As an Amazon Associate (you can see the banners even on this page), I have been following the spat between Amazon and the cash-strapped states that are legislating Internet sales taxes. The states argue that Amazon Associates in their jurisdictions are tantamount to company branches constituting presence and therefore any sales made to their residents — Continue reading »
Cell Phone Tax
📆 June 15, 2009
Saw this article the other day that makes one wonder how desperate the government must be. Seems like if you have a company-issued cell phone and you use it for anything personal, the value of that use should be reported as income to be taxed. So guess if I'm in the office and scribble a — Continue reading »
Google or Bing
📆 June 8, 2009
Microsoft is nothing if not persistent. Last week the company unveiled the latest incarnation of its search engine called Bing. I don't know, but this is probably the 5th iteration of the company's attempt to force itself onto the psyche of the net searchers. You've got to give Microsoft credit for trying. Squeezed by the — Continue reading »
Robocopy Slow on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
📆 June 5, 2009
A few years ago when I needed to synchronize large collection of files for a number of Windows Server 2003 hosts I stumbled upon a Windows Resource Kit utility named Robocopy. This is a great file synchronization tool with lots of switches that can quickly copy entire folders from one Windows host to another along — Continue reading »
Portland-Vancouver Interstate Bridge
📆 May 14, 2009
A few weeks ago I was in Portland, Oregon visiting my uncle and I found one of greatest urban locations for running, the I-5 bridge connecting Portland to Vancouver, WA. The weather was the usual overcast and drizzly but the run was nothing short of exhilarating. The bridge spanning the Columbia river is actually two — Continue reading »
The Innocent Investor
📆 May 3, 2009
A while back I was reading about Bernie Madoff's adventures (fascinating story) and the smooth way he operated his giant Ponzi machine. The interesting part of the story was about how some of the damages will be recovered from other investors who were ostensibly lucky enough to withdraw their investments before the house of cards — Continue reading »
Internet Explorer 8
📆 April 29, 2009
Internet Explorer may still be the dominant browser on the Internet but its clout is nowhere near where it was a few years ago. Back in the early days of the browser wars when IE4 finally unseated Netscape to become the front-runner, it enjoyed immense popularity. I certainly was a devoted fan and used IE — Continue reading »
Give a few Sats