Happy New Year

Wishing you all a very blessed New Year

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas.

Economics 101 - Income Tax

I received this via email today…

The South African Tax System:

Suppose that every evening, 10 men go out for beer and the bill  for all ten comes to R100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

• The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
• The fifth would pay R1.
• The sixth would pay R3.
• The seventh would pay R7.
• The eighth would pay R12.
• The ninth would pay R18.
• The tenth man (the richest) would pay R59.

So, that's what they decided to do....... The 10 men drank in the bar every evening and were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner said, "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by R20".

Drinks for the 10 men would now cost just R80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men, the paying customers - how could they divide the R20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realised that R20 divided by six is R3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

• Therefore, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing.
• The sixth now paid R2 instead of R3 (33% saving).
• The seventh now paid R5 instead of R7 (28% saving).
• The eighth now paid R9 instead of R12 (25% saving).
• The ninth now paid R14 instead of R18 (22% saving).
• The tenth now paid R49 instead of R59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a rand out of the R20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got R10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a rand too. It's unfair - he got 10 times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get R10 back, when I got only R2? The wealthy always win!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important.

They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists, labour unions and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Project Garden

Having completed the renovations to the bathroom, now it’s time to start thinking of doing something about the garden.

Here’s a current view of our garden from the corner next to the front door towards the big tree in the corner.

I figured I could possibly do a small veggie garden under the tree next to the gate. However, I still need to check if this spot gets enough sunlight for veggies to be able to survive here.

We’ve removed the bushy tree on the side because it was mainly dead branches growing over the sidewalk & housed many Parktown Prawns. I still need to have the roots etc. removed completely.

We’d like some creepers along the wall to hide the bricks & create some atmosphere.  I think this rose bush might also need replacing.

The corner under this tree is my little hide-out. It’s fairly small, but nicely enclosed. I would love a small water feature in front of the tree and a nice small bench in the corner.

Clive wants the bogenvilla to go, but I’m not so sure if that’s a such a good idea. It provides nice shelter from the wind & the rain when you’re under the tree.

I guess the bourgeon villa could use some trimming so the rest of the bedding beneath it can be visible. The lawn could also use some levelling out.

The garden as seen from under the carport. From this end one can actually see the love palm I got from my bridesmaid when we got married. It’s the only one of my many plants that survived the move up to Johannesburg as well as the 2 months storage with the moving company 18 years ago.

I’d love some colour in the garden, but due to my allergies I think we will need to limit flowering plants and rather use those with 2 or more tones on the leaves. Unfortunately we haven’t tracked the sunshine for the summer, but if I remember correctly it gets lots of sun during the day until the sun moves over the wall from the carport’s side & then would get shady against the wall. We’ll do the tracking for the next few months to see how it gets affected in winter. This should help us decide which plants would do well…

Here are just a few great ideas I’ve seen that could possibly add some flair to our little garden

These pots might look lovely with some nice plants or could even come in handy for strawberries or tomatoes.

I love the idea of this little wagon. It might just fit in nicely in the corner at the post box.

Water fountains... mmm. They’re just awesome. I must, I must, I must have one.

I think a small bridge crossing into my little corner would be awesome, but the boys don’t seem to agree.

Don’t you think this would look just gorgeous under my big tree?

I kind of like these little creatures, although Clive doesn’t seem to agree. He says they look fake & he’d prefer some garden gnomes... not so sure about that though...

New Exam

 

This test will keep that dreaded disease that effects your memory at bay!   New Senior's Exam, you only need 4 correct out of 10 questions to pass. 1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?   6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What colour is a purple finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane? Remember, you need only 4 correct answers to pass. Check your answers below .... ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years 2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?November 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs 7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert 8 ) What colour is a purple finch? Crimson 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand 10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange (of course) What do you mean, you failed? Me, too! (And if you try to tell me you passed, you LIED!) Pass this on to your brilliant friends.

 

TO MY GIRLS!

What's so poignant about this picture? Well, it shows a line of little girls holding hands facing the immensity of ocean waves. Alone they might be washed away, but together they stand strong. Thank you each for holding my hand somewhere along the way When I was facing a wave of my own. I hope you will reach for my hand when your own wave threatens. All of us girls.. Old and young... Near and far.... Hold special memories of good times we've shared. We've had our share of hard times when our friends were there to make us feel better. We've shared...our hearts our time our secrets our fears our hopes and our dreams. Let us never break the chain of friends! If you get this twice or more, you are lucky to have more than one girlfriend. Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter. Their house will be bigger. They will drive a better car. Their children will do better in school. And their husband will fix more things around the house. So let it go, Be Happy! And love yourself and your circumstances. Think about it. The prettiest woman in the world can have trouble in her heart. And the most highly favored woman on your job may be fighting her own battle. And the richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes....might be lonely. And the Word says 'If I have not Love, I have nothing.' So, again, love you. Love who you are. Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say 'I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!' I like that! 'Winners make things happen. Losers let things happen' Be Blessed ladies and pass this on to encourage another woman. 'To the world you might be one person, But to one person you just might be the world.' SEND THIS TO YOUR FAVORITE WOMEN - I JUST DID! o

 

It all began with an iPhone...

Now here’s a good one I received in the mail today…

March was when our son celebrated his 17th birthday, and we got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't?

I celebrated my birthday in July, and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.

Our daughter's birthday was in August so we got her an iPod Touch.

My wife celebrated her birthday in September so I got her an iRon.

It was around then that the fight started..

What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean.

This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service.

I should be out of the hospital next week!!

iHurt