Sunday, January 6, 2013
2013 Tax Tips
Basically, my dad use to say have a baby or buy a house....lol! A baby gets you the thousand dollar child tax credit, earned income credit if they make less then 40k and have a good social security number as opposed to an itin and a house gets you deductions higher then your standard deduction from the mortgage and property taxes, along with other itemized deductions, such as charities and work related expenses. But how else can I get more mula in my tax refund?
For one, you can take some classes in a higher education institution and report it in your taxes for the hope credit. You can start a small business and write off your losses to lower your tax as a loss as long as you made $1 dollar profit. Or you can have your payroll deductions hold more money for you by opening a 401-k and saving money and get more refund! This is the smartest way of saving, as long as your employer offers it. Or just claim single 0 dependents on w4 form for highest tax rate. You will be guaranteed a refund. There's a fine line between cheating on your taxes and doing things right, don't cheat!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The China Tiger
Photographs supposedly showing a rare South China tiger in the wild have sparked a controversy that at times has bordered on the farcical.
The saga has involved Chinese wildlife experts, government officials, internet users and an influential US magazine.
They have all been drawn into a row over whether the sub-species of tiger still exists in the wilds of China's Shaanxi province.
To resolve the debate, the Chinese government has now dispatched a team of experts to search for more evidence.
The drama began in October when Chinese farmer Zhou Zhenglong supposedly snapped the tiger in the forested mountains of Zhenping County.
According to state news reports, Mr Zhou took 71 photographs on two cameras, one digital, the other using film.
'Fake' photograph displayed on China Daily website
Only one shot was publicly released, but it was immediately hailed as proof that the South China Tiger is not extinct in the wild.
That claim was given credence when the US magazine Science published the photograph and an accompanying article about the row.
Other media organisations, including the BBC, also reported the story.
But critics were almost as quick off the mark, suggesting the photograph had been digitally altered and was a fake.
It did not help matters that farmer Zhou, a former hunter, was reported to be asking for 500,000 yuan ($68,000, £33,000) for the photographs.
'Flourescent' fur
Debate raged over the internet as both experts and laymen pointed out flaws in the photograph, which shows a tiger crouched in green undergrowth.
The more knowledgeable talked about how tigers are solitary, vigilant animals that are notoriously difficult to spot, let along photograph, in the wild.
Others could not believe the tiger's fluorescent-looking fur belonged to a real animal.
Whether the tiger on the photo is real or not, it's still difficult to evaluate the situation of the tigers at large in the area
Cao QingyaoState Forestry Administration
One internet user even posted a picture on the web showing the similarities between the Shaanxi tiger and one on a New Year calendar that hung in his home.
The debate seemed to be resolved when the China Photographers Society joined the growing band of doubters and declared the picture fake.
But some Chinese government officials are still clinging to the possibility that the photographs are real.
At a press conference, State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao said an investigation had been launched to settle the matter.
A 10-strong team will scour an area covering 200,000 hectares searching for black bears, leopards and, of course, the South China Tiger.
Mr Cao said he was keeping an open mind about what they would find, according to state media.
"Whether the tiger on the photo is real or not, it's still difficult to evaluate the situation of the tigers at large in the area," he said.
Mythical creature?
The last wild South China tiger sighting in the country was recorded in 1964, and if they do still exist in the wild experts say their numbers do not exceed 30.
There are only about 60 in captivity, including one born in a wildlife reserve in South Africa last month - the first to be born outside China.
But the tiger debate has now become more than just a row about the survival of one of the world's most endangered animals.
It has become a discussion about conserving China's wildlife in the face of rampant economic development, and about telling the truth.
For some, it also appears to be about creating a myth.
One Shaanxi forestry official recently mentioned the tiger in the same breath as Scotland's Loch Ness Monster.
The saga has involved Chinese wildlife experts, government officials, internet users and an influential US magazine.
They have all been drawn into a row over whether the sub-species of tiger still exists in the wilds of China's Shaanxi province.
To resolve the debate, the Chinese government has now dispatched a team of experts to search for more evidence.
The drama began in October when Chinese farmer Zhou Zhenglong supposedly snapped the tiger in the forested mountains of Zhenping County.
According to state news reports, Mr Zhou took 71 photographs on two cameras, one digital, the other using film.
'Fake' photograph displayed on China Daily website
Only one shot was publicly released, but it was immediately hailed as proof that the South China Tiger is not extinct in the wild.
