Last weekend Julia and I ended the tyranny of our T-Mobile contract (even though the merger with AT&T fell through, I was sufficiently spooked by the spectre of giving money to AT&T that we bailed). AT&T being out of the question, as well as Sprint, our choice was none else but Verizon. Verizon had two… Continue reading Review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Simple answers to simple questions
Borrowing from Duncan Black, we have a simple answer to a simple question. Bob Collins asks if we should give citizens the ability to put measures on the ballot. No. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.
All Apologies
I really shouldn’t be surprised that Republicans are ranting and raving about the fact that President Obama apologized for the fact that soldiers accidentally burned copies of the Qur’an in Afghanistan. It’s an election year. Foreign policy is at stake. People who need to make money being talking heads need to make money. Realities like… Continue reading All Apologies
E-Fairness
Long before I started working in the retail industry, I supported tax fairness for e-commerce. I buy plenty of things online: the amount of money I’ve spent over the years at Newegg is pretty impressive. At the same time, though, I don’t think that online businesses should have the advantage of not being required to… Continue reading E-Fairness
Healthcare Agonistes
I didn’t really want to wade into the contraception versus Catholic hierarchy debate because, as a person who was raised Catholic and well aware that the vast majority of Catholics used birth control (only a couple of my friends came from families even half as large as my grandmother’s 10-kid brood), I knew that it… Continue reading Healthcare Agonistes
The Mortgage Deal
The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced recently has several shortcomings. It doesn’t throw any banksters in jail, although apparently that’s still a possibility down the road. It won’t put people illegally foreclosed back in their homes, and the roughly $2,000 such people may get is not going to be enough for a down payment for… Continue reading The Mortgage Deal
Tax rate update
A short update to the post I had about tax rates a couple days ago: when calculating our tax rate compared to Romney’s, I was unsure if the 13.9% rate was based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), or on total income. Turns out it was AGI; if you use gross income, it would be… Continue reading Tax rate update
Of Tax Rates and Mittens
So Julia and I did our 2011 taxes last night. We came out pretty well all things considered. Not nearly as well as some presidential candidates, but well enough to have no real complaints. Speaking of presidential candidates, however, despite our miniscule income compared to Mitt Romney, we still paid a higher percentage of our… Continue reading Of Tax Rates and Mittens
Passwords, Authentication, and Privilege
Gizmodo has decreed that today, February 1st, is “Change Your Password” day. I wholeheartedly agree, especially if you re-used passwords (which you shouldn’t!). In fact, I’d go further: change your password, and start using a password manager. Did I changed my passwords today? I did not, because I used said password manager. I don’t reuse… Continue reading Passwords, Authentication, and Privilege
Google and Privacy
Google unveiled its new privacy policy a week ago, and it has raised quite the commotion on the intertubes. Some people say that Google has gone too far. Members of Congress have sent letters to Google demanding answers. Some wonder if the FTC will get involved. Me? I’m worried in general about privacy, and I… Continue reading Google and Privacy