TheAnvil

Just relax and get out of the door. Maybe taking an observer ride, watching people jump and seeing them safe on the ground might help..... Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Look on the bright side Simon, you have EZ access to fine British beer...on cask no doubt! When are you coming back? Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Good luck with that job hunt dude! How's that for gratitude on your company's part? Sheesh! 10 years! Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Just strut out there with your Stetson and introduce yourself as the Texas Tripod.......then let them have their way with you.... Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Congrats on the job. Disagree with you on right to work. I've had several friends get screwed by unions and RTW has really helped them out a lot. Good luck with the new job! Vinny the Anvil

Hookit has the right idea dude. Help out The Lioness! Show her how to do the Texas Two-Step Swoopy style in the buff. Just make sure I'm not in the room - or even in the city for that matter. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Dude, I hear ya. Once when I was still working in Memphis I SWEAR somebody put up a billboard that said "Are you stupid? Mildly retarded? Racist? Or lazy? If so, call Vinny at 123-4567 for free money!" I mean the damned phone rang off the hook for two days with nothing but idiots on the line. Deep breaths and beer got me through it. Beers, Vinny

No worries Scotty! Sometimes I don't feel like jumping either. You're not NEARLY as pathetic as me right now -I'm in my office doing some geek work - got on DZ.com for a brain-break. Got a couple jumps in at SMB this afternoon and then the clouds rolled in, so I split. Might go out to Hollister tomorrow for a jump or two.... Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Ahhh...the metropolitan paradigm resurfaces..... My reasons for desiring any NRST not be applied to gasoline have nothing to do with me liking gasoline, they have to do with common sense. You have seemingly constructed a fantasy reality in which anyone can choose to live close to where they work, mass transit is always available, and anyone who desires a used car with great gas mileage can afford one, and Lord knows what other ludicrous assumptions - none of which are true. I hold that any NRST should not apply to gasoline because many people DO require it to get to work AND its recent price increases serve as a running cost penalty on any business that requires transport of goods - a concept you still don't seem to get. Your would pay tax on your bike one time, just like anyone purchasing a car from a retailer. Gas for your bicycle would be food, which I also proposed to be exempt from any NRST. Try again. Paying an NRST on a bus or subway pass is not subsidizing anything or anyone. The majority of Americans use some gasoline at some point during the month. Few are total bus/train folk. Everyone would pay the same sales tax on every product not exempt (gas and groceries). You are watching the game with tribal folk from Karin villages in northern Thailand (great hiking up there by the way) who have never seen a basketball game. They don't realize how cool it is to see a 190 lb stocky 5'4" white blonde man do a double back flip with a half twist slam dunk over Michael Jordan, which is exactly what happened. Diesel fuel is not gasoline. Ingenious observation. It is also a grasp at straws to avoid the vanguard of my onslaught of logic. You dodge yet again. Let me see if I can be more direct to limit the scope of any riposte. Diesel fuel and gasoline and whatever other fuel you use to propel vehicles of any sort on the road for any business purpose cost $$. When the cost of this fuel increases in any manner, the operational costs of the business increase as a result. This increase in operational cost does not warrant the immediate liquidation of an asset as large as a dump truck, tractor trailer, or vehicle. Your previous attempt to counter this did not address this fact of life, nor does this current one. Regardless of the remaining life of the asset, until a new one is purchased (and there is no guarantee the new asset will offset the increased fuel costs either) the increase in fuel price comports with a DECREASED profit margin for the company. Businesses rely on fuel powered vehicles other than diesel trucks. Diesel trucks are more efficient than 20 years ago. Increased fuel price of any sort results in a decreased profit margin until a more fuel efficient asset is purchased. Immediate liquidation of the current vehicle and purchase of another is not an option for a business. Show me an NPV/IRR, balance sheet, and etc for one business that it would be feasible for, along with efficiency curves for the vehicles, loan amounts, depreciation schedules and etc, and I MIGHT cede the point for that one instance. Overall - no way dude. I say you can't even show me one example because common sense says it can't happen. Granted, I haven't done any financial calculations for a while, but the magnitude of the #'s involve tell me that's so. Exempting fuel from an NRST is not artificially deflating fuel prices at all. This analogy is baseless. I'm out of beer and need more.

