The saphire was the traditional engagement ring until DeBeers and Hollywood sold the world on "A diamond is a girl's best friend" in the 30's. I bought my wife a big saphire with two small, high quality diamonds on the side. It is way nicer than a diamond ring, my wife loves it. I didn't save any money, but at least the saphire cartel doesn't rule the world like DeBeers does.
If you look around, there are many women who wear the saphires. Many women like my wife's ring. It is more unique and I didn't feel like I got screwed for the very reasons you describe in your post.
And nothing thats currently being put out by the recording industry is worth listening to
This is precisely why music sales is declining. The industry wants to use cookbook music. One band makes it with a certain style, then pump out 20 more that look just like it. There is very little originality in commercial music. I'm 40 years old. Even the young pups I work with listen to the older music that I listen to. I've seen numerous times where the "Arts" section of our paper laments the fact that music currently SUCKS
On a brighter note, there have been several movies lately that I will buy on CD. I remember not too long ago when the movie industry was sucking....
Advanced payments can certainly be considered preferential payment. They are the most dangerous type!
What I suggest your friend do is make sure that he includes the payments on his tax form this year as SALARY!!! The IRS has gotten used to the.bombs that haven't sent out 1099s or W2s. If the company has not gone bankrupt within 90 days of him receiving payment, he is safe. He might consider putting it aside.
It could get worse...much worse. The trustee for Loki can go back and ask for any payments made within 90 days of filing bancruptcy. Those individuals who received any money, and those 1099's may find the Loki trustee asking for the money back.
This claim of "preferential payments" will not be made for another 9 months or so. The jurisdiction will be in the federal court in the state that the company was incorporated in. So, if you choose to fight it (there are defenses against it), it will cost you about $20,000 to hire a lawyer in the state where the federal court is.
This has become a big business for bancruptcy lawyers as they get a cut of the amount that they are able to recover. Clinton's administration introduced this change into the bancruptcy laws. This is a two-sided sword. It may capture some of the money the Draekers paid themselves, but it also snares innocent people who won't see it coming.
How do you protect yourself from this? You can't. It is outside of your control. But, you can minimize the damage. Incorporate in the state you are live. Accept 1099 and consulting income through the corporation only. Rememeber to keep your books and hold a stock holders meeting at least once a year. Do NOT mix your finances with that of the corporation. You can pay yourself from the corporation, but don't use the corporate bank account as your personal account.
Check with a lawyer as IANAL.
Also, I'm not certain, and I have yet to check into this. I think you could send a 1099 back to Loki for debt relief for any amounts Loki owes. This might have the effect of offsetting some of the 1099 income you received from Loki. (Just thinking out loud.)
What you are seeing and feeling is typical. I've dealt with this to some degree with every company I have worked for. May I suggest the following?
First, change what you can; accept what you can't. You will shorten your life if you worry about the things you shouldn't along with the things you should.
You might consider contracting through a job shopper. You get paid a lot of money, do the best job you can and not care about the company's results. I've done this for 7 of the 15 years of my career.
Also, if you are looking for satisfaction, seek it elsewhere other than your job. Involve yourself in an open source project. Or, create a software application that you think should have been written by now. You can successfully sell it on the internet. I've done that with several projects that I did on my own, one JtoExe and another was Quilter's Pro for Macintosh.
And last, when you work as an employee, do not count your options as part of your compensation package. That is fluff that may or maynot pay off in the future. Don't work you a** off because of the options. Do your best, but keep yourself balanced by doing other things, meeting other people (preferably female). Don't sacrifice your life for a job. It's too short.
The Apollo workstations did this in the 80's on a Unix variant. On that system, it was hard to tell where the computer left off and the network and began. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that my user directory and applications were actually on another machine in another building. What was missing however was the self healing aspect, although I think that could have been dealt with.
