Scrappiness!

Don't judge me, but I fell asleep on the floor last night, and woke up -- laptop and light on -- at 5 AM.  Oi.  I planned to get up at 7, and instead woke up at 8:15.  I guess this was good -- I need the rest -- and then I went and did my taxes.  This was good -- the carnage was much less than expected and there will be cash available for other necessary things, like adding to my savings and paying down the HELOC.  Dare I say that I have followed the advice of my accountant, set things up like they said, and I think it was the reason why things were ok.  About the only thing I disagreed with them was the mortgage -- I want to pay it off as soon as I can, but they suggested I keep it, given the low rate and the mortgage deduction (which I can still claim).  I guess I get their point, but I think they got mine -- I just do not like debt.

Then it was gym, drug store, and home to catch up on some work and watch some college basketball.  The MEAC final was impressive -- reminded me of the MAC Championship last year -- and the MAC Championship was absolutely nuts.  Miami had doubled them up in the first half and led for about 80% of the game, and... Akron came back.  Impressively, with an even crazier ending than the MEAC.  And, of course, those scrappy, injury-ridden underdogs -- the Duke Blue Devils -- after trying to throw the game away against UNC (my team beats their rivals three times in one season!), are the ACC champs.  Now, I think we all want Flagg back, and ideally they will need him but minimally in the first game, or two, to ensure that he is healthy.... but I think we all know that is the most optimal scenario.

EPA launches attack on ‘holy grail’ of climate science — and dozens of enviro rules - POLITICO
I get a kick out of articles like this; I mean, yes, I feel badly for those involved, but we are $36 trillion in the hole, and taxes alone cannot get us out of it.  I am sure the states can pick up the slack, should they wanted to, and there is an argument that the feds should never have been involved in the first place.  I was listening to one of my economics podcasts, and they point out that the economy should be able to absorb one million (or so) fired federal workers.  Of course, I think that is the rub; a certain segment of the economy thinks these people are not-so-hardworking, if you get my drift, and I can why; I can't imagine how the administrator of the drag show in Ecuador funding gets a real job...