I don't know what a staff infection is, but is sounds nasty. and beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

What a dumbass. That's insane.

Earning $$ is necessary for living unless you want to depend on the government and others for everything. Means of transport is necessary for viable employment - everything else you listed is optional, not included in my list of proposed NRST exemptions, and utterly beside the point. Fact of life: there are areas of this country with no mass transit system where auto-ownership is a necessity. Your comparison of exempting gasoline from a retail sales tax that would be imposed on top of already existing excise taxes with exemptions for business suits, uniforms, cars, and etc (none of which I support or proposed) is tenuous at best and laughable at worst. Saying 'no change' is utterly incorrect. Revenues would be collected on basis of consumption of goods OTHER THAN gasoline/groceries and the travesty of so few carrying the greater portion of the tax burden would be corrected. And you don't need a job in order to pay for food, shelter, clothing, etc? Amazing. And regardless of what vehicle they drive, the act of driving is a necessity of many to work. Are they stupid if they're single with no kids and buy a used SUV? Absolutely! And they'll pay more in gas cost - why pay more in the form of NRST? I like this following one: Until the diesel breaks and/or is replaced by a model efficient enough to offset its more expensive fuel, the company/trucker suffers increased operational costs due to the increased cost of gasoline, as I stated. SWIIIISH!!!!!! The short guy dunks and the crowds go wild!!!!! Your diatribe refers only to truckers hauling rigs with commodities and does nothing to prove your point. My general point refers to any form of operating cost a business incurs from any gasoline engine, be it for construction, power generation, farming, transport of goods, what have you. The time to replacement is only tangentially relevant to the point at hand. Ne'er once did I imply that vehicles do not break or need replacement - I'm an engineer dammit! Other than repair they do have no other option. And until they break beyond repair AND sufficient technology exists to buy a more efficient vehicle, the increased cost of gasoline increases the cost of transporting products. Even should the technology become available there is no guarantee that the new, efficient type of vehicle's cost could mandate its purchase over a vehicle based on older technology. The NPV/IRR will differ from corporation to corporation and with every instance.

Our pecs would be boring without them? Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

I think Putin just signed a flat tax, didn't he?

And you saw no used cars on the road today, eh? Perhaps we drive on different highways. Many people drive older cars because they cannot afford newer ones. Many more can't afford new cars but buy them anyway on credit like idiots and have them repossessed. You completely dodge my point that Rural America is not going away and the posession of an automobile is necessary for many there. Gasoline IS a necessity and any NRST should exempt it. In the case where a person is purchasing a new auto, your statement stands...otherwise, no way. No way dude, you're not getting by with a dodge here either. Companies can't get more efficient are your words, not mine. Yes, all those nice efficiency things are true. Lovely, and I hope I get better. IF a company were stupid enough to purchase a vehicle with a higher efficiency in place of one they already have equity in, your argument would hold. They don't (there's a reason for it) and the rise in gas price that would make such a purchase economically feasible would be on the order of US$100/gallon, I'd wager. The NPV or IRR would differ with the amount of equity in the vehicle, the $$ of the new vehicle, and several other factors, but he point remains the same. Purchasing new delivery vehicles just to offset the price increase induced by higher gasoline prices is NOT an option for business owners. No way in hell. Nada. Your position is untenable.

