danger smells like clean socks

Congrats to Carolina for an awesome season. I know it's silly for semi-adultish boys to be so invested in a spot, but I've watched this team for four years now, and to watch their hard work and excellence pay off in a championship ... it's one of the few things that really move me. Especially after last year's debacle against Kansas, to see them rebound this year and dominate the tournament was a testament to their hard work and commitment.

. . .

I have figured out why the state of California is bankrupt. Some people blame the economy, others blame runaway spending, some even blame the pro-environment regulatations which cripple industries. It is none of these things.

Apparently the State Controller's office is incapable of handling numbers. For example, let's say, theoretically, I used TurboTax to file for my California state taxes. And let's say, theoretically, TurboTax says I'm owed $272 back. Responsible me, not yet ready to e-file (for various reasons) files it the old fashioned way - print off the TurboTax form and send it in via snailmail.

Well, guess what I got in the mail today? If you guessed a check from the State Controller's office, get yourself a cookie! Good job!

However, if you guessed a check from the State Controller's office in the amount of $272, YOU GET NO COOKIE! GIVE THAT COOKIE BACK! <snatch>

No, instead, somebody misread the PRINTED $272 on my return as $5,727.00. Which, if I remember my basic algebra correctly... is not the same.

Or maybe the extra $5,500 is for the trouble of having to wait a couple weeks. Thank YOU, California! What's an extra lost $5,500 when you have a deficit of $42,000,000,000? (Or maybe the state of California is assisting the Fed in trying to escape a liquidity trap with helicopter money?)