Death and Taxes?

Maybe we've always been misreading that quote....

I'm beginning to think that it meant that if you kept doing your own taxes it will cause death by slowly confusing the blood flowing through one's veins causing it to flow only to one big toe and the left buttock. All of a sudden the brain is getting nothing...that is what I think is happening. Of course, its another case of our society setting up go-betweens and the government being all for it because its gets a crapload of accountants rich. It has to be a full-time job to actually know and keep up with the tax code. The government and their gaggle of tax cronies should be utterly ashamed...and I know that many will only laugh at me. However, in my mind, anyone in America, no matter what level of education, should be able to sit down and figure out their taxes. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying taxes, I just think it's ridiculous how difficult it is to figure out what amount I'm supposed to put on line 48 after filling out forms 6790, 8320, 2558, and multiplying the several of those by .26. Ah, the smell of bureaucracy stoking the fire with money while its trying to make money.

Excuse me while I go massage my big toe and left buttock in hopes of squeezing some of that blood back up into my brain.

Why aren't the primaries secondary?

I'm already tired of the exhaustive coverage on the race to the presidential primary elections in 2008. I grasp the significance of the fact that the country has not had a situation like this since the 20's but I can't help but feel like a used entity for the media circus that has begun and will, most certainly, get worse. I think it is a great opportunity for the country to move into a new direction and begin to repair America's reputation but I just don't care to have the back and forth negative banter this early in the election cycle. Then, to think of all the money that will be spent on ads, dinners, events, and hookers, it just makes me sick. Also, all of the resources wasted on little pieces of crap with logos and slogans makes me wish some grand perspective could be injected into the situation. No, instead, every outlet will be clamoring to find the new piece of dirt and the cycle will continue.

Too bad that money couldn't be used to educate the children of this country to see the importance of government rather than the mud-slinging they will have pushed in their face.


On a lighter note.....why is it when you go to a grocery store, pay with a credit card, press the button that says credit, do the cashiers ask you if it's debit or credit?.....I mean why did I push the button in the first place? In my mind I clearly stated, with my finger actively pressing the credit button, that the question would be unnecessary. I think the button should be removed from the keypad....of course, that is only my opinion.

Druid City

I've been wondering for a few weeks now, why there are so many businesses in Tuscaloosa that have the word Druid in their name?....then, as I was pondering this, other people were calling Tuscaloosa, Druid City. After trying to imagine what may be the source of such a cool nickname I remembered to look it up. Though slightly disappointing (to me, anyway. I guess I conjured some scene out in the woods of these cloaked beings congregating for some mystical reasons.....after reading that back to myself, it just sounds like I'm describing a bunch of KKK wackos getting together) the story behind the name is that in the late 1800's, the people in charge of Tuscaloosa planted oak trees along the downtown streets. Tuscaloosa became known as Oak City and/or Druid City because the Druids worshipped oaks. Now that I think about it, I guess it's a pretty good reason for a pretty cool name.
Many of those trees have gone by the wayside just as much of downtown Tuscaloosa. It's sad, really, Tuscaloosa went the way of so many cities where the downtown area was totally neglected. Today it is full of vacant, slightly vacant, and probably should be vacant buildings. Interestingly though, there is a complete revitalization effort that seems to be in its infant stages. I hope to see this turn out to be a project that completely transforms the area into a vibrant downtown. Not many people in Tuscaloosa have grasped the enjoyment of a multi-dimensional downtown (that's a post for another day), but there seem to be enough that have and are working towards some type of effective downtown. Several blocks have already been demolished and more are scheduled for demolition. Don't worry, none of the demolished buildings were architecturally stimulating....most were the bland 60's style. Hopefully, I'll be able to report many new wonderful places opening in the next few years. Sadly, all I can report now is that my favorite bakery closed. It was an incredible German bakery that was a highlight of moving into town...people were always coming in....I felt real sadness when I walked to the door and the sign said "All fixtures for sale".
That certainly turned into a rambling episode.

Cars, Vegetables, and Tips

You know, there are crazy drivers everywhere. However, it seems like there are always local aspects of what laws or recommendations are ignored. In Alabama it appears that most of the cars are not equipped with blinkers. It's amazing, but I'm pretty sure that most cars don't even have them. They're like the stock cars of NASCAR, where they paint headlights on the race cars but they don't actually have headlights. I'm convinced it's the same with blinkers here.

The other thing I've noticed is that people here seem to hate vegetables....what do I mean by this? Well, in most restaurants it seems like no one has met a vegetable that can't be boiled to death. It must be a mission to boil all taste out of these wretched greens. Maybe they're just all British descendants.

While I'm bitching about things.....customer service in America has gone done the drain. I know this may not be a surprise to most of you but I feel like I've experienced a new low. I expect credit cards, banks, and telephone companies to tell me that they can't help me, it's my problem and to just put a sock in my own mouth and deal with it. However, it seems to me that in Alabama small businesses and restaurants haven't gotten the manual on how to impress their customers....maybe I'm just being absurd but why is every request met with a reaction like I had asked "Excuse me, could you run over to the next town, milk a cow, churn some butter and come back and spread it on my whole wheat muffin?"

It's not really that bad if I get to hike around through scenes like this: