Often times, white people get frustrated with the state of their country. They do not like the President, or Congress, or the health care system, or the illegal status of Marijuana. Whenever they are presented with a situation that seems unreasonable to them, their first instinct is to threaten to move to Canada.

For example, if you are watching TV with white people and there is a piece on the news about that they do not agree with, they are likely to declare “ok, that’s it, I’m moving to Canada.”

Though they will never actually move to Canada, the act of declaring that they are willing to undertake the journey is very symbolic in white culture. It shows that their dedication to their lifestyle and beliefs are so strong, that they would consider packing up their entire lives and moving to a country that is only slightly similar to the one they live in now.

Within white culture, it is agreed upon that if Canada had better weather it would be a perfect place.

Being aware that this information can be used quite easily to gain the trust of white people. Whenever they say, “I’m moving to Canada,” you must immediately respond with “I have relatives in Canada.”

They will then expect you to tell them about how Canada has a perfect healthcare system, legalized everything, and no crime. Though not true, it will reassure them that they are making the right choice by saying they want to move there.

But be warned, they will reference you in future conversations and possibly call on you to settle disputes about Canadian tax rates. So use this advice only if you plan to do some basic research.

So I’ve been bad about updating my LJ, since I’ve been a busy bee, and I’ve been hanging out in new parts of town. Here’s where you can find me:

• Funkatron.com: My personal site, with a heavy tech focus, but I’ve been posting more funny crap lately. Recently got a new coat of paint.
• Facebook: I kinda jumped back on here after meeting some of the FB devs at php|tek this year, and I’m really digging it. Facebook is both 1) tolerable by human beings, and 2) actually has a ton of users. The FB API has added some fun little apps, too.

So beyond that, I’ve been working on Inspekt, setting up a new CMS at work, doing some contracting junk, and of course wrangling the little dude at home. I found out that a talk I submitted was chosen for php|works in Atlanta, which I’m excited about — it’s my first conference talk! It will also be my first time in Atlanta. I’m anxious to see my buddies in the PHP community, but also would like to see anyone I know in the area. I’ll be there Sept 12-13, so if you want to meet for a drink or something, lemme know.

Anyway, that’s most of what’s up. I try to keep up with everyone’s journals, so don’t think I’m ignoring you. 8)

Edit: oh, and I went to the doc, and I've lost 9lbs in the past 3 months. Cool.

Designers, developers, project managers. Writers and editors. Information architects and usability specialists. People who make websites have been at it for more than a dozen years, yet almost nothing is known, statistically, about our profession. Who are we? Where do we live? What are our titles, our skills, our educational backgrounds? Where and with whom do we work? What do we earn? What do we value?

It’s time we learned the answers to these and other questions about web design. And nobody is better qualified than the readers of A List Apart to provide the answers. Participate in our first annual survey to increase knowledge of web design and boost respect for the profession. Selected participants, chosen by random drawing, will win one free ticket to An Event Apart event held in the continental U.S.; an Apple 30GB video iPod, an Event Apart jump drive, or a funky A List Apart T-shirt.¹

If you have a weblog or live journal, or you administer a website that has comment threads, stand up for yourself and your readers. The jerks are never going to like you, or praise you, or admit that you’re doing the right thing. And if you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to suppress and thereafter ignore malfeasants, you have it right now. If you want, I’ll make up a certificate. Go forth and civilize.

(Via Chuqui)

According to this Kiplinger's tax tip video, only 1 in 150 personal tax returns get audited. Realistically speaking, your odds of getting audited are probably even lower than that. In fact, it's virtually zero.

The Kiplinger editor calls the taxpayer's fear of audits 'very stupid.' He explains that you will not get audited as long as you don't claim any insane tax deductions. Therefore, everyone should be aggressive and take advantage of all the available deductions within reason.

Our irrational fear of audits

One recent survey conducted by a CPA at Louisiana State University shows that the average taxpayers believe 1 in 7 people gets audited by the IRS. Over 80% of the people surveyed had unrealistically high expectations of getting audited.

When the survey takes into consideration the likely income bracket of the participants, the results get even more ridiculous: