Quotes From Two of Illinois' Finest

"If there is anything that a man can do and do well,

I say let him do it. Give him a chance."

-- Abraham Lincoln



"Nearly all the best things that came to me in life

have been unexpected, unplanned by me."

-- Carl Sandburg

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Simple, Elegant Solution To Commitment Problem

Forbes Magazine periodically runs a column called "Why Not?" that is written by two Yale professors. They try to offer innovative solutions to problems.

Recently, their column tackled the "commitment" problem that affects college admissions, and, coincidently, online dating.

Basically, college admission staff have no way of knowing which students, if they select for admission, will actually accept. What happens is that most students who apply don't get offered admission but, of those who do, many do not enroll.

So, at second tier Ivy schools like Tufts, they have to try and decide which students are good enough, but not good enough to get into first choice schools like Harvard or Yale, for example.

In online dating, women have a similar problem in that they get bombarded by men, but don't know which ones are serious. Two professors advised Cupid.com to give each man two roses a month. This way, if a woman recieves an E-rose, they know the man is serious.

So, the column proposes a "rose" type system for college admissions. Applicants would get 1 or 2 "roses" that they could give to schools, so the schools would know that they are serious.

A student applying to Harvard, Amherst, and Tufts probably would not use the rose on Harvard, because everbody knows that most people would accept an offer to Harvard, but they could use it to show a preference for Tufts, for example.

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A UK Immigration Experiment

Forbes Magazine had an article recently about how, in 2004, the UK extended an invitation for workers from Poland, the Czech Republic, and 6 other Eastern European countries that are junior members of the European Union.

This is in contrast to full EU countries, such as France and Germany, who banned the workers until their countries get full status.

The result, according to the article, is that, after several years, the benefits have far outweighted any problems.

98% of the immigrants are working, 80% are under 35, and they can't receive any welfare benefits util they have worked at least a year.

500,000 workers came in (another 500,000 have come in to start businesses or be self-employed). The article said that this is a large influx for a nation of 60 million.

The U.S., with a population of 300 million, allowed only 560,000 legal immigrants during the same period. At the rate the UK allowed them in, it would be as if the U.S. gave out 9 times as many green cards.

To put it in more perspective, Ireland, with a population of only 4 million, allowed in 200,000 workers.

An IMF economist who studied this migration says that this influx is not responsible for any job losses. There was some downward pressure on wages, but they felt it was temporary, and consumers benefited.

The article went on to highlight some success stories, such as a specialty fiberglass manufacturer in Leicester, whose business was able to grow. Previously, it was constrained by a shortage of trained machinists.

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Acccelerated Depreciation

The June 4, 2007 edition of Forbes magazine contained its annual Investment Guide. One of the articles concerned accelerated depreciation for people who rent property.

A lot of real estate investors claim the simpler straight-line depreciation, where they deduct the initial value of a residential rental property i equal amounts over 27.5 years.

But, an alternative that can save you money is to claim depereciation using the more complex, accelerated way. Here, you break your property into components and group them according to life span. Then, you can write off some things for 15, 7, or even 5 years.

Typically 5 years is for things like appliances. Furniture can be depreciated over 7 years, and a 15 year schedule may apply to driveways, fencing, and shrubs.

Forbes recommended that accelerated depreciation is something to think about because there is a lot of software and websites (such as Depreciate'em).

There are some caveats, of course:

1. Some accountants don't feel it is worth the hassle for small landlords, both because of a greater chance for an audit, and the fact that many small landlords don't report taxable profits.

2. Accelerated depreciation only defers, not eliminates tax.

3. Forbes said that, if you sell the house at a profit, straight-line depreciation gets recaptured and taxed at 25%, but acelerated depreciation is recaptured as ordinary income and taxed at up to 35%.

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Where is Your Stone?

The Oneness newsletter I mentioned in my last post also had an article about a reader who wrote in to say that she carries a small stone in her pocket at all times:

"I carry a stone in my pocket to remind myself to maintain mindfulness and compassion. I liken suffering to stones that we are under the weight of, and how sometimes we try to get rid of our stones by casting them at others. However, thrown stones rather than relieving suffering only multiply and create more suffering.

When stones are thrown at us, if we can avoid throwing stones back and instead, deal with the situation compassionately, this can help others learn to put their stones down."

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Speed Golf

I have a subscription to "Oneness", which is the free newsletter of Bright Dawn: Institute for American Buddhism.

The first article in the latest edition concerned speed golf. This is where, after you hit the ball, you run to the ball instead of sauntering down the fairway or riding in a cart.

The player said that, even though you move quickly, there is no feeling of being rushed. In fact, he said that there is a smooth meditative flow.

The important thing is that, in conventional golf, you watch the ball after you hit the ball, and you have a lot of thoughts, either good or bad.

With speed golf, you hit the ball and, whether it was a good or bad shot, you just go!
You start moving and just go to where the ball is going.

The shot is what it is, and the ball is going where it is going. The ball has been hit and no amount of worrying or complaining will change it. This is so.

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105 Balloons, A Lawnchair, and A Dream...

BEND, Ore. - Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky.

Nearly nine hours later, the 47-year-old gas station owner came back to earth in a farmer's field near Union, short of Idaho but about 193 miles from home.

"When you're a little kid and you're holding a helium balloon, it has to cross your mind," Couch told the Bend Bulletin.

"When you're laying in the grass on a summer day, and you see the clouds, you wish you could jump on them," he said. "This is as close as you can come to jumping on them. It's just like that."

Couch is the latest American to emulate Larry Walters — who in 1982 rose three miles above Los Angeles in a lawn chair lifted by balloons. Walters had surprised an airline pilot, who radioed the control tower that he had just passed a guy in a lawn chair. Walters paid a $1,500 penalty for violating air traffic rules.

It was Couch's second flight.

In September, he got off the ground for six hours. Like Walters, he used a BB gun to pop the balloons, but he went into a rapid descent and eventually parachuted to safety.

This time, he was better prepared. The balloons had a new configuration, so it was easier to reach up and release a bit of helium instead of simply cutting off a balloon.

He took off at 6:06 a.m. Saturday after kissing his wife, Susan, goodbye and petting his Chihuahua, Isabella. As he made about 25 miles an hour, a three-car caravan filled with friends, family and the dog followed him from below.

Couch said he could hear cattle and children and even passed through clouds.

"It was beautiful — beautiful," he told KTVZ-TV. He described the flight as mostly peaceful and serene, with occasional turbulence, like a hot-air balloon ride sitting down.

Couch decided to stop when he was down to a gallon of water and just eight pounds of ballast. Concerned about the rugged terrain outside La Grande, including Hells Canyon, he decided it was time to land.

He popped enough balloons to set the craft down, although he suffered rope burns. But after he jumped out, the wind grabbed his chair, with his video recorder, and the remaining balloons and swept them away. He's hoping to get them back some day.

Brandon Wilcox, owner of Professional Air, which charters and maintains planes at the Bend airport, said Thursday that Couch definitely did it. Wilcox said he flew a plane nearby while Couch traveled and took photos of the flying lawn chair.

Whether Couch will take a third trip is up to his wife, and Susan Couch said she's thinking about saying no. But she said she was willing to go along with last weekend's trip.

"I know he'd be thinking about it more and more, it would always be on his mind," she said. "This way, at least he's fulfilled his dream."

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