In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, December 25, 2025 04:27
VIEWED: 1005090
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JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
That's good that your are taking the opportunity to talk to her about the way the world was when she was young. I would also suggest you write things down for your niece. This is something you can pass down to your niece.
That's a great idea. I should do that.

I've been meaning to spend more time at her place. I should make a point of it when the weather gets warmer. She's got about 5 totes full of picutres of people I don't even know from her lifetime. Things that I took great care to save when I was throwing out the hoard that had accumulated in that basement over decades with my uncle and after he passed away. I think she'd get a kick out of going through them, and I could write down things on the back of the pictures.

I suggest recording video. Prop a phone or cheap vid camera to capture the conversation. Then the vid will also show what the photos looked like when they are described, so the specific pic can be closely looked at decades later when reviewing the vid.
Take notes like an interview, mostly for when topics arise that you want to return to later, but without disrupting the flow of story being told. Older folks disgorge more info, and better details when not interrupted. When names are mentioned, follow up later with spelling's and clarifying specific relationships, date ranges, locations.
I started doing Family Tree questions when I was in Jr High, and notetaking will never keep up with the narrative, and you'll miss key points. I learned stuff that my parents and grandparents never knew.
I was conceived around the time JFK was assassinated. I did ask my mom about that time, how the nation seemed, how could the nation swallow all that malarkey about Oswald being a lone gunman at a time when people were supposed to be able to think for themselves.

Quote:

Quote:
I learned a little about the world during the Great Depression from my dad and my mum. Maybe even a couple of things from my dad's sister too. That's another reason why I miss my dad and his brothers and sisters.
Yeah. Sorry to hear about that. I know when I was younger I didn't place any value on nostalgic things, but as I get older they've become quite a bit more meaningful as people I used to care about aren't around anymore.
Quote:
Well, my brain and numbers. So it is easier for me to get someone to do it and most places e-file nowadays but print you off a copy for record keeping. I like that.
I wonder if Canada makes it easier than it is here in the States. I imagine that they do.

It's insane that with the technology available to us today that filing taxes online is 5 times the ordeal as doing them by hand and making a trip to the post office to mail them in.

Technology has nothing to do with it.
Thank Billy Boy Gates for turning promising computers into useless paperweights.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Sounds like a great visit Jack. You are lucky to have living members of your family that old. There are times when I really miss my dad's oldest sister but all his brothers and sisters are gone now and I never knew my grandparents on either side. They all died long before I was born.
I try to talk to her about old things now when we talk. About what she thought of the world when she was young. She's really my only opportunity to hear about what somebody thought life was like during and right after the Great Depression. I wasted that opportunity with all of my other grandparents.
Quote:
Yeah tax time is b&tch no matter where you are. I will soon have to get mine done. And we have on line things up here but I can't be bothered.
I actually don't mind doing my own. Paper and mail is the way to go, even though they penalize you and hold your return hostage for an extra month or two if you mail it.
That's hogwash.

I used to file my returns every Jan 1st, and would get my refund between 10 and 25 days later.
If you are waiting for the deluge of hundreds of millions of returns before filing yours, then the only delay is them working through the backlog.

I have no idea how you were filing returns on January 1st since nobody gives you the W2 statements that early, unless you were always doing contract work. I filed mine at the end of January this year, on the very day that the document I needed was made available online. It couldn't be filed before that day.

They usually don't take 6 weeks, but if you go to the IRS website right now they will specifically state that you aren't supposed to expect a return if you mailed it for 6 weeks or 21 days if you efiled. They've said that for years. It might take longer now though since we went into this tax season and there were still 5 million altered returns that still hadn't been processed after they changed the rules on unemployment income after Biden* was sworn in.

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Vaccinated People: "You need to get muh vaccination shots that don't work because I got muh vaccination shots that don't work and I'm afraid of people that didn't get muh vaccination shots that don't work because muh vaccination shots that don't work don't work."

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:25 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I suggest recording video. Prop a phone or cheap vid camera to capture the conversation. Then the vid will also show what the photos looked like when they are described, so the specific pic can be closely looked at decades later when reviewing the vid.
Take notes like an interview, mostly for when topics arise that you want to return to later, but without disrupting the flow of story being told. Older folks disgorge more info, and better details when not interrupted. When names are mentioned, follow up later with spelling's and clarifying specific relationships, date ranges, locations.
I started doing Family Tree questions when I was in Jr High, and notetaking will never keep up with the narrative, and you'll miss key points. I learned stuff that my parents and grandparents never knew.
I was conceived around the time JFK was assassinated. I did ask my mom about that time, how the nation seemed, how could the nation swallow all that malarkey about Oswald being a lone gunman at a time when people were supposed to be able to think for themselves.

Good ideas.

Quote:
Technology has nothing to do with it.
Thank Billy Boy Gates for turning promising computers into useless paperweights.

