Catherine

While I may be limiting my client base -- I won't take ANY tax information by cell phone. Those few who have sent such to me, I have requested they re-send by email. Why? Too many of those text messages have text problems. I'm not going to put a number in for real estate tax (for example) based on a text message, only to have the client later get letter and then, once the message is gone, it's a he said/she said. Text messages are not stored for long and you can't print them to pdf! I get emails, save them as pdf's, and then know where my numbers came from. If I can't keep a copy of the electronically-provided number, I don't want it and won't put it in a return. Send it by email.

I have had good luck in purchasing new, unregistered software on ebay. You can get good deals on prior-version software. Don't know where Adobe is at the moment but I bought Acrobat 10 shortly after 11 came out, brand new, registerable, for ~ 1/3 the price it had been.

Automatic flagging of foreign addresses is easy, fast programming. Automatic flagging of multiple copies of the same address should be nearly as fast.

So we're a *little* bit early for this -- but you'll love the various emails that dear old Santa has in his inbox. Santa's Gmail.PDF

My daughters have given plenty of tax or bookkeeping assistance to friends (up through Schedule C, and with QuickBooks) as well. Fiona (my older girl) tells a story of getting the W-2 from her burger-flipping job in Harvard Square (Bartley's Burger Cottage, for those who know) some years ago. She said, "Thanks! I've been waiting for this," and the kid next to her said, "What is it?" She started telling him what a W-2 was, what one needed to do with it, how to fill out a 1040, etc. and within seconds had *all* the kids who worked there gathered around her, hanging on her every word and asking questions (all of which she was able to answer correctly). She said that as she was talking, she was thinking to herself, "I sound just like Mom...."

A good idea, but I tried that two years ago and am not particularly eager to repeat the experience. ONE kid was interested -- but needed not to work Feb - Apr as that was his sports season. Big kid; 6' tall easy, lived around the corner from my office. His MOM came to the interview with him, in case she was needed to protect babykins from big bad (5' tall, middle-aged) me. Good grief.

My assistant last year had a Master's in Accounting and had worked for VITA for 3 - 4 years. He was hopeless. Good at scanning documents, and did know enough about returns to collate them properly; not much else. He was marginally better than the professional violinist I know from church who would come help with scanning when I was desperate. I knew more about tax preparation when I was 16, for gosh' sakes. And both my girls could run rings around him *today*, with one eye closed. I was not impressed with VITA's training, or with him. (In his defense I will say he tried hard, was on time, and was always polite. That is worth something these days.)

Looking for a part-time assistant for tax season. Just west of Boston. Anything from help with document handling (scanning & collating) to someone who eventually wants their own practice and wants to learn until they're ready to take the reins. My teaching, writing, and lecturing on the US Constitution is taking more and more time. Since both my live-in, home-grown helpers are now out of the house, I'm swamped.

Thanks for all the work you do for us, and we'll be patient with slow time, down time, and upgrade/porting issues!

I have an LG front-loader that we bought when the old Whirlpool top-loader died (younger daughter over-loaded it and there went the transmission; new unit not available without more money than a new machine, plus labor). It was highly rated; holds large loads. I've found that I have to dry towels on LOW speed or they come out too dry to "fluff" in the dryer! Lots of bending (not a big deal for me). If you leave the door open there are no problems with smell. All that said, I don't really like it. In order for clothes to actually get clean (as opposed to just wet) I have to choose the "water plus" feature with every load. My old machine had a wash cycle about as long as the dry cycle so taht made multiple loads easy; this one has a very LONG wash cycle (about 20 min longer than the old machine), and the dry time is shorter (which is good). If I had it to do over again, I would go for another top-loader, probably like the one you ended up with.

Eric they are adorable!! We had a couple of kids with parents and then several sets of multi-family groups. Fortunately here the rain had tapered to drizzle and then just damp. And the temps have been rising -- ten degrees warmer now than at 4PM. Kids were vaguely damp but in excellent spirits. However, there were far fewer than we've had in the past. Lots of extra candy for my husband to bring in to work. We'll keep a few pieces here of personal favorites and ship out the rest. After all, if it stays here it either goes to waste or to waist. We don't like either alternative very much!

There were a tribe of islanders who worshiped ever-living dolphins and hoped they would be conferred favors by sacrificing seagulls to them. They ran out of birds on one side of the island, though, so they went to the other side of the island to get some more, even though they were a smaller type of gull. Coming back, they found the way blocked by two somnolent lions. Knowing the dolphins were waiting for the sacrifice, they tiptoed up and stepped over the lions, whereupon they were immediately arrested and charged with transporting minor gulls over staid lions for immortal porpoises. (Mwah hah hah.)

If I were to be punished For every little pun I shed I'd hie me to a puny shed And there I'd hang my punnish head.

There is also a connection -- or accelerant -- with cheap and/or "lite" beer. So very many of those YouTube videos start out with the sentence, "Hey -- hold my beer and watch this!" (Please note this phrase can be inferred; the camera is usually not started until after its utterance.) The more expensive the beer, the less likely the interaction. Obviously, more research is needed into these substances.

