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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 7, 2020 0:52:09 GMT -6
I have it on my phone calendar to remind me ... but keep putting it off.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 10, 2020 5:59:35 GMT -6
We're not done with taxes yet; we still haven't received everything in the mail we need. Close though. I just needed to get the ball rolling before I went back to work.
Slow going on switching everything over to the new e-mail because I keep remembering things that need to be switched! Everything I've changed so far though, has gone very smoothly...except one thing, and it p!sses me off! Facebook - urgh. It's the first account I tried to change, and it's still up in the air, because what they are asking for I think is unreasonable, and an invasion of my privacy (as if Facebook doesn't know everything about a person anyway). In order to change my e-mail, they require a photo of a government issued ID - driver's license, marriage license, birth certificate, etc..., or a photo of two other forms of ID (utility bills, car insurance card, etc). Apparently this is to verify that it's actually me changing the account information.
Seriously? I even drilled it, because it sounds like a scam. But no, it's real. The stupid thing about it is that even if I sent what they want, it'd be totally up to them if they accepted it - all my IDs have my birth name - the full name I only heard when I was a kid when I got in trouble and Mom yelled it. My Facebook account is my nickname. I do not have my address on my Facebook account.
I don't even use Facebook personally - there is nothing on my page, and I don't accept friend requests. The only reason I have the account at all is because I'm an administer on the nursery's page and needed a personal account in order to do that. That, and checking in on a group page that I belong to that does community work here is all I do on the d@mn platform (the account I have for the Whoosh group is separate, and not attached to my e-mail - and you know, I don't do anything with that account either; I'm just not a social media person).
I'll probably just start a brand new account. Right now, I'm locked out of the other one, unless I send them the photos.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 10, 2020 6:15:40 GMT -6
Oh, I forgot to mention that I did send a photo of my library card which was on their list of accepted forms of ID....but it was not accepted because it did not contain enough personal information to verify my identity. Which is exactly why I chose that ID to send!
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 10, 2020 10:09:31 GMT -6
I was going to say to add the new email, then switch it to become your primary email, then delete the old email later on ... but since they have you locked out now, I guess you can’t do that. Now I see why so many people I know have created new accounts.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 11, 2020 7:19:00 GMT -6
One of those 20/20 hindsight moments, but who would have thought that changing something so simple as an e-mail address on something so trivial as a social media site would require something so personal as a government ID. There was no warning, warning, warning statement beforehand. Pfft to them.
When I was drilling to see if it was a scam, most people ended up making a new account instead of sending photos of their IDs.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 11, 2020 16:58:21 GMT -6
Because my sister and I co-own a small farm, and my name is first on the checking account, and my address and phone number are on the checking account ... Facebook has created a business page with my name, address, and phone number. I don’t know how long ago they created it. I only joined Facebook in November of 2015. And I found it by accident. I had wondered why I got business snail mail, and phone calls. They started way back in the early- to mid-20s. So, I’m guessing that page has been up ever since my sister and I were given the farm and opened up the checking account.
I reported it because they had me listed as a retail store, to let them know it was a personal farm on private property. And I got a page that stated that if I wanted to take the page down I had to call the number provided. And that the call would be charged to me. They at least changed from a retail store to something else, I forget what. Later on it said I was a dental office. I reported again it was private property on a personal farm. They’ve changed the type of business many times, and I’ve reported it many times. I’ve seriously considered changing the checking account so that my sister’s name is first, and her address and phone number are on the checks. So irritating that they won’t take it down. Oh, and there are people who have claimed to have been there and liked it. People from other countries. I’ve never met them, so guess they have ‘my business’ confused with another one.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 13, 2020 6:13:29 GMT -6
I remember you mentioning that before - I think we were talking about that My Life thing that lists all kinds of information about a person, most of it wrong, and makes you pay to take it down. It's unethical, in my opinion, that Facebook, My Life and other sites like these (Google maps is another one) can make public information about a person without their knowledge - making people pay to remove the information should be illegal.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 13, 2020 22:15:07 GMT -6
After I posted I did sort of recall that I had mentioned it before. It's even more irritating when I don't actually own a real business. We lease out the fields for a farmer to grow his crops. We don't do the farming at all. We aren't doing anything except getting 1/3 of the income when the crops are sold. And we're not even getting that much, since we're a small farm with just a couple of fields that can be used to grow crops. The money was used to buy a tractor to mow the part of the land that grows up with grass, weeds, and such ... to buy gravel for the driveways ... to buy gas for the lawn mower and tractor ... and the insurance on Mom's place ate up most of what had been saved over the years. Thankfully, my niece finally moved in and took over the insurance, so now the crop money can be used for farm stuff. BIL wants a tractor with a hood, because he has allergies. So, none of the crop money is going into my or my sister's pockets. We're not profiting off of it at all ... we refer to it as my BIL's money, since he's the one who spends it on whatever needs to be done on the land.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 16, 2020 6:33:03 GMT -6
Taxes done. After making some adjustments after ending up owing last year....we still owe this year. A refund in state taxes though, covers what we owe in federal. Breaking even, in this case, is a good thing.