Can't blame that dude for everything. He hasn't even had his hand in the operating system for decades now. He's too busy trying to take over the world now with his Davos buddies, don't you know?

I've posted about it in here before somewhere, but a large part of the problem with how lousy software works today is because coding has become extremely lazy and also much easier so it can be done by people who are hardly experts, all because there is so much horsepower on today's computers when compared to the mid-90's and before when you really had to be damn good at the job to make every single bit count.

Recently, I saw this video that does a great job explaining that in detail.

Also, another video that shows what a talented programmer could do with early video game consoles when porting games that shouldn't have even been able to run on them.

In the case of the Tax Software though, it was intentionally made to be as laborious and unusable as possible because a large portion of the people using it to "free" file will give up an end up paying for somebody else to do it.

--------------------------------------------------

Vaccinated People: "You need to get muh vaccination shots that don't work because I got muh vaccination shots that don't work and I'm afraid of people that didn't get muh vaccination shots that don't work because muh vaccination shots that don't work don't work."

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:40 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Sorry, don't mean to complain about the weather! I'm perfectly happy with ours the way it is!

Yours sounds beastly.

Wish there was some way to make it better!

Maybe ... you're almost thru winter?

What winter?
We've hardly gotten any snow this season, has been mostly too cold - which cranks up the heating needs double.
South of me has gotten much snow, like 6ix seems to get hit a lot this year. But even Milwaukee and halfway from there to here have been nailed a bunch.
Haven't seen Snow Squalls in many years, but yesterday they created a mess. Lots of videos around of horizontal snow. 39 car pileup on big highway (Interstate style), and hundreds of accident calls PER COUNTY.
Not good ice fishing competitions, lots of trucks falling through.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, February 20, 2022 12:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Sounds like a great visit Jack. You are lucky to have living members of your family that old. There are times when I really miss my dad's oldest sister but all his brothers and sisters are gone now and I never knew my grandparents on either side. They all died long before I was born.
I try to talk to her about old things now when we talk. About what she thought of the world when she was young. She's really my only opportunity to hear about what somebody thought life was like during and right after the Great Depression. I wasted that opportunity with all of my other grandparents.
Quote:
Yeah tax time is b&tch no matter where you are. I will soon have to get mine done. And we have on line things up here but I can't be bothered.
I actually don't mind doing my own. Paper and mail is the way to go, even though they penalize you and hold your return hostage for an extra month or two if you mail it.
That's hogwash.

I used to file my returns every Jan 1st, and would get my refund between 10 and 25 days later.
If you are waiting for the deluge of hundreds of millions of returns before filing yours, then the only delay is them working through the backlog.
I have no idea how you were filing returns on January 1st since nobody gives you the W2 statements that early, unless you were always doing contract work. I filed mine at the end of January this year, on the very day that the document I needed was made available online. It couldn't be filed before that day.

They usually don't take 6 weeks, but if you go to the IRS website right now they will specifically state that you aren't supposed to expect a return if you mailed it for 6 weeks or 21 days if you efiled. They've said that for years. It might take longer now though since we went into this tax season and there were still 5 million altered returns that still hadn't been processed after they changed the rules on unemployment income after Biden* was sworn in.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic.

Most folks are not required to wait for employers to send them a W-2, but most folks do anyhow.
All of the needed data is either on your last paycheck of last year, or stuff like Employers Fed Tax ID Number are the same as on last year's W2.
I would always hand write the Box number 1. And then whatever data goes in that box, just like the year before. Do all the Box numbers that have pertinent data. Most data fields which were empty I wouldn't bother writing the Box number down, unless I wanted to be perfectly clear that certain data fields were exactly Zero.
Do that for each employer. I usually used up 1/3 of a lined sheet of paper per handwritten W2.
Remember, every digit of that data you submit is already in their computers, so they will know you did submit the correct numbers instead of rsndom jibberish.

Yes, if I waited until I got W2s mailed to me, I would get my refund in March or April. But just getting my refund in mid- or late January seemed easier and convenient. Their estimate is always the same, every year since the 1980s.
Tax rules state that if the data you send in is in error, you can file an amended W2 and Return without penalty before the Tax Deadline. But it is so easy I have never had an error that needed amending.

Remember, on Jan 2 the IRS has a pile of people just eager and happy to get their hands on a return and get that refund sent right out as fast as possible. If you wait for the deluge, they will be so bored and sluggish, with an avalanche of paper to process.

I don't know if efile causes some arbitrary delay, I never efiled. I felt a week or 3 delay to get my check in the mail was enough. When filing on Jan 1, I always got my refund check before I got my mailed W2s.

I never had contract work W2s.
A couple times I got ca

BRENDA

Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:47 PM

Sunday of a long weekend. Monday is Family Day in BC.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, February 21, 2022 1:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Not sure if you are being sarcastic.

