What Caught My Eye Today - Taxes, Potpourri

Taxes - The following are among the most peculiar taxes levied by states. I daresay "nonsensical" applies to a few of them.

• Sliced Bagel Tax, New York - Bagels are a New York institution, but not all are taxed equally. Order yours cut in half or request it toasted or topped with cream cheese, and you’ll pay about 8 cents extra. There is a "best thing since sliced bread" joke in there someplace.
• Blueberry Tax, Maine - Maine produces 99% of the United States' blueberries, some 80 to 85 million pounds per year. If you enjoy some this summer, count on being taxed.
  That 99% of blueberries come from Maine is a bit of surprise. A tax on the best berries for a pie, not so much.
• Playing Card Tax, Alabama - A deck of playing cards comes with a tax of 10 cents per pack. Sellers pay an additional $1 per pack.
  I'm guessing this is a vice tax of some sort.  Makes sense if you think about it. I cannot tell you how many times I've had less than the purest of thoughts while engaging in that diabolical card game known as solitaire.
• Vending Machine Fruit Tax, California - While fresh fruit is duty free, the pre-sliced variety of dubious origin sold in vending machines is not; you’ll pay a 33% tax.
  Seriously, who buys "fresh" fruit out of a vending machine?  
• Coffee Lid Tax, Colorado - Colorado deems coffee lids and napkins to be “nonessential” packaging, which makes them subject to the state’s 2.9% tax.
  I don't know about you, but as someone who occasionally hold a cup of coffee between his legs while driving to work in the morning, a properly secured coffee lid is absolutely essential.
• Hot-Air Balloon Tax, Kansas - In Kansas a hot-air balloon ride comes with a tax, unless the balloon isn’t tied down.
  Not much of a balloon ride, if its tied down. More of an open air elevator ride to nowhere if you ask me.
• Tattoo, Piercing, and Electrolysis Tax, Arkansas - All tattoos, body piercings, and even electrolysis hair-removal treatments are subject to Arkansas’s 6% sales tax.
  As if you aren't subjected to enough pain enduring one of these procedures, in some states you are taxed for it.
• Strip Club Admission Tax, Texas - There is a $5 "pole tax" assessed for visiting any one of Texas' 200 or so strip clubs.
  Undoubtedly the cheapest thing you'll pay for.
• Air Tax, Pennsylvania - Coin-operated vacuum vending machines are subject to a “use” tax.
  In defense of the tax, air don't suck itself, do it?
• Arrow Tax (all states) - Archery enthusiasts pay the Tax Man an additional 46 cents for arrows 18 inches or longer. Bows are taxed at 11%.
  I guess the NRA doesn't cover archery, otherwise this tax wouldn't stand a chance of surviving.

Potpourri - Yet more entries for the "so bizarre it must be true" file:

• Jobs - A recent survey has found that actuaries have the best jobs in America, based on the criteria of physical demand, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook.  Biomedical and software engineers were next. Military personnel, lumberjacks and newspaper reporters had the distinction of holding the worst jobs.
  Has anyone ever met a real life actuary? Or, when was the last time your kid came home from school saying she wants to be an actuary, "just like Susie's dad"?  Hell, who actually knows what an actuary does (answer below)? I'm not judging, but, really, an actuary? 
• Iceland - There is a new smartphone application that helps Icelanders avoid accidental incest. The nation's 320,000 residents are often related because of generations of inbreeding. Prospective partners can "bump" their phones and hear an alarm if they are related.
  I first heard about this story on NPR and thought it was a gag, but nope, its the real deal, proving once again that there is an app for just about everything.
• Texas - A Texas teacher invoked her own racism to dispute allegations that she fondled a black student. The teacher, who is white, denied the first grader's accusation that she touched the student's private parts by claiming she doesn't even like "touching black students on the hand." The teacher was fired.
  Lemme see if I've got this right. A teacher tries to defend herself against child molestation allegations, but claiming she's a racist? Who allows people like this into the classroom in the first place?
• Wealth Gap - The average inflation adjusted income fro the top 10% of wage earners rose by $116,071 between 1966 and 2011. During the same 45 year span, the incomes of the bottom 90% grew by just $59.
  One can only assume that the skills associated with "would you like fries with that" haven't evolved much over the years.
• Defense Spending - Global defense spending fell by 0.5% in 2012 to $1.75 trillion, marking the first annual decline since 1998. The U.S. still spends the largest fraction of the total and 69% more than it did in 2001, but its share of worldwide military spending has fallen below 40% for the first time since 1991.
  Let's see here. U.S. defense spending is up, but its share of total spending has fallen. Europe (or at the very least, members of NATO) has slashed its defense spending as it tries to manage its way out of recession through austerity (how's that working out for you, Europe?).  You'd think that the U.S.'s percentage would have increased. So what's the deal? Can you say CHINA?
  
