Catherine

Hope you have VERY :bday:

They could just charge by total weight. Or total volume. And UPS would rake in a bundle getting our luggage to our destinations. Maybe Boeing picked the wrong time to bring out that new plane. (Remember the movie "Airplane"? -- I sure picked the wrong week to quit a ) drinking, b ) smoking, c ) doing cocaine, d ) sniffing glue, etc.)

The only solution, of course, is for all of us to fly naked (after body cavity searches). I wonder if the airlines will then start charging for use of blankets, seat sanitizers, and blindfolds! (There are certain things I really do NOT want to see in this world. High on that list would be jowly, overweight businessmen and great-grandmothers, sitting naked in an airliner. A blindfold would be worth a lot of money then.) I get the feeling that both Amtrak and the highways will be seeing more business, effective immediately. Perhaps even the resurgence of the ocean liner. In the meantime, El Al has an exemplary security record -- because they take security seriously, and do not water down safety requirements for fear of being called names by idiots. Profiling -works- and I don't care if it's PC or not. Don't want to offend? Well, being so PC that innocents are endangered offends ME. Reconcile that. :mad:

Hope you have a VERY :bday:

Hope you have a VERY :bday:

Marilyn -- I am so glad your surgery went well!! May you heal very quickly ( you and your husband both) and may the second eye go as well. Margaret -- I can certainly understand your fear of surgery in your remaining sighted eye; the thought is very scary. If/when you decide to do it, I hope it all goes -at least- as well as Marilyn's has.

Yes, BUT. The "but" is that you pretty much have to fill out the paper form to have with you when you go online. It's just not possible to have everything they want, in the forms they want it, without having the all-filled-out paper form right there beside your keyboard. Ask me how I know this.....

Thanks for TWO pieces of info -- one on the import of csv files, and the other that CCH is actually responding (at least for now) to emailed support requests!

Kea -- I'll take the Burns book. PM me (or I'll PM you) and we'll discuss. Catherine

Oooh -- that one is nasty! Unprotecting the form and then pasting saved my behind a couple of times last year with day-trader clients. I thought there was supposed to be an Excel import for Sch. D this year but I haven't looked at it yet.

I only do it for tax clients and add a small charge to their tax bill when we get there. Of course I tell them ahead of time when they first bring me the papers! I suppose if someone wanted just the aid forms I'd charge about $100 or more (depending on how complex). They're really nasty. I don't charge tax clients that much ($50 or so) because it's mainly a rehash of the stuff I need for their taxes anyway.

The line between bureaucratic inertia and outright tyranny can be exceedingly thin.

A friend who was a professional fundraiser for many years has been involved in quite a few direct mail campaigns. She always said a 1 - 2% response was pretty good -- but that's asking for money. I think for marketing it's a bit better. If you average about $250 per return, then six new clients puts you in the black for this campaign in terms of direct costs of the mailing. But a 3% return would get you 45 clients. Good luck!

Yeah.

I get good rates from Target Insurance Services (through the Hartford); they have a special tax preparer program. Don't know how they are on claims, as I haven't had any (and please God that it stays that way!).

A client of mine had this done (two eyes but separately) a couple of years ago. She said the most amazing part was how much more vivid the COLORS were. Had she known in advance, she would not have waited those extra couple of years! Did you find that true as well?

Hope the eye surgery goes very well and that recovery is very quick and painless!!

Hope you have a VERY :bday:

Now -that- is a nice route to take. Talk to the designer and take a couple of your wife's favorites so s/he can get a "flavor" of her style. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Hope you had a VERY :bday:

Gwen counted -- we had 213 ravioli. About a third of them got eaten for Christmas dinner and the rest are in the fridge slowly being enjoyed. It took several hours of hard work rolling dough, filling, shaping, cutting, setting out to dry -- and then boiling in batches. I should post a picture of the process and/or the final result. Yum!!

First, Congratulations!!!! Ten years is a nice milestone. (And a note to all the others -- no, I am -not- jealous.) To answer your question properly, how about a little more info on your lady wife? Think of the sparklies she already has, and likes, and wears frequently. Does she like/want/expect diamonds -- or does she prefer colored stones like rubies, sapphires, or emeralds? Is she the type who would prefer a smaller -flawless- stone with perfect color -- or does she want the ring equivalent of brass knuckles? A single eye-catcher, or a circle of matched stones? Does she like traditional styling or something a bit more modern or avant garde? A friend of mine who is a jeweler asks these questions (with a bit more subtle wording) when she has customers come in looking for anniversary presents. Let us know, and you'll get some specific advice. I suppose you could put a big bow around you, like a sash, but that's a bit difficult for her to wear, even if you actually are wrapped around her finger. Catherine

Merry Christmas to all!

<<<Grabbing a handful and another bottle of that root beer and watching with you -- we sure get some great shows here! Wonder if/when the sparks will fly...>>>

Hope you have a VERY