The books have been cooked for years. Deficit structure is interesting, but I don't totally understand it completely. http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/bpd/bpdhome.htm provides some basic insights. I'm libertarian, but do consider medicare a necessary thing. I think the true path to decreasing health care costs in this country is through reform of the tort system - it's disgusting. Beers, Vinny the Anvil

Bill that is totally untenable. New cars cost $$ a lot of folks just don't have. So does moving closer to where you work (often impossible) and commuter trains and busses are NOT an option for most of America. Again, cars cost $$ and a lot of people don't have them. Trains are not available everywhere, not by a long shot. Real estate, durable goods, and gasoline are three different commodities with different pressures affecting the price of each. The tax code is filled with tax breaks and hotel tax is atrocious. Many of said tax breaks would be un-neccesary if the tax code were reformed at all. We disagree. I say it is necessary for millions of us. Not everyone lives in a metropolitan area. Rural America still exists and isn't going away anytime soon. This was in reference to the cost of company A to bring its goods from company B to market. your analogy is to yourself, not companies. Companies do not have the option of not transporting their merchandise to where it can be sold/distributed and the increased gasoline price makes this transport more expensive.

I am FOR taxation, but in a fair and equitable manner. Lack of the ability to levy taxes was one of many reasons the original government set up under the Articles of Confederation failed - John Hanlon was the REAL first president over here, for you trivia buffs. As I stated previously, however, the current distribution of taxes is completely unacceptable to me. That's 96% of taxes on less than 50% of the populace - unacceptable. I'd agree with you on a floor for the flat tax - US$25,000 seems a reasonable one for me, but still disagree with you on the gasoline. Gasoline is a necessity for many people to get to work. I also think that the increased price of gasoline is a factor many overlook when analyzing the economy. Gasoline is a necessary evil in the transport of goods/merchandise for any corporation. The greater the cost of gas, the greater the cost of transport, be it by plane, car, van, truck, or what have you. Whenever you increase the cost of gas you increase the cost of business, which in turn increases operating costs which in turn decreases profit margins. I'm for getting us away from gasoline anyway and going to biodiesel-electric hybrid propulsion in automobiles. The technology is here, the biodiesel infrastructure is here and production could be increased EASILY to meet any increased demand mandated by appropriate legislation. Add some tax breaks and other incentives for small business-gas station owners AND chain owners and restaruants and other businesses to install electric car recharging units over a 10-15 year time period (have to have some standards there as well) and in 20 years we would have a significantly better environment and reduced dependence on petroleum. With the projected technology advances in batteries and solar cells (Integrated Junction solar cell technology is cool stuff, by the way) this is a feasible thing to do. Biodiesel powered SUVs would be cool. Good for farmers, good for foreign policy good for America, and good for mother nature. Dammit. Work is boring me today, but there is so much to do. Whoever came up with these flexible body dynamics equations is a genius and I'm glad he did it, but dammit if I don't want to kick his or her ass right now. Beers to all, Vinny the Anvil

This is so true. I make money on discover every year. Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Man, what a quote! The lefties got to him early! 'Evil corporate greed' seems already to have been embedded in his skull. Just goes to show that lies have inertia... Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

'The rich' are not 'given' anything in a tax break. A tax break for them is allowing them to keep what they have rightfully earned through hard work. I know this makes LLC Dashle's eyes bulge and his hands quiver with anger, but most of the rich did not win the 'lottery of life' and inherit their dinero (read that a couple of places; Boortz, WSJ, and someplace else. I forget). The rich and the poor both live under the capitalist system and benefit from it in some manner. Some make use of that system, some don't. Having travelled to many other countries or so, I disagree with your 'prisoners of their own wealth' analogy. I also disagree with your implied acceptance of poor people being dependent on the government. I grew up in Appalachia and don't think that to be the case there. Now I have lived in several cities and in those areas it POSSIBLY might hold, but really don't think so there either. Churches and charities do more good for the poor more efficiently/effectively than the government does. I consider the 'progressive' income tax system an abomination. Nice in theory, but horrid in practice. Shifting an inordinate amount of the tax burden to a small percentage of the populace is unfair by any standard. I personally am for a flat income tax of about 10-12% in conjunction with a national retail sales tax exempting gasoline and groceries AND eliminating EITCs and other tax loopholes. Along with that I'd eliminate the corporate tax on overseas profits and re-instate the double-taxation of dividends because I think that's the penalty shareholders pay for having no civil/criminal liability for corporate actions which their investments fund. Work calls. I hate work sometimes. Other times I like it. Modal integrals and flexible body dynamics is my headache of the day....yummy..... Beers to all, Vinny the Anvil

