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we have direct, and we can look at the guide while watching tv; DISH STINKS [2008-09-21]
we started out with dish, had it for 9 years. They would give all kinds of equipment and deals to their new customers but not us - their loyal customers for 9 years. Our remote was being held together with tape for crying out loud and couldn't get the networks with our dish because it was so old, but did they care?? - no freaking way. They only started caring once we switched to direct. Then they repeatedly called our house, asking why we switched and offering us deals. It got real old fast repeating why we switched. So the last time they called i screamed my @$$ off that if they ever called again i was going to sue them for harassment.
It seems like they only care about people who aren't their customers. If you are their customer, they don't give a rat's @$$ about you.
Dish sucks BIG time. But I doubt direct is really that much better. Our equipment with them is just newer, that's all. I can't get cable. I wish there was an alternative.
still no stimulus check ! [2008-06-10]
Anyone else still waiting for their check to arrive via snail mail? Mine was supposed to be here a month ago. I
For anyone who has received a stimulus check by mail, have you all gotten a letter about a week [2008-06-03]
before the check stating when it would be arriving.
Stimulus checks [2008-06-03]
I had a letter a few months ago but not a week before it should have been mailed. According to the website mine was to be mailed NO LATER than 5/23 - and I still don't have it. :(
Stimulus Letter [2008-06-03]
Even though I had my direct deposited, I actually got a letter two days after it was already deposited that it would be coming.
Well I got a notice from the IRS that I could expect my stimulus check by May 30 and I didnt [2008-05-30]
get it today. I will get mine by mail. I wonder how far off it comes from when they say it will come.
Would filing your taxes late affect your stimulus check? [2008-05-30]
We filed an extension, and then sent our return out about two weeks late. We are getting a refund, so it wasn It was just a complicated return and we were just procrastinators.
I agree. We have to pay out a lot. The stimulus checks should be for everyone! sm [2008-05-29]
I owed 4800 this year. BUT no stimulus check. Ok, fine, can accept that btu shoudnstimulus check go toward what I owe!!! Sorry but my bills are going up just like everone else so I donextra either??
you can do the Where's my stimulus form [2008-05-24]
on the IRS site
To all those wondering about stimulus checks SM [2008-05-12]
who are not direct deposit . . Got mine in the mail Friday and my last two numbers were 06.
more stimulus news . . . [2008-05-12]
I just found out that if you had you taxes done by a financial institution like HR Block and you chose to have their fee taken from your refund then you receive your stimulus by mailed check, so you should check the mailing schedule, not direct deposit
Tax stimulus [2008-05-09]
Anybody with a ss# ending in 00-09 get their stimulus in the mail yet? I am not referring to direct deposit...only via mail.
My ss# falls in this category and I don't have a car. Don't want to waste money on a cab to the post office unless I have a pretty good indication that the check might be there. I live in GA.
Thanks
try the where's my stimulus check tracker [2008-05-09]
x
Info on stimulus payment... [2008-05-09]
I looked on irs.gov and looked under where is my stimulus payment. It said if you did not send you taxes off until April 15 or close to April 15 you taxes weren't late but the taxes weren't processed by April 15. So you will not get your payment on that date on the schedule. It can be up to 6 weeks later. I mailed mine on April 15 so that is why I didn't get it today.
still waiting on a tax rebate deposit [2008-05-08]
sending them out early my $%%
where's my stimulus tracker i mean [2008-05-08]
x
IRS stimulus - find out when you'll [2008-05-02]
Go to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=177937,00.html and click on where They just added this yesterday. It will tell you exactly when you are getting yours and how much.
anybody get their stimulus direct deposit yet? [2008-04-30]
mine's not due till May 9 but I was just wondering if anybody has actually gotten theirs yet.
Fresh direct dilivers to most of the boroughs. sm [2007-10-23]
Are you in NYC or upstate. Because Fresh Direct deliver almost everywhere in NYC. Not much upstate, though.
