When I was a kid, my dad told me a story about a guy he worked with who wanted to be paid in gold bullion. The idea was to receive coins with a mint value of $50, but were actually worth over $600. That way, he only had to report the $50 as taxable to the IRS, while receiving his actual pay in gold. Sure, it's weird, but it's really not a bad idea.
Which brings me to a not-well-thought-out question that has been bothering me for a while. You know how money used to be backed by the gold standard? Where every dollar you had also had a gold equivalent stocked away in Fort Knox or something? And some president (Nixon?) eventually took us off that standard, meaning that our money wasn't backed by gold anymore. My problem is - Why does gold hold so much value in the first place? If our economy collapsed tomorrow and people were in dire need of survival goods, what the hell would a block of gold do? Would it have any value then? Wouldn't you gladly trade a whole truckload of gold in exchange for some water, shelter, food and weapons? Your fortune of gold would be worthless overnight. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks about these things.
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Thanks to everyone who posted their soul cleansing confession yesterday. Oh wait. Only Mike posted something. So, to everyone who isn't Mike - Thanks for nothing. I know a whole bunch of you checked it and didn't write anything. I write everyday and, every so often, I ask for a little audience participation. Where's the love?
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Here are two things I've posted before but found their way back in my life today.
First - The baby name wizard. The interface is really sweet.
Second - Test yourself in number sequences. I'm trying it again and I'm up to 13 (which I think is better than last time).
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I Google Mapped Beirut today. If I didn't know any better, it looks like a cool place to live. Beach front property, swimming pools, a soccer stadium... The reason I checked the map is because I read that Haifa, Israel is only 30 miles or so from Lebanon. Then I got to thinking what this war must be like. It would be like Illinois and Wisconsin fighting, with the military bases being Chicago and Milwaukee. Or, for the California folks, it's like Los Angeles and Orange County going at it. I'm not writing this to sound silly, but rather to help myself get a small grasp on the proximity of these sworn enemies.
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The Sports Guy strikes again. This time, he outlines his detailed thought process in picking his English soccer team to support. If anyone can convince you to start watching soccer, it's Bill Simmons.
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You know how I talked the other day about how silly sports are? Well, slap me silly during the run up to the major league baseball trading deadline. I spend WAY too much time checking websites, making sure I'm the first one to know about any big trades that go down. I would guess that, annually, between July 15th and July 31st (the end of the deadline), I will spend 25 hours online checking trade rumors. What can I say? I get really bored during the day.
2 comments:
I actually researched this when you first proposed the idea. (We were sitting in a room @ 300 S. Riverside w/ Bob-o and Brian, drinking our mochas made from sugar-free Swiss Miss mix.) Unfortunately, Uncle Sam requires that you pay tax on the total value of your compensation, not just the face value.
Ah, memories. Bobcat... I wonder what that dude is up to nowadays.
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