Exercise in Futility

This evening, after my second consecutive weekend road trip to Connecticut, I filled out my "FAIR" rebate application. I was hoping to get a little of the tax relief Governor Corzine promised during his campaign. Sure would be nice to get a few hundred dollars back from the property tax relief fund.

The state provides a nice, online form with which to submit an application. It walks through all of the values required, and generates a receipt at the end. It even reminds the user to either save or print the receipt, as it is the only record that an application has been submitted.

Unfortunately, I probably won't get the rebate. You see, I worked really hard last year to generate enough cash flow to pay my bills, feed my kids, and fund my copious tax liabilities. In fact, I worked about 17% overtime, and that put me into the realm of the ineligible "rich" by a couple hundred bucks. Had I only worked 16% - 20 hours less - then I would be eligible to receive the rebate.

Really "FAIR" system, isn't it? Thanks, Governor!

Tags: New Jersey, Taxes

OAR Northwest Update

It looks like the boys from OAR Northwest, in their quest to row across the Atlantic Ocean, have been getting a bit too much sun. In their latest Team Blog posts, they have given themselves superhero names. Not That There's Anything Wrong With That, of course.
Oh well, at least they are still kicking limey butt, as is appropriate on this beautiful Independence Day. Keep on strokin', guys!
Send them some 4th-of-July love, via Iridium.com, number 881641426086.

Tags: Shepherd Ocean Fours, Rowing

Ocean Fours Race Update

As of 4:14 PM (Greenwich Mean Time), the American team in James Robert Hanssen has made the transition out of the Gulf Stream. They've got 1,820 nautical miles left to go, and have opened up a 70 nautical mile lead on the next closest team, Yorkshire Warrior.

If you stop by the race tracking page, you'll see that the organizers have a bit different number. They are apparently just subtracing distance travelled from the straight-line distance between New York and Falmouth. Unfortunately, that doesn't work so well when you are following the surface of a spherical planet. By their measure, the team from OAR Northwest would have a lead of nearly 250 miles.


Tags: Shepherd Ocean Fours, Rowing