Cheat Codes to do your taxes?

Ready for a break from the 1040 grind? See what Bill Amend's characters in Foxtrot are doing to get their taxes filed correctly:

Hat tip to eWall for the link.

Filed Under: tax humor funny foxtrot game gaming video filing laugh comic

Do your taxes in a day?

techapple comments about Tax Software like Tax Cut, and how to get your filing done online or otherwise:

Mostly, every year, I have been doing my own taxes, using Taxcut. By doing it yourself, you become familiar with all the key items and you can look out for them in the next year. Also, it gives you control of your individual situation. Taxcut is relatively cheap and for less than $100, you can do your federal tax, state tax, and efile all your papers. That is very convenient and if you stay home for a day, you can complete it all.

What I dont like is that all the tax software come with hundred of rebates. It probably takes a couple of hours to sort through everything, fill it out, and then mail it. That is definitely a waste of time. They should just give you a discount when you purchase the products. I hear that many people have trouble installing and configuring the software, wherein it may be Taxcut or Turbotax. I have never had these problems. The updates are easy and I never had any crashes. If you have a decent computer with a Internet connection, you should be okay.

The software comes with all sorts of video to teach you tax fundamentals and give you tips of spending money in the coming year. The help section are usually not in depth, but it is relatively easy to navigate the program. Basically, it is a question and answer guru, and if you wish, you never have to see the actual tax forms. If you dont complete it in one sitting, you can save and continue at another point. Once you are done, just connect to the Internet and send it along its way. Although, you do have to come back and check the status of your filing with IRS. They really need to remove this step because most people do not remember ever to check it again. From beginning to end, a very simple process.

The worst thing is probably...Read More

Filed Under: taxes money finances tax deductions deduction mistake software efile income incometax rapid refund IRS file online free

10 big deductions too many people miss

Just because of the date, I am reposting a link to this article. See the whole thing:

This article by Jeff Schnepper relates 10 easy-to-forget tax deductions that could mean a lot of money either going in your pocket... or going out.

read more

Filed Under: taxes money finances tax deductions deduction mistake software efile income incometax rapid refund IRS file online free

I'm Ready For My Closeup

Good Wednesday! Here's an amusing shot of my 4 year-old as she showed me her new accessories--all the rage this season.

Is the pool open yet, dad??

Have a great day!

Posted My Resume

I have posted my resume and experience just in case The Donald is reading.

For what it's worth, I am open to current opportunities in the area and around the country that fit my skills in communications, marketing, technology, sales, recruiting, etc.

I realize that posting my resume here in broad daylight, any of you could laugh at me critique my skill-set openly. Please be nice! Remember, I have children to provide for!

Filed Under: resume experience career job money personal public

Most Fascinating Jobs

Gary Potter notes what Salary.com has deemed to be the 10 most desirable jobs:

1. Firefighters headed the list with a 16 percent share of those polled.
2. Flight attendants, yup, despite the job insecurity – 13 percent
3. CEO – median salary of $609,000
4. Reporter – 10 percent
5. Interior designer – 10 percent
6. Event planner – 10 percent
7. Nurse – 9 percent
8. Teacher – 8 percent
9. Doctor – 7 percent
10. Lawyer – 4 percent

What? No professional Blogger??

Filed Under: salary career job firefighters flight attendant CEO reporter interior designer event planner nurse teacher docter lawyer

Sony aims to beam sights, sounds into brain

Via CNN Tecnology:

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain.

The technique could one day be used to create video games in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people who are blind or deaf.

The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce "sensory experiences" such as smells, sounds and images.

Filed Under: technology sony patent mind brain game video gaming senses touch sight smell tech

Ineen = Skype Killer

Ineen is the first fully-featured open source and open-standards compliant audio and videoconferencing desktop tool. Sounds good to me.

Available for both Mac and PC users, Ineen allows nested conferences allowing unlimited number of people to join in real-time and talk.

Via ProteinOs

Filed Under: skype open standards compliant videoconferencing conference

Switching To Broadband? Comcast Will Give You $50 Cash in April.

I've checked into this deal from Comcast High Speed Internet (Broadband Internet Access) where they're giving $50.00 cash for all new customers in April. This is sweet.

Check the signup page for more details on what is included, but here are some of them:

• $50.00 Cash Back.
• $19.99/mo for your first 6 months.
• Free MP3 Player.
• Twice the speed of DSL Broadband Internet -- 4 mbps (megabits per second) standard, up to 6 mbps!

Also, it looks like you can get an additional free month of service after you signup just by sharing Comcast with a friend!

There's nothing like Free Money! Get it now.

Filed Under: comcast broadband cable DSL

Analog Computer?

weblog
Originally uploaded by infandum.

Here's a great analog computer for you. This model is shown in its docking-station for desktop convenience, but you can take it on the run, too.

Millions of software titles are available--many are free from your local library.

Our lab reviews show that the system is extremely stable, the hard drive is still readable even after repeated drops, smashing, even dropping off balconies (tested up to 4 stories).