Nope.

Quote:
Most folks are not required to wait for employers to send them a W-2, but most folks do anyhow.

False. You are required to attach W2s to your federal and state returns. Maybe you don't have to attach them in Wisconsin, but you do in Indiana and Illinois. When I worked in Wisconsin I kept my Illinois address so I never filed there. But it doesn't matter since you are required to attach your W2 to your Federal 1040.

Quote:
All of the needed data is either on your last paycheck of last year, or stuff like Employers Fed Tax ID Number are the same as on last year's W2.
I would always hand write the Box number 1. And then whatever data goes in that box, just like the year before. Do all the Box numbers that have pertinent data. Most data fields which were empty I wouldn't bother writing the Box number down, unless I wanted to be perfectly clear that certain data fields were exactly Zero.
Do that for each employer. I usually used up 1/3 of a lined sheet of paper per handwritten W2.
Remember, every digit of that data you submit is already in their computers, so they will know you did submit the correct numbers instead of rsndom jibberish.

Yes, if I waited until I got W2s mailed to me, I would get my refund in March or April. But just getting my refund in mid- or late January seemed easier and convenient. Their estimate is always the same, every year since the 1980s.
Tax rules state that if the data you send in is in error, you can file an amended W2 and Return without penalty before the Tax Deadline. But it is so easy I have never had an error that needed amending.

Remember, on Jan 2 the IRS has a pile of people just eager and happy to get their hands on a return and get that refund sent right out as fast as possible. If you wait for the deluge, they will be so bored and sluggish, with an avalanche of paper to process.

I don't know if efile causes some arbitrary delay, I never efiled. I felt a week or 3 delay to get my check in the mail was enough. When filing on Jan 1, I always got my refund check before I got my mailed W2s.

I'm having a hard time believing any of this. Apparently you've never actually read the instructions for a Federal 1040. It specifically states that you are required to attach your W2. When you get your W2 forms, they even give you several copies. One says to attach to the Federal 1040. One for your State Return. One is just in case you need to send out a separate Local Form, but I've never lived in a state that requires it. The last is for your own personal records.

If you have done any of this in the past, and they actually paid you, that's great. I'd never take that chance when somebody owes me money. You're breaking their rules in the book every year you've filed without a W2.

At the very least, you're exposing yourself to some big potential problems if you ever make even one digit not correct on a form. Now, when they reject your return because of erroneous information, you're in the unenviable position of not only trying to get in touch with somebody at the IRS that will actually pick up the phone, but you're completely reliant on the low-level and/or low-IQ person on the other line to be able to fix this for you without the official W2 attached to your form verifying that taxes had been paid.

Quote:
I never had contract work W2s.

Nobody has. If you do contract work, you've got 1099s or it's incumbent upon you to report any cash earnings you've had through form SE.

Quote:
A couple times I got caught after having the whole return prepped early, then got some bonus at Company Party on Dec 31. So had to make those specific changes to include that income, before mailing on Jan 1.

Yeah. I've had that happen too. I always prepare them early. But I've never sent them in before I got my W2. Now I get to sent them in

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Monday, February 21, 2022 2:05 AM

Don't be dumb. Of course I included W2s with my returns. The handwritten W2s which included all of the data that the printed and mailed W2s woul eventually have.
For Fed and also WI.

As long as my penmanship was legible, IRS never complained. I used block calligraphy from Drafting Class.

There might have been a couple times I didn't get a refund from State, so I would submit that check in April. The only times I used the pre-printed W2s. I might have actually typed the first one, before doing the handwritten.
What do you think you do if you lose a W-2, or it gets destroyed? Your dog eats it? You think you get a pass and don't need to file, or on time?

Copiers were not common bAck then. So, after handwriting 2 copies of W2, I admit that I looked them over and sent the better looking one to the Feds.

Never heard a peep from IRS or WDR. Until about 12 years ago when IRS sent me a letter saying that there was some deduction that I could have taken but didn't, so they amended my return for me and sent me the extra refund.

SIGNYM

Monday, February 21, 2022 2:13 AM

JSF, why do you have to post everything in such a hostile manner? Yanno, ppl might accept your info more readily if you stopped sprinkling your posts with insults. I can't imagine how you get on with ppl if you behave that way IRL

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Monday, February 21, 2022 2:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
JSF, why do you have to post everything in such a hostile manner? Yanno, ppl might accept your info more readily if you stopped sprinkling your posts with insults. I can't imagine how you get on with ppl if you behave that way IRL

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

if you idiots don't want the info, you don't need to strain yourself reading it . Dummy.

Yeah. Sarcasm doesn't translate well.

Anyhow, if it is a more pointed comment or critique, maybe you will remember it easier. I might not be around next time to remind you again.
If I don't bother addressing your delusions and mistakes, assume it means I don't care whether you leArn or not.

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