  Finally, as promised...An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms. Wow, I almost dozed off just reading that.

Did You Know #26

What are the top ten nations with the largest number of tourists?

1. France: 79.5 million tourists
2. USA: 62.3 million
3. China: 57.6 million
4. Spain: 56,7 million
5. Italy: 46.1 million
6. Turkey: 29.3 million
7. UK: 29.2 million
8. Germany: 28.4 million
9. Malaysia: 24.7 million
10. Mexico: 23.4 million

What Caught My Eye Today - Boston, Arizona, Morocco, China, Lasers, Mars

Fred's Note:  I had originally intended today's posting to highlight the occasional wackiness associated with road running events. Alas, recent events force me to start off on a far more somber note.

Boston - Two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon just before the finish line. The bombs went off within 550 feet  of each other, killing 3 people and injuring at least 176. Video from the finish line shows about 12 seconds passed between the two blasts. The winners had crossed the finish line about two hours earlier; other runners were still coming across.  Law enforcement officials said that they believe the explosions were caused by homemade bombs. There had been no prior indications of an imminent attack. No official suspects have been named, and no arrests or claims of responsibility for the attack have been announced. Another sobering reminder of evil that humans are capable of unleashing on each other. Thankfully, this sort of thing also tends to highlight the resiliency of those who come out such experiences as stronger, yet more compassionate people.  

No doubt there will be a great deal of follow up to this tragedy, which is why we will return to our originally scheduled news items of the day.

Arizona - The inaugural Scottsdale Beat The Heat race this summer, billed as the hottest sporting event on the planet, is being deliberately staged at the warmest time of year and during the most oppressive part of the day, all to maximize the discomfort and enhance the challenge of those either courageous or deranged enough to sign up. Let me see if I've got this straight.  Some genius has decided to stage a race in an urban desert at the hottest time of day during the hottest time of the year...on purpose?   Temperatures are expected to tip the thermometer at upwards of 110 Fahrenheit on June 22, with participants set to complete a seven-mile course beginning at 2:47 p.m., the specific time when the heat is predicted to be at its fiercest. The concept was dreamed up at a tourism workshop among Scottsdale business leaders that sought to combat the challenges posed by the extreme weather conditions in the middle of summer, when visitor numbers routinely plummet.  And staging a road race was the best they could come up with.  Wow, the gene pool is in bigger trouble than I thought. Race organizers are taking strong precautions to ensure racers do not endanger their health by taking part. There will be water stations every half mile, instead of every two miles as would be normal. The fire department will be on hand, and potential participants are encouraged to seek their doctor's permission before they enter the race. For those of you who have decided to run this race and somehow managed to get your physician's blessing to subject your body to this, might I offer you a bit of advice...GET YOURSELF A NEW DOCTOR!

Now mind you, this race is Arizona is just a 10K, which is little more than a warm up lap for what our friends in Africa have come up with.

