Taxes

Thank you all for sympathy, encouragement, and  hopes for easy success on my taxes.  It helped.  And I successfully e-filed my Federal Taxes yesterday afternoon.  After attempting to complete my taxes before April 15th, in June (after having filed for an extention in April) and in August, I was at my wit's end.

Some explanation...

In April, my H&R Block software said I had no network connection.  So I assumed that meant it was a problem on my computer and filed for the 6 month extension.  I figured I had to solve the "no network connection" on my own.  But 6 months seemed like lots of time and I wasn't having a network problem with anything else.  

So I tackled it again in June.  No luck!  Tried again in August.  That time, I decided to call H&R Block and demand to know what "no network connection" meant to them.  I reached a very helpful techie who helped me check my network.  After about 20 minutes of no success, she suggested I just reload the software.  I was worried that I would lose the existing "almost" completed Federal return, but she assured me I wouldn't (as it was a separate file).

So I did and the "no network connection" problem went away and my file remained.  Yay!  So in September, I went back at the taxes.

OMG, the software was different and I discovered there were documents I was missing.  Apparently, the whole problem was some failure during the initial software download in April!  But I had a month to find the missing documents before the Oct 15 deadline.

My, how time flies...

So last week, I realized I had to sit down and get everything together.  First thing was to sort out 6" of unfiled general billing/receipt stuff and file them while looking for the missing documents.  That was long overdue and worth doing, but I didn't find the documents I was missing.

Not to reveal details, but I had 2 major missing documents.  The first was a summary of my mutual fund  investments.  Downloading that one from the mutual fund website was easier than I expected.  There was an obvious button for "downloading tax forms".  Yay.  

The second was the one for a Government Savings Program.  It requires that you start withdrawing 10% per year after age 73 and I turned 73 last year, so this year was the first time I had to report about that.  Worse, if you don't withdraw it voluntarily, they send you a check anyway (minus earned interest).  

So I wasn't familiar with it and didn't recognize when the software was asking about it.  The term "Minimum Required Distribution" didn't mean anything to me.  So I went to the H&R Help Desk (a FAQ, not a person) and figured it out.  But entering it in the tax software raised an alarm.  Which, of course, I did not understand.  Turned out they sent 2 checks and I had forgotten about the 2nd one.

Anyway, I finally got that straightened out...  But it seems that I managed to delete my previous Federal Form entry, so I had to start all over again.  I felt like Ahab fighting the whale!

At least I went through the process a bit more smoothly yesterday.  There are still some entries I'm not certain about.  There are terms and phrases the Government uses that are not exactly plain English, and they explain terms as best they can.

At the end of the Federal form, they (H&R) do a review for completeness and risk analysis.  I did have to go back and fill in a couple of entries I had accidentally skipped (minor stuff like an address confirmation).  But they said after that, that they found no errors.  

So I e-filed the Federal return yesterday (free, and I already have a confirmation the IRS has accepted it.).  Later today, I'll do the State return.  That will be easy because most of it is automatically entered from the Federal return.  I'll snail-mail it Monday because H&R charges $20 for e-filing the State return.  Why the Federal e-filing is free and the State is $20 escapes me.  

I just had to stop after hours with the Federal return (and it was time for dinner).

Next year, I'll just dump everything on a live H&R Block office and avoid all this.  I'm not the dimmest bulb in the room, but this tax stuff is just getting too ridiculous. 

I once read a joke about a simplified tax form.  As follows...

"A.  How much did you earn last year?

B.  How much do you have left?

C.  Send B."

Dining Room Table

 I bought a new dining room table and 4 matching chairs.  Self-assembly.  A couple reviewers at Amazon said assembly was horrible, but most said it wasn't too bad.  So keeping in mind that I've built a deck, a fence, and a shed among other things, I figured it wouldn't be a problem.

It was horrible!

You have to know something about assembly to truly understand, but I'll give some examples.  The whole table is assembled with a hex-head wrench.

