On Taxes

Recently a friend of mine offered up this link. From the Tax Foundation it helps you calculate your tax burden. It also gives you the added benefit of seeing how the Obama tax proposal would effect your taxes. Surprisingly I would actually pay less under the Obama plan. But to me that is little consolation.

Currently the federal government takes 18% of my income. Add my state taxes and I pay around 21% To me that is outrageous. Especially when I see most government programs and agencies as bloated and poorly managed.

I prefer a simplification of the tax code. A flat tax for everyone. I guess that is why this blog from CSM appealed to me.

Enjoy.

Extend the Bush Tax Cuts? It's the wrong question.

The Power of the Ant

Mankind loves to marvel at their accomplishments. We glory in our own creations. But in reality we are not the only things on this earth capable of wonderful and marvelous creations. Just check what these ants got up too. Note: No ants were harmed in the making of this video.

Short Video Goodness

Just found some really amazing short videos. Courtesy of Whitestone Pictures. I have loved all that I watched but recommend "Lest We Forget" and "Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man" (embedded below). I love watching talented people do great work like this.

Enjoy!

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Bronte Power

So I was going to publish a real nice long essay. Instead I ran into this gem and had to post it.

Marcee this ones for you!!

Motivation

As many of you know I am contemplating redirecting my life. That has lead to lots of lists and soul searching. The main issue I keep running up against is: Why do I dislike my current job? By truly understanding the underlying causes of my discontent I think I will be better equipped to not repeat the problem.

This video does a lot to help me clarify things. It is mostly about how people are motivated (hint it isn't money!).

Essentially my job has a lot of purpose, occasional autonomy but I have no desire to obtain mastery over it. So I need to find a direction that will combine purpose, autonomy and mastery. Too easy...?

Missionary Moment

Check out this video from TED. In it Julia Sweeny describes a first discussion with two Mormon missionaries. First 5 minutes can easily be skipped.

Analysis:

It is obvious that Ms. Sweeny did research on the history and doctrine of the LDS church for this talk. Most missionaries don't start out with a long and drawn out description of such mundane facts. They focus more on the spiritual questions. Like the first question she discusses (and then comes back to). She is delveing into details for comedic effect--I get that.

I found her reaction to the first question a classic example of "when they are learned they think they are wise". Instead of addressing the question she pontificates (internally at least) about genderizing and anthropomorphizing God. It is only at the end of the video that she comes back to the real issues behind her reaction to the question. But interestingly she doesn't really resolve anything just leaves us hanging. Which, to me, says more about her own faith then anything else.

Barefoot Running

I grew up "country". My dog was never on a leash. Summer meant swimming in the local irrigation canal and going barefoot all day. Something about the feel of ground beneath my feet changed the way I experienced the season. Even now I still enjoy being barefoot. After spending all day with my feet encased in leather boots it is very liberating to wiggle my toes and shuffle around the house and sometimes my neighborhood.

Given this penchant I was really intrigued when I stumbled on the five-fingered shoes. I wondered if it was possible to run or walk in what essentially amounts to a foot glove? Well scientists are asking the same question and lucky for us they have money and labs to research that stuff. Unfortunately they haven't come up with any solid answers yet.

This article in the CSM does a nice breakdown on the phenonmenon and gives some good links and further reading material. The author makes a good case for running barefoot:

"It is counter-intuitive, but the truth is – and studies back this up – that the more you block out the feeling of impact in your feet, the more impact you are likely to put into your body, at the wrong time in your stride, by moving and landing differently than you would if you actually felt what you were doing.

Have you ever wondered why you have so much feeling on the bottom of your feet, so much information sensing capacity? Well, one of its purposes is to feel impact and make changes in your stride to reduce it through form and technique."

Honestly I just keep thinking of how amazing those African runners are at the Olympics and a lot of them train barefoot. There must be something we are missing.
So I want to give the shoe/glove a chance. Unfortunately the price tag ($169) makes my miser heart skip a beat. Maybe I will just take the cheap option and go barefoot. Well at least for the summer.