I had just six days in New England, but I tried making the most of it — including visiting three states I’ve never been to before. Yet, I went at a fairly leisurely pace so as to enjoy the moment, even if this meant not making it to some parts (such as Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine) that I was thinking of visiting. Total cost of the trip, including airfare from/to Colorado, rental car, gas, shuttles, parking, lodging, meals, groceries, museum tickets, and the $110 Boston Marathon: $850.05. The experience: like what those Mastercard commercials say. Continue reading »
I’m an advocate of doing taxes yourself (using tax software) — except in the most complicated scenarios — as that is one of the best ways to learn about and understand your country’s tax codes and tax breaks. It also can ensure your taxes are done correctly (since, most likely, you know your financial situation better than any tax preparer?) and helps one to plan ahead for the future (i.e., how to take advantage of tax deductions going forward). Continue reading »
One thing that frequently makes me cringe is the sheer amount of waste us humans — especially those in the western world — produce.
Most of the time, the reminders are subtle, but once in awhile they go beyond the threshold of the utterly absurd.
For example, there was the time I mail-ordered some valve seals (o-rings), two rubber grommets, a decal sticker, and an air injection manifold for the MGB, and ended up receiving a box the size of a microwave that contained mostly styrofoam and plastic. Or when I went into OfficeMax to purchase a copy of TurboTax (this was many years ago, before I started boycotting Intuit and began using TaxAct online), and came home with packaging the size of a cereal box containing acres of plastic encasing a single CD-ROM. Continue reading »
There was an interesting article in the NY Times last month entitled, “Short Layoff, Long Comeback.” Despite the pessimistic title, I actually found the information very encouraging. Continue reading »
The other day, I met with a buddy of mine who sings with the San Francisco a capella group, The Richter Scales, in his spare time. He told me about his group’s recent video, Here Comes Another Bubble, which shot up to the #1 most-viewed video on YouTube one day in December, registered a million hits, and then became embroiled in a legal controversy regarding Fair Use rights.
The video is hilarious. You can view it below: Continue reading »
&title=Resuming Training After Time Off "Lance Armstrong could probably take the next ten years off from cycling, and after training for just a few weeks, he would be much faster than I again. The body has a great memory. (Photo: MSN)")