Morocco - The Marathon des Sables or Sahara Marathon is a six-day, 156 mile ultra marathon, which is the equivalent of six regular marathons. This multi day race is held every year in southern Morocco, in the Sahara desert. It is considered the toughest foot race on Earth. It is run in 6 stages, the longest stage being around 80 plus kilometer when many of the competitors will run through the night to complete it. For some context, this is the equivalent of running the Beat The Heat race in Arizona, eight times in a single day, then doing it all over again for the next 5 days. Entrants are self-sufficient, carrying all of their provisions for the full 6 days on their backs; sleeping bag, first aid kit including an anti-venom pump for snake bites, food, cooking stove and clothes.  So not only do I get to run across a desert, but I get to carry all my food and water with me for the duration, and, just to keep things interesting, I can pass the time trying to avoid getting bitten by a venomous snake.  Where do I sign up? Rationed water is provided throughout the race at check-points along each stage, and again at the camp at the end of each day. Water rationing? Well, you are in the middle of a desert, so I guess it is in keeping with the overall theme.  At the end of each stage a camp is set up for the competitors, with traditional Moroccan bivouacs sleeping 8 people. Here the competitors will cook their own dinner and visit the medics to have their blisters lanced and dressed. One can only imagine the dinner table conversation that must go on during this race.

China - A new strain of avian flu that has killed at least nine people in the past five weeks is causing panic in eastern China. For those of you keeping track, the last bird flu scare also came from China.  Maybe it is something in the water. Some officials said a traditional herb, indigo woad root, could protect against the virus while an army colonel posted a theory on social media that the virus, H7N9, was actually a U.S. biological weapon meant to destabilize China. Forget for a moment that this "theory" came from a member of the military. Here's my question.  Let's just say for argument sake, that the U.S. was capable of such a thing.  Why would we waste this on China, when there is a whack job in North Korea that we could unleash this on? Authorities have slaughter tens of thousands of birds and closed several large markets in an effort to contain the outbreak.So far, the virus does not appear to have made the leap to human-to-human transmission. Not to worry, I hear these viruses are rather resourceful in adapting to their environments.  I'm sure it is just a matter of time.

Lasers - The U.S. Navy is going to sea for the first time with a laser attack weapon that has been shown in tests to disable patrol boats and blind or destroy surveillance drones. Dude, is the U.S. Navy the man, or what? Lasers. Damn. A prototype shipboard laser will be deployed on a converted amphibious transport and docking ship in the Persian Gulf, where Iranian fast-attack boats have harassed American warships and where the government in Tehran is building remotely piloted aircraft carrying surveillance pods and, someday potentially, rockets. You don't poke the bear without some reprisal, something the Iranian regime will so discover. Bring on the pain, Navy! The laser is designed to carry out a graduated scale of missions, from burning through a fast-attack boat or a drone to producing a nonlethal burst to “dazzle” an adversary’s sensors and render them useless without causing any other physical damage. Say what? These lasers don't kill, they just "dazzle"?  Well, I have to say that's a little disappointing. Still, we got lasers! The Pentagon has a long history of grossly inflating claims for its experimental weapons, but a nonpartisan study for Congress said the weapon offered the Navy historic opportunities. The law of averages suggests that even the Pentagon, on rare occasions, will get something right. Among the advantages cited in the study for Congress was the low cost — less than $1 per sustained pulse — of using a high-energy laser against certain targets. By comparison, current short-range air-defense interceptor missiles cost up to $1.4 million each. Deadly -- I mean dazzling -- and cheap.  Could this get any better? However, several limitations have been cited, such as the lasers are not effective in bad weather because the beam can be disturbed or scattered by water vapor, as well as by smoke, sand and dust. Come again? It is also a “line of sight” weapon, meaning that the target has to be visible, so it cannot handle threats over the horizon. Seriously? And enemies can take countermeasures like coating vessels and drones with reflective surfaces. So to summarize, a cloudy day, some dust, a sand dune or a mirror could render our dazzling lasers useless. Pity. Still, we got lasers!