Eeek! Snoopy scared me! Happy All Hallows' Eve to all. Clocks change THIS Sunday.

Then there was the Irish gay couple -- Patrick Fitzgerald and Gerald Fitzpatrick. Ba dum CHA.

I heard it years ago as spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch.

My sister in law had surgery for breast cancer some months ago and went through the same as your wife - plus some other (non-dangerous but uncomfortable) complications. She is now doing very well -- you and your wife can look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Prayers for you both.

(Disclaimer: Sent to me from someone, at some point -- for all I recall, someone here) This story may or may not be true from experiences I may or may not have had with the IRS if I ever did even work for them. During my short employment tour with the IRS in the mail room, I've found several harmless ways to mess with them and receive no recourse. Always put staples in the right hand corner. Go ahead and put a row down the whole right side. The extractors who remove the mail from the envelopes have to take out any staples in the right side. Never arrange paperwork in the right order, or even facing the right way. Put a few upside down and backwards. That way they have to remove all your staples rearrange your paperwork and re-staple it (on the left side). Line the bottom of your envelope with Elmer's glue and let it dry before you put in you forms, so that the automated opener doesn't open it and the extractor has to open it by hand. If you’re very unfortunate and have to pay taxes use a two or three party check. On top of paying with a three party check pay one of the dollars you owe in cash. When an extractor receives cash, no matter how small an amount, he has to take it to a special desk and fill out of few nasty forms. Write a little letter of appreciation. Any letter received has to be read and stamped regardless of what it is or what it’s on. Write your letter on something misshapen and unconventional. Like on the back of a Kroger sack. When you mail it, mail it in a big envelope (even if its just a single EZ form). Big envelopes have to be torn and sorted differently than regular business size ones. An added bonus to the big envelope is that they take priority over other mail, so the workers can hurry up and deal with your mess =) If you send 2 checks they'll have to staple your unsightly envelope to your half destroyed form. Always put extra paper clips on your forms. Any foreign fasteners or the like have to be removed and put away. Sign your name in ink on every page. Any signature has to be verified and then date stamped. These are just a few of the fun and exciting things you can do with the man. These methods are only recommended when you owe money.

Sounds like a weekly Sabbath is actually vitally important. I also now feel much better about the walking, light reading, and fiddle playing I use to take breaks. I remember when I was in college (note to Bulldog Tom; your son should pay attention to this) that the work load was extremely heavy and at times I could actually *feel* that my brain was "full" and could not process anything new; it needed a break. Really a feeling like having a measuring cup, open-top, full to the brim with only surface tension keeping it from spilling over, in place of my brain. No one will see me signing up for three months of meditation anytime soon, though. I did note that the article said nothing about prayer -- and while I don't recall where at the moment, I did read, some time ago, that prayer can have the same effect on the mind as meditation.

LOL!!

One thing about MIT that is really different from most schools is that people form bonds around their "living groups" (NOT "dorms"), and activities. Your son could ask about the interviewer's living group, and ask about clubs or groups that include his own interests. Some info can be found online but asking how to really delve into life at the 'Tute will certainly show that he wants to be part of it all, not just take a bunch of classes. IHTFP, after all. One meaning (out of dozens) is "I have truly found paradise." (I have tried, failed, and punted; I hate this *ummm* place; interesting hacks to fascinate people; I'll have thesis finished pronto; I have taken freshman physics; iron has three fundamental properties.... the list goes on probably for pages.)

And good luck to your son -- I am sure he will do fabulously well.

I will also add that my husband (who coaches the Pistol Team) notes over the years he sees more and more kids who are "wicket smaht" (translated: wicked (super) smart, in Boston-speak) but who have spent their young lives in front of computer screens and keyboards -- and who therefore have a VERY limited intuition about how the physical world works. This, in general, makes it much harder to learn mechanics and how calculus describes (at first, before it goes seriously esoteric) *physical* changes. Changes in slope, in acceleration, describing the way a cable "hangs" when supported at two points... Or they've never played with electronics kits and learned what happens when you stick a bigger or smaller value resistor in your circuit (or your "solar car" project, as so many schools make kids build). Someone who still understands those things will have an easier time at MIT and make a better impression at the interview. More than anything else, MIT is about the WHY that underpins and informs the "how" of things.

My buddy who does interviews (on this side of the country) cautions that every interviewer is different. Here are his comments. He says: <begin rant> I care more about how they think than what they have done. Frequently, the applicant has done some huge project in robotics or math or some such. Then when I probe, I find that they have no idea WHY things work the way they do. The ones that understand the underlying principles really stand out. Also, I care more about attitude than anything. I am asking myself if they are going to SURVIVE, and attitude is most of it. They ALL have great grades, great AP courses, great SATs and I couldn't give less of a shit about any of it. In fact, the interviewers are NOT supposed to have transcripts, scores or even resumes. Although I like resumes. I often see the #1 ranked student, and almost invariably find them boring. <rant ends> The interview is a small part of the process. It can definitely swing the vote, but if the foundational stuff ain't there, it doesn't matter. And I have been told that the interview has more effect in the negative direction than the positive. Not sure if I can corroborate that, tho.