Merry Christmas '07

"Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year..."*

Ah, yes - Christmas time is here again. A time we wish for peace on Earth and goodwill towards all men. The time we choose to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

There are some 'killjoys' out there that insist on pointing out that Jesus was not born on December 25th, but was most likely born in the Springtime. To them I say, "Who cares?" Whether Jesus was or was not born on the 25th of December is irrelevant - the fact remains that December 25th IS the day that has chosen to celebrate His birth. It has been that way for hundreds of years, and it is unlikely to change anytime soon - deal with it.

As I have said before, it is a shame that we have become so materialistic that we often forget the real reason to celebrate Christmas. Instead, we have commercialized it, wrapped it up in a nice package, and try to sell it on TV. "You too can this amazing knife set for just $19.99 plus s&h - makes a great Christmas gift! Order now and receive 2 for the price of 1!"

Whatever.

Don't get me wrong, I admit it - I like getting presents. But honestly, I think I like giving them even more. Still, let us remember that it's not about "getting", nor is it really about "giving" (though "giving" more so than "getting"). It is about remembering that a little over 2,000 years ago, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, in the form of man, to us as a Messiah, a Savior, to free us from our own iniquity and sins so that we may once again commune with Him. For that is the reason we were made - to commune with God.

So take a moment to reflect; turn off the TV, turn off the radio, turn off the DVD player, turn of the CD player, and just reflect on the perfect gift that God gave all of us - His Son.

----
*from "Christmas Time is Here" by Vince Guaraldi

Abolish Capital Gains Tax

Mark Twain once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government…except for every other kind.” And even though the United States of America is the best place in the world to live (sorry Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Japan, et al, but you know it’s true), there are some things that just plain suck. “Capital gains tax”, for one.

A few years ago, I bought some property for a really good price (nearly 55 acres for $24,000.00) from an Oklahoma law firm, who acquired it through a foreclosure auction. Well, since it was from a foreclosure, there were back-taxes (plus interest and penalties) that needed to be settled for a sum of about $20,000.00 (I didn’t really mind paying the back taxes, getting stuck with the interest and penalties is an injustice in itself – it wasn’t MY fault the taxes weren’t paid, but I’m the one who gets penalized. But that is a rant for another day…).

Still, $44,000.00 for nearly 55 acres is a great price. Well, I finally sold the land to someone, who actually wants it and will use it, for considerably more than I put into it. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the “capital gains tax” that I will now have to pay will take a considerable chunk of the profits – I think the current rate is 40%. Sheesh! Of course, it could be worse – back in the early 60’s, the rate was 90% (talk about disincentives!).

But even with the taxes, I’ll make some money on the deal, but not nearly as much as I should have.

Frustration with Clients

Why is it that everyone always wants their stuff at the same time? I have three different projects that I'm currently working one that are due "this week". Yesterday, one client says "it'd be great if we can get your stuff Wednesday, so we can incorporate it with our stuff to go out on Friday." Um...yeah - 'great'. Before I went on vacation, they told me they would like the stuff by the 14th, which is Friday - now they've cut two whole days off of that target. "Great" - yeah, that's the word I'd use.

To make matters worse, I get an e-mail today from another client asking if they could get their stuff tomorrow, instead of Friday as well. Sure - why not? It's not like I need to sleep or anything. Sheesh!

So far, my third client hasn't asked for an accelerated delivery, but I'm sure that's the next phone call or e-mail just waiting around the corner.

*****

Update from last post: No, I didn't get called in to work during my vacation, but the next best thing did occur - I got a bug (cold, flu, whatever) on Wednesday, which put me "out" on Thursday, and recovering on Friday (it's always a 3-day cycle - always). So this vacation was shot. 2 weeks down, 1 to go (between Christmas and New Year's) - maybe I'll have better luck with this next one.

Yeah, I'm not sure I believe that either.

"Don't Bug Me 'Til Monday"

I'm on vacation this week (woohoo!)...at least I am for now. As happens occasionally, I may be called back in to work, if one of my clients decides that their arbitrary deadline is really necessary. I hope not.

Guess we'll see. In the mean time, I plan on doing as little as possible, though I do need to clean the house (hmmm...sometimes I think it would be easier to sell the house and move...but then again, I'd probably still have to clean it...).

As I was trying to think of a title for today's post, I recalled a tee-shirt that I used to have. It was one of my favorites. I used to wear a lot of tee-shirts. Not the undergarment, but the printed ones - you know, like the ones with the big smiley face on it with "Have a Nice Day!" printed underneath? Anyway, I had one which I really liked; I wore it every Friday (well, ok...perhaps almost every Friday). It had a picture of a duck slumping-down in an easy chair, eyes half-closed, tongue sticking out, a TV remote in one hand, and a cup of hot coffee in the other (Ok, ok - since you couldn't see into the cup, it could have been any hot beverage - coffee, tea, coacoa...and yes, it was hot because they put in some "steam" lines above the cup...but I digress...). It had "Weekend T-Shirt" above the picture with the caption "Don't Bug Me 'Til Monday" below the picture. It was great.

Seeing as how I'm on vacation all this week and not expected back in to the office until next Monday, it seemed an appropriate title today.