Did I ever tell you the only course I ever failed twice [in my life] was Canadian Income Tax? That was around ten years ago, so I was no slouch at studying. I just could not grasp the fundamental illogic of that 900-page textbook. It seemed to me Canadian tax was based on the presumption everybody in the country, no matter how poor, had a $100,000 pool of cash, and any job they worked simply meant topping that pool up after payday. I still don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the examples given in that course.
Dozens of the examples were worded to trick you at the last minute that the famous doctor or millionaire investor was a woman, although I have yet to see such a thing in real life [in that country]. Most examples stressed foreign sounding names from the old eastern British Empire. “Parmar is not sure whether to cash in a $250,000 Canada savings bond and buy a Rolls Royce, or borrow the money and write off the interest. Please advise Parmar on the best option, as she turns 18 next month.” You think I’m kidding, don’t you?
Today’s high point was a callout after 5:00 PM. It as another customer completely baffled by that AT&T changeover to “powered by Yahoo”. The phone company has always lived in a different world, but they are jerks to think people over 30 understand what that means. Well, I do, but that is not what I meant. Everybody has to change the way they log on to their old BellSouth email accounts, but AT&T does not give and directions, just some bonehead re-direction screen.
What was interesting was the customer’s situation. He had been working on the roof of his manufactured home (mobile home double-wide trailer) and he crashed through the rafters. The aluminum spars pierced his neck and came out through his shoulder blades. He was awaiting a disability claim, around two years now, and needs his computer system to work at home from then on. Disability is nice, but it is not a free ticket. Fortunately, he also had great insurance coverage.
Trivia for today is yet another iPhone app. This one plugs into the power charge port and it’s purpose is to detect “body odor and methane gas” emitting from the person sitting in the next airline seat. Thank goodness for technology. The article did not specify if the device made any further response.
One interesting side effect of the bad economy is early retirement. The social security Ponzi scheme is calculated on people working until they are 65. But older types who have lost their jobs are opting to take a reduced payout and retire rather than re-enter the workforce at a lower wage. That means they are taking more and contributing less. It may be that is the only money they will ever see out of the Feds.
Speaking of the feds, I found out that they are defending “Net Neutrality”. This is the techno-term for giving everyone equal access to the Internet. The providers are gung-ho to charge a premium. I can see both sides of the issue. If there is a charge, then rich people will have primo access and poor people will get what’s left over, as usual. On the other hand, this is a capitalist system and if these private companies can’t make a profit, they will stop upgrading and the whole infrastructure will decay. I hesitate to take sides on this one, but I’m intrinsically a “make the user pay” type. I mean it is not like poor people are using the Internet to better themselves as opposed to, say, read email and watch youTube.
