I agree you'll never get rich working for someone else and your plans are sorta-kinda good. However, the $60K you leave in the corporation each year has to come out at some point for you to spend it. You're going to get dinged by the tax man if you let the corp pay all of your expenses (such as food, housing, vacations, etc.). At some point you'll have to take a dividend check and that'll be taxed at the self-employment rate (matching an employer's FICA contribution) or else you'll be paid by your corporation as an employee (and have FICA withheld).
Furthermore, as a socially-conscience society, we can't let you just blow your retirement money. If you were to give up SS benefits in the future for the right to manage your own savings and you screw it up... who's going to take care of you? You'll be a burden on society. Reference the great depression and all that for some perspective.
Granted, a really smart fellow like you would never let that happen, but not everyone is as smart as you. SS gives everyone a nice cushion to land on in retirement. Subsidize it if you desire with your own 401(k) (which is pre-tax) or other retirement plans (which grow tax-free or are taxed at your tax rate at retirement) since you're such a saavy investor. Meanwhile, we'll take your FICA contributions and use it for the benefit of society as a whole. Thank you!
That's just off the top of my head... sure there's always waste in any beaurocracy, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Waste can always be cleaned-up with good management. City Parks usually cannot be created without the... uh.. well, without a city and I for one really appreciate greenbelts and public spaces.
How about federal parks? Been to one? You should try it sometime. Take the free tours, they're always educational, even if you do feel like a nerd with all the old folks and 5 year olds.
On the other hand, the local municipality is unlikely to cave in to demands from *AA to release names of subscribers. Since this would be a government effort, most likely freedoms would be imposed onto the network, such as privacy rights. Reference library internet access for examples.
In fact, for a city-wide government-sponsored internet project, the library seems like the logical apparatus to run the effort and act as the city's ISP.
Sure, it's kinda clever to bust out examples of government waste (Amtrak, screwed-up water systems as the other reply suggests). How about $9 Billion dollars lost in Iraq? That's a pretty damn-fine amount of waste.
See? There's always examples of government screwing up. It doesn't follow that government sponsored internet access would screw up as well since anyone can just as easily show examples of well-run fire departments, libraries, excellent water systems, children's health systems, etc...
I've kept three movies for many months, just forgetting to send them back, or not having time to watch movies, whatever. Netflix is fantastic for the time and memory challenged. When I used to rent from BlockBuster or other stores, I would forget to return the movies for a few days, facing late charges when I finally did return it. I would get stressed (ok, so it was only mildly stressed, but stressed none the less) out when I'd be at work on Monday and remember I had forgotten to take the stupid movie back.
With Netflix, I've removed that stress from my life and every little bit counts. I suppose keeping a depost equal to the value of the movies is good for the rental company, but Netflix doesn't do that and they seem to be doing pretty well. I don't think the issue in the DVD rental business is theft of the product or replacement value of the DVD but just keeping up cash-flow and not having to maintain a rental staff and brick-and-mortar store.
I had thought that now BlockBuster was going to finally compete with NetFlix, but if this LIE is their solution to NetFlix, then I'm not worried at all. Even everyday morons will realize that Blockbuster's "No Late Fees" deal isn't really a deal at all once they pay thier first restocking fee. Seriously. A restocking fee for a movie rental? You've got to be kidding me. Next, Blockbuster will be charging an "environmental comfort fee" to everyone who stays in their store longer than average, using up climate control BTU's.
The really cool part about NetFlix is that they have a HUGE selection. In addition to the latest releases, I've been watching old movies as well and NetFlix has them all. Here's an interesting Wired article on The Long Tail Market that explains some of Netflix's market niche if you're curious.
David Hahn (the teenage boy referenced in parent) didn't actually make a nuclear reactor in his back yard. He was attempting to, but only got so far as to make a neutron gun that he was using to enrich his thorium, which he would have used as a substitute for plutonium in his reactor.
For the record, he never got far enough along to make a nuclear reactor, and most people say that he never would have been able to get that far, based on his financial limitations and limited access to materials.
It's a good story though, very interesting to the geek crowd.
ditto that Josie and the Pussycats reference. Hey, "adults" on/. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a gas. Seriously, some of it is stupid, but there's a lot of funny pop humor. Oh, and the chicks are hot. Josie and the Pussycats
The two groups that circulated the survey also made available memos from Fish and Wildlife officials that instructed employees not to respond to the survey, even if they did so on their own time. Snow said that agency employees could not use work time to respond to outside surveys.
This paragraph was just underneath one of your quoted paragraphs. Did you just stop reading, or are you trying to change the truth of this on purpose?
Actually, the entire season of a single show costs something on the order of $35-$50. Figure a season as "6 months" or 23 episodes and a TV budget of ($50 x 12 months) $600 per year. Now, this assumes the show has made their money already from broadcasting, so I suppose the costs would have to be increased if we skipped the broadcast part of this distribution model... but for the sake of argument let's stick with the $50 per season cost that we have now.
For $50 for 23 episodes on DVD you could afford 12 seasons of TV shows based on your $50 per month Satellite TV budget.
