Jack from Ohio

"Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green Green Grass of Home'." "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome." "Is it common?" "It's not unusual."

Heat wave!! Up to 21 this afternoon and 40 with rain on Saturday!!

J.B., Fill in the direct deposit information as normal The IRS WILL direct deposit the refunds just as in prior years. I have filed 10 2011 returns last season with Direct Deposits. The same would be true if you mailed the returns with direct deposit information on the forms. Direct Deposit will still work. You can use your mailing address as well, if you choose.

We hold all for the same reasons. This is the reasons many companies wait till the end of January to issue W-2s. I know people scream that they want them on Jan. 2, but with the current delays that the IRS has put in place, we should be asking people...."What's the rush?" We do not mail any W-3s, 1096s, 940s or 941s. Electronic filing is the only way to go.

Just as soon as the IRS starts accepting e-files again, and the return meets MEF requirements. When you create the e-file, the program will tell you if it meets MEF or not. Jan 31 is currently the date.

Currently -10 degrees. Low tonight -15 degrees. No need to talk about wind chill. COLD IS COLD!! Coldest in 20 years here. Good news!! The gnat, mosquito, fly, bean beetle and ant populations will be significantly lower, as well as the soil in the garden will be much softer and better for the plants next spring.

In our office, 10 workstations and 8 users, each user sets the preferences the first time they log into the program. Total time: 10 minutes per person. Hardly a weekend job.

if you find that my information is incorrect, please let me know. You asked, I answered. Customized letters can be saved as templates and accessed by any user. You must forget EVERYTHING from the past ATX programs. If you keep trying to use the "way it was before" you will spend much wasted time. ATX2013 is NOT LIKE ANY YEARS BEFORE. It is stable and useable.

The program is a true server based program. Therefore, each machine will have to have program updates done on each machines. I believe the preferences may follow the user, so, each user will have to set the preferences for their login. This is the price of having a true server based program and the stability that goes with it. If you have not set up users in the security settings, you should do so. To maintain "consistency", just inform all your staff of the new program requirements and especially tell your I.T. person as well.

Your information is outdated and simply incomplete.

As long as you get Windows 7 PRO as the operating system, that processor will be plenty for ATX 2013. No need for more than 4GB of RAM until next tax season. ATX 2013 cannot access more than 3.2GB of RAM. Be sure to get a large hard drive, minimum of 500GB, and it should be good. If you need other information, send me a PM.

One day a man decided to retire He booked himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeded to have the time of his life, that is, until the ship sank. He soon found himself on an island with no other people, no supplies, nothing, only bananas and coconuts. After about four months, he is lying on the beach one day when the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen rows up to the shore. In disbelief, he asks, Where did you come from? How did you get here? She replies, I rowed over from the other side of the island where I landed when my fishing boat sank. Amazing, he notes. You were really lucky to have a row boat wash up with you. Oh, this thing? explains the woman. I made the boat out of some raw material I found on the island. The oars were whittled from gum tree branches. I wove the bottom from palm tree branches, and the sides and stern came from an Eucalyptus tree. But, where did you get the tools? Oh, that was no problem, replied the woman. On the south side of the island, a very unusual stratum of alluvial rock is exposed. I found that if I fired it to a certain temperature in a volcanic vent I found just down island, it melted into ductile iron and I used that to make tools and used the tools to make the hardware. The guy is stunned. Lets row over to my place, she says and Ill give you a tour. So, after a short time of rowing, she soon docks the boat at a small hand built wharf. As the man looks to shore, he nearly falls off the boat. Before him is a long stone walk leading to a cabin and tree house. While the woman ties up the rowboat with an expertly woven hemp rope, the man can only stare ahead, dumb struck. As they walk into the house, she says casually, Its not much, but I call it home. Please sit down. Would you like a drink? No! No thank you, the man blurts out, still dazed. I cant take another drop of coconut juice. Oh, its not coconut juice, winks the woman. I have a still. How would you like a Jack Daniels neat? Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepts, and they sit down on her couch to talk. After they exchange their individual survival stories, the woman announces, Im going to slip into something more comfortable. Would you like to take a shower and shave? Theres a razor in the bathroom cabinet upstairs. No longer questioning anything, the man goes upstairs into the bathroom. There, in the cabinet is a razor made from a piece of tortoise bone. Two shells honed to a hollow ground edge are fastened on to its end inside a swivel mechanism. This woman is amazing, he muses. Whats next? When he returns, she greets him wearing nothing but a bandana around her blonde locks and some small flowers on tiny vines, each strategically positioned, she smelled faintly of coconut oil. She then beckons for him to sit down next to her. Tell me, she begins suggestively, slithering closer to him, Weve both been out here for many months. You must have been lonely. When was the last time you had a really good ride? She stares into his eyes. He cant believe what hes hearing. You mean he swallows excitedly as tears start to form in his eyes, Youve built a Harley?

Since you didn't use the program last year and are not using it this year, how do you think you have any information that will help? Please stick to the software you are using. There is a fix.

Check your messages.

You need some education in science, and you need to get out more....

So burning candles in your home is now a health risk?? I guess that is due to the manmade global warming phenomenon.

I would not have expected anything else from you. You bought into the paranoid baseless irrational fear. Still waiting for the example of an e-mail being "intercepted."

Do NOT change any server preferences. This information is not valid. Allow the program to install in the default locations. Forget EVERYTHING you knew about previous years of ATX. 2013 is NOT like any prior year except in how it looks when you use it. Contact me if you need more help.

Each system will need to be updated. This is a trait of a true server based program.

Those are all examples of endpoint hacking. The NSA captures their information from the e-mail providers. (again, endpoint) No examples of someone "intercepting" an e-mail... If the person I send it to does not have proper security protocols in place to protect the information in their systems, that is not a reason for me to send encrypted files.

Please show me an example of an e-mail being intercepted and hacked between sender and recipient? No one has been able to show that. It is an irrational fear that I will not play into. There are insurance companies that sell policies that cover meteor strikes. I don't have that coverage for the same reason I speak of not encrypting e-mail. Security on the sender and recipient's end is their responsibility. I have my end covered extensively. It is not my place to spend time and resources so the recipient does not have to secure their systems. Still waiting on the example....

There should be 5 ATX fonts. If you need, contact me and I will send them to you.

Then snail mail, UPS or Fed-Ex are the only safe methods according to the paranoid low information people in management positions making policies about this kind of thing. Please show me documentation of a single e-mail being captured between the sender and receiver and the information being hacked?

My clients respect my computer knowledge and skills the same way they respect my tax preparation skills and knowledge.

Tell the client to find a bank with realistic people running their I.T. and security. Otherwise, fax, mail, UPS, Fed-Ex, etc. Too many paranoid low information people in decision making positions concerning this kind of thing. If a recipient can't receive my unencrypted file in an e-mail. I snail mail as the only other option.