Google has better Ideas? We’ll see soon…

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I had the opportunity last year to attend a very interesting program, graciously sponsored by Mintz Levin (an International Law and Lobbying firm).  The program title was “Internet Freedom, Social Media and Policy-Making in the 21st Century”. I learned a lot and met some very interesting people.  One of them was Jared Cohen- then, a 28 year old Wunderkind.  Jared had worked for Condoleeza Rice in the State Department in the policy planning unit.  He stayed over to work with Hilary Clinton, where he specialized in counter-terrorism, youth, technology- and even the Middle East.  And, he explained the kind of work and things he had seen during his time there.  He left the State Department  last year to join the Council on Foreign Relations, subsequently joining Google.  He agreed to join Google to do just what he is doing now.  He heads up Google Ideas, a small (6 person?) think tank in New York. (And, no, there isn’t a website for Google Ideas.)

Continue reading Google has better Ideas? We’ll see soon…

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The Law of Unintended Circumstances

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From 1988 to 2004, the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) cancers of the tongue and tonsil, has increased 225%.  The number of oropharynx cancers is expected to rise to 8500 new cases annually by 2020.  While not a large number, this means that its incidence will surpass the number of cervical cancers experienced by women. Continue reading The Law of Unintended Circumstances

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Better call your brother! He ain’t never seen a wreck like this one!

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I have often spoken about our ability to learn from failure.  When we fail (hopefully, very infrequently), we analyze what we did wrong to insure we don’t repeat the same mistakes.  But, when we succeed, we always assume we planned and executed perfectly.  We don’t consider the fact that we may have been lucky, that some unforeseen event changed the environment that afforded our efforts the success we achieved. (It’s why we propose post-mortems on every project and plan.  We want to learn what worked and what didn’t.) But, it’s sometimes easier to look at someone else’s failure to learn.  Given that, let’s see the fodder one failed project can provide. Continue reading Better call your brother! He ain’t never seen a wreck like this one!

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Dialysis is BIG business. It’s going to get BIGGER still!

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Some days I just can’t believe it.   More than ½ a million Americans have kidney failure; about 350,000 are on dialysis.  These are so much higher than the numbers we expected way back in the early 70’s.  While most of the patients are covered by Medicaid and Medicare (the latter now covers everyone after 14 months or so), most of the “gravy” comes from private pays- the first 14 months of treatment and those covered by private insurance.  The dialysis companies also had erythropoietin (EPO) dosages to provide additional cash, but the Federal government has cut back the approved dosages (no EPO if the hemoglobin levels are 12-14 g/dL) and begun using bundled payments to keep the reimbursements lower.  (By the way, a Veterans Administration/Harvard School of Public Health study recently showed that a change in dose of EPO from 15000 to 45000 units/week  harmed diabetic kidney patients [from 20 to 33 % greater death risk, respectively, plus additional cardiovascular problems], in particular.)

Continue reading Dialysis is BIG business. It’s going to get BIGGER still!

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Autism, Vitamins, Gene Expression… Link?

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Researchers at UC Davis published a survey  in Epidemiology purportedly reporting on the effect of prenatal vitamins and their ability to preclude births of children with autism.  Drs. Schmidt (2), Hansen, Hartiala, Allayee, Hooman, Tancredi, Tassone, and Hertz-Picciotto (UC Davis) reported that women who took prenatal vitamins BEFORE pregnancy (and during pregnancy) were ½ as likely to have a child with autism; those that had high risk mutations were associated with a 7 fold reduction.

Continue reading Autism, Vitamins, Gene Expression… Link?

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You’ve got high hopes, high apple pie in the sky hopes…

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Oh, I know I am going to tick a lot of you off right now.  But, facts are facts- and, fantasies are ok, but not when they defeat your ability to grow your business.  And, this common belief has been under my suspicions for decades.  Now, the data demonstrates that my intuition was correct.

Continue reading You’ve got high hopes, high apple pie in the sky hopes…

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Do I really have to? (Yes, Business Manager, you must!)

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It’s time- you finally realize that what we’ve been telling you is really NOT optional.  Maybe even the IRS has just audited you- and that’s a lousy way to find out we’re right.  Little scraps of paper don’t impress the IRS.  If you are running a business, whether it’s incorporated or not, you need to have an accounting system. Yes, if your business is small enough, you can use a spreadsheet.  But, really that takes more time than you think. Instead of using a spreadsheet, you should at least use Quicken Home and Business.  It only costs $ 75 or so- and you can invoice and track payments with it, too.  If you have inventory, then you probably need QuickBooks or Microsoft Accounting programs.  If you are a lawyer, then PCLaw or Clio make more sense. And, since today is already well into the year, you are going to have to enter AT LEAST all the transactions for this fiscal year (whether it’s calendar or not, it needs to match how you report your data to the IRS).  No, you won’t get them all entered today, but you should do so as soon as possible- as well as keeping all current entries in the system you chose.  (You may elect to not enter previous years, and there are some good reasons for doing so, into this system, as we have reported earlier this month.   It probably makes sense to use a spreadsheet that matches the format your chosen system employs, so you can compare data from year to year.)  Entering this data will let you maintain accurate profit and loss statements, sales tax reports (if necessary), bank reconciliations, and accounts payable/receivable records.

Continue reading Do I really have to? (Yes, Business Manager, you must!)

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Tax Tips in June? Yes- you need to know!

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It’s June.  I know.  But, it’s not smart to wait until December to consider what tax rules or practices have changed.  Both of these two changes I will discuss today affect my clients; I am sure they will affect many of you.
We know that filing jointly typically saves couples money.  For example, you can’t deduct child care expenses, should you file separately.  (Of course, if you are in the top 2% of earners in the US, you won’t be able to deduct those costs whether you file jointly or separately.)  That’s but one savings.  There are many others.  But, that’s not really the topic for today.  I want to remind you all that filing jointly means that both parties are responsible for the tax filing, the tax debt, and any omissions or errors- regardless of who made the money, who computed the tax return, or who got to make the decisions demonstrated on the form.  Typically, the problems start due to one of two circumstances- the couples are separating or the IRS has decided that the tax return is questionable. There may be relief.  There is a document, the Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, Form 8857, that can relieve one party from these joint obligations.  However, there are considerations to its use.  Some of these considerations include: Continue reading Tax Tips in June? Yes- you need to know!

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