If you were on the internet, or just were awake AT ALL during 2007, you got to see the trainwrecks that are celebrities unfold before your eyes. Well there was a whole slew of trainwrecks that didn’t get covered in gossip columns and news websites and Yahoo! Tech has exposed them to us all. They released their list of the “Top 10 Tech Train Wrecks of 2007″ and we get to breath a sigh of relief because “train wreck” and “Britney” were not in the same headline, and we also get some useful information.

Here is my stripped down version of their list:

Xbox 360: The 360 hardware was glitchy, prone to overheating, and susceptible to critical hardware failure.

BlackBerry: The service got so overloaded in April that it ground to a hault and caused users to be frantic and peeved at email delay.

Skype: The VoIP provider became an instant messenger as well and struck down the service in August for two days when they ran into a “software issue.”

AppleTV: Didn’t hear about it? No big surprise. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are the owner of a privately held company and offer your employees stock options, you better make sure your company’s stock is held at fair market value or you could end up in trouble with the IRS and consequentially in need of a highly qualified damages expert.

Recently, new tax related laws have been passed that govern these practices, specifically section 409(a). Basically, 409a requires private companies to withhold income taxes on the awarded stock options that have prices below fair market value. This is directly related the financial reporting issue under FAS 123.

FAS 123 provides alternative methods for the voluntary change to the fair method of accounting. While the FASB 15X provides a way to measure the fair value under a wide variety of accounting statements.

Since this has been passed, non-public companies have labored to find the proper ways to establish that their stock option price is reasonably aligned with fair market value. Before, when the stock price was determined by management, the tax burden was on the company to prove the reasonability of the fare market value to the IRS. Now, one of the best ways for companies to do this is through business valuation methods with a qualified independent appraisal expert, because then the burden of proof will shift to the IRS.

By also using an independent appraiser for a business valuation method, your company’s valuations can be used by auditors in FAS 123. Just a piece of knowledge that is valuable to any private business owner.

Two weeks ago today, I was en route to Bonnaroo, a four-day music and arts festival in Manchester, Tenn. This was my second year to attend the festival, but the first for my group of friends to enjoy the VIP accommodations. Regardless of where you camp or stay, the main focus is the same - the music. This year’s lineup was by far the most diverse, with acts ranging from the “classics” (The Police, Ornette Coleman), to bluegrass/jambands (Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident), to new rock and alternative (The White Stripes, Wolfmother, Kings of Leon), to electronica and hip-hop (The Roots, DJ Shadow). When I returned last Monday, my brother-in-law, a festival veteran and attorney in the music industry, asked me what my “moment” was this year – the time when you look around and say “Are you seeing this?!”

After some serious thought, I narrowed it down to a tough Top 10:
Read the rest of this entry »

It seems HBO’s The Sopranos turned out a large number of fans for its finale.
Fox estimates The Sopranos final episode captured the attention of an estimated 12 million viewers, despite this year’s viewership numbers being near an all-time low.

With this closing of one chapter, many assumed there would be the opening of another. There has been much talk and rumors of a Sopranos movie in the works. Much to the chargrin of the fans, the Sopranos movie rumors were quashed today.

All this Italian mafia obsession and hubbub inspired me to pick up a book about famous criminals this weekend while at Barnes & Noble. I read about how
Al Capone would have literally gotten away with murder if he would not have been caught for income tax evasion. If only he would have had a good federal criminal defense lawyer.

Why does America have this obsession with ruthless killers and the Mob? I have no idea. I wasn’t a huge Sopranos fan, but bring on Scarface and The Godfather’s trilogy.

The horrible tragedy that occurred yesterday at Virginia Tech has been creating much deserved buzz all over the internet as well as buzz on the social networking site Facebook, whose main audience is college students and alumni across the nation.

In the deadliest campus shooting in US history, Virginia Tech lost a total of 33 students and faculty members, including the gunman. It is no doubt a sad time and many students are coping by coming together on Facebook to share stories and provide support.

A simple search on Facebook for “Virginia Tech”, gives more than 500 groups with almost all dedicated to offering support for the university as well as individuals lost in the massacre. It is fascinating to see this networking tool used in such a meaningful way to bring people together in this time of crisis and pay tribute to those lost in the shootings.

In addition, when cell phones failed to work, many Virginia Tech students used Facebook during and just after the shootings to communicate with their families and friends back home to let them know they were safe.

Many students at universities all across the country have replaced their profile photo (which is usually of themselves) with the Virginia Tech logo surrounded by a black ribbon, symbolizing the sympathy and thoughts for their community.

Our condolences go out to the friends, families, and the entire Virginia Tech community during this difficult time.

Circa 1990 I owned my first of two fanny packs. It was a green and black marsupial-like nylon zipper pouch that I wore on my waist and bought at the then Wet N’ Wild, now Hurricane Harbor, gift shop. Even then I suspected the inevitable fast and hard demise of the fanny pack in my young style-conscious mind (much more than now). I did not understand why they named it “fanny” pack when, even at nine years old, I knew it was much more common to wear in the front, not on the backside.

Brothers in Arms
If I knew these special kangaroo pouches were on their way out, why on earth would I get another one? My second fanny pack was a gift from my parents roundabout Christmas 1991. Significantly better quality black leather, I was forced by a social need to make my parents feel justified, to display my fanny pack proudly like a Boy Scout wearing a merit badge sash. Luckily, I did not have to suffer alone. My brother received a similar present from “Santa” at a time when receiving the same gift meant the worst, but was practiced the most often.

Reflections
Recently pondering this time in my life made me consider some of the more important questions in life…where did fanny packs come from? What is their origin? Who invented them? How long have they been around?

