The IRS Computer System Is the Oldest in the Government

The IRS Computer System Is the Oldest in the Government

"Though the IRS has periodically upgraded its computing system, today’s system is still running the same code, which was written nearly 60 years ago. Most of it is in the Assembly programming language, which the IRS itself has described as β€œantiquated” and β€œinflexible.” Worse, the number of programmers who can understand and maintain the code behind the Individual Master File (IMF) dwindles with every passing year. According to the Government Accountability Office, the IMF and its business counterpart (the BMF) are the oldest computing systems used by the federal government. (The runner-up in this dubious contest is the software used to coordinate the nation’s nuclear weapons.)"

"Plans to replace the IMF with a twenty-first-century equivalent known as CADE (Customer Account Data Engine) have faltered. The transition is now well behind schedule. As a consequence, the likelihood of a catastrophic computer failure during tax season increases with every passing year. That may not pose quite the same danger as an errant missile, but the prospect of lost refund checks, unnecessary audits, and other errors suggests that the time has come to bring the IRS into the 21st century."

The spring peeper is a little frog with some amazing abilities

The spring peeper is a little frog with some amazing abilities

"What the robin is to lawn and meadow, the peeper is to the wooded swamp. The first robin usually appears on a bright, though still chilly day, hopping over a bit of dry yellow grass revealed by the retreating snow. The peeper comes to us as a distant chorus on the first evening a light coat or sweatshirt will suffice, or all of a sudden when, on a night warm enough to crack a car window, we pass a bit of low ground flooded by the spring rains and snowmelt. They’re more often heard than seen. Approach them, and the song cuts off well before you can get near. Peepers are skittish. You would be too if you were very small and made a sound that could be heard a mile away. Nevertheless, they have some remarkable abilities."

April 17, 2018 7:37 am Update

πŸ’°Happy Tax Day. Time to give all your spare change to the government.πŸ’°

35 degrees, light rain. πŸ’§Cloudy and 44 later. ☁

Metes and bounds – Wikipedia

Metes and bounds – Wikipedia

Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property (in contrast to personal property) or real estate. Newer systems include rectangular (government survey), lot and block (recorded plat) and Torrens (used in Hawaii, Colorado, Australia, New Zealand and Canada).

Metes. The term "metes" refers to a boundary defined by the measurement of each straight run, specified by a distance between the terminal points, and an orientation or direction. A direction may be a simple compass bearing, or a precise orientation determined by accurate survey methods.

Bounds. The term "bounds" refers to a more general boundary description, such as along a certain watercourse, a stone wall, an adjoining public road way, or an existing building. The system is often used to define larger pieces of property (e.g. farms), and political subdivisions (e.g. town boundaries) where precise definition is not required or would be far too expensive, or previously designated boundaries can be incorporated into the description.