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October 24 09 | Comments (0)Shouldn’t Volunteer Work Be Tax Deductible?
August 24 09 | Comments (0)
Why are donations tax deductible while volunteer work for non-profit organizations isn’t? Volunteer work is time, therefore money spent towards an organization. Volunteer time should equals to monetary donations and be tax deductible.
The U.S. Department of The Treasury disagree. You can only get deductions on costs that are related to the volunteer work, like a cab, food, etc. See here.
There is a need to upgrade the law.
Tesla Motors – Electric Roadster Cars And More
August 22 09 | Comments (0)
I just introduced Cara to a new show, Leverage. It is a TNT show starring Oscar winner Timothy Hutton. It is about a team that sets up “elaborate scams designed to exact revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize people”. A great show from the two episodes I have seen; you should check it out on play it now on Netflix. Leverage has done some positive product placement for the Tesla Roadster, an electric car.
Tesla Motors, based out of California, designs and manufactures electric cars that look sexy and seemingly deliver a great performance. The Roadster series (see red car on photo above) is already in production and available for you to purchase for around $109,000. They are also coming out with some new models (see white car) for 2011 starting at around $49,000 (you can pre-order).
A few things about these cars:
- They partner up with Lotus for the manufacturing and engineering processes
- They can reach speeds up to 125 mph
- The Roadster series goes from 0 to 60mph in less than 4 seconds (3.7 sec)
- You have the option to get carbon fiber seats (better than leather since not harmful to animals)
- It takes only 3.5 hours to charge the battery
- Tesla estimates the car will cost you about 1 cent a mile to drive. So if my calculations are correct, if you drive 300 miles, it will cost you about $3. Isn’t that ridiculous? :)
- When the battery dies, you can get a new one for $12,000 and recycle the old one at a Tesla dealership. They say the battery should last about 100,000 miles or 5 years, whichever comes first. If you break down the $12,000 battery replacement cost over a 5 year length, it is about $200 a month, then add energy consumption, for an $50 extra dollars a month- total is around $250 a month. As a comparison, driving a non-electric car for 100,000 miles would cost you around $10,000 to $12,000 in gas only.
- The beauty is you can charge your battery with any energy you want: solar, wind, etc!
So check out the Roadster or pre-order your Model S (and its 7 seats!). Hopefully Cara and I can motivate ourselves to go take a test drive tomorrow in the city.
Update: Just called the dealership in Chelsea. They opened a month ago, only have one car to test drive and priorities are for Roadster owners or future owners. They took my info and will let me know when I can test drive…
B Corporations – Hope For The Future
August 14 09 | Comments (0)
Have you heard about B Corporations?
So what is it? It is a certification that allows consumers to know what companies are attempting to be more responsible. B Labs rate companies on 5 points: accountability, community, environment, consumers and employees. See here an example of a rating detail. Companies gain by becoming a B Corp as they will get tax reductions. It is a positive circle.
We envision a new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation the B Corporation which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.As members of this emerging sector and as entrepreneurs and investors in B Corporations, we hold these truths to be self-evident:
- That we must be the change we seek in the world.
- That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
- That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
- To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another
and thus responsible for each other and future generations.
You can see here the 81 founding corporations and just learn more about everything on the B Labs website.
The Cove: The Movie
August 6 09 | Comments (0)
Go see the movie The Cove. Watch the trailer above. I did not want to go as I knew it would be hard. This movie will inspire you to eat more responsibly (or to keep up with it).
Would I Design A Nipple Plate With Four Nipples?
July 25 09 | Comments (0)
Probably not. But this plate looks sexy, funny and weird. I like it. It was designed by Martin Zampach from Prague (Czech Republic). If 4 nipples are too much for you, you can go with the cute 3nipples plate.
I also love his Tetris-like ice tray below, Iceblox. These are fresh gift ideas.
Be Nice Released Some New Shirts And Working On A New Shopping Experience
July 2 09 | Comments (0)I just finished printing Cara’s Robot Shirt, red on coal for a local pick up tonight. Looks fantastic.
This weekend at Pridefest, we released a couple of new shirts: “Queer” (spelled out in binary code), Wind Turbine and Love Hostage. The 3 of them were very successful at Pridefest and unfortunately for our customers, we ran out of sizes pretty quickly.
Check out below more customers photos.
We also had to deactivate our online shopping functionality. So that’s what I am working on this weekend. Hopefully by Monday, we will have a new shopping experience, and not in flash this time.
My First Cardboard Furniture
June 24 09 | Comments (0)
For our Pridefest booth this weekend I wanted to find a solution that was gonna be cheap, eco-friendly, and original. So I decided instead of renting or purchasing a classic plastic set (one big table and 2 chairs), I was going to build our solution.
It took about two/three days between the design, prototyping, the building trial and the actual building of the 2 chairs and 3 tables. The main principle I used for building this set is the use of zero glue so the solution could really be eco-friendly and reusable. The furniture set can be mounted and unmounted, easier than Ikea furniture.
The tables also had to be strong enough to be pushed around and such. I had Cara test them. You won’t see it on these pictures but I lay down on the lower smaller table. Here are a few more pictures taken by Cara and I. If you want to check out the furniture, come OUT this Sunday, it is Pridefest and you will find our booth on Hudson between Jane Street and Horatio Street.
You can see also on the photo below that I added some angel wings to Cara’s chair. A small detail.
Cara Watching Heavenly's Delight, A Lesbian Feature If You Can't Tell (while I am working) in our old messy setup.
Ubenice.com gets a summer facelift
June 22 09 | Comments (0)So I haven’t been writing this last week as we were getting closer to the release of the new ubenice.com. A fresher look, a new logo, and some new shirts to come this week.
Go check this now. Also this coming weekend is The New York City Gay Pride and we will have a booth at the Pridefest on Sunday. This is going to be a lot of fun.
And who knows. Maybe by then we will be able to get married in New York… :p
UPDATE: I meant “we”, the people of New York.
Jolicloud: A New Operating System For Netbooks
June 9 09 | Comments (0)
Quick post about Jolicloud. First they are French and second, I haven’t had the opportunity to test the product yet.
Such a product was expected to see the light at some point, in the line of Zoho, Piwik and all the other existing online tools (I am only citing the ones I respect but obviously you can think of others more popular). This should be a pretty popular new tool mostly for regular computer users who really don’t care that all their personal information is “out-there”: they use their PC mostly for email, social stuff, text editor, etc.
The OS is built on Ubuntu (Linux) and again, it is French and works a little bit like a dreamhost panel where you can add/remove applications, etc. It seems to be quite limited for advanced users and users who care about their privacy and freedom. But again, haven’t tested the product… so I should keep my words for now.