ICanSleepWhenI'mDead

I know nothing about North Carolina state income taxes, but here's how it works for federal income taxes: From https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419 _______________________________________________________________ "Gambling winnings A payer is required to issue you a Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings if you receive certain gambling winnings or have any gambling winnings subject to federal income tax withholding. You must report all gambling winnings on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR (use Schedule 1 (Form 1040)PDF), including winnings that aren't reported on a Form W-2GPDF. When you have gambling winnings, you may be required to pay an estimated tax on that additional income. For information on withholding on gambling winnings, refer to Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax. Gambling losses You may deduct gambling losses only if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040) and kept a record of your winnings and losses. The amount of losses you deduct can't be more than the amount of gambling income you reported on your return. Claim your gambling losses up to the amount of winnings, as "Other Itemized Deductions." * * * * * Recordkeeping To deduct your losses, you must keep an accurate diary or similar record of your gambling winnings and losses and be able to provide receipts, tickets, statements, or other records that show the amount of both your winnings and losses. Refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions for more information." ________________________________________________________________ So if your "guy" doesn't itemize deductions, he will definitely have to pay federal income taxes on his gross winnings, not just his net outcome. If he itemizes deductions, he might only have to pay federal income taxes on his net winnings, but even that requires record keeping that most folks probably don't bother with.

Controlled energy release from nuclear fusion - - people just don't realize it yet: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4374325-scientists-repeat-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-three-times/

What ever happened to second world countries anyway? All I ever hear about is the 1st and 3rd ones.

<< when we DO go down we have fun >> Doesn't everybody?

My favorite condensed formation is cumulonimbus, but lenticular (which sometimes gets reported as a UFO) is a close second.

The Cheatriots will probably draft a QB - - they have diva receivers that may want their coaches to find out if Penix has a big head.

I have an actual update ! ! ! Interesting article about potential NASA plans for a new roughly $11 billion telescope that would be parked in orbit near the existing James Webb space telescope more than a decade from now but have superior capabilities: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-planned-nasa-telescope-may-help-us-identify-worlds-like-our-own-180983601/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us Like all articles dealing with the search for extraterrestrial life, it makes some speculative assumptions, but at least it identifies them as such.

Pee on Tom Brady's grave.

Saddest song I ever heard, and tells a very sad truth - - You can't make someone love you if they don't: Turn down the lights Turn down the bed Turn down these voices inside my head Lay down with me Tell me no lies Just hold me close, don't patronize Don't patronize me 'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't You can't make your heart feel something it won't Here in the dark, in these final hours I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power But you won't, no you won't 'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't I'll close my eyes, then I won't see The love you don't feel when you're holding me Morning will come and I'll do what's right Just give me till then to give up this fight And I will give up this fight 'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't You can't make your heart feel something it won't Here in the dark, in these final hours I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power But you won't, no you won't 'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't _____________________________________________________________ Similar theme, but not performed in such a heart-wrenching way, and less powerful lyrics: [Verse 1] Girl when I look at you, you look through me Like I'm not even there I try not to give up, to be strong but I'm afraid to say I'm scared I can't find the place, your heart is hidin' I'm no quitter but I'm tired of fightin' [Chorus] Baby I love you, don't want to lose you Don't make me let you go Took such a long time, for me to find you Don't make me let you go Baby I'm beggin' please And I'm down here on my knees I... don't want to have to set you free Don't make me [Verse 2] What if when I'm long gone, it dawns on you You just might want me back Let me make myself clear, if I leave here It's done; I'm gone, that's that You carry my love around Like it's a heavy burden Well I'm about to take it back Are you sure it's worth it [Chorus] Baby I love you, don't want to lose you Don't make me let you go Took such a long time, for me to find you Don't make me let you go Baby I'm beggin' please And I'm down here on my knees I... don't want to have to set you free Don't make me Don't make me (Don't make me) [Bridge] Baby I'm beggin' please And I'm down here on my knees I... don't want to have to set you free Don't make me [Outro] (Baby I love you Don't want to lose you Don't make me let you go) Don't make me Stop lovin' you (Don't make me) Stop needin' you

At first I wasn't convinced, but then you supported your assertion by writing "period," so you must be right, because if there was actually any doubt, you would have been required to write "semicolon" and consider other possibilities (or at least write "comma"). Think much?

As George Carlin famously said: "Think about how stupid the average person is. Half of us are even dumber than that." Technically he should have mentioned the "mean" rather than the "average," but that wouldn't be as funny.

58 years ago this week:

If you're convinced that astronomers would certainly be able to see a dangerous asteroid long before it could hit earth, you might want to read this: https://www.popsci.com/science/asteroid-nt1-earth-planetary-defense/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us An excerpt: "In the summer, astronomers spotted an airplane-sized asteroid—large enough to potentially destroy a city—on an almost-collision course with Earth. But no one saw the space rock until two days after it had zoomed past our planet. This asteroid, named 2023 NT1, passed by us at only one-fourth of the distance from Earth to the moon." * * * It turns out that Earth has what Brin Bailey, UC Santa Barbara astronomer and lead author on the paper, calls a “blindspot.” Any asteroid coming from the direction of the sun gets lost in the glare of our nearest star.”