It is a nice little tool when designed for proper use.  There are bolts designed for hex-head use (as opposed to slot or phillips head screws.  It doesn't slip.  But I emphasize "when used properly".

The table arrived with all the right parts.  Tabletop, legs to assemble and attach, and under-table cross braces.  The design and support structure is very solid.  I could tell that from looking at the various views online.  I'm not an engineer, but my Dad was and I didn't escape teenhood without some experience.

It took nearly a day to seperate the parts.  The box seems to have been mislabled "this side up".  There were parts to wouldn't separate.  Had I opened the box on the other side, it would have been easier.  Maybe it was my error...

\But iIt's the way the parts have to be assembled that was horrible.  There were holes where you have to feed a bolt into and tighten them.  They were designed badly.  You have to fit the hex wrench into the bolt (technically a "machine screw" if you care) and turn it.  1/4 turn at a time forever...  

And in the dark.  You can't get at it and shine a light in any way.  Your hand HAS to cast a shadow.  So it is all by feel.  And the fit is tight.  And sometimes the bolts locked up from poor fit.  I solved THAT by driving all the bolts with a socket wrench before I assembled the pieces, but that was just more wasted time.

The table had to be assembled upside down.  Damn it weighs a ton (or so it seemed).  The leg assemblies took a frustrating hour each.  Fitting the hex wrench for each 1/4 turn was difficult.  Each of 4 of the legs seemed to take forever and I had to take "frustration" breaks.  But I eventually got them together.

Had the assembly been easier, I would have remembered to take more pictures, but in frustration, pictures were the last thing on my mind.

That meant attaching the assembled legs to the upside-down tabletop.  That part was easier.  I had cut off 1/2 inch of a same-size hex wrench (good hacksaw) because it fit into a socket wrench socket.  That allowed faster turning when there was free access to the bolts.

And then I could add the cross braces between the legs..  That took some pushing but it worked out well.  I eventually had the table completely constructed, but still upside down...

The male friend across the street had a knee replacement a couple months ago and a 2nd one scheduled in a couple weeks. The lady mentioned recently she had an arm-sprain.  No one else to ask for help.  So no one else to ask for help.

I was worried that, if I tipped the table up on one side of laegs, they might break.  After all, sideways isn't what they are designed for.

I figured out many ways I might possibly get the table upright.  But the one that seemed most secure was to clamp the heck out of all the weak spots..

First, I had to get the upside-down table up on its side.  That was hard enough.  Not much gripping area at the edge (flush to the floor).  I finally got a small piece of scrap board and lifted the tabletop enough to shove the scrap under.  From there, I could reach far enough under to get a decent grip and turn it on a side position.  Hurray!

Then I needed to turn it from the side to upright.  That was what really worried me.  All the weight of the table  would be on 2 legs.  But that's why I had all the braces and clamps.  It did occur to me that when I turned the table from side to upright, the far legs were going to have a sudden shock of weight.  

So I taped styrofoam under the legs to aborb that!  And the edge of the table top was no more easier to lift sideways that flat.  So I had to do the "lift and scrap wood push under" again.  It took a few tries but I got it.  Full hand-room under the edge...

I was pretty much worn out by that time.  But there was only one more 90 degree turn to go.  One more HEAVY lift (squat, lift from the legs and stand up), and the table was upright, undamaged... 

Removed all the clamps (which I credit for the non-damage to the legs) and the styrofoam that eased the sudden weight of the table hitting the floor.

And here is the table upright.  The instructions said it requires 2 people.  Yeah, did it by myself...  I'm ornery that way.

I have 4 matching chairs to assemble.  I hope that goes easily.  Ay least they are each lighter to handle, LOL!

The table has a center leaf.  I probably won't use it, but I wanted the option.  A center leaf table is a lot more sturdy than a side leaf table.  My previous dining table had weak side extentions.  More about that next time...

