VALUE-ADDED TAX

Image via Wikipedia

It could be a good idea to discuss the future tax situation on a day like this...

I have listened to Jim Blasingame's interview (Is a VAT tax in the future for the United States?) with Brian M. Carney and I plan to listen to the following podcasts in the near future:

• Congratulations, it's Tax Freedom Day with Peter Sepp and Jim Blasingame.
• Why a VAT is a bad idea for America by Jim Blasingame.
• Tax Freedom Day 2010 by Kail Padgitt, Ph.D.

In the news: U.S. Consumption Tax Is Tempting VAT of Poison by Caroline Baum.

Congratulations! You’ve just finished working for the government. April 9 was Tax Freedom Day, the day on which Americans have earned enough to pay their federal, state and local taxes, as calculated by the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group in Washington.

Enjoy it while it lasts. As Americans awake to the 2009 tax-filing deadline today, they can look forward to working longer and harder for the government in the future -- at least the dwindling share that pays individual income taxes.

Enter the VAT, or value-added tax, a whole new source of revenue for the government. The VAT, a fixture in Europe for decades, is a broad-based consumption tax levied at each stage of production on the “value added,” as the name implies. (Business Week, 04/15/10.)

From my post, QUIPTOON FOR TAX DAY (4/11/09):


John Cox Art.

"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." -- Winston Churchill. (QuoteDB.com)

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• Europe's VAT Lessons (online.wsj.com)
• Krauthammer Predicts European-Style VAT Tax (newsbusters.org)
• Is Yet Another Complex Tax System on its Way? (myventurepad.com)

BENEVOLENT SOCIAL MEDIA UNIVERSE

Do you want to see an example of the Benevolent Universe Premise in action?

Jennifer Iannolo's (@foodphilosophy) message on Twitter:

Sometimes when bad things happen, a hero like @shlevy steps in. I am so incredibly honored by this post. Thank you. http://bit.ly/bpOW6c (04/13/10)

From  Shea Levy's post, A Truly Worthy Cause:

Through her tweets at @foodphilosophy, her blog posts at Food Philosophy, her work with the Culinary Media Network, and her efforts to make Sex On a Plate revolutionize the way we experience food, Jennifer is an inspiration and an amazing example of a woman who loves life on a visceral, emotional, and intellectual level and who works to make life even better. Unfortunately, her apartment was broken into recently and, among other things, her laptop was stolen. If ever there was a person who deserved assistance in facing a crisis that occurred through no fault of her own, it's Jenn. Whether you want to consider it a payment for her past work or an investment to allow her to continue producing amazing things, please consider donating to the fund I've set up to help her replace her laptop. The donation is through Paypal, and you can get to the donation page by clicking this link, clicking the button below, or clicking the button on the sidebar. (Cogito's Thoughts, 04/12/10.)

Click on the Donate button (powered by PayPal):

If you want to support her work, buy her & Mark Tafoya's book, The Gilded Fork - Entertaining At Home: A Year of Dinner Parties.

I want to create a "sassfully delicious" drink for Jennifer Iannolo... Do you have any suggestions? Maybe I should make a Margarita with a twist?

Related: My post, FOOD TRIP.

SPRING CLEANING

It is time to spring forward, jumping on the springboard and start getting busy with spring cleaning... I have as a goal to get everything in the right buckets and to have a clean working space within four weeks.
On May 7 is my 8th blogiversary and time for the annual blog report.


Morris will help me with the cleaning!

I have had my iPhone for about a month now and I am slowly getting used to it. I see it more as a multi-tool than a regular mobile phone. [Editor's note: Do you use MobileMe? I got a free trial for 60 days. I am not sure that I will continue with this service.]

I have to take some time and explore iTunes and update the iPhone to the 3.1.3 software version, so I could use Tod's iPhone application called Goal Meter.

In order to get back on track with my workflow, I really have to take time for my weekly review. I recently joined the "OProducers @ OList.com" and I look forward to get tips and suggestions on worklife productivity.

I have to take care of my email inbox in the near future. I look forward to read Merlin Mann's forthcoming book, Inbox Zero. Have you read Inbox Detox by Marsha Egan?

I have "lent" time for introspection and I have to invest more time on this in the future. I will sit down and draw a mind map. I will get inspiration by reading Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam.

Do you want to see a sign of the spring season? Check out my post, SARIT GAT, on my other blog...