Mars - Scientists say nuclear fusion, the energy source that fuels the sun and other active stars, could one day propel rockets that allow humans to go to Mars and back in 30 days. You know, I say a lot of things too. Alas, everything I say doesn't always happen. Previous estimates have found that a round trip manned mission to Mars would require about 500 days of space travel. NASA studies have centered on Mars flights that would take two years to complete, and could cost $12 billion just to launch the fuel needed for the mission. A substantial cost, to be sure, but bear in mind we spent the same amount in just 12 days funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At least with a trip to Mars that $12 billion gets you 500 days of space travel. Nuclear fusion occurs when the nuclei of two or more atoms combine, resulting in a release of energy and could occur by compressing a specially developed type of plasma to high pressure with a magnetic field. To get this fuel to propel a rocket to Mars, a powerful magnetic field could be used to cause large metal rings (likely made of lithium) to collapse around the plasma material, compressing it to a fusion state, but only for a few microseconds. Energy from these quick fusion reactions would heat up and ionize the shell of metal formed by the crushed rings. The hot, ionized metal would be shot out of the rocket nozzle at a high speed. Repeating this process roughly every minute would propel the spacecraft.I find it curious that for a group of people that place such a high standard on fact, scientists sure are a speculative lot.

What Caught My Eye Today - Gun Control, Samoa, Basketball, Potpourri

Gun Control - Those of you who follow U.S. political news are well aware of the push to pass stricter gun control laws in the wake of several recent mass shootings.  Our friends in the great state of Georgia have taken a slightly different approach to dealing with guns. Council members in Nelson, a small city located 50 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia, voted unanimously to approve the Family Protection Ordinance. The measure requires every head of household to own a gun and ammunition to "provide for the emergency management of the city" and to "provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants." However, it contains no penalties and exempts anyone who objects, convicted felons and those with certain mental and physical disabilities. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but "exempts" is the same thing as "excludes" or "prohibits," which begs the question, could a convicted felon actual own a gun and ammunition if he or she decides not to be "exempt" from the law? The proposal illustrates how the response to the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, varies widely in different parts of the country. While lawmakers in generally more liberal states with large urban centers like New York and California have moved to tighten gun control laws, more conservative, rural areas in the American heartland have been going in the opposite direction. While I personally favor tighter gun controls over the alternative, I understand the opposition to them. I find it hard to believe that anyone would need a military style firearm capable if discharging hundreds of rounds per minute for recreational purposes, but at the same time, where do you draw the line for reasonable gun control?  Quite frankly, I think this decision is best made at the local level by the citizens who will be most impacted by  gun controls, or lack thereof.  As an individual I have the choice of deciding if I want to live in a community that has gun controls or one that doesn't.

Samoa - Samoa Air has become the first airline in the world to do what was previously unthinkable: charge passengers by weight. The cost is 93 cents to $1.06 for each kilogram, or 2.2 pounds. I mean no offense to Samoans, but this doesn't seem that unreasonable to me. Have you ever met a scrawny Samoan?   Neither have I. The Samoa Air homepage reads "We at Samoa Air are keeping airfares fair, by charging our passengers only for what they weigh. You are the master of your Air'fair', you decide how much (or little) your ticket will cost. No more exorbitant excess baggage fee's [sic], or being charged for baggage you may not carry. Your weight plus your baggage items, is what you pay for. Simple."  You have to appreciate the candor in which they defend the pricing policy. A section of the airline's web site titled "How does pay what you weigh work?" outlines the steps in determining a passengers final airfare:

1. Select 'book online', and choose your flight
   So far so good.
2. Enter your details, including your estimated weight(s) of passengers and baggage
   So does the weight of your clothing count?  I don't know about you, but my shoes easily add 15 pounds.
3. Your airfare is then calculated using your weight.
   Even if you are the ideal weight, I'm thinking this has got to sting a little bit.
4. You travel happy, knowing full well that you are only paying for exactly what you weigh... nothing more.
   That might be a bit of a stretch. I've never seen a 300 pound traveler looking particularly thrilled with the prospects of getting on a plane.  Of course, that probably has more to do with the lack of legroom and elbow room.