I remember when the Mac went from 24bit to 32bit. Microsoft was at Windows 3.1 16 bit. Microsoft spent a bunch of time trying to convince people that 32bit was overhyped and that 32 bit didn't matter. Once Windows 95 came out, they completely reversed course and told everyone that your word processors will no longer work as well because they weren't 32 bit.
Microsoft has downplayed the value of Unix for years. They suggest the value of some of Unix'es virtues as irrelevant. Then as they add the feature, it become the greatest thing since sliced bread. I.E. terminal services...
I'm certain that in 10 years when Microsoft "invents" and patents this, there will be a concerted effort to convert us all. Maybe Passport is the first step.
Exactly. Apple has been going in the opposite direction. They have opposed hard disk protection and they provide software the rips and burns CDs as a free download. And, they are Unix....
I own a 500 MHZ G3 Firewire Powerbook, cost $3600 last year. Bought it the day it came out. You can now get the 500 MHZ TI for $3000.
I also own a Compaq Presario 1800 850 MHZ equiped like the PB. Cost ~$4000.
The Powerbook easily out performs the Compaq for the things that I do. Also, I only get about 1.5 to 2 hours of battery life with the Compaq while I get close to 5 hours with the PB. (I know this because I got stuck for a little over 5 hours at my local dealer for servicing on my car.:-( )
My recommendation for that guy is that if he is doing number crunching, go with the G4 TI and MacOSX. If his project is anything else, I would go with the Intel because of the support. I tried SuSE PPC Linux and it still has some kinks to work out. (Although, I did spend the weekend building MySQL, Tomcat and other tools under MacOSX and I think the gap is rapidly closing there.)
I developed the PureVoice application for Qualcomm's Eudora which does heavy number crunching. It was easier to do on the Mac given equivelent MHZ. I am both a Windows and Mac developer so I think my opinion has some weight.
Slashdot Mirror
The saphire was the traditional engagement ring until DeBeers and Hollywood sold the world on "A diamond is a girl's best friend" in the 30's. I bought my wife a big saphire with two small, high quality diamonds on the side. It is way nicer than a diamond ring, my wife loves it. I didn't save any money, but at least the saphire cartel doesn't rule the world like DeBeers does.
If you look around, there are many women who wear the saphires. Many women like my wife's ring. It is more unique and I didn't feel like I got screwed for the very reasons you describe in your post.
Hum...someone hasn't had their vacinations.
:-)
Would it be possible to have this service from your home and be able to access it from a remote location via the internet?
:-)
And nothing thats currently being put out by the recording industry is worth listening to
This is precisely why music sales is declining. The industry wants to use cookbook music. One band makes it with a certain style, then pump out 20 more that look just like it. There is very little originality in commercial music. I'm 40 years old. Even the young pups I work with listen to the older music that I listen to. I've seen numerous times where the "Arts" section of our paper laments the fact that music currently SUCKS
On a brighter note, there have been several movies lately that I will buy on CD. I remember not too long ago when the movie industry was sucking....
Michael
Advanced payments can certainly be considered preferential payment. They are the most dangerous type!
.bombs that haven't sent out 1099s or W2s. If the company has not gone bankrupt within 90 days of him receiving payment, he is safe. He might consider putting it aside.
What I suggest your friend do is make sure that he includes the payments on his tax form this year as SALARY!!! The IRS has gotten used to the
Good luck to your friend.
BTW, IANAL!
It could get worse...much worse. The trustee for Loki can go back and ask for any payments made within 90 days of filing bancruptcy. Those individuals who received any money, and those 1099's may find the Loki trustee asking for the money back.
This claim of "preferential payments" will not be made for another 9 months or so. The jurisdiction will be in the federal court in the state that the company was incorporated in. So, if you choose to fight it (there are defenses against it), it will cost you about $20,000 to hire a lawyer in the state where the federal court is.
This has become a big business for bancruptcy lawyers as they get a cut of the amount that they are able to recover. Clinton's administration introduced this change into the bancruptcy laws. This is a two-sided sword. It may capture some of the money the Draekers paid themselves, but it also snares innocent people who won't see it coming.
