Random Thought Thread Part III: The Thinking

[ER]

I once had an instructor who had a partial artificial jaw made of steel. Considering he was a retired career soldier, we all assumed it was combat-related but the truth was he'd had cancer at a young age. The jaw gave him no end of trouble passing through metal detectors, and once in Oslo he missed a flight entirely because of security. Someone asked if he ever considered having the steel replaced with modern ceramic and he said no, the surgery and recovery had been so painful he'd take all the related inconveniences over a repeat of that experience. He gave me high-marks when I was eighteen and in the first of three courses of his I'd be part of, because I argued that despite social disapproval, profiling and stereotyping were essential to the subject matter dealt with in the particular course, and he said I was one of the few to openly state that, and said the others were afraid to say so but knew it too. I felt good for a second til he added, "Keeping some unpopular truths to yourself is also an essential skill." Ha. He had a way of building up and humbling at the same time. Good instructor. He lives in Japan now and about two days ago he sent me an actual letter, hand-written. I hadn't gotten one of those in ages.

[ER]

Ever gaze at the upcoming birthdays list, and the names leap out at you, and you think, oh, I remember him! So many people have come and gone here, many victims of the men in black who run this site.

[RCMerchant]

^ No. I don't pay attention to birthdays. Unless you're just born today or 100 years old.

[ER]

The IRS is saying we owe $480,000 in 2022 back taxes. Yyyyyep. It's so absurdly disconnected from any possible reality that I'm not even upset, I just had to laugh at whatever crazy pencil pusher came up with that figure. Neither our accountant nor our tax attorney can match that sum with anything at all but I think to fight our way through this it's going to be a crazy headache that will cost us a lot of money and take years. Maybe a free IRS tax advocate will make some headway instead of us paying the lawyer and accountant. HOW do they arrive at almost half a million dollars? Our total combined incomes didn't even come close to that in any way shape or form by a long, long, longshot. It truly is more funny than frightening. Even $48,000 in taxes would have been out of proportion to our income. Maybe we're being pranked. The IRS is known for its sense of humor after all.

[indianasmith]

The IRS is saying we owe $480,000 in 2022 back taxes. Yyyyyep. It's so absurdly disconnected from any possible reality that I'm not even upset, I just had to laugh at whatever crazy pencil pusher came up with that figure. Neither our accountant nor our tax attorney can match that sum with anything at all but I think to fight our way through this it's going to be a crazy headache that will cost us a lot of money and take years. Maybe a free IRS tax advocate will make some headway instead of us paying the lawyer and accountant. HOW do they arrive at almost half a million dollars? Our total combined incomes didn't even come close to that in any way shape or form by a long, long, longshot. It truly is more funny than frightening. Even $48,000 in taxes would have been out of proportion to our income. Maybe we're being pranked. The IRS is known for its sense of humor after all.

That's freaking insane!!

[Rev. Powell]

The IRS is saying we owe $480,000 in 2022 back taxes. Yyyyyep. It's so absurdly disconnected from any possible reality that I'm not even upset, I just had to laugh at whatever crazy pencil pusher came up with that figure. Neither our accountant nor our tax attorney can match that sum with anything at all but I think to fight our way through this it's going to be a crazy headache that will cost us a lot of money and take years. Maybe a free IRS tax advocate will make some headway instead of us paying the lawyer and accountant. HOW do they arrive at almost half a million dollars? Our total combined incomes didn't even come close to that in any way shape or form by a long, long, longshot. It truly is more funny than frightening. Even $48,000 in taxes would have been out of proportion to our income. Maybe we're being pranked. The IRS is known for its sense of humor after all.

That sucks.  Hopefully it can be sorted out.

[Alex]

I wonder why a panel of people is required to decide guilt or innocence but the sentence is decided by one person?

[Rev. Powell]

I wonder why a panel of people is required to decide guilt or innocence but the sentence is decided by one person?

The answer is that guilt is a question of fact and sentence is a question of law. In some US states, however, the jury can decide whether capital punishment can be applied.

[Alex]

I wonder why a panel of people is required to decide guilt or innocence but the sentence is decided by one person?

The answer is that guilt is a question of fact and sentence is a question of law. In some US states, however, the jury can decide whether capital punishment can be applied.

The court marshal I was at was interesting. It had a panel of 3 officers and a civilian judge who was the equivalent of a 2-star. While I wasn't privy to the behind-the-scenes discussions, it seemed to be that all four debated the matter of guilt and sentence. During the trial, the judge sat in the middle, although I can't recall the ranks and positions of the officers. I think the judge had the final say but was advised by the officers. I did hear afterward that it was the most junior officer who kept pointing out the flaws in the witnesses stories and got the charge dropped, while the more senior officers had wanted a guilty verdict initially.

[Leah]

I made a lemon garlic butter chicken and green beans dish. I made the green beans right, but man the chicken was missing something. If I remake it I may add cumin into it.  The chicken was rubbed with smoked paprika, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Any other spices I should try?

[Rev. Powell]

I made a lemon garlic butter chicken and green beans dish. I made the green beans right, but man the chicken was missing something. If I remake it I may add cumin into it.  The chicken was rubbed with smoked paprika, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Any other spices I should try?

That sounds really good. Cumin may work. What about red pepper flakes for a little heat?

[RCMerchant]

^ I was thinking hot sauce for the same reason.

[Leah]

I made the dish for me and my mom. My mom doesn't like red pepper flakes, sadly.

[ER]

Red pepper flakes rule on a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

[RCMerchant]

^ I like peanut butter and baloney sandwhiches!