Basketball - According to a formula that measures the unpredictability of each NCAA Men's Basketball tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams, the 2013 edition is the most unpredictable ever. Maybe that's why they call it March Madness. On a scale of 0 to 100 — with 0 meaning the higher seed wins every game and 100 meaning the opposite — the 2013 tournament checks in at 21.8 so far. Even if top overall seed Louisville wins it all, this year's tournament will break the previous record of 19.8, set in 2011 (the year Virginia Commonwealth and Butler made the Final Four, and a nine-loss Connecticut team won the title).  Predicting the whole Final Four was almost impossible this year. ESPN reports that 47 perfect out of 8.15 million brackets in its Tournament Challenge game made the right picks. That works out to about 1 in 173,000 brackets. Still better odds than Powerball. Yahoo Sports reports 9 correct Final Four picks out of more than 3 million brackets. Suffice it to say, I was not one of those 56. In fact, my bracket did not contain a single team in the Final Four. I didn't do much better on the women's either, picking just one of four Final Four teams, Connecticut.

Potpourri - This edition offers a bit of perspective on a variety of topics that affect us all but that we might not give much thought to.

• Charity - in 2011, the poorest 20% of Americans gave 3.2% of their income to charity while the wealthiest 20% donated 1.3% of their income. Studies suggest that those with less to give may have "higher empathy" because they are more exposed to need. That's a diplomatic way of putting it. However, before we cast stones at the wealthiest 20%, if you look at the actual dollars donated, the upper class does contribute the vast majority of charitable contributions.  Remember, perspective.
• Toilets - Of the world's 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones, while just 4.5 billion have access to a working toilet. Kind of makes you think about how we prioritize basic needs, doesn't it?  
• Retirement Benefits - The U.S. government spent $3.7 million last year to support former presidents, paying for pensions, office support, travel and postage.  The most expensive ex-president was George W. Bush, at $1.3 million, followed by Bill Clinton at just under $1 million. Costs do not include Secret Service protection. If you ask me, $3.7 million doesn't seem that unreasonable, then again, I'm not sure how meaningful this statistic really is when it excludes the single largest expense associated with former presidents, lifelong protection.  It reminds me of a certain president who decided not to include the costs of waging two wars in the federal budgets.  
• Vacations - President Barack Obama took 131 vacation days in his first term. In his two terms as president, President George W. Bush took 1060 vacation days. Big deal. You know how many vacation days I've taken in the last 4 years--72. My company gives my 18 paid days off a year, which turns out to be rather generous.

Did You Know? #25

What are the top ten nations with the fewest number of tourists?

1. Nauru - 200 tourists. Nauru is a tiny island nation in the Pacific  It is the smallest republic in the world covering only 21 square kilometers and is the only country in the world without a capital.
2. Somalia - 500. Somalia is located in the Horn of Africa.
3. Tuvalu - 1200. Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. If sea levels continue to rise, Tuvalu is the first country that will disappear.
4. Kiribati - 4700. Kiribati is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean.
5. Marshall Islands - 5000. The Marshall Islands is an island country located in the northern Pacific Ocean.
6. Equatorial Guinea - 6000. Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Middle Africa and is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa
7. Turkmenistan - 7000. Turkmenistan, formerly also known as Turkmenia, is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia and until 1991 was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union.
8. Sao Tome & Principe - 8000. Sao Tome & Principe is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.
9. Comoros - 15000. Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa.
10. Afghanistan - 17500. Afghanistan is a landlocked sovereign state forming part of South Asia, Central Asia and Western Asia.

Did You Know? #24

When was the last time the United States ran a budget surplus?

The last time the U.S. government ran an annual surplus was 2001. 

Under Bill Clinton, the U.S. Treasury Department reported a budget surplus of $127 billion. In that same year, the government paid off $90 billion in debt, the second largest debt reduction in history.  In 2000, the budget surplus was $237 billion.