So, you could afford to pay for your 5 or 6 shows, plus 6 of those 10+ shows your moocher friends are recording on your TiVO.
As for ME, I only watch 5 or 6 shows in my household, so this is hella deal for me if it were something that was available. I'd even keep basic Satellite to catch new stuff and sports here and there, my NetFlix for movies and come out ahead in the end.
Oh gawd... I didn't know I could do that. Seriously.
Thank you for mentioning the slashcode "author filter" preference. Now I'll never see another Michael story again! Hooray!
In case you are wondering, go to Preferences | Homepage and uncheck "Michael"
Also, remember that the methods the credit reporting agencies use to calculate credit scores is proprietary and not disclosed. So that's why people "have heard" about what factors are used in credit scores, but nobody really knows.
For security purposes, www.AnnualCreditReport.com can be accessed by typing the web address "www.annualcreditreport.com", or from links from the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com) and TransUnion (www.transunion.com) websites.
Wow, they can tell when they're linked-to from/. Now that's some super-duper security! You have nothing to fear.
At least if all the relevant details are sent to everyone.
The credit file disclosure includes certain information that is not included in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and account reviews, and any medical account information which is suppressed for third party users of consumer reports.
This seems right, but I'm sure there's a catch. What is this "medical account information" anyway?
I hope this doesn't get back handed to someones cousin to implement
Oh, haha, yeah, you must be new here!
...and that credit companies are tightly regulated to help the little man
It just occurred to me that some high school student in 2094 is going to be researching politics from 2004 and he'll come across the archives of Our Glorious Fox News Corporation (pay per access, of course) *shudders*
"John Kerry was a weenie-man who never fought in the glorious victory that was the Vietnam Police Action*"
* According to the 5/3/2004 edition of Fox News
Maybe these never-ending copyrights aren't such a bad thing after all...
Pixar has outgrown Disney. The question is, can Disney survive without Pixar? I hearby predict the quality of the storyline for Toy Story 3 will be vastly inferior to the first two Toy Story movies.
And what if this thing found it's way into your bed one night and starts munching on your toes? Great, now I'm going to have nightmares about being eaten alive by robot cockroaches.
Slashdot Mirror
I agree you'll never get rich working for someone else and your plans are sorta-kinda good. However, the $60K you leave in the corporation each year has to come out at some point for you to spend it. You're going to get dinged by the tax man if you let the corp pay all of your expenses (such as food, housing, vacations, etc.). At some point you'll have to take a dividend check and that'll be taxed at the self-employment rate (matching an employer's FICA contribution) or else you'll be paid by your corporation as an employee (and have FICA withheld).
Furthermore, as a socially-conscience society, we can't let you just blow your retirement money. If you were to give up SS benefits in the future for the right to manage your own savings and you screw it up... who's going to take care of you? You'll be a burden on society. Reference the great depression and all that for some perspective.
Granted, a really smart fellow like you would never let that happen, but not everyone is as smart as you. SS gives everyone a nice cushion to land on in retirement. Subsidize it if you desire with your own 401(k) (which is pre-tax) or other retirement plans (which grow tax-free or are taxed at your tax rate at retirement) since you're such a saavy investor. Meanwhile, we'll take your FICA contributions and use it for the benefit of society as a whole. Thank you!
Off the top of my head, here's a pretty good example, New York City Water System
... uh.. well, without a city and I for one really appreciate greenbelts and public spaces.
How about city parks and recreation? Austin Parks
That's just off the top of my head... sure there's always waste in any beaurocracy, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Waste can always be cleaned-up with good management. City Parks usually cannot be created without the
How about federal parks? Been to one? You should try it sometime. Take the free tours, they're always educational, even if you do feel like a nerd with all the old folks and 5 year olds.
On the other hand, the local municipality is unlikely to cave in to demands from *AA to release names of subscribers. Since this would be a government effort, most likely freedoms would be imposed onto the network, such as privacy rights. Reference library internet access for examples.
In fact, for a city-wide government-sponsored internet project, the library seems like the logical apparatus to run the effort and act as the city's ISP.
Sure, it's kinda clever to bust out examples of government waste (Amtrak, screwed-up water systems as the other reply suggests). How about $9 Billion dollars lost in Iraq? That's a pretty damn-fine amount of waste.
See? There's always examples of government screwing up. It doesn't follow that government sponsored internet access would screw up as well since anyone can just as easily show examples of well-run fire departments, libraries, excellent water systems, children's health systems, etc...
Linkage?
I've kept three movies for many months, just forgetting to send them back, or not having time to watch movies, whatever. Netflix is fantastic for the time and memory challenged. When I used to rent from BlockBuster or other stores, I would forget to return the movies for a few days, facing late charges when I finally did return it. I would get stressed (ok, so it was only mildly stressed, but stressed none the less) out when I'd be at work on Monday and remember I had forgotten to take the stupid movie back.
With Netflix, I've removed that stress from my life and every little bit counts. I suppose keeping a depost equal to the value of the movies is good for the rental company, but Netflix doesn't do that and they seem to be doing pretty well. I don't think the issue in the DVD rental business is theft of the product or replacement value of the DVD but just keeping up cash-flow and not having to maintain a rental staff and brick-and-mortar store.
