It was a dark and stormy day...

[altivo]

And somewhere, in the darkness, a screen door slammed. "Hokey Smoke, Bullwinkle," exclaimed Rocket J. Squirrel, "Income taxes are due tomorrow and I forgot to file. I'd better get busy..." Hours later, the plucky squirrel emerged from his den waving a sheaf of papers around. "Wake up, you horny thing," he said, poking the dozing moose with his pencil. "You've gotta sign these. We're getting a bunch of money back."

Bullwinkle's snoring was interrupted by a snort and he opened his eyes. "Huh Wha? Oh, it's you, Rock. Did you get it figured out?"

Rocky handed a pen to his friend. "Sign here, and here, and here," he said, pointing to the spots. "I'll mail both returns tomorrow and in a month or so we'll have a tidy little sum in the mailbox."

"But, Rock, that's not a good place to keep money," Bullwinkle objected. "I always keep it in a sock under my mattress."

The squirrel rolled his eyes. "No wonder you paid for dinner last night with bills that had been chewed by mice," he groaned, clapping a paw to his head dramatically.

And after dark and gloomy clouds and drizzle all day, now it's crystal clear out, with a million stars shining down. The air is so clear that the light pollution from Woodstock and Huntley is barely noticeable. This is what we needed back in February when that green comet was floating around, but no, it was too busy snowing and blowing then to let us see anything.

The useful and cheap computer parts ordered off EBay arrived at home yesterday, and I took them to the library today and installed them. Everything dropped into place perfectly. Having more disk space to maneuver in with the Alpha DS10 was great. I was able to go on and install a newer version of Debian as well as the latest version of OpenVMS. Now I can migrate my router apps from Debian etch to Debian lenny, and free up three drives to experiment with as I choose.

Comments

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

I wish I still had taxes to file, but I got mine done in February, got paid in March and the refund has already been spent. :(

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The only reason I'm getting a refund is that I have extra money withheld every paycheck. I got tired of owing a big chunk every April 15 and was afraid they'd start making me pay interest on it. It's not that I make a huge amount of money either. It's the interest on my retirement savings accounts that does it. (And I have nothing like the amount they always claim you should have by my age.)

[saythename.livejournal.com]

I know how this sounds, and how you'll take it
coming from me, but really...

Lets abolish income tax altogether.

State income tax is cool, it goes local.

No, I'm not stocking up on Somlia pirates
or Branch Davidians. *facepaws*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Around here, state taxes go to line politicians' pockets (or else those of their relatives) while federal funds actually tend to get used for useful things. Yes, I know, the overhead is probably absurd, but still...

I do not believe we could abolish the federal government without a major disaster. Therefore, the federal government must be paid for somehow. It does perform many useful services (along with a lot of non-services.)

Frankly, I'd rather see real estate taxes cut to the bone first, even if it means raising the income taxes at the state level. I object to the fact that we are soaking farmers and retired people to make them pay for schools for illegal immigrants who pay no taxes or very little.

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

It feels so strange and detached, having filed my tax extension and having voted early before my trip.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It felt strange going by the post office to mail tax returns on April 15 too. We're never that late. Gary insists on doing it six ways to decide how best to split the tax deductions and credits between us and he's been busy with grad school this year.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Rocky and Bullwinkle had to pay taxes?
Somehow I find that rather disheartening :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh sure, someone had to pay the salaries of all those "government men" who worked to keep Boris and Natasha from dismantling the world.