What Caught My Eye Today - Google, Colombia, Brazil, Zippers

Fred's Note: In honor of April Fool's Day, we lighten up the mood a bit and mix it up with items of a more esoteric nature (especially true of our fourth item).

Google - Every year, Google goes all out for April Fools’ Day. The company not only pulls together more jokes than all the other tech giants, but the company makes a point to outdo itself too. Geek on, my friends, geek on! Among the gags that Google came out with this year:

• Google Maps Treasure Mode (click here) - Google has created a new treasure map mode on Google Maps. Personally, I prefer the 2D version they had in 2012, but the instructional video for this one is still worth checking out. 
• YouTube is closing - Apparently all this time the site has been an eight-year contest, the goal of which was to find the best video ever created. Google says it has 30,000 technicians working on narrowing down the list. It has even managed to get YouTube celebrities and film reviewers on board to participate in the prank. This has the be the cream of this year's crop and one of the all-time greats in Google's pranking history. Simply brilliant.
• Google Nose (click here) - Google Nose is a new service that lets you search to find out what your queries smell like. Vintage Google on this gag. The banality in which they describe the service is what makes it so good. In every way (other than the obvious) it looks like a legitimate service.
• Gmail Blue (click here) - Google has made everything blue in Gmail . All characters, buttons, and menus are now blue. The video is priceless (nice cameo appearance to boot) and you know what, it doesn't look half bad.
• Google Wallet Mobile ATM (click here) - Google Wallet Mobile ATM is a device that attaches to your smartphone after which it “dispenses money instantly and effortlessly. Where do I sign?

Colombia - Two spectators were gored to death and dozens injured at a bullfight in northern Colombia.  Unlike Spanish bullfights, in which a single matador in the ring faces down a bull and kills it, Colombian bullfights allow spectators to run or ride horseback around the ring. The bulls are not killed, but spectators often are. While there is little risk in diluting the gene pool with this lot, you have applaud them for their sense of fair play. Going mano a mano with a bull might not be the smartest idea, but bravo for leveling the playing field.

Brazil - Domestic workers in Brazil now have the same rights as other workers.  I think that we should take a moment and give ourselves a hand.  Its only 13 years into the twenty-first century, and we finally seem to be making some real progress on this whole indentured servitude thing. Well done, everyone. A recently passed law gives the nation's estimated 7 million maids and cooks the right to be paid overtime if they work more than eight hours a day or 44 hours a week. Middle class Brazilian families have traditionally had a daily maid to do all the housework and laundry, but many have cut back in recent years as maids' wages rose. Alas, as is the case with some many things, progress doesn't come without consequence. The mental image of the middle class making its bed and doing its own laundry, is almost more than I can bear.

Zippers - Despite the fact that it is April Fools Day, I swear this is a legitimate story. Over the past decade, more than 17,500 people in the United States - mostly men - have sought emergency room treatment after trapping their genitals in the teeth of their trouser zippers. Occasionally, a zipper injury requires surgery, including unwanted circumcision. I'm thinking the public humiliation would be far worse  than surgery, but maybe that's just me. More often  the biggest risk is infection by the multitude of bacteria that a penis tends to harbor. It's a wonder the ladies want to come anywhere near us men. Wearing underwear and avoiding distractions while zipping can help prevent an accident. One would sort of assume this sort of advice would be self-evident. For those who do get stuck, the key is not to panic. Yet more pearls of wisdom. If easing the zipper down doesn't work, seek professional help. Great idea. There is no standard medical procedure for freeing sufferers.  You don't say. Current methods employ everything from mineral oil to screwdrivers and wire cutters. Let me ask you this. After shredding your junk in a zipper, do you really want to subject it to more sharp or pointed objects? 

Did You Know? #23

How long can a person live without food?

A person can survive without food for about 45 days. 

Survival without water is considerably shorter at just 7 days. Humans are extremely fragile when it comes the temperature, being able to live for 30 minutes in 40 degree water and just 10 minutes in 300 degree heat. Air is the ultimate deal breaker with the average person able to survive under 3 minutes without it.