Month: November 2006

could Washington’s kids use $300,000,000?

Bill Gates’ Business Dichotomy:

In a recent speech before the National Education Summit on High Schools, Bill Gates spoke of the dismal state of U.S. public schools. He called for action: “We’d better do something about these kids not getting an education, because it is hurting us” and ” … because it is hurting them.” He was speaking as co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where high moral purpose is combined with analytical skill to accomplish crucial work in world health and U.S. education.

As chairman of Microsoft, however, Gates is responsible for a business policy that actively harms public schools. Microsoft maintains a small office in Reno, Nev. — a state with no corporate income tax. Sixty billion dollars in licensing fees for Windows and Office software has passed through that office, and an estimated $300 million in taxes has been lost to Washington for the sale of products produced in Washington.

This is not as simple as this piece makes it look . . . .

Gates does have some responsibility to his shareholders to maximize their investment. So there is always temptation to reduce costs, like taxes. But, given the amount of cheerleading Washington does for Microsoft, claiming they’re a great asset to the state, is this right? Does this mean that the state is only collecting income taxes on local employees, while the software giant pays nothing to its home state?

why does bc(1) do this?

white:~/Documents/nanowrimo 2006 paul$ echo “50000 / 30 * `date +%d`” | bc -l
39999.99999999999999999984
white:~/Documents/nanowrimo 2006 paul$ echo “50000 / 30 * `date +%d`” | bc
39984

The -l flag would, I thought, give greater precision (not that I need it, but one of the examples I saw used it and the compared results seemed strange).


-l, –mathlib
Define the standard math library.

This is my poor man’s daily goal setter. Lucky me, I am a day ahead, according to this. I might just make 50K, after all.

links for 2006-11-24

thankfulness

Tomorrow is America’s secular holiday (perhaps they’re all secular now, but Thanksgiving started out that way, not being based on a biblical event). Even its subdued religious roots (giving thanks to whom, after all?) are buried under a mountain of food, some parades and a boring football game or two. I guess the truly secular holiday is Black Friday, but how restive or contemplative is that?

So what are your plans for it?

Ours are to do some food prep before lunch (trimming and peeling of many vegetables), then take a walk, perhaps over at Pipers Creek where salmon can reliably be seen spawning this weekend, followed by the cooking and eating for which the day is renowned.

The Menu:

Cranberry/orange sauce (the first thing I make and what starts the whole process for me: 30 years it’s been that way)
Orange/orange carrots (you people in Atlanta can get these at Agnes & Muriels)
Parsnips (baked in stock, butter, salt and pepper)
Vegetarian shepherd’s pie (tofu, onions, soy sauce, chopped walnuts, topped with a rich gravy and mashed potatoes, and baked)
Salmon — grilled, most likely
Green beans — steamed until crisp
Fresh bread — makes the meal
Pecan pie (store-bought)
Pumpkin pie (home-made)

Leave your favorite menu items in comments.

links for 2006-11-22