That claim was given credence when the US magazine Science published the photograph and an accompanying article about the row.
Other media organisations, including the BBC, also reported the story.
But critics were almost as quick off the mark, suggesting the photograph had been digitally altered and was a fake.
It did not help matters that farmer Zhou, a former hunter, was reported to be asking for 500,000 yuan ($68,000, £33,000) for the photographs.
'Flourescent' fur
Debate raged over the internet as both experts and laymen pointed out flaws in the photograph, which shows a tiger crouched in green undergrowth.
The more knowledgeable talked about how tigers are solitary, vigilant animals that are notoriously difficult to spot, let along photograph, in the wild.
Others could not believe the tiger's fluorescent-looking fur belonged to a real animal.
Whether the tiger on the photo is real or not, it's still difficult to evaluate the situation of the tigers at large in the area
Cao QingyaoState Forestry Administration
One internet user even posted a picture on the web showing the similarities between the Shaanxi tiger and one on a New Year calendar that hung in his home.
The debate seemed to be resolved when the China Photographers Society joined the growing band of doubters and declared the picture fake.
But some Chinese government officials are still clinging to the possibility that the photographs are real.
At a press conference, State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao said an investigation had been launched to settle the matter.
A 10-strong team will scour an area covering 200,000 hectares searching for black bears, leopards and, of course, the South China Tiger.
Mr Cao said he was keeping an open mind about what they would find, according to state media.
"Whether the tiger on the photo is real or not, it's still difficult to evaluate the situation of the tigers at large in the area," he said.
Mythical creature?
The last wild South China tiger sighting in the country was recorded in 1964, and if they do still exist in the wild experts say their numbers do not exceed 30.
There are only about 60 in captivity, including one born in a wildlife reserve in South Africa last month - the first to be born outside China.
But the tiger debate has now become more than just a row about the survival of one of the world's most endangered animals.
It has become a discussion about conserving China's wildlife in the face of rampant economic development, and about telling the truth.
For some, it also appears to be about creating a myth.
One Shaanxi forestry official recently mentioned the tiger in the same breath as Scotland's Loch Ness Monster.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Beowulf Story
These pages present some of work done by Beowulf translators and scholars. I am a Beowulf hobbyist (how nerdy can you get!) and not an expert on Anglo-Saxon literature or translation. The only contribution I am making to Beowulf scholarship is to bring other people's work together into one place. These pages are not meant for scholars, they are for people who are just starting to learn about Beowulf.
The Thorkelin translation of Beowulf was into Latin, the 1820 Grundtvig translation was into Danish, and the 1826 Conybeare translation was only of parts of the poem. The first complete English language translation of Beowulf was published by J. M. Kemble in 1837 (although his first partial translations were published in 1833 and 1835).
There have been many translations of Beowulf into German (which is not surprising, given that Anglo-Saxon is a Germanic language -- there were, at one time in the 19th century, more German translations than English ones), as well as translations into Danish, Swedish, Italian, French, and other languages (the best list of early translations might be that of Chauncey Brewster Tinker). I cannot read any of those languages, and so I have not acquired any versions in languages other than English, but I would like to own some of them -- particularly those from the 19th century -- so that I have a more complete collection, and so that I can see what sort of illustrations might have been included in them. As I acquire them in the coming years, I will add references to them to these pages. Acquiring translations in other languages should allow me to push my collection to over 100 different versions of Beowulf, plus several dozen books of commentary and analysis.
Many of my own comments on these pages have been strongly influenced by the book Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript (1996 revised edition), by Kevin Kiernan. Professor Kiernan is described by the British Library as "the world's leading authority on the history of the Beowulf manuscript." He has also won the Beatrice White Prize, which is awarded for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English Literature before 1590. His reports on the results of his research with the physical manuscript, and his conclusions about the authorship and dating of the poem, are very compelling.
I have read a fair amount of analysis and commentary on Beowulf and I am finding that the more I read, the more I think that I shouldn't try to present summaries of those analyses on these pages. When I first started reading the notes in the front of the various translations I had the feeling that I had a pretty good handle on the origins, dating and significance of the story, and when I first set up these web pages I wrote with confidence that Beowulf was composed by a single person in the eighth century and written down by two scribes (who made many mistakes) in the early eleventh century. I have found however that the more I read about these things, the less confident I feel that there is any consensus at all about the authorship and dating of the story.
