JimSwift.net

Saw this license plate online (at Fail Blog, I think?).

And today, on the way to work today ( I drove!) I saw the following license plate, so I snapped a picture at a stoplight. Not nearly as cool as the first one, but Virginians do love South Park references on their license plates.

So, you may have heard we got a lot of snow in the D.C. area recently. Those reports are true. I didn’t really leave my place for much of the weekend. Metro wasn’t running that much because 8 inches accumulated (think of the third rail and you’ll get why).

Here are some pictures from my weekend. (You can click to expand them).

The view of the metro from my condo.

Mary celebrates the joy of snow! This is probably my favorite shot of the night.

On the way to get pizza from Boli’s (they were open), I snapped a pic of the metro parking lot at Huntington.

A look down snowy Huntington Avenue.

Boli’s was open, so we gave them some business. Yay for Capitalism!

7/11 was open too, so we bought some essentials — mainly alcohol.

The metro plows at work.

My car door.

My car is snowed in — and no shovel / plow from the Condo Association. My scraper? Broken helping Mary get out.

With no shovel and no plow, I grabbed my trusty 9 iron and hacked my way out. It was more effective than you might think. For fun, and the amusement of onlookers, I skied one into Cameron Run. (I obviously moved so I didn’t shank it into my or other people’s cars).

I hacked out a lot of snow, as you can see, and one blister later, I was out and about.

VIDEO BONUS: Me actually hacking away at the snow with my 9-iron.

Dear Delegate Englin and Senator Ticer,

I recently read in the Washington Examiner that some in the Virginia Assembly are considering resurrecting the full car tax. For lack of a better car analogy, this is a non-starter for me. If you vote for this, you lose my vote.

Currently, I pay about $65 annually in car taxes on my 1999 Honda Civic. Assuming that we’re using the 70% state / 30% person ratio that the County spells out on its webpage, if there were full repeal of the Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998, I would owe $216 in car taxes annually ($65=.3Y, [Y would equal $216]). If my car were in perfect condition, and it’s not, Kelly Blue Book says it’s worth about $5,705. Which means I currently pay 1.14% of my car’s value every year in taxes. If my taxes were raised to the full amount of $216, that would equal 3.78% of my car’s value annually.

Aside from the fact that I do not like having to pay taxes on my car, though I understand the point of paying for roads and such, this formula is absurd. Why, in my right mind, would I ever purchase a new car in Virginia? I don’t have the formula in front of me, but let’s say I buy a 2010 Honda Civic 2-door EX-L Coupe, which is the newest version of my car and assume the same effective rates. That car costs $21,715. Assuming it’s worth $20,000 the year I buy it, I’d be paying $228 yearly at 1.14% and $756 at 3.78%. Such a confiscatory tax discourages people from buying new cars.

Now, I realize the rate varies by your municipality, and presumably, that funds go to the county or city. When I lived in Alexandria City, my yearly car taxes were about $120 a year ($400 if I paid the 100% amount — 7% of my car’s value, every year.) That’s one reason I moved out of Alexandria and into Fairfax County. But that’s besides the point.

The Examiner article quotes Senate Finance Chairman Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, as saying “I don’t think [Senate Democrats] are going to want to take the severe cuts that we’re probably going to take, they’d rather see a tax increase of some sort.”

Wrong. Do not increase taxes. Cut spending. If you’d like some suggestions on what to cut, point me to where I can get a detailed copy of each state expenditure. I know the budget deficit is big, and I don’t know how much this tax increase would raise, but it’s ill-advised. I poked around the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget website and looked through an excel sheet entitled: Fiscal Year to Date GF Operating Expenditure Report by Agency (as of September 30, 2009). It’s merely an overview, but here’s an initial thought.

Why is there an appropriation for Jefferson Science Associates, LLC for $1.2 million? According to their webpage the group “JSA, LLC is a SURA/CSC company created specifically to manage and operate the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.” So, why does the Commonwealth of Virginia need to give them a dime? I’m sure if I could dig through each agency’s detailed expenditures, I could find more. But you get my point.

Don’t raise taxes, cut spending.

Thanks for your time.

Jim

Good for you, Judd Gregg.

I’ve decided that I am going to periodically post nonsensical spam that I receive in my gmail or bomble email account for you all to see. Come on, most of you have taken the time now and again to see the funny failures in English from spam, right? Let’s take a trip into my spam box.

(click to expand the picture.)

Ok, let’s see.

Subject: -!_FEEL BORED DURING LOVEMAKING?_!-

Well, my personal life is  none of your business. Thanks for asking. Let’s assume that another recipient on the list says, “why yes, I do feel bored.” Let’s go to the message, shall we?

Message content: “Female dogs are more liable to urinary incontinence than male dogs.”

What an interesting fact you share! I should obviously click your link your see what you want to show me because there is an obvious connection between attention during love making and dog incontinence. Seriously, WTF.

Apparently, it’s their new column, according to the NYPost.

Mangini, I am still not happy with you. But, tonight, you, Phil Dawson, the Browns Defense, and Josh Cribbs should celebrate. Brady Quinn, you didn’t blow it, but you have yet to earn my respect.

Good job.

Remember Bo Jackson? Come on, LeBron, put Bo Jackson to shame. We all know you can.

(But with football injuries, I guess I understand why you can’t)