Let’s all take a moment to reflect on the meaning of the season.

I was given some sesame nut brittle. The allergy information amused me. Ya think?

I had the treadmill cranked up to 6 mph yesterday. It was great, it was going for 20 minutes and I didn't even break a sweat. Then Melissa informed me that I had to be on it for it to work. Not next to it sitting and watching TV.

Nowhere in the manual does it say that the benefits of treading only happen if you are on it, not adjacent to it.

In the interest of helping people with their taxes, I thought I would point out an Actual Tax Fact I found while doing mine. TurboTax directed me to IRS Tax Publication 529 to look at what deductible expenses are allowed. We moved Melissa to a new school this year and paid to rent a truck. I was curious if it was deductible (it does not appear to be).

Anyway, back to the point. On page 14 of Publication 529 (2006), it provides a List of Nondeductible Expenses. Partway down the list is the following entry:

Illegal bribes and kickbacks—see Bribes and kickbacks in chapter 11 of Publication 535.

So remember, it is ILLEGAL to try and deduct your bribes and kickbacks. Another tax service provided free of charge to the readers of this blog.

Watching an old Columbo episode. He is offered a job to help determine what went wrong after a plane crash. He turns it down because it would require flying. And what made me laugh out loud was when he said something to the effect of, "Oh no, no. I don't like heights. I don't like being on elevators. And I don't even like being this tall." Delivered with the dry Columbo wit.

On a related note, a recent Peter Falk interview mentioned that the original concept of Columbo was much more upscale, and Peter decided to use his old rumpled trenchcoat, and have him drive a beat-up old car. Would it have been as successful if Columbo was nicely dressed all the time? I don't think so.

The next person who asks me "Hot enough for ya?" is going to get punched in the head.

A few weeks ago, my mom's side of the family went to the photo studio at JC Penny's to get a family portrait taken. It went well, but the photos would not be ready until my mom and stepfather were out of town. So they gave the people my phone number and asked that I be called when they came in.

Of course they did not call me. They called my mom, and left a message on the answering machine. When I checked, I found the pictures were ready, and had been for two weeks. So I stopped by the store today to pick them up. It was around 5:00 PM on Sunday. This is (roughly) the conversation:

Me: Hello, I am here to pick up some pictures. Here is my sitting number.
Person behind counter (PBC): I'm sorry, we don't do weekend pickups.
Me:
PBC: Is that OK?
Me: If it's not OK, can I pick up the pictures now?
PBC: No.
Me: OK. Can I pick them up any time during the week, or are there certain times of day that are allowed?
PBC: Any time during the week is fine.
Me. OK. Thank you.

As I was walking away, I realized that I did not ask the important question of WHY, if there is a person there at the photo studio (2 in fact), did they not know the magic incantation to pick up pictures? I will inquire further as to why weekend pickup is not allowed. God forbid! People might spend the weekend looking at their pictures! And we all know why THAT is bad. Or maybe we will later this week. Stay tuned.

Every morning during the Summer, the dogs enjoy sleeping in with Melissa. Mac does not even get off the bed when I get up, get ready, and leave. Fenway will watch me walk out the door and drive away, then he is back on the bed to sleep for another hour or two (or three!). I only see Fenway's eyes and ears. Here is my view:

I don't think this picture needs any elaboration. I will just say it was for a fundraiser for the Humane Society, so we might be crazy, but we are socially conscious nuts!