We're looking for aliens - - what if (assuming they exist, which is highly doubtful), they're looking too? Interesting perspective on what they could see if they had technology similar to current earth technology: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231024-how-aliens-might-detect-our-existence-on-earth

For many years, I had a job out west with frequent last-minute schedule changes, so it was hard to plan vacation travel. The one exception was the week between Christmas and New Year's when I knew I could get away. Used that week to try out new places, usually with my significant other: Snowbird, Breckenridge, Park City, Taos, Northstar, Whistler, Angel Fire, Heavenly Valley, Squaw Valley, Vail, Lake Louise, Sun Valley, Mammoth. Lots of great memories - - loved leaving big city air pollution and getting up into the pristine mountains. Favorite was probably Snowbird - - learned to ski there at the age of 27 while skipping classes for a week with some grad school buddies and was hooked.

https://www.facebook.com/selkirktv/videos/2023-ppa-desert-ridge-womens-doubles-gold-medal-c-parenteaua-waters-vs-a-jonesl-/3495002160771132/

1. Because our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a spiral galaxy, not an elliptical galaxy, and earthlings have no evidence that life exists elsewhere in the universe. 2. For those who don't accept #1 as a sufficient answer, see the discussion of "sterilization" radiation effects in elliptical galaxies at: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/494/2/3048/5819448

Thought provoking article that discusses various takes on the Fermi Paradox, including how mainstream thought about such things has changed over time: https://www.space.com/25325-fermi-paradox.html#section-what-could-the-answer-be Pretty much everybody mentioned in the article WANTS to believe that we are not alone, so they continue to make the fundamental but totally unproven assumption that if you just have the right mix of atmosphere, temperature, materials (e.g., carbon and water), pressure, etc., life will magically form. So why can't we make that happen in the lab here on earth? That's a weakness in all the proposed explanations for the Fermi Paradox by educated people who WANT to conclude that we are not alone.

It's a bit early to draw many hard and fast conclusions. All of our losses have been to teams that haven't been able to beat anybody but us.

Well that right there is proof that aliens don't exist. As earthly society evolved, pets became a thing (cavemen didn't have pets). There is a clear correlation between improvements in mankind's technological prowess and the prevalence of pets. To get here from Andromeda or wherever, the aliens must have absolutely super-advanced technology. So how come we never see alien pets in any alien photos, and abductees never mention having seen any alien pets when they get returned to the trailer park? Cats might hide, and dogs could be trained to stay away or be chained up in the back of the spaceship, but shouldn't somebody at least see a turtle now and then?

It may be common knowledge among the Objeto Volador No Identificado literate, but I didn't know about Amupac, the underwater alien base protecting two Mexican cities from hurricanes, until I read this today: https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjkmed/mexico-underwater-aliens-amupac

This is a good explanation of why some meniscus tears can heal without surgery, and others can't: https://aidmymeniscus.com/torn-meniscus/meniscus-blood-supply-zones.php I tore a meniscus around age 60 that had to be trimmed with arthroscopic surgery because it was in an area with little blood flow and the torn fragment was painfully impacting joint movement. Post-surgery, after a few weeks swimming, then walking, and finally jogging in my HOA's shallow lap pool, my knee got fully back to normal. I now play basketball and pickleball several times a week with absolutely no issues, but I was fortunate that I had no arthritis in the knee that would have complicated my recovery. There's hope for full recovery with this type of knee problem.

My wife and I didn't know anybody when we moved to St. George in 2014, and we both love it here. It's too hot from about mid-June to mid September, but the rest of the year is beautiful. We have a view of a sometimes snow-capped 10k+ foot high mountain in the winter, almost never get snow at our home's 2800 foot elevation (and on the rare occasions that we do it melts by noon), and enjoy lots of places to hike. Zion National Park is about 45 minutes away and it's amazing, but can get over-crowded. There are lots of less-traveled trails closer to St. George, with nice but less stunning scenery. Snow Canyon state park is much closer and it's a gem. Not everybody likes the desert, but with lots of red rock vistas, it's gorgeous here. I'm not a golfer, but friends who are say they have lots of local options. There are no Bills-backers bars. There are several places you can watch NFL games, but I don't mind watching the games on a slightly delayed basis, so I've had the NFL [Game Day ?] streaming service for several years now. That works fine for me. I'm a lifelong Bills fan who grew up in Erie County, but probably a bit of an outlier on Two Bills Drive because I don't care for the "homer" attitude prevalent at the only Bills Backer bar I ever went to. When a Bills DB drags down a WR 2 seconds before the ball arrives and everyone around you whines about how bad the penalty call was, that ain't my cup of tea. As others have said, the area is predominantly Mormon, but is getting less so over time. St. George has recently been the fastest growing small city in the country (may still be - - not sure). The metro area is approaching something like 200k people, with lots of in-migration from other states. If I could have closed the door behind me when we moved here I would have, but word gets out. We aren't Mormon, but have many local friends who are. My only reservation about the local Mormon culture is that it can be tough on non-Mormon kids. That's not an issue for an old guy like me, but I'm told that non-Mormon kids in school can have a hard time fitting in when some non-school social activities organized by a Mormon church aren't open to non-Mormon kids. My understanding is based solely on hearsay and not first hand info, so it could be wrong, but I've heard that more than once. Health care is surprisingly good for a small city. A medical profession relative who lives elsewhere says the local hospital is a regional medical center known for being high quality. Thankfully we've had little occasion to use it, but local friends have had good experiences. I suspect that the local quality of life makes it a bit easier to recruit the necessary staff. You probably already know about the good shuttle van service between St. George and the Las Vegas airport, which is frequent and cheap because there are two competing companies. If you need a local real estate agent, I can recommend one who was extremely helpful to us when we moved here from a different state. Good luck with the move and new business venture. I'll check back on this thread to see if you have questions. Will answer them if I can.

Be careful who you marry - - that person will be the source of your greatest joys or greatest sorrows.