Cabinet Door Change

I expect the US election results to take days.  So life goes on...  One thing that has annoyed me for 25 years is an upper cabinet door.  My fault, I installed it that way.  I always assumed that cabinet doors right of the center should open toward the right and cabinet doors on the left of the center should open to the left.  

Assumptions are stupid!   The cabinet door nearest the passageway from the kitchen to the TV room has always gotten in the way.  I have hit my head on that SO MANY TIMES!  I would open it to get someting and forget to close it because I was in a hurry.

I clamped a straight edge under the door for ease in keeping it level while I changed it left to right.  THe kind of hinges it hhad allowed that easily.

But getting the screws out was a nightmare.  They wouldn't budge.  I wedged a screwdriver against them; no movement.  I finally hit them with a hammer to loosen them.  No luck.  Squirted some lubricant in.  That got them out with help of Many Bad Words.  Took many many minutes of struggling.  

So I put some paper tape where the new holes would go, reversed the door, and clamped it in place to mark the new drilling spots.  Took the door off and drilled.  Well, you have to be careful about drilling holes for screws.  No small and they are really tight.  Too loose and they don't hold well.  I have a little plastic gadget that has holes to measure screw size and recommends the drill size according to soft wood, hard wood, and metal.  Cabinets are mostly pine or particle board, so I started small.  

The screws wouldn't go in all the way.  And were hard to get back out.  So I went to the next size drill bit.  Same problem.  Went larger and squirted in the lubricant.  It got worse.  

I think the lubricant actually made the wood swell up a bit.  After 30 minutes, I was almost ready to try NAILING the damn hinges in, but I knew that wouldn't last.

Part of the problem was that I was up on a stepladder and you can't get much leverage on a narrow thing like that.  So I took a dining chair and clamped IT to a board against other lower cabinets so IT couldn't move.

With that bracing, I finally managed to get the hinge screws in with the door level and opening properly.  The whole process that should have taken about 5 minutes took 90.  The Mews were all hiding in the bedroom by that time.

I am not a trained or especially natural carpenter.  I do my best.  Persistence usually works and I've never built anything that failed structurally.  But damn, some things are harder than they should be.  

But I succeeded...  The open cabinet door won't be hitting my head again.

I always win eventually, but it sure can be a struggle sometimes!

ConVid19 Update

I am changing some of what I said in the previous posts.  I am now very concerned about CoVid19.  Things have gotten far worse than I expected just 2 weeks ago.  I thought it might last several weeks and then those people who would catch it would catch it and hospitals would take care of most of them.  OOPS!  Serious pandemic experts say that it won’t end in a few weeks with a few thousands deaths but maybe late Summer with 100,000-240,000 deaths in the US.  THAT is scary.  

Worse, the experts specifically said that if you think you are immune because you don’t catch the flu or other viral illnesses, you are wrong because no one is immune because it is new.  That is REALLY SCARY!  I was kind of depending on having a genetic resistance to viruses in general (through experience).  I still suspect they might be “somewhat” over-stating it.  I know from reading some medical articles in the past that descendants of people who survived the Bubonic Plague in Europe have a general genetic resistance to viral illnesses.  Or maybe they were wrong then and know better now and I am just as vulnerable to this new one as anyone else.  That is REALLY REALLY SCARY, and I have adjusted my habits accordingly.  Not that I was wiling to tempt fate all that much before today, but I am being more careful now.

So I looked around the house to see what I had.  I found a large bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol which I will use carefully (because good luck finding any of THAT at Walmart).  I found a bottle of hand-sanitizer left over from when Dad was here.  And Wonder Of Wonders, I found that the box of 19 “dust masks” (it was 20, I used one) I bought a few years ago to help avoiding inhaling sawdust when I cut boards in the basement were N-95 respirators!  They must have been on sale at the time or I was thinking “why not the best"…  

I haven’t left the yard for 10 days, but I need fresh veggies and fruit.  One mask every 7-10 days grocery-shopping will me last 4-6 months.  Or maybe longer.  The medical folks say that the virus doesn’t survive more than 9 days under perfect conditions, so if I set 1 aside, it can be re-used in 2 weeks safely.  And I have 2 boxes of 100 latex gloves (one stays in the house and the other stays in the car) to handle them carefully to hang them in the garage (where I seldom go since I’m not driving anywhere these days).  

