analog_kidd

I've heard people say they keep a mortgage because they need the tax deduction that paying mortgage interest gives them. But, if you actually do the math it does not work out in your favor.   Using round numbers, let's say the average person/family is in the 25% tax bracket. makes $50k and pays $10k in interest (hopefully early part of the loan). Given these numbers, you would get to deduct the $10k from your income, but at a 25% tax rate that only saves you $2,500 (25% of 50K = $12,500 tax versus 25% of $40k = $10,000). So by paying all that interest, you have paid $10,000 to save $2,500 worth of tax. If the mortgage was paid off, you would pay $2500 extra in taxes, but no additional interest, thereby coming out $7500 ahead.   As Dave says, if you really just want that tax deduction, donate to a charity. You get the EXACT same tax shelter and you help an organization that you believe in and that needs your help.

So, Jim Carrey makes a satirical bit insulting a dead American Patriot, then when people call him out on it he attacks and insults them. Classy   Cold Dead Hand is really a desperate attempt to somehow revive a "Cold Dead Career". The glory days are over for Jim Carrey. Time has moved on, others have replaced him as reining top funny men. Sad.

After watching the preview for next week, I'm hoping the Woodbury crew walk in to the prison and find a note on the door that says, thanks for leaving your neighborhood, that's where we went. It would be fitting if while the Governor and all able bodied soldiers was on their attack mission, Rick and company go take over the unprotected Woodbury. Or burn it down.   I am sorry to see Merle go. He was the guy you love to hate. I think he came to realize that his brother wanted to be with the group, and if he wanted to be with Darryl, he would have to start changing his ways a bit. He had seemed to tone down the racist bit some, and I think he was feeling sorry for some of the things he had done. Near the end he realized he was always going to be the guy that had to do the crap jobs. I think his trip with Michonne was his road to Damascus, and he had a change of heart, where he needed to fight for the greater good and do the right thing, not just serve himself.

  Actually, they usually give you the first half-hour commercial free to get you hooked, Then, its 5 minutes of show followed by 7 minutes of commercial the rest of the time.

$1200 seems a bit high. I own a few rentals (all occupied or undergoing remodeling currently) in Oak Ridge, and I would rent a 2/1 house in excellent shape for about $650. You might try contacting a Realtor  a lot of them manage rentals for the house owner that doesn't want the hassle of being a landlord. Some  landlords also commission with a Realtor to find them tenants.

Anybody know what the history is regarding the black or white smoke?

"Clear" was one of my favorite episodes in a long time. I think this was fianally the turning point for Rick. He sees how crazy Morgan is and I believe he realizes that is his fate if he doesn't pull it together. Rick also admitted to Michonne that he "sees" people. That was probably theraputic to say out loud.   I also think this was the turning point for Michonne to be allowed into the group. She earned Carl's respect, for sure, and I think Rick too.She proved herself to be a fighter, and the group needs fighters now. There's going to be a showdown. The Governor has firepower, the group needs cunning, which she brings. I was glad to see her come out of her shell some on this episode. She is starting to loosen up. I think she may realize that she needs a group, adn she see that this one, even though they have issues, they are genuine, what you see is what you get, kind of people. Not fake like the Governor with a hidden agenda.   As far as Morgan's wife being the one who killed Duane, Remember back at the beginning of the show when Morgan brought Rick back to his house? Morgan's wife kept coming back to their house, almost as if on autopilot. Didn't Morgan say in last night's show "I went back to the cellar" kind of like meaning the cellar in his old house. If that is the case, it would make sense that they ran into his wife.   I also didn't realize the Walkers were attracted to live rats. I thought they only ate human flesh. Learned something new. Seems like MIchonne and Carl learned it too, as they used it for a diversion. Morgans spears were a clever weapon. The walkers just impale themselves. Smart.   I don't know what to think about the backpacker, it just didn't make sense to me. He survives a year and that is the day he gets eaten? Plus, no weapons I could see that were easily assessible, and he had all that crap hanging off his backpack. Might be the way you do it on a camping trip, but it clanked around and would draw attention.

Well, I got one of those live traps and set it up in the crawlspace. Two full days now and nothing!  :shrug:   I baited it with a can of cat food. There are obvious signs of something that has dug a hole under the AC ducts going into the crawlspace. I found a dead possum in there several weeks ago, which is what led me to think something was living there. I found it's entrance, and blocked it. Shortly after is when I noticed the new burrow.   The only thing I can think of is either they don't like my brand of cat food, or they realize just how serious I am and have evacuated while they still have a chance.

So, one theory among the conservative side is that the unusual rise in gun violence over the last decade has been because of movies glorifying the use of guns. Of course the Left says "no way, it has nothing to do with it". Certainly they are protecting their own as most of Hollywood is far left. So, not only do they completely reject the idea that Hollywood could be a contributing factor, they double down and encourage even more movie making, making it easier to film these movies in a state that outlaws the use of the same guns they are glorifying.   Illegal should be illegal. Why is the idea of zero tolerence with guns OK to suspend a kindergartner who uses a stick on the playground and pretends its a gun, but Hollywood gets a free pass to be exempt from actual laws?

I see ads on Craigslist all the time where someone has a tree fall, and they advertise "bring a chainsaw and a truck and you can have it for free". Someone is looking for firewood and will take it away for you.

