See what my younger brother wrote today to the Miami Herald which published it as a letter to the editor:

Cut property taxes

Want to immediately stimulate the economy and help desperate, out-of-work contractors, mortgage brokers, bankers, architects, real-estate brokers and countless others?

The government should pass an emergency tax cut on all residential real estate, effective immediately.

Cut the millage rate by half and watch how many people start buying homes. Even at prices down by more than 30 percent, a large percentage of mortgages' monthly payment is property taxes.

It's just that simple.

AVI CIMENT, Miami Beach

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Take a look at this new wiki from PbWiki.com that gives a nice introduction to the new book (The Unincorporated Man) coming this March from Eytan and Dani Kollin

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So Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin are hitting the big leagues with their first official book review of their new science fiction novel all the way from the Virgin Islands. Check out this original review of The Unincorporated Man, their first foray into the world of science fiction. See how Justin Cord, their new protaganist is revived from a cryogenic freeze 300 years in the future in a world where everyone is born and incorporated.

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The lightbulb of the future?

Luxim's energy efficient plasma lightbulb

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Fill your car for $1.10 a gallon?

Turning wood chips into fuel

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I just received my first followup that this may not be accurate. Snopes.Com verifies this check it out:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp This is more of the same distortions brought to us by the same people who seek to mis-characterize him as a Muslim.  They circulate these lies and hope you'll do what you just did;  Believe it on first read, not check it out, and then pass the lie along. TRUTH MATTERS TO AMERICANS! If you're actually INTERESTED in reading about the differences in their tax plans, go to the non-partisan TAX POLICY CENTER and read what they say about the plans offered by Senator Obama and John McCain.  The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The Center is made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government. leave some comments.

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I just received this email today that describes in real terms what are the tangible differences between Obama and McCain. Can someone please help me decipher this. INTERESTING DATA JUST RECEIVED ON TAXES. This is really going to catch a lot of families off guard. It should make you worry. Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election: CAPITAL GAINS TAX MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples) McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax. OBAMA 28% on profit from ALL home sales How does this affect you?  If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes.  If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income. DIVIDEND TAX MCCAIN 15% (no change) OBAMA 39.6% How will this affect you?  If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama become president.  The experts predict that higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit. INCOME TAX  (OBAMA CLAIMS NO INCREASE IN TAXES….. AFTER BUSH CUTS ARE ELIMINATED!) MCCAIN (no changes) Single making 30K - tax $4,500 Single making 50K - tax $12,500 Single making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 60K- tax $9,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250 OBAMA (Reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Under Obama your taxes will more than double!  How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight forward. INHERITANCE TAX MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax) OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax.  Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes. NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA * New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet * New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) * New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) * New taxes on retirement accounts and last but not least.... * New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

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I posted recently about Dani and Eytan's upcoming book The Unincorporated Man (from Tor) Multimedia. Below is a bit more of some tidbits from Dani's resume. I think it's pretty interesting to see how a business executive type is breaking into science fiction. kind of like all the former attorneys writing fictional legal thrillers. Now we can be entertained by an ad copy guy who has figured out a way to transport us to a new dimension of science fiction imagination. Let's see if all these awards below can actually produce compelling copy. if you want to preorder from Amazon the Unincorporated  Man, just click the link.

Here's some highlights from Dani's resume.

4 out of 5 Stars - ComputerWorld: Compton's Home Library - Battles of the World

MacUser Top 50 CD ROM: Artrageous!

PC Computing Top 100 CD ROM: Artrageous!

Technology and Learning Home Education Award: Artrageous!

 

Advertising:

Pioneer Direct Marketing Award – Silver Medal: Ogilvy & Mather Campaign

 

Packaging:

American Graphic Designer Award - for N.S.E.C.T. package design and copy

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The reviews are piling up as the launch date of the G1 approaches. ZdNet has a great review and I've copied some of the salient points below. Here's some basic info to help you evaluate the phone. The T-Mobile G1 has most of the same specifications as other higher end devices today and it isn’t really in the specifications where the device stands out from the crowd, but in the operating system. The 3.17 inch 480×320 high resolution display looks crisp and sharp on the G1. Althought he resolution is the same as the Apple iPhone, the pixel density is great because it is smaller so you get a really good image. I have always been bothered by fingerprints and the smooth plastic casing surrounding the display is the same color basically as the back so it does a good job of hiding fingerprints and smudges. There is 192MB of RAM which is used for running applications and you will be able to run multiple applications and let the device manage the memory dynamically. Bluetooth is fairly lame on the G1, just like it is on the iPhone, and only lets you connect to a Bluetooth headset. This means you cannot use Bluetooth for a keyboard, voice dialing, or file transfer to another device or PC. Good news is that it is extremely easy to switch between a Bluetooth headset, speakerphone, or the device by tapping on the display after pressing the Menu key. The technical specifications of the T-Mobile G1 are as follows:

• Google Android operating system
• 528MHz Qualcomm 7210 processor
• Quad-band GSM (850/1800/1900 MHz)
• Dual-band UMTS/HSDPA (1700/2100 MHz)
• 256MB ROM and 192MB RAM
• 3.17 inch 480×320 high resolution display
• 1150 mAh battery
• 3.2 megapixel camera with geo-tagging functionality
• Integrated GPS receiver
• Integrated 802.11 b/g WiFi radio
• Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 radio with EDR
• microSD card slot with support for SDHC cards (1GB microSD card pre-installed)
• Dedicated 5-row QWERTY keyboard
• Dimensions:
  • Weight: 5.6 ounces
  • Length: 4.60 inches
  • Width: 2.16 inches
  • Thickness: 0.62 inches

So far the worst thing universally is that the port used to charge the device is also the same port for listening with a headset. this is absolutely the dumbest and most annoying inconvenience i have seen on a few phones recently and i still can't understand how a technology company could screw this simple thing up.

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honorific: Sci Fi Essential. This is what it means (from the Sci Fi Channel website:) WHAT IS A SCI FI ESSENTIAL BOOK?

 

Hot off the presses. The Unincorporated Man which has not even hit the stands yet, has been previewed by a select few (not me unfortunately) and this has resulted in a competitive honorific. With 5 more months to go, Dani Kollin and his brother Eytan, have been awarded with the Sci-Fi Essential status for their upcoming science fiction novel.

 

Here's what this award means. SCI FI has teamed up with Tor Books, the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the world, to spotlight some of the best new science-fiction novels, from both new and established authors. 

Each month SCI FI selects a new book as a SCI FI Essential. That means it deserves to be counted among the finest works of the genre. If you want to pre-order at Amazon, just request a copy of The Unincorporated Man by visiting their site.

 

Available in all major bookstores.

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