Frak!

Ack! We've been zapped by the Alternative Minimum Tax! Our double (but similar) incomes combined with our whopping tax shelters (2 kids + mortgage interest) somehow means we can only take about $1450 of the $3150 tax credit for the hybrid we purchased this year.

Of course, if we made over $750,000, we could take the whole thing.

S. F. Chronicle Article: Hybrid Tax Credit Bait and Switch

A Joke Every 10 Minutes

Just went to what appeared to be a very standard physchemology talk for a general audience. The speaker was not flashy or showy, and the material easily could have been boring. However, he had an excellent joke about every 10 minutes or so, effectively "resetting" the room. It was not boring, and everyone learned something, even those working in the same field. The timing was regular enough that I believe this was an example of a good speaker/teacher who was made and not born. He effectively missed the zoning out that occurs 10-15 minutes into a typical lecture. Now, in class, I try to do that with activities, but I've almost never put breaks or jokes into presentations out of class. I'll have to consider this when I prep my next formal presentation.

What to do when your department chair has Narcissistic Personality Disorder

I do not have a good answer for this, but it seems like flattery and avoidance are the best courses of action.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/index.php?term=pto-20051209-000005&page=1

There is, after all, no cure.

Sigh.