So I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow.  The Safeway stores have “senior shopping" from 7am to 9 am Tues and Thurs.  I won’t be there then.  First, who is most likely to be contagious?  Second, who is least likely to be careful with sani-wipes and masks?  Third, I’ll go right after lunchtime when the store is least busy.  And I’ll go with a handkerchief dampened with the 91% alcohol packed in a ziplock bag, 2 latex gloves, and a dishtowel to wrap around the cart handles (in case they are out of the sani-wipes they promise will be at the front door but weren’t the last time I shopped).

I picked a rotten time for my indoor-grown lettuces to be used up.  I grow several kinds in trays under daylight bulbs and when you cut them an inch or so from the base, they re-graow several times.  I just used up the “several times" and had to replant.  At least they grow fast.  In 6 weeks, I can start harvesting again.  And that matters because leaf lettuce doesn’t last long in the fridge and I LOVE my salads!  Running out of lettuce gets me going to the grocery store faster than anything else.  I have some crops planted outside.  Spinach, radishes, carrots, beets, snow pear so far.    And broccoli and related crops, leeks, celery, garlic, to transplant out soon.  Tomatoes and peppers to follow in 3 weeks.  But those take time to mature.  If I have to depend on harvesting tomatoes for food in dire straits, we are ALL in SERIOUS trouble.

MD, VA, DC, and several other States here have declared lock-downs the past few days.  The govts are all working out which businesses have to close and which can stay open (is 7-11 a “grocery”?) and is a liquor store “essential”?  What about a hardware store (if you need replacement parts for a toilet?) and what about if your TV dies?  TVs are important methods of communicating govt decisions.  

Restaurants here are doing free delivery just to keep staff employed.  Some places are converting to CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where they deliver a box of fresh veggies for a monthly subscription.  I might consider that.  There aren’t many fruits and veggies that I don’t like.  But I’m fussy.  I want my apples and peaches ripe but my bananas green.  Not choosing individual items would be a real change.  But maybe if I organized a neighborhood group, we could exchange (from 10’ away) what we like and don’t.

There is good news.  While I tend to view “American Exceptionalism” with some suspicion, it appears from today’s news that we do have it in some ways.  Researchers have developed the first blood test that can accurately detect more than 50 types of cancer and identify in which tissue the cancer originated, often before there are any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease.  And with an error rate of .07%! 

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for the detection of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), delivering positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes.  Previous tests took 3-4 days to show results.

3M has in two months doubled global production of N95 masks to about 100 million a month.  Some manufacturing companies that produce ventilators are going into 24/7 production.  Some other machine-oriented companies are changing machinery to produce more.  Based on some ideas from China, shelter companies are producing “one week wonders” to construct safe temporary hospitals on sports fields, in convention centers, and city parks.

FEMA is going full on.  The military is going full on.  The US actually has the worst infection statistics in the world.  It is hitting here hardest because we don’t allow the govt to declare total lockdowns (we just won't allow it “yet”).  But we are also responding to it in medical and technology ways that will have benefits here and around the world.  This virus is serious and it will reoccur for many months if not years.  But by this time next year, we will probably have a vaccine and it will become “just another” seasonal virus that will kill some people (as routine influenza does now) and become part of the background fight with viruses we have fought for a century

Many people will die, but most of us will live.  And fewer will die the next season.  We are about 325 million people in the US.  if 200,000 die from this it will be a tragedy to those who die, those who know the ones who die, and to society in general of the people who died who would have done great things in the future.  That is .06% of us (did I add the % inaccurately?).  It is tragic but not existential.  We will get through this.

 

It's going to be hard, but beatable.