training until May and I am unable to make videos during this time. I will try to let you know what topics I am following the "old fashioned" way however, through this blog. If you have anything to add to any of these topics or you have an opinion that you want to voice, please feel free to comment. I promise that I will try to respond to every comment I get. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more fun!
-BurntCoffeeSucks
I honestly miss making my videos, but these posts will have to suffice for now. I want to start off with the announcement from President Obama from Israel today, where he promised his "undying support" for our sometimes troublesome allies. The issues in Israel date back so many years that they are virtually irreparable, but apparently by pledging our support, we are hoping that all of Israel's enemies will back down, ensuing some sort of peace. I don't really know if it will help or if we are going to need Israel for something sometime down the line, but I suppose it can't hurt to scratch our friends' backs every now and then.
As many of my readers know, the Euro issues have been staggering lately. One country is taking extreme measures to help their debt situation by actually closing all of its banks and cutting off all online wire transfers, in hopes that they can use some of the money to pay the bills. I don't know if Cyprus closed the banks after their plan was released to lock the funds in place and keep people from withdrawing all their money to avoid it (as I could understand), or if this is a complete surprise to Cypriots (honestly, who knew that's what they call themselves?). On top of all this commotion, their plan to use the bank money was rejected, which will only further their economic concerns. Now when or if the banks finally reopen next Tuesday, who wants to bet that there will or will not be a massive run on the banks as soon as the doors are unlocked? The banks make investments that improve the economy from the money that their customers invest. If the banks have no money to play with, the country loses their biggest investors, which hurts the economy even more. Some people think this might be a sort of conspiracy by the United States to test the method on a smaller scale before trying the same "technique" on larger debt problems. Really, guys...? There is good news in all of this though, as it looks like Russia is going to help them out.
The NFL will see some changes in the upcoming season, as a modification to the "helmet-to-helmet" rule was passed today. Now, running backs aren't allowed to lower their head to break tackles. I am all for this change, since I think the former "helmet-to-helmet" rule was too strict and offensive players took advantage of it by lowering their head at the point of impact in hopes of creating a helmet collision and getting an extra fifteen yards. Now we might see some running backs who actually run the ball and make more precision cuts to avoid tackles instead of just plowing through defenders (Alfred Morris, anyone?).
I was just thinking today about how much I miss living in Hawaii. I actually had the opportunity to go back recently and I turned it down for a job that I thought would have a more positive impact on my career. I certainly yearned for the constant warm weather this winter, while I was scraping ice from my windshield in the mornings. If it weren't so expensive, I would consider taking a vacation to the islands this summer. If any of you are planning on making the trip, I would recommend Maui or the Big Island (Hawaii).
Lastly, the Syrian weapon of mass destruction topic is a hot one today, as U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham made the plea to the President Obama administration to send troops to gain control of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles. I don't know about you guys, but I found it slightly comical to see our current President talking about WMD's after all the talk about President G. W. Bush. To note, we did pull many weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq and there are still troops dying of cancer and other health issues, due to their physical contact with the radioactive substances. Now I ask you, should we send troops to Syria? Should we just be done with the wars altogether? I know many people slightly younger than I am who cannot remember a time that our country wasn't at war. The whole concept completely evades them.
Just to remind you all, I am in training until May and I am unable to make videos during this time. I will try to let you know what topics I am following the "old fashioned" way however, through this blog. If you have anything to add to any of these topics or you have an opinion that you want to voice, please feel free to comment. I promise that I will try to respond to every comment I get. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more fun!
-BurntCoffeeSucks
Friday, March 15, 2013
Long time..
Hello there, readers!
This work related training that I am doing is keeping me extremely busy lately. I still have over a month to go, but things are starting to slow down and I should be able to post more. Sorry, still can't do videos.
There is good news though! I have a better camera and lapel microphone now, so when I do get back home and I am able to shoot, there should be a noticeable difference in the overall quality. I can't make too many promises about improved content.
Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to making videos again.
Stay tuned!
-BCS
This work related training that I am doing is keeping me extremely busy lately. I still have over a month to go, but things are starting to slow down and I should be able to post more. Sorry, still can't do videos.
There is good news though! I have a better camera and lapel microphone now, so when I do get back home and I am able to shoot, there should be a noticeable difference in the overall quality. I can't make too many promises about improved content.
Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to making videos again.
Stay tuned!
-BCS
Friday, March 1, 2013
Going on a Trip
Hello everyone,
I am doing some work related training during the months of March and April and I don't think I will be able to do any videos during that time. Luckily, I will still have my laptop and I should be able to shoot out some regular blog posts. That being said, I am still going to try to squeeze out a video this weekend before I leave. I know that I have been slacking on the videos lately, but I assure you that I have not lost interest in this endeavor.
Thank you all for listening to and reading my thoughts. Keep researching the news for yourself and never let the media tell you what to think!
Steve (BurntCoffeeSucks)
I am doing some work related training during the months of March and April and I don't think I will be able to do any videos during that time. Luckily, I will still have my laptop and I should be able to shoot out some regular blog posts. That being said, I am still going to try to squeeze out a video this weekend before I leave. I know that I have been slacking on the videos lately, but I assure you that I have not lost interest in this endeavor.
Thank you all for listening to and reading my thoughts. Keep researching the news for yourself and never let the media tell you what to think!
Steve (BurntCoffeeSucks)
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