Next government thing on my list is the 2020 Census; we received the notification the other day. The survey is supposed to only take 10 minutes to complete on-line, but if it's like filling out every other government form I've ever completed, it'll take twice that long because the site will run as slow as a tortoise.
Still haven't done anything with Facebook, just because I'm still irked basically.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 17, 2020 0:58:38 GMT -6
I haven't even started working on my taxes yet. I'm still waiting on some documents to come in the mail.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 19, 2020 6:34:28 GMT -6
We were waiting too for just one form, but it came in. Taxes done - check.
Filled out the census form on-line yesterday - easy-peasy; it only took like three minutes. Census 2020 done - check.
Created a Facebook account so I can administer the nursery's page...boss added me as a friend, which I think she thinks allows me to administer, so I'll probably have to walk her through how to do so. Facebook done - halfway.
I love crossing things off my to-do list. Unfortunately 2 1/2 checks hardly makes a dent!
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 19, 2020 15:54:43 GMT -6
I have to wait on a couple of forms that usually come late March or early April. I still need to get the rest ready to go when they arrive.
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Post by moonglum on Mar 20, 2020 0:44:29 GMT -6
I'm glad we don't have that worry over here. An employed person pays taxes by PAYE (Pay As You Earn). Your employer stops your tax at source and pays it to the government. You get issued a tax code based on your previous year's earnings. That gets adjusted as the current year progresses. On odd occasions you could be audited, but only if the system has thrown up an consistency. Even now I'm retired, my state and private pensions are taxed. They are taxed on the money they've earned whilst being invested, that's classed as unearned income! Likewise any savings and investments that earn interest. Business owners and employers still get audited every year because their income and expenditures change daily.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 20, 2020 6:12:37 GMT -6
That sounds like it's a whole lot less of a pain-in-the-ass than it is here.
Mark Twain: "What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin.”
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Post by moonglum on Mar 20, 2020 7:00:04 GMT -6
Moonglum: 'What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? None, you get stuffed by both.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 20, 2020 7:40:54 GMT -6
HA, Moonglum!
Phalon: What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? A taxidermist removes the heart before stuffing. A tax collector never had a heart to begin with.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 20, 2020 23:10:50 GMT -6
I keep hoping they extent the date when taxes have to be turned in.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 21, 2020 8:08:45 GMT -6
The filing date was extended yesterday, to July 15th. I didn't read the details since we already filed.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 21, 2020 16:08:13 GMT -6
I should still get it ready for April 15th though.
BTW: Did you get back into your Facebook account? If not, someone has control of it.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 22, 2020 7:08:46 GMT -6
You should - especially if you're due a refund. Also I have no idea if filing state taxes are included in the extension.
Eeewww, what do you mean that someone has control of it? I never did get back into the original account because I do not want to send them a photo ID; I just created a new account.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 22, 2020 12:34:32 GMT -6
That account recently liked a new post. I can’t remember which one. I think the post was made after you were locked out. I’ll keep an eye out for more activity.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 5, 2020 8:59:41 GMT -6
Random stuff shared for absolutely no good reason, none of which has anything to do with anything at all, except they were thoughts rolling around in my head:
1. Saw a commercial for a show on the History Channel that is narrated by William Shatner, and wondered...is William Shatner a bad actor, or is William Shatner just really good at portraying a bad actor?