I try to keep in mind however the reasons why I like this story, and the reasons why I wanted to set up these pages in the first place. It is an exciting story, and it is interesting to read the various translations, and I try not to get too caught up in the academic discourse. I suspect that if I were studying Beowulf as an undergraduate student that I would not have the luxury of enjoying the story without the analysis. I know that many of the hits I get on these pages are from students who are beginning to study Beowulf for the first time. I hope that you are fortunate enough to have an instructor who makes the story seem interesting and well worth reading, rather than making it seem like just another boring old book.
You might find that prose translations like the ones by Constance B. Hieatt and David Wright are a little more accessible at first because they are written in a modern style, and you might want to choose one of those versions for your first reading in order to learn the details of the story without having to acclimatize yourself to the possibly unfamiliar rhythm of the style of the Old English version. I hope you find however that the alliterative translations are much richer and more enjoyable to read, and that you will take the time to read the story a second, or even a third, time.
Note that with the Howell D. Chickering Jr. version I tried to use all of the proper Old English letters and I think I have typed them all correctly (it is difficult to proof-read a language you do not understand) except for the lowercase æ diaeresis/umlaut character (æ with a line over it), which does not seem to be available in the usual 8-bit character codes used in HTML (although I am sure it is available in the 16-bit Unicode character set). I have used "æ" (without a line over it) instead, which means that the reader of the pages on this site will not know when the æ is supposed to have a line over it and when it is not. In addition, it is not clear to me which HTML characters I am supposed to use to get a letter with a straight line over it. In HTML we have, for instance, â (â - a with diaeresis) and ä (ä - a with circumflex), but neither of these has a straight line over it. Likewise for e, i, o, u and y. I have used the diaeresis but I am going to have to look into this further.
The original Old English version of the story is included in about a dozen different books. There is an indicator in the book comparison table as to whether each book has the Old English text, a modern English translation, both, or neither. The various Old English editions do not always agree precisely on how to spell the Old English words in the story, and you will see, when examining the various images of the manuscript on this site, that the letters which actually appear in the manuscript do not always match the letters in the Old English printing of the text in books. It seems that modern printing of the Old English text is done to allow modern readers to pronounce the words properly, rather than to precisely emulate the manuscript.
I have noticed that I am getting a lot of hits on these pages by people searching for "Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel." I think that that translation is one of the least interesting of the ones I have read. I suppose it is popular because it is available in an inexpensive paperback and the language is reasonably straightforward. I hope that some of you will make a bit of an effort and try one of the more interesting translations such as those by Frederick Rebsamen, Tim Romano, Ruth P. M. Lehmann, Benjamin Thorpe, Lesslie Hall, Seamus Heaney, Edwin Morgan and Francis B. Gummere.
The Thorkelin translation of Beowulf was into Latin, the 1820 Grundtvig translation was into Danish, and the 1826 Conybeare translation was only of parts of the poem. The first complete English language translation of Beowulf was published by J. M. Kemble in 1837 (although his first partial translations were published in 1833 and 1835).
There have been many translations of Beowulf into German (which is not surprising, given that Anglo-Saxon is a Germanic language -- there were, at one time in the 19th century, more German translations than English ones), as well as translations into Danish, Swedish, Italian, French, and other languages (the best list of early translations might be that of Chauncey Brewster Tinker). I cannot read any of those languages, and so I have not acquired any versions in languages other than English, but I would like to own some of them -- particularly those from the 19th century -- so that I have a more complete collection, and so that I can see what sort of illustrations might have been included in them. As I acquire them in the coming years, I will add references to them to these pages. Acquiring translations in other languages should allow me to push my collection to over 100 different versions of Beowulf, plus several dozen books of commentary and analysis.
Many of my own comments on these pages have been strongly influenced by the book Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript (1996 revised edition), by Kevin Kiernan. Professor Kiernan is described by the British Library as "the world's leading authority on the history of the Beowulf manuscript." He has also won the Beatrice White Prize, which is awarded for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English Literature before 1590. His reports on the results of his research with the physical manuscript, and his conclusions about the authorship and dating of the poem, are very compelling.
I have read a fair amount of analysis and commentary on Beowulf and I am finding that the more I read, the more I think that I shouldn't try to present summaries of those analyses on these pages. When I first started reading the notes in the front of the various translations I had the feeling that I had a pretty good handle on the origins, dating and significance of the story, and when I first set up these web pages I wrote with confidence that Beowulf was composed by a single person in the eighth century and written down by two scribes (who made many mistakes) in the early eleventh century. I have found however that the more I read about these things, the less confident I feel that there is any consensus at all about the authorship and dating of the story.
