T2K

Thanks for that. The local office here takes appointments according to their web site. I didn't call today but I will call next week to see if they're open during this shutdown. I waited 6 months after getting a letter from them and never got an answer, only another duplicate letter with the same information as before. I hope to file an amended return before the deadline. Keith

It's a fact that I am just now hearing about. It's something that is usually not openly discussed. As far as retirement savings go, I'm sure you see the future gigantic cluster that is forming that will make this shutdown just a tiny blip on the screen of a miserable life. Maybe this period is somewhat prepping people for their depression era future. Few pensions (and many of those getting Mitted which the government will eventually bail on), a funding shortage for SS, Medicare funding issues, low pay with no retirement savings. The future is bleak for those that do not prepare themselves. That's the way I see it anyway. Keith

I've seen probably a half dozen middle aged people being interviewed here lately about their financial difficulties after missing a paycheck. I'd be embarrassed to admit that I was such a poor planner of my future. When I was a teen my Dad told me I could have anything I wanted. Just get a job and pay for it. After I figured out the way the system worked, I work-employer pays-I buy, I never looked back. I have never asked anyone for anything. Was I furloughed for months every year for the first 6 years of my last job? Yes, yes I was. We sucked it up and enjoyed the time off. I don't understand why people don't realize that stuffing big black plastic bags full of cash in the garage like Carl does is insurance for their future, just like buying insurance for your car or your home or your life. Like Emile says, stuffing a couple of dollars in a pickle jar every week adds up in no time. Maybe the shutdown will be a wake-up call for some people. I hate it for them though. Keith

That's nice. They did a good job too. Where are you going to put those big black bags full of cash? Keith

Just recently the IRS had their way with me anally and I did not enjoy the experience. After many months of back and forth I finally paid their demands to turn off the $pigot of penalties/interest. I'm planning to visit my local IRS field office soon. I hope they will review my past return and explain to me how they arrived at my underpayment amount. Has anyone had experience with their local IRS field office and what that office can and can not do regarding reviewing past tax returns? Keith

I don't watch the News very much, local or cable, but it is hard to miss what's reportedly going on during the 'Government Shutdown'. No, not talking about politics, not talking about the reason for the 'Shutdown' itself, I'm talking about the apparent poor financial condition of your average working family, which in this case is being demonstrated primarily by government employees although the effect of the shutdown affects others too. Since a few weeks into the shutdown we have heard about food pantries, missed medical procedures, bankruptcy, opening Go-Fund-Me accounts and horror story after horror story, after missing just one paycheck. WTF is that? Are working folks in this country really in as bad financial shape as is being reported? Why is that? I read that he average government employee earns an average of $79,000 a year. Of course most probably earn much less. Do people not prepare themselves for the bumps in the road of life nowadays or are people just living beyond their means. It's flabbergasting to me. I mean, why don't we see more vehicles on the side of the road out of gas because of this type of poor planning? I did read that 80% of working folks here live paycheck to paycheck. But still, after 2 weeks of missed pay. I just don't get it. I don't really consort with younger folks since I'm an old retired codger. But is this really the state of most working people in this country, in your opinion/experience? Keith

How long and how many pairs do you need? Keith

We have a self cleaning oven. The wife cleans it her-self. Now that I think about it we have a self cleaning house too. Keith

.

Seems like a nice mode of transportation. It appears that the tram may reach 40 or so MPH before reaching the next station, it's hard to tell. I logged probably ten's of thousands of miles on a diesel in the past. Lots less enjoyable but still scenic. Keith

OK, I'll play. Using your words, "Get the individual clean and not using then that problem goes away". Had the user never used in the first place the 'problem' would never have existed. Keith

I watched the video and found it interesting Zen. Wonder how fast the train/tram was traveling between all those stops? Beats a bus. Keith

That may be true. After ingesting the ingester becomes the impacter, not the drug. Keith

Carboplatin helped me to lose 40 pounds in less than 3 months. I felt like **** . I don't recommend it. Keith

Opioids only affect those that use them. Otherwise they are harmless.

.

Bowl games are exhibition games. Colleges are paid to play in bowl games, they don't host bowl games. College football has a championship playoff. The best teams play for the championship, the rest cry and make excuses. It's pretty complicated. Keith

Everyone has their faults. All we perfect individuals can do is to encourage and support those that have a dependency. Keith

It doesn't matter. No one watches or cares about Alabama anyway.

In many respects, America is, for better and for worse, heir to the intellectual revolution of seventeenth-century Europe. What characterized philosophy and science in the early modern period and represented a break from much of what went before is the concern to tailor theories to evidence, not to authority or tradition. Galileo, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Newton and others came up with explanations of the cosmos, of the world around them and of human nature and society not by appealing to what earlier thinkers (such as Plato and Aristotle) had said. Nor were they guided primarily by religious dogma. Rather, they took their lead from reason and experience. Whether they proceeded according to the logic of deduction or through the critical collection and analysis of data, what the modern scientific method they developed consists in is the testing of theories according to what reason allows and what empirical evidence supports. A rational person only believes what the evidence warrants him in believing; he does not merely accept things on faith; and when the evidence falsifies his beliefs, he abandons them. It is irrational — stupid — to hold onto beliefs when they are plainly contradicted by the evidence.

I've got a pristine Denon DP-47F that probably has less than 10 hours. I haven't turned it on in at least 5 years. Put a Grado Gold on it years ago and maybe used it 2 hours total. It has the black trim so I've had it since mid 90's probably, would have to look that up. Back then you could get parts so I bought a new spare dustcover, hinges, headshell and I don't know what else. The original box has lived in the attic for years so I don't know how solid it is. All that to say I wouldn't even think about shipping it. Maybe someday. If I change my mind in the next few days I'll PM you.

I got my wife anal beads. They're easy to use... just like cranking a lawnmower. Keith

Yes, it's devastating.

I was the 'victim' of a random act of kindness once.

Yes (hating to admit it) I did see that. Funny. Keith