I have a rental house, and a few weeks ago the tenants called me to remove a dead possum from the crawlspace. I found a small opening around the HVAC system which lookjed like a possible entrance for it. I put a rock in front of the hole. Today I went by and see that there is a hole dug under the HVAC right next to my rock. So, something is getting in.   I don't want to permanently seal the hole and trap the critters in. I'll just be pulling more dead animals out of the crawlspace later. I'd like them to move out first.   I was thinking of putting something like Coyote urine in the space and then coming back a week or so later. Does that sound like a good plan? If so where can something like that be obtained (I know the jokes are coming so let me clarify: from a retail store).   Or, is there a better idea out there? 

Frozenhead State Park has several nice trails. The Tubs Springs camp site is about three miles hike, and is right next to a very nice water source.. The site is huge and could easily hold a boyscout troop. If you group is going to be about three tents or so, the Rockhouse right next to Tubs springs is another excellent spot, one of my favorites. You camp under a rock ledge. I've been there in a torrential rain, and been nice and dry with a fire. Both sites have excellent fire pits (Rockhouse is the best) and some Eagle Scout did a project to set up tables at each of the sites. THis hike will take about three hours.   Also nearby to that is Alley Ford. Go to the Ranger Station in Wartburg and get a map. Find Nemo Bridge, and park at the campground right on the other side of the bridge. Start there and hike up the Cumberland trail to Alley Ford. It's a very nice beachy area right on the Obed River. Bring a fishing pole along. There is a bunch of places to set up a tent, and several sites if you keep heading up the river. The trail to the campsite veers off from the main trail for about 100 yards. It's marked, you just need to be looking for the sign (you can't miss it actually). You could probably hike this in two hours at a leisurely pace.   Both trips are legal to carry on, however, the Alley Ford hike borders the Catoosa Wildlife Management area. Certain times of year you are not even allowed to hike the part of the trail that crosses into it due to a Wildlife Rest period, and I'm not certain of the carry rules in Catoosa. The trail all the way to the campsite is on Obed Wild and Scenic property, so if you don't venture too far past the campground you'll be OK.

If you go here: www.optoutprescreen.com you can opt out of all this junk. You can do it online, and it will last 5 years, or send them a letter and it will last forever. Go to the opt out page and select everything.

I've watched the State of the Union address nearly every year for as long as I can remember. I don't think I can stomach it this year. Probably going to sit it out and get caught up on "Justified".

You can't fix stupid!

Maybe it's just me, but I believe that taxes for EVERY American should be easy enough for a middle schooler to understand, be no more than two pages long, but preferably only one page, and take less than 15 minutes to complete. And if the government wants us to pay the taxes, they should make the software freely available to ALL taxpayers and we shouldn't have to PAY to file. I don't understand why the free online version is available only for the taxpayers that have the easiest forms. The reality of the free online version, is that it is pretty simple to do those taxes with a basic 1040 form where you transfer the info from your W2 and sign the bottom.   I don't know how or why it got so complicated to do taxes.   /rant

We started buying rental property a few years ago and I thought taxes would be difficult so I went to H & R, thinking they knew what they were doing. They charged me about three hundred bucks for everything. Later that year I bought a book ontax deductions for landlords and chapter one was on depreciation of basis. H&R completely forgot to do this on my taxes. I called them on it and they made it right. I went with them again the nex year and made sure they did it right, but realized I was telling them how to do their job. Last year I saw that turbo tax has an online edition for landlords so I tried it and it wss very easy. And it was only $80. I plan to use it again this year.

Wasn't there a young boy present with him at the signing of Obamacare too?   Think about that. It was a historic moment, and he knew that a picture would capture it and be displayed in history books, the media and the internet FOREVER. No matter what people say about him in the future, he will always look like a benevolent, caring leader

So Al not only sells his company to the mouthpiece of our enemies, but they are also backed by Big Oil, which Al has always been ethically opposed to. I also heard that he successfully pushed to close the deal in time to avoid the hike in the capital gains tax imposed by Obama Care, even though he is on record of saying that the wealthy need to pay their fair share.   There is also a rumor that Glen Beck offered to purchase it, and Gore wouldn't even entertain the idea. I guess he likes terrorists better than conservatives.   Al Gore is a disgusting hypocrite.

The Ocoee does not run this time of year, but Blue Ridge is a nice area.

Well, maybe they ought to stop selling footballs out of respect for Jovan Belcher's girlfriends family after he killed her. I'm sure someone must have gotten bludgeoned with a baseball bat or a golf club this year, maybe they should not sell those either.    It's stupid really. Someone is going to purchase those guns, it's not like they stopped anything. They just ended up making a former customer really angry. If they really wanted to show they had conviction, they would refund the money and have the rifles destroyed.

We went yesterday at about 4:00 PM and were able to walk right up to the ticket booth. It was pretty crowded at first, but started thinning out quickly.   I saw very little in the way of "Evil Black Rifles". There were only a few AR style rifles, and they were all int he $1800-$2400 range. I think I saw one AK, and it was an overpriced pistol variant.   It looked like it would be a good show if you are looking for a handgun, hunting rifle, or reloading supplies, but if you are looking for AR parts, forget it.

There is a cigar shop over near West Town Mall called Smokey's that has a back room for folks with a membership. I know someone from work who is a member, and he says they have a nice lounge with beer and big screens playing whatever sports channel you want. I don't know the cost of the membership. I've been in the store part and it is quite nice.   I think there is a similar store in Farragut too.

I started smoking the occasional cigar a few years ago, but discovered that I like the taste and smell of a pipe a whole lot more. Plus, my wife would run for the hills when I had a cigar, but she actually enjoys the smell of my pipe. So, now I smoke a cigar every once in a while, but smoke the pipe several times a week.

Don't know where it is, but I saw the YouTube clip of Obama mentioning the White House online petition for enacting gun ban legislation. I guess they like them when they lean their way.