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T.G.I.L.F

From my post, T.G.I.F:

In the Swedish calendar, Good Friday is called "Long Friday." I think that the word long is more suitable than good. It's nothing good with this Friday at all. But luckily the secularization has emerged and the market forces have taken over, so nowadays you could conduct some business, eat at a restaurant, go to the movies, et cetera. I have learned that people from an older generation had a hard time to come up with something fun to do during this day. This day was totally "dead" (if you don't mind the pun) and the only thing you could do was to sit at home and wait for the next day to come. (EGO, 04/09/04.)

Morris is taking a nap and I am watching Lasse Hallstrom's movie, Chocolat.

Check out Friday Ark #289 at The Modulator.

LENT TIME

How will you celebrate Easter? I will watch Lasse Hallstrom's movie, Chocolat. I will take some time and go through my post, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, and plan for the future.

Please listen to my Easter greeting.

GOOD THINGS IN LIFE

I have postponed the "GoodThing in Life" carnival and I will publish the old entries sometime later on. I plan to do it during the spring. [Editor's note: Spring forward & fall back?! Check out this Daylight Saving Time "cloud."] As a "chile head," I want to do something with hot & spicy stuff in the future. Maybe a compilation post with links to "extreme food" things now and then?

I am planning the new chile pepper season and I have to pick seeds to plant in the near future. I will perhaps buy some new varieties, but I have to decide it pretty soon in order to get going. Do you have any chile pepper and paprika favorites?



One of my favorite dishes is spare ribs with coleslaw. I spiced it up with jalapeño sauce, chipotle sauce and Blair's habanero potato chips.

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NEW EGO BUSINESS CARD

Check out my new EGO business card! I have used EGO blog banner logotype by John Cox on one side of the card and on the inside you could find my contact information and a description of my business services. The tweet inspired text with a "cartoon bubble" (What's happening?) is saying:

Martin Lindeskog is a social media enthusiast and a "Trader in Matter & Spirit"

Listen to my thoughts on the creation of the new business card.



Thanks to Intensio for coming up with the idea and the design of the card. Thanks to ABC-Tryck for printing the cards.

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PODCAST WITH MORRIS THE CAT

Listen to an audio podcast with Morris the cat.



UPDATE 03/14/10: Check out Friday Ark #286.

MIDWEEK 10 BOOKMARK LIST

Here is a new batch of books on my reading list:

• Top 10 Blog Posts On Future Branding and Communication from Ronnestam With Love by Johan Ronnestam.

• The Fall of PR & the Rise of Advertising by Stefan Engeseth.

• Read This First: The Executive's Guide to New Media-from Blogs to Social Networks by Ron Ploof.

Listen to my reading from chapter 1, The Economics of Influence, p. 7-8.

• Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier.

• New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career by Alexandra Levit.

• Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun.

• Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma by Nick Morgan.

• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin.

• Website Owner's Manual by Paul Boag.

• Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam.

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• Show 278 - How to be a great public speaker (theengagingbrand.typepad.com)

SMARTPHONE APPLICATIONS

I got an used BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphone some months ago, as a backup for my old Qtech 9100 (HTC) smartphone. I agree with Brian Tong that the BlackBerry phone is "über comfortable" to hold in your hand and I like the keyboard. But I must say that the learning curve is a bit steep for my taste, so I haven't really used it to its full potential. I will use it for my regular phone calls, SMS and as an alarm clock.

Fast forward sometime and here comes the iPhone 3G by Apple! I saw a special campaign at Telenor (link to Telenor Trainee Blog) in Gothenburg and went to the store and talked to a service minded salesperson. The phone contract is for two years and I get unlimited mobile surf for circa $28 per month. I think that I will use the iPhone more as a productivity and communication tool, than a regular mobile phone.

I wonder what will happen when the iPad is entering the market. Will it become the new entertainment gadget?

I have added the following applications ("apps") on my iPhone:

• Travel planner for public transportation (Västtrafik).

• Gowalla - "The easiest way to share places you go with your friends."

• Evernote - "Welcome to your notable world."

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

• Cinch. Listen to the embedded CinchCast in this post.

• PicPosterous - The Posterous iPhone app is out! PicPosterous takes away all the pain from sharing photo sets and video online.

• Yr.no - Online weather service from Norway.

• Wikiamo - "Wikiamo is an intuitive, Safari-like Wikipedia viewer for your iPhone and iPod Touch."

• Simplenote

• Todo Lite

• SimplyTweet Lite

• Echofon - Hat tip to Eva Wieselgren.

"How I use my smartphone" by Eva Wieselgren.

Martin Lindeskog is taking a picture with his iPhone 3G.

Related:  The Power of iPhone by Barney Austen.