I try to keep in mind however the reasons why I like this story, and the reasons why I wanted to set up these pages in the first place. It is an exciting story, and it is interesting to read the various translations, and I try not to get too caught up in the academic discourse. I suspect that if I were studying Beowulf as an undergraduate student that I would not have the luxury of enjoying the story without the analysis. I know that many of the hits I get on these pages are from students who are beginning to study Beowulf for the first time. I hope that you are fortunate enough to have an instructor who makes the story seem interesting and well worth reading, rather than making it seem like just another boring old book.
You might find that prose translations like the ones by Constance B. Hieatt and David Wright are a little more accessible at first because they are written in a modern style, and you might want to choose one of those versions for your first reading in order to learn the details of the story without having to acclimatize yourself to the possibly unfamiliar rhythm of the style of the Old English version. I hope you find however that the alliterative translations are much richer and more enjoyable to read, and that you will take the time to read the story a second, or even a third, time.
Note that with the Howell D. Chickering Jr. version I tried to use all of the proper Old English letters and I think I have typed them all correctly (it is difficult to proof-read a language you do not understand) except for the lowercase æ diaeresis/umlaut character (æ with a line over it), which does not seem to be available in the usual 8-bit character codes used in HTML (although I am sure it is available in the 16-bit Unicode character set). I have used "æ" (without a line over it) instead, which means that the reader of the pages on this site will not know when the æ is supposed to have a line over it and when it is not. In addition, it is not clear to me which HTML characters I am supposed to use to get a letter with a straight line over it. In HTML we have, for instance, â (â - a with diaeresis) and ä (ä - a with circumflex), but neither of these has a straight line over it. Likewise for e, i, o, u and y. I have used the diaeresis but I am going to have to look into this further.
The original Old English version of the story is included in about a dozen different books. There is an indicator in the book comparison table as to whether each book has the Old English text, a modern English translation, both, or neither. The various Old English editions do not always agree precisely on how to spell the Old English words in the story, and you will see, when examining the various images of the manuscript on this site, that the letters which actually appear in the manuscript do not always match the letters in the Old English printing of the text in books. It seems that modern printing of the Old English text is done to allow modern readers to pronounce the words properly, rather than to precisely emulate the manuscript.
I have noticed that I am getting a lot of hits on these pages by people searching for "Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel." I think that that translation is one of the least interesting of the ones I have read. I suppose it is popular because it is available in an inexpensive paperback and the language is reasonably straightforward. I hope that some of you will make a bit of an effort and try one of the more interesting translations such as those by Frederick Rebsamen, Tim Romano, Ruth P. M. Lehmann, Benjamin Thorpe, Lesslie Hall, Seamus Heaney, Edwin Morgan and Francis B. Gummere.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Macaroon Sweet Potato Bake: Your holiday Menu is Not Complete if it Doesn't Include Sweet Potatoes. Add this unique dish to the table this season.
Macaroon Sweet Potato Bake
This casserole can be made the night before and chilled. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Top with the buttered crumbled macaroons before putting in the oven. You Will Need6 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 3-1/2 pounds) 6 tablespoons plus 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted, divided1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup amaretto liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 cup chopped pecans1/4 cup orange marmalade6 macaroons, crumbledWhat to Do1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, amaretto or extract, salt and ginger; beat until smooth.2. Stir in the pecans and marmalade.3. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish.4. Toss macaroons with remaining butter; sprinkle over the top.5. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.Serves 8
This casserole can be made the night before and chilled. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Top with the buttered crumbled macaroons before putting in the oven. You Will Need6 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 3-1/2 pounds) 6 tablespoons plus 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted, divided1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup amaretto liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 cup chopped pecans1/4 cup orange marmalade6 macaroons, crumbledWhat to Do1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, amaretto or extract, salt and ginger; beat until smooth.2. Stir in the pecans and marmalade.3. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish.4. Toss macaroons with remaining butter; sprinkle over the top.5. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.Serves 8
The 2007 L.A. AUTO SHOW
2007 LA Auto Show, Audi, BMW, GMTag Links: 2007 LA Auto Show, Audi, BMW, GM
The New Audi Cross Cabriolet Concept, BMW 135i, M3 Sedan and Chevy Silverado Hybrid were today's showstoppers so far today, at the 2007 LA Auto Show!We showed you the first photos yesterday but the show did not officially open until today! Check out the photos from today so far and keep checking back as we will be adding more this afternoon and tomorrow.2007 LA Auto Show, LA Girls and Models Photo Gallery
Lincoln, MKSTag Links: Lincoln, MKS
Ford has unveiled the 2009 Lincoln MKS full-size luxury sedan at the 2007 LA Auto Show. Seen earlier this morning, we now bring you live images of the new Lincoln flagship.The 2009 Lincoln MKS is powered by Lincoln’s new 3.7 liter V6 engine that produces 270 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque. Lincoln says that the MKS offers the power and torque of a V8 while delivering a fuel-economy that of a V6.Pricing for the base 2009 Lincoln MKS starts at $37,985 while the fully loaded MKS will go for $48,120.