I sought out the aid of today’s fastest information resource, Google, on my journey to have these questions answered. I did not get all my questions answered, but did find out some interesting facts.

Brief History* of the Fanny Pack
The fanny pack (US), hip pack (Canada), or bum bag (UK, Australia) is a small fabric pouch - which comes in many shapes, sizes and colours - secured with a zipper and worn at the waist by a strap around the hips. This is often used by travelers and was more popular during the 1990s. It can be slung either forward, side or to the rear of the wearer and is often considered as utility over fashion.

Other Fanny Pack Facts & Tidbits
- Law Enforcement officers may see a fanny pack as a sign that you might be carrying a gun. The smaller the pack, the more suspicious and seemingly accommodating it is for a handgun. So if you want to seem dangerous…you know what to do.

- The fanny pack was made light of for one of the first times in the public eye on the May 31st, 1990 episode of Seinfeld (Season 1, Episode 2) in which Jerry said to George, “Looks like your belt is digesting a small animal” referring to his fanny pack.

- With the new rise, comes a new name. Designers are now calling them “waist packs,” “body wallets” and “belt bags.”

Fanny Packs Rise Again
In my continued search, I sought out signs to see if fanny packs still have fans today. Using the Yahoo! Search Tool, I made a startling discovery! Below are some highly-searched fanny pack variations and their average daily search volume on Yahoo. Please see links under each term for full color illustrations.

fanny pack (224 day)
leather fanny pack (25 day)
gucci fanny pack (18 day)
kid fanny pack (11day)
hunting fanny pack (9 day)
louis vuitton fanny pack (8 day)
waterproof fanny pack (7 day)
gun fanny pack (6 day)
designer fanny pack (6 day)

Seeing these brand names such as Gucci, Coach, and Louis Vuitton, I realized that fanny packs were now accessories of the elite. This is where I ended my thirst for knowledge and reminiscence on the subject.

*Resource(s)
Wikipedia

Unless you’ve been living in a morgue, you know Grindhouse is coming. It’s a sloppy stew of zombies, psycho stuntmen, short shorts, amputations, crazy babysitters, Nazi werewolves, killer pilgrims, and tiny motorcycles.

Grindhouse is essentially a double feature. The first half, directed by Robert Rodriguez, is a zombie-filled splatter fest called Planet Terror. Quentin Tarantino directs the second half, Death Proof. It’s a thriller about a deranged killer who goes by the name of Stuntman Mike. The real treat happens between the two films when a series of fake movie trailers unspools: Werewolf Women of the S.S., Machete, and a slasher film set during Thanksgiving Day 1985.

The trailer trumpets Grindhouse as “an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster” with “uncensored sexuality and hardcore thrills.” I’m so there. Probably twice. Early word is they’re having a hard time getting the MPAA to sign off on an R rating. Even better.

If you just can’t wait for the April 6th release date, you’re in luck. Head over to the Grindhouse website where you can create your very own poster for the film. It’s totally customizable and the possibilities are endless.

You can see my masterpiece below. Don’t forget to check out the trailer.

It’s a special time of year, for those honoring their Irish heritage and for those who just like beer, parades and wearing green. This national holiday celebrating the patron saint of Ireland is celebrated across the US and here are some of the most popular and interesting festivities I came across.

Celebrations Around the US
These cities go all out for St. Patrick’s Day:
Chicago–Chicago even dyes the whole river green
St. Louis
Boston
New York–NYC has the largest parade with over 150,000 marchers in 2006!
Hot Springs Arkansas is home of the world’s shortest parade

Random Fact: The First St. Patrick’s Day
This national holiday was first celebrated by Irish American immigrants in Boston in 1737 and later in New York City in 1756.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Oops! It seems that Wal-Mart somehow leaked a PowerPoint presentation defining their customers into 3 distinct segments: Price Value Shopper, Brand Aspirations, and Price-Sensitive Affluent. Part of “The Shopper Universe” includes a slide scale of customer loyalty with the Price Value Shopper being more loyal, and the Price-Sensitive Affluent customer being less loyal. The Consumerist has a great write up about the presentation, and actually has screenshots of the slideshow.

Scanning through the segmentation breakdowns what I found most interesting was the inclusion of family values, religion, psychiatric and physical health, as well as media choices and other “Distinguishing Characteristics.” Take a few minutes and scan over all the breakdowns for their targeted retail customers, it should help you to make the decision I have, shop at Costco or Target.

Recently I watched a few episodes of the hit NBC Dateline show, To Catch a Predator. The show is kind of like watching a car wreck; you just can’t turn away even though you know the guy is going to get caught. It has received a lot of attention from parents and gets about 143 searches everyday. You can also watch many of the episodes on YouTube, with some of them getting over 150,000 views.

Wikipedia has even posted their own definition of To Catch A Predator, in case anyone is wondering how exactly the hidden camera show does it.

Crime and Punishment
People seem very interested in learning about the definitions of crimes and the punishments. Here are a few things I have learned about Texas laws and their punishments.

• Online Solicitation of a Minor–An individual can be prosecuted simply for making the online sexually explicit communication with a minor and not even attempting to make contact with the minor outside of the World Wide Web.

• Child Pornography–Possession of child pornography and the distribution of it, are some of the most targeted activities for investigation by both federal and state law enforcement agencies.

Popular Crimes
Here are some other highly searched crime terms I came across:

Sex Crimes (326 searches/day)
(With sex crime lawyer getting 196 searches/day!)

Defense Attorney (487 searches/day)

Money Laundering (198 searches/day)

White Collar Crime (160 searches/day)

Bank Fraud (50 searches/day)

Drug Crime (43 searches/day)

Mail Fraud (38 searches/day)

Wire Fraud (7 searches/day)