I had thought that now BlockBuster was going to finally compete with NetFlix, but if this LIE is their solution to NetFlix, then I'm not worried at all. Even everyday morons will realize that Blockbuster's "No Late Fees" deal isn't really a deal at all once they pay thier first restocking fee. Seriously. A restocking fee for a movie rental? You've got to be kidding me. Next, Blockbuster will be charging an "environmental comfort fee" to everyone who stays in their store longer than average, using up climate control BTU's.
The really cool part about NetFlix is that they have a HUGE selection. In addition to the latest releases, I've been watching old movies as well and NetFlix has them all. Here's an interesting Wired article on The Long Tail Market that explains some of Netflix's market niche if you're curious.
David Hahn (the teenage boy referenced in parent) didn't actually make a nuclear reactor in his back yard. He was attempting to, but only got so far as to make a neutron gun that he was using to enrich his thorium, which he would have used as a substitute for plutonium in his reactor.
For the record, he never got far enough along to make a nuclear reactor, and most people say that he never would have been able to get that far, based on his financial limitations and limited access to materials.
It's a good story though, very interesting to the geek crowd.
ditto that Josie and the Pussycats reference. Hey, "adults" on /. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a gas. Seriously, some of it is stupid, but there's a lot of funny pop humor. Oh, and the chicks are hot. Josie and the Pussycats
So not only is it a website that predicts the future, it's a website that goes 'ping' that predicts the future. what more could a geek want?
a shrubbery?
This paragraph was just underneath one of your quoted paragraphs. Did you just stop reading, or are you trying to change the truth of this on purpose?
Actually, the entire season of a single show costs something on the order of $35-$50. Figure a season as "6 months" or 23 episodes and a TV budget of ($50 x 12 months) $600 per year. Now, this assumes the show has made their money already from broadcasting, so I suppose the costs would have to be increased if we skipped the broadcast part of this distribution model... but for the sake of argument let's stick with the $50 per season cost that we have now.
For $50 for 23 episodes on DVD you could afford 12 seasons of TV shows based on your $50 per month Satellite TV budget.
So, you could afford to pay for your 5 or 6 shows, plus 6 of those 10+ shows your moocher friends are recording on your TiVO.
As for ME, I only watch 5 or 6 shows in my household, so this is hella deal for me if it were something that was available. I'd even keep basic Satellite to catch new stuff and sports here and there, my NetFlix for movies and come out ahead in the end.
This is also handy as a TRON level map...
Yeah, but who'd sue them?
And for those of us not in the Milwaukee area, watch the interactive Slashdot effect
Oh gawd... I didn't know I could do that. Seriously.
Thank you for mentioning the slashcode "author filter" preference. Now I'll never see another Michael story again! Hooray!
In case you are wondering, go to Preferences | Homepage and uncheck "Michael"
Salvation!
It's right here, if you use Firefox: AdBlocker
Also, remember that the methods the credit reporting agencies use to calculate credit scores is proprietary and not disclosed. So that's why people "have heard" about what factors are used in credit scores, but nobody really knows.
and the data gets out... again...
/. Now that's some super-duper security! You have nothing to fear.
...and that credit companies are tightly regulated to help the little man
For security purposes, www.AnnualCreditReport.com can be accessed by typing the web address "www.annualcreditreport.com", or from links from the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com) and TransUnion (www.transunion.com) websites.
Wow, they can tell when they're linked-to from
At least if all the relevant details are sent to everyone.
The credit file disclosure includes certain information that is not included in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and account reviews, and any medical account information which is suppressed for third party users of consumer reports.
This seems right, but I'm sure there's a catch. What is this "medical account information" anyway?
I hope this doesn't get back handed to someones cousin to implement
Oh, haha, yeah, you must be new here!
Welcome to the USA! We hope you enjoy your stay!
You use the word "friend", but I don't think it means what you think it does.
*Stop! Stop! Stop!* Ok, you win! Stop the torture!
It just occurred to me that some high school student in 2094 is going to be researching politics from 2004 and he'll come across the archives of Our Glorious Fox News Corporation (pay per access, of course) *shudders*
"John Kerry was a weenie-man who never fought in the glorious victory that was the Vietnam Police Action*"
* According to the 5/3/2004 edition of Fox News
Maybe these never-ending copyrights aren't such a bad thing after all...
I TiVO'd it and haven't seen it yet. That's still legal, right? What is it about?
Sorry, Cassidy, my comment was a little too subtle for you.
The point is, if Pixar were to make Toy Story 3, I wouldn't have made the same prediction.
Pixar has outgrown Disney. The question is, can Disney survive without Pixar? I hearby predict the quality of the storyline for Toy Story 3 will be vastly inferior to the first two Toy Story movies.
And what if this thing found it's way into your bed one night and starts munching on your toes? Great, now I'm going to have nightmares about being eaten alive by robot cockroaches.
I guess that's better than Girl-eating Robot Dolls
Don't worry, this judge who is "legislating from the bench" will be "retired" once the neocons complete their takeover of the US of A next week.
Unless you get out and vote boyee!
MnM fires up the youth vote