Yes, I used to be a martial arts maniac - really into Kung Fu. I've also practiced aikido, baguazhang, hsing-i (Xing-yi to some folks), tai-chi, goju-ryu, and done a bit of boxing/kickboxing. Had a jiu-jitsu sparring partner for a bit. Haven't really been into it for a while. Fun stuff. If I ever get back into it I think I'd do aikido or one of the internal chinese styles as I enjoyed those the most. Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Dammit! They have a way of doing that, don't they! Thank GOD I haven't gotten married and divorced. Hell hath no fury like a woman divorced (with a good lawyer)... I feel for ya dude! Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Were you actively sparring in the kickboxing or was it a cardio-class? The boxing will definitely get you into shape. The running is good for overall health anyway. Your forearms will get a great workout from the bag-work and the rope jumping. Throwing the medicine ball around is good for the abs, arms, and back. The high rep calisthenics you do will tone you up and help keep the pounds off as well. Boxing a bit after doing some kickboxing is an interesting change. Fighting someone who you know isn't going to kick at you or knee you is a totally different ballgame - you duck and slip slightly differently and your footwork changes subtly. Bridging the gap is also a bit different as well, also affecting your footwork. If you were doing kickboxing for a while you're going to always have this itch to use that foot, especially if you were good at low kicks due to the way a boxer positions himself/herself. If that's what you're looking for, enjoy! Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Bill, I'm going to admit it, but not cede the point entirely about taxes - you could be right. I tried myself after my office mate (nicknamed Dumb Ass) couldn't figure out what some of the folks we've been listening to/reading about with regards to some people paying no taxes. A quick ten minutes showed that they do. I DID manufacture the W2 myself, but I don't see where these people are coming from mathematically. NO EITC or anything of the sort were used, so perhaps that's where they were coming from. That being said, I still maintain my position. This is from a website I look at on occasion and HIGHLY recommend for its entertainment value: http://www.boortz.com/nealznuz.htm. Tom Delay says the same thing I did, and I've never known him to be an outright liar. Just wish I could verify it myself - I hope its due to my own ignorance of tax calculations: So … the class warfare assault is on. Listen to the words of Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa Delauro … a Democrat. “What kind of perverse Robin Hoods steal secretly to rob from the poor to give to the rich?” Now, isn’t that amazing? Allowing a taxpayer to keep more money is to “steal” from or to “rob” the poor and “give” to the rich. There really aren’t any words I can say here that could adequately illustrate just how absurd this statement is. Then there’s New York Democrat Charles Rangel: “The cruelest thing of all is that when they still found themselves three or four billion short and instead of shaving a little bit off of where the bulk of the money would go they saw fit not only to go after low income people, but the children of low income people.” Oh yeah! Let’s paint these evil, greedy Republicans as attacking children. At least one congressman has it right … Tom DeLay from Texas: "To me it's a little difficult to give tax relief to people that don't pay income tax. It's a spending program," Mr. DeLay Brit Hume’s panel on Special Report got into this last night. They were discussing some new proposed legislation that would go ahead and give $400 checks for each child of a low income family that doesn’t pay income taxes. When Fred Barnes correctly referred to this as welfare the other panelists almost wet their pants. They just couldn’t believe that this man was referring to this as welfare? Well, what else is it? You take money away from the people who earned it, and you give it to people who did NOT earn it. It’s a straight cash grant. It’s welfare. If the left is going to be so anxious to redistribute income like this … why not at least have the guts to call it what it is. Interesting - I didn't catch that episode of Brit Hume. I'm going to write a couple of folks a letter and ask them WTFO about this, because I do not like being misled and feel that might be the case here after doing a couple of calculations myself. That's the thing with politics. Lies have inertia, and like snowball going downhill from the top of everest once they get going they are hard to stop. That's one of the main reasons I get so pissed at lefties (and occasionally Republicans as well - Trent Lott for instance) and their rhetoric. Gotta work. Thanks! Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!