2007 LA Auto Show, LA Girls and Models Photo Gallery
The New Audi Cross Cabriolet Concept, BMW 135i, M3 Sedan and Chevy Silverado Hybrid were today's showstoppers so far today, at the 2007 LA Auto Show!We showed you the first photos yesterday but the show did not officially open until today! Check out the photos from today so far and keep checking back as we will be adding more this afternoon and tomorrow.2007 LA Auto Show, LA Girls and Models Photo Gallery
Lincoln, MKSTag Links: Lincoln, MKS
Ford has unveiled the 2009 Lincoln MKS full-size luxury sedan at the 2007 LA Auto Show. Seen earlier this morning, we now bring you live images of the new Lincoln flagship.The 2009 Lincoln MKS is powered by Lincoln’s new 3.7 liter V6 engine that produces 270 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque. Lincoln says that the MKS offers the power and torque of a V8 while delivering a fuel-economy that of a V6.Pricing for the base 2009 Lincoln MKS starts at $37,985 while the fully loaded MKS will go for $48,120.
2007 LA Auto Show, LA Girls and Models Photo Gallery
Matt Damon named 'sexiest man alive'
Matt Damon has been named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine, an honor that has been bestowed twice on his pals George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
The 37-year-old actor is featured on the cover of People's annual issue, on newsstands Friday. Damon, who is married to Luciana Bozan, said the honor came as a surprise.
"You gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime," he says in a letter published in the magazine. "My 9-year-old stepdaughter now thinks I'm cool — well, cooler."
Damon, who has a 1-year-old daughter, Isabella, with Bozan, says "all the campaigning" by Clooney and Pitt had finally paid off.
"Unfortunately, after all those years out on the trail, the meet and greets, the fundraisers, the stump speeches, I've finally come to terms with the fact that this is a mantle I wasn't meant to hold," he says in the letter, which was signed "Matty."
"Don't get me wrong, though. I was really shocked and happy (Lucy said I actually blushed) when I heard the news. So I can't thank you enough for that."
People's "sexiest man alive" list began in 1985 with Mel Gibson. Others on the list: Clooney (1997 and 2006), Pitt (1995 and 2000), Denzel Washington (1996) and Johnny Depp (2003).
Damon won a screenwriting Oscar with Ben Affleck in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting." Both Damon and Affleck starred in the movie.
He has also starred in "The Departed," "Syriana," the "Ocean's" franchise with Clooney and Pitt, and "The Bourne Identity" and its two sequels.
The 37-year-old actor is featured on the cover of People's annual issue, on newsstands Friday. Damon, who is married to Luciana Bozan, said the honor came as a surprise.
"You gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime," he says in a letter published in the magazine. "My 9-year-old stepdaughter now thinks I'm cool — well, cooler."
Damon, who has a 1-year-old daughter, Isabella, with Bozan, says "all the campaigning" by Clooney and Pitt had finally paid off.
"Unfortunately, after all those years out on the trail, the meet and greets, the fundraisers, the stump speeches, I've finally come to terms with the fact that this is a mantle I wasn't meant to hold," he says in the letter, which was signed "Matty."
"Don't get me wrong, though. I was really shocked and happy (Lucy said I actually blushed) when I heard the news. So I can't thank you enough for that."
People's "sexiest man alive" list began in 1985 with Mel Gibson. Others on the list: Clooney (1997 and 2006), Pitt (1995 and 2000), Denzel Washington (1996) and Johnny Depp (2003).
Damon won a screenwriting Oscar with Ben Affleck in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting." Both Damon and Affleck starred in the movie.
He has also starred in "The Departed," "Syriana," the "Ocean's" franchise with Clooney and Pitt, and "The Bourne Identity" and its two sequels.
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