IT Insights Blog

On Friday, but really tomorrow, fans of Marvel Comics and casual moviegoers alike will finally find out what happens when a purple alien monster gets control of literal fistful of magical doodads. (Remember when a Friday opening date used to mean that you couldn't see the movie until Friday? Thursday night has been the new Friday for a while now. Look out, Wednesday, you're next.)

For people who are not independently wealthy, retirement is no sure thing. Not the way that, say, death and taxes are. It's like you can't quit your job before you die because you had to pay so much in taxes that you never managed to save anything for retirement. This upbeat outlook brought to you by the Center for Positivity, Optimism, and Hopeful Platitudes.

Who here still watches Survivor? [Raises hand] Uh-huh, I see some more of you out there. Many a "reality" TV show has come and gone since the first Survivor contestants gathered on Borneo all the way back in good old Y2K, 2000. It's been 18 years, but Survivor is still with us, one of the true network warhorses not just of reality TV, but in the history of television.

For most people here in the United States, during most of the calendar year, the Internal Revenue Service taketh away. Tax withholding, for nearly all Americans, is as automatic as pouring milk on cold cereal, or contributing to a 401k. It's practically the same thing as contributing to a 401k: you agree to give someone else money with the expectation of getting some back later on.

Among the notable births of the year 1988 are Tiffany Two, the world's oldest known house cat (died at age 27 in 2015); Steph Curry, two-time NBA MVP and star point guard of the Golden State Warriors; Adele (birth name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins), singer-songwriter and one of history's top-selling recording artists; and Japan's famous Tokyo Dome sports venue.