S Corp. vs. C Corp. vs. LLC

Q: Would you be so kind as to compare a limited-liability company to an S corporation, especially in regard to FICA or payroll taxes?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704717004575268763773483060.html?KEYWORDS=s+corporation+payroll+taxes

and a chart of the differences
http://www.themoneyalert.com/Corp-Entity-Table.html

and another nice article
http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/llc-vs-s-corp-vs-c-corp/

The "Daschle Exemption"

"Tom Daschle, a senior policy adviser at DLA Piper, is part of a new and seemingly growing class of individuals who take an active role in Washington's advocacy trade - but don't register as lobbyists. Currently, the law requires people to register as lobbyists if they make more than one contact, spend more than 20 percent of their time lobbying and have more than $11,500 in expenses or $3,000 in income from lobbying per quarter."

When a Lobbyist Isn't a Lobbyist
by Chris Frates
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40207.html

Mathematics of Terror

"According to 'The Mathematics of Terror,' an article by Andrew Curry in the latest issue of Discover magazine, acts of terrorism aren't random at all - not mathematically speaking, anyway...Terrorist and guerrila killings follow an L-shaped power law curve. The smaller the event governed by the curve, the more likely it is to occur - and the larger it is, the less likely."

Terrorism's Power Curve
by Kate Julian
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072302434.html

Cocktail of the Week: "Half-Smoke Bloody Mary"

"Sure, you can now get omelets, French toast and dim sum on Saturday afternoon at the Source. But the far, far more interesting news: they’re also whipping up three Bloody Marys, all dressed up with either Szechuan chili paste and a pickled chili, Old Bay seasoning and crab, or the coup de grâce, a miniature half-smoke. Because a whole half-smoke would be too much. "

41% Think Jesus Will Return to Earth

http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1043

Video: 100 Greatest Movie Insults

http://kottke.org/10/07/100-greatest-movie-insults

Among Primates, Only Humans Masturbate

http://kottke.org/10/06/masturbation-a-singularly-human-pursuit

Thoughts of Infidelity Follow Mother's Day

http://kottke.org/10/07/thoughts-of-infidelity-follow-mothers-day

Why Intelligent People Fail

http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/works/intelligentfailure.htm

Sitting is Bad for You

http://kottke.org/10/07/sitting-is-bad-for-you-even-with-exercise

Pic: Periodic Table of Swearing

http://shop.moderntoss.com/?q=periodic+table

On Picky Eaters

"Picky eaters tend to gravitate to certain foods, including blander products that are often white or pale colored, like plain pasta or cheese pizza. For reasons that aren't clear, almost all adult picky eaters like French fries and often chicken fingers, health experts say."

No Age Limit on Picky Eating
by Shirley Wang
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704699604575343130457388718.html

Top Secret America

"Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances."

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/

Small Business Deductions

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/a-dozen-deductions-for-your-small-business-1.aspx

and

http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid=P07_2500

Map of the World's Pipelines

http://www.theodora.com/pipelines/world_oil_gas_and_products_pipelines.html

and

http://www.petroleum-economist.com/default.asp?page=19&searchtype=17&productid=5692

and
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-oil-and-gas-pipelines-changing-the-worlds-strategic-map-2010-3

Recipe of the Day: Liquid Wasabi

From Sei (a restaurant):

*2 ounces Unfiltered sake
*1 ounces Cap Rock Organic Vodka
*1 ounces Ginger-habanero-infused simple syrup
*3/4 ounces Fresh-squeezed lime juice

What Is Vacation Good For?

"They found that in all three cases, the respondents were least happy about the vacation while they were taking it. Beforehand, they looked forward to it with eager anticipation, and within a few days of returning, they remembered it fondly. But while on it, they found themselves bogged down by the disappointments and logistical headaches of actually going somewhere and doing something, and the pressure they felt to be enjoying themselves. A recent Dutch study had a more striking finding. Looking not at vacation memories, but measuring general happiness level through a simple three-question questionnaire, the researchers found that going on vacation gave a notable boost to pre-vacation mood but had hardly any effect on post-vacation feelings. Anticipation, it seems, can be a more powerful force than memory."

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/06/what-is-vacation-good-for.html

Do Children Make You Happier?

http://nymag.com/print/?/news/features/67024/

Sexy Food - Orgy

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2010/07/foreign_phrases

What Do Britain's "Happiest" Earn

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100709/lf_nm_life/us_britain_happiness

Question of the Week: Dining Review Shelf-Life

In the July 4, 2010 edition of the WPost Magazine, a writer asks the food critic what the shelf-life is of a restaurant review. The response: "Restaurants are like people: subject to change. The shelf life for must dining reviews is brief; as a rule of thumb, I'd be skeptical of anything more than a year old."

Recipe of the Day: Fried Coke With Rum Topping

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Fried-Coke-with-Rum-Topping?cmpid=enews070510

Discover the Meaning of Rap Lyrics

Great idea!

http://rapgenius.com/

Money Buy Happiness? It's a Down Payment

Essentially, money can buy one form of happiness...

"Pulling in the big bucks makes peopel more likely to say they are happy with their lives overall...but the survey also showed that a key element of what many people consider happiness - positive feelings - is much more strongly affected by factors other than cold, hard cash, such as feeling respected, being in control of your life, and having friends and family to rely on in a pinch."

Money Buy Happiness? It's a Down Payment
by Rob Stein
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/01/AR2010070100039.html

Death Elasticity

"Academic researchers have known for years that death rates are influenced by major changes in estate-tax law. A 2003 paper published in the prestigious Review of Economics and Statistics looked at 13 major estate-tax changes in teh US - following the creation of the tax in 1916 - and found they had a small but statistically significant effect on death rates. Among those wealthy enough to be affected by the changes, the chance of dying increased slightly in the two weeks before rates went up and decreased in the two weeks after an estate-tax cut, a phenomenon the authors have dubbed death elasticity."

Death or Taxes
by Adam Fisher
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1999426,00.html

Sentence of the Day: Queen of England

"The queen is freezing salaries for royal servants and aides earning more than $73,500 and reviewing all vacant slots with an eye to reducing her staff of 1,400 - which includes a royal piper who plays under her window in the mornings and an official counter of swans."

Still Lving Like a Queen, but Pinching Her Pennies
by Anthony Faiola
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/07/AR2010070702255.html

Cool Map: The US Grid

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/power-grid/grid-interactive

There is also a cool map as part of that National Geographic article titled "The Grid Today."

Bernie Fowler's Sneaker Index

"Begun in 1988, the annual wade has attracted governors, congressmen, hundreds of people and at least one EPA administrator. The wade results in the 'sneaker index,' an annual measurement from Bernie’s old white high-tops to the high-water mark on his blue overalls. The index reached a shin-high low point in 1989 at eight inches and a waist-high peak in 1997, at forty-four and one-half inches. In 2002, forty-two and three-quarters inches of Bernie—and everyone else—got soaked. The goal is fifty-seven inches."

http://www.baygateways.net/sneakerindex.cfm

Prenup

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/110002/i-love-you-youre-perfect-now-sign-here?mod=fidelity-managingwealth

Idea of the Week: Trash Smashing Compactors

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=726&sid=1994283

Why Americans Call it Soccer

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/its-football-to-you-soccer-to-me--fbintl_ro-soccervsfootball070110.html