How do you protect yourself from this? You can't. It is outside of your control. But, you can minimize the damage. Incorporate in the state you are live. Accept 1099 and consulting income through the corporation only. Rememeber to keep your books and hold a stock holders meeting at least once a year. Do NOT mix your finances with that of the corporation. You can pay yourself from the corporation, but don't use the corporate bank account as your personal account.
Check with a lawyer as IANAL.
Also, I'm not certain, and I have yet to check into this. I think you could send a 1099 back to Loki for debt relief for any amounts Loki owes. This might have the effect of offsetting some of the 1099 income you received from Loki. (Just thinking out loud.)
Um, no. BSD is at the core of MacOSX. It just became the Unix for the rest of us. Apple claims they are the largest distributor of a commercial Unix.
I hardly think it is dying.
What you are seeing and feeling is typical. I've dealt with this to some degree with every company I have worked for. May I suggest the following?
First, change what you can; accept what you can't. You will shorten your life if you worry about the things you shouldn't along with the things you should.
You might consider contracting through a job shopper. You get paid a lot of money, do the best job you can and not care about the company's results. I've done this for 7 of the 15 years of my career.
Also, if you are looking for satisfaction, seek it elsewhere other than your job. Involve yourself in an open source project. Or, create a software application that you think should have been written by now. You can successfully sell it on the internet. I've done that with several projects that I did on my own, one JtoExe and another was Quilter's Pro for Macintosh.
And last, when you work as an employee, do not count your options as part of your compensation package. That is fluff that may or maynot pay off in the future. Don't work you a** off because of the options. Do your best, but keep yourself balanced by doing other things, meeting other people (preferably female). Don't sacrifice your life for a job. It's too short.
Yawn.
The Apollo workstations did this in the 80's on a Unix variant. On that system, it was hard to tell where the computer left off and the network and began. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that my user directory and applications were actually on another machine in another building. What was missing however was the self healing aspect, although I think that could have been dealt with.
I remember when the Mac went from 24bit to 32bit. Microsoft was at Windows 3.1 16 bit. Microsoft spent a bunch of time trying to convince people that 32bit was overhyped and that 32 bit didn't matter. Once Windows 95 came out, they completely reversed course and told everyone that your word processors will no longer work as well because they weren't 32 bit.
Microsoft has downplayed the value of Unix for years. They suggest the value of some of Unix'es virtues as irrelevant. Then as they add the feature, it become the greatest thing since sliced bread. I.E. terminal services...
I'm certain that in 10 years when Microsoft "invents" and patents this, there will be a concerted effort to convert us all. Maybe Passport is the first step.
Michael
Exactly. Apple has been going in the opposite direction. They have opposed hard disk protection and they provide software the rips and burns CDs as a free download. And, they are Unix....
I own a 500 MHZ G3 Firewire Powerbook, cost $3600 last year. Bought it the day it came out. You can now get the 500 MHZ TI for $3000. I also own a Compaq Presario 1800 850 MHZ equiped like the PB. Cost ~$4000. The Powerbook easily out performs the Compaq for the things that I do. Also, I only get about 1.5 to 2 hours of battery life with the Compaq while I get close to 5 hours with the PB. (I know this because I got stuck for a little over 5 hours at my local dealer for servicing on my car. :-( )
My recommendation for that guy is that if he is doing number crunching, go with the G4 TI and MacOSX. If his project is anything else, I would go with the Intel because of the support. I tried SuSE PPC Linux and it still has some kinks to work out. (Although, I did spend the weekend building MySQL, Tomcat and other tools under MacOSX and I think the gap is rapidly closing there.)
I developed the PureVoice application for Qualcomm's Eudora which does heavy number crunching. It was easier to do on the Mac given equivelent MHZ. I am both a Windows and Mac developer so I think my opinion has some weight.