Finally, our top rating on this laptop goes to its battery-life, which stood up to more than 7,250 hours of tough use without even dimming the screen.

Photo via infandum and Flickr.

Filed Under: blog laptop funny humorus laugh flickr public

Don't worry, you fit in here.

Ebay is capitalizing on what I think is, truly, one of their strongest assets--the desire of people to just get along, share our stuff, and live life with the honest assurance that you're making some small difference on the planet.

Their new ad campaign, called "the power of all of us", really hits this--and does an incredibly good job of it.







Get in there and check it out. It's worth 5 minutes.

Filed Under: ebay ads advertizing web ecommerce pr publicrelations commercials cool public

Search My Blog Posts with Technorati

I just love technorati. It is where I go first... almost more often than Google! Mainly, its because technorati knows what is happening on the web right now. Beside that, their technology is awesome, their tools are sweet, and they make the information overload I deal with on a daily basis much easier to control, aggregate and disseminate.

Thanks, technorati... you guys are the greatest, man! ::(manly slap on the back)::

Search my weblog (and the rest of the world wide blogosphere) with Technorati:

Technorati search

this blog all blogs

Or, for fun, see what's happening on the web right now related to the following topics:

• Blog or Blogging or Weblogs
• Current Affairs (meaning news, not scandals)
• Entertainment
• Read someone's Diary
• Politics
• Technology
  
  
  

RoboForm Helps Keep Sensitive Data...Sensitive

It's no secret that I've long evangelized the RoboForm (download free trial) password security application--use it to encrypt all your logins, passwords, and security data with bullet-proof Triple-DES encryption. All your sensitive information can be safely held. For example: client records, credit card numbers, bank account information,and--in the age of identity theft--even birthdays and social security numbers.

A recent example of this came to light due to some laptops being stolen from the San Jose Medical group which may (because of the loss of private information) have committed a HIPAA violation.

The security lesson is:

"All in all a reminder to health care organizations that electronic security is not enough. Incidentally if you steal my laptop you have to know two passwords to make it start-up and then work for you, and a third to get into my password storing application Roboform. I suggest anyone reading this who uses a laptop makes sure they are using the root password function that is available by hitting F8 (or a similar key) before Windows starts, and setting a system password required on start-up."

See other things I've written about RoboForm.

Filed Under: cool software tools utlilites passwords security

A hat-tip to sweet web design, check out the sweetness of Galileo Web Design's creations. 

Wanna be a hip-hop star? No problem. This new video game can teach you how. Just follow the steps.

Seriously though, this is a sweet video, Keith Schofield has some real talent. Nice.

Instructions:

• Click Link
• Take 3 minutes to savor.
• Comment or blog (with trackback, of course!)
• Send to others.
• Get back to work.

Filed Under: hiphop funny video sweet cool game play public

Road To Big Bend National Park

See this and some other sweet images from Flickr, courtesy BrandonJ74

Who are you, really?

SimilarMinds.com has personality tests you can take.

You can also find who thinks like you do, discussion forums, and other articles on Personality Types.

So, who did you say you are, again?

Ripped Off by Daylight Savings?

If you're feeling a little ripped off by Daylight Savings Time, so do these people.

StopZilla Lets You Sleep at Night

Browsing the web used to be safe, then Spam, Spyware, Pop-ups, Adware, Malicious Cookies, and other forms of web hijacking came along.

That's what STOPZilla is for, a sweet little app that takes care of you while you browse, keeping out the privacy stealers and prying eyes.

In January, Laptop Magazine said the following about StopZilla:

"As pop-ups and adware programs find new ways to hijack your computer, it's become increasingly difficult to find one tool that does everything... STOPzilla is a one-stop answer to hostile ad software."

Get a Free Trial of STOPZilla! Here

Notes:

• See Screenshot
• Reviews
• Integrated POPUP, SPYWARE, ADWARE, COOKIE, HISTORY and HI-JACK Killer

Filed Under: popup killer spyware spam adware hijack cookie history privacy security app web cool public

Get your Numa on

This is what the Internet was invented for. Thank you Al Gore! The cure for a long day at work. Send this to someone who's having a bad day.

Warning: Click here only if you want to grin, seriously.

(Tip to Lawrence Live for the link)

Filed Under: humor funny flash music albinoblacksheep

Right Here, Right Now

XM and Sirius Satellite Radio are looking to get their applications everywhere, and I am all for it.

"XM Satellite Radio Holdings is investing in ways of building its pay radio service into gadgets ranging from MP3 players to video game consoles in an effort to boost its reach and subscribers, Chairman Gary Parsons said Wednesday. " (via news.com)

In response, Internet Entrepreneur Paul Allen asks:

"In five years will we be carrying a portable device with 1 terabyte of storage that contains all of the text, audio, and video content that we want--wherever we go? Or will we carrying a portable device that has XM satellite radio channels and high-speed wireless access to all the content we will ever want on web servers around the planet?"

Filed Under: xm sirius satellite radio cool public