2. Hit or Miss? A co-worker friend winters out West; due to the nursery now closed until further notice because of the shutdowns, he's staying in a small desert town in Arizona where he's been for a couple of months. I've mentioned this before, and I know most people would think it's weird, and probably quite disgusting that we both find this amusing, but every year while he's on these winter-long trips, he sends me "postcards" - texted photos of roadkill, usually with his keys or sunglasses next to whatever it is that's been flattened, as a gauge of the size of the thing flattened.
The miss: Last week, the postcard was of a large snake on a blacktopped road. My response, which I thought hilarious, was "that's why it's called 'asphalt'. LMAO; I cracked myself up. Asphalt. Get it? He didn't. I had to explain it: Asp-halt. A pun wasted.
The hit: Yesterday's postcard was a smooshed lizard in the road. My response, which again I thought was hilarious, so much so that when I thought of it, I could barely type the words I was laughing so much, "that is called a reptile dysfunction". He got it.
3. Is being compared to Joan Rivers a good thing or a bad thing?
4. Though Joan Rivers is already dead, and though I wish William Shatner no harm, what would they be called if they were roadkill?
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 9, 2020 3:12:39 GMT -6
I've never done a search on Shatner, but he seems more a stage actor than a film actor. Because, isn't stage where you overact so the audience can see what you're doing? I think I saw/read where you have to exaggerate your actions on stage so the crowd can see and understand what's going on.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 10, 2020 7:35:18 GMT -6
Good point, Joxie. With his overly-dramatic delivery, he does seem more of a stage actor than a screen actor.
When I saw the History Channel commercial with him acting overly-dramatic while advertising a show he narrates (I think it's called Unexplained Mysteries or something along those lines), it reminded me of an article I read probably a few years ago about the similarities and differences of Bela Lugosi's and Vincent Price's careers. Both were panned sometime later in their careers for being overly-dramatic bad actors - this offended Lugosi; the notoriously bad film maker Ed Wood found him living in near destitution and addicted to drugs, and offered him parts in his movies, which I'm not sure helped. Vincent Price, on the other hand, had fun with the bad reviews, and actually had a successful career out of mocking himself as a bad actor.
It made me wonder which is William Shatner - a bad actor who takes himself too seriously like Lugosi, or is he more like Price, who parodies is own bad acting skills?
I would think the later. OMG, remember his "music" albums? There was one he released I think when I was in my late teens or early twenties that was soooo bad that radio stations were playing it just to mock it. It wasn't his first album release, or apparently his last...
For your listening....uhm....pleasure(?), here is William Shatner's "musical" rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rapsody (I almost wasted my last cup of coffee, nearly spitting it out laughing while listening):
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 11, 2020 1:44:26 GMT -6
Holy Cow! I've just learned something new. Never knew he had albums out.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 12, 2020 8:13:37 GMT -6
OMG, listening to that, you can't help but think he can't be taking himself seriously. I think I read once that early in his "singing" career in the late 60s, he considered it a serious endeavor, but his rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was from an album he did in 2011, and one would hope he did it more as a comedic album than a serious musical release...because WTF even was that?!
BTW, the album also includes his version of songs from David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, and Elton John among others. Might be a fun listen while bored and stuck inside during the pandemic - a little comic relief.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 13, 2020 0:29:10 GMT -6
I'm sure even a comedian can be serious about their work ... making people laugh doesn't necessarily come easy to some. Who knows how hard he had to work to get that good.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 14, 2020 6:28:44 GMT -6
That's it then - the answer to my original question: is William Shatner a bad actor, or just really good at portraying a bad actor?
He obviously works hard to be that bad!!!
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 15, 2020 3:12:18 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Apr 19, 2020 7:51:27 GMT -6
I was flipping through the channels last night, and just happened to come across "The UnXplained" - the History Channel show narrated by Shatner. Last night's episode was about vampires and werewolves. It was really very hokey, but oddly mildly entertaining....or at least entertaining enough that I watched the entire thing.
In the same way that I watched the entire video of him "singing" Bohemian Rhapsody - hokey and yet oddly entertaining.
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