Also at my bank if you have direct deposit [2007-07-13]
of your paychecks you can get a direct deposit advance on your check and that does get posted to your account immediately. Has saved my butt more than once! LOL
Can you direct us to a legitimate company, one that does not charge the shopper? [2006-11-01]
x
I really would not talk to her or help her [2008-11-16]
in this case. Would you drive her to the bank to deposit you SHOULD have had?
How many of you have a backup plan [2008-11-13]
if your spouse were to lose their job? Assuming the MT rate of pay isn I don
We have no backup plan. My in-laws already have their other son (and family of 4) living with them due to job loss. My family lives in another state altogether. I don I just don Should we have some sort of plan in place? Do most people? Our savings has dwindled to nothing this past year with all the increased expenses and we have cut back all we can. There's nothing else to cut other than house/cars/utilities.
PitBull's are misunderstood... [2008-11-09]
Instead offocusing narrowly on only your dislike of PitBulls, why don't you look at the bigger picture as a whole...
First of all, the statistics on fatal attacks...well it doesn But that still doesn't mean PitBulls are more likely to bite...
The statistics that I have read regarding breed specific likelyhood of biting have shown that small dogs (and mixbreeds) are way more likely to be aggressive towards humans and other dogs. Specifically Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Jack Russell Terriers to name a few. PitBulls were more likely to show aggression to unfamiliar dogs. I_udi=B6T48-4SNGRDR-2_user=10_coverDate=06%2F03%2F2008_alid=765300851_rdoc=2_fmt=high_orig=search_cdi=4968_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_ct=27_acct=C000050221_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=10md5=a9e7d67a2a45dc01019b232cbbfa3bf5
Here are some other good points from websites that are unbiased:
To reduce the number of dog bite-related injuries, adults and children should be educated about bite prevention, and persons with canine pets should practice responsible pet ownership. (CDC website)
“While at times informative, statistics on fatal dog attacks can also be misleading. For example, a number of cases where a Pit Bull, Rottweiler or German Shepherd Dog were counted as causing a human fatality, in reality the direct result was from gross human negligence or criminal intent”. (http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/Jade/07_Dog.Bite.Stats_09.htm)
A fatal dog attack is not just a dog bite by a big or aggressive dog. It is usually a perfect storm of bad human-canine interactions -- the wrong dog, the wrong background, the wrong history in the hands of the wrong person in the wrong environmental situation. (Malcolm Gladwell, Troublemakers - What pit bulls can teach us about profiling, The New Yorker, Feb. 6, 2006.) www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/breedlaws.html
Our Country was not founded on the restriction and punishment of the masses based on the actions of a few. Focusing legislation on dogs that are vicious distracts attention from the real problem, which is irresponsible owners. These very breeds as a whole have proven their stability and good canine citizenry by becoming Rescue' dogs, Therapy dogs working inside hospitals, professional Herding dogs and family companions for years. Banning the so-called dangerous breed will merely hasten the upswing in popularity of some other breed that will be used for vicious attacks on people and other animals. There is no valid reason to deprive animal lovers of their well behaved pets. The reports and statistics are flawed. Among other things, a dog bite victim is usually unable to identify the breed of dog that bit him or her. Therefore, victims will name the type of dog that currently is on people's minds as being the dangerous dog. (From the Animal Farm Foundation.)
One more thing, the best K-9 drug searching dog in America is a PitBull...his name is Popsicle because he was rescued from a man who tried to kill him by putting him in a freezer.
-Cindy, owner of 1 PitBull (Zeus) and 2 Beagles (Max Osiris)...and yes they do get along!
I have had the pleasure... [2008-11-09]
....of working in several nursing homes as a CNA and nurse before coming to medical transcription. It's hard work and usually staffing is sometimes paltry, even in the good homes, but we really do care. Really. Every place has bad eggs, the hospitals, home care, etc., but everyone usually has to have some sort of heart to work in a nursing home.
First things first...I always would check for jobs with this litmus test, and I recommend anyone do this. This is a make or break kind of ordeal. You look for the state inspection report. It HAS to be placed in a prominent place in the facility. If you cannot find it readily, ask where it is. If there is anything going on with hiding these documents, you leave and never come back. The other thing is to smell for stale urine or strong air fresheners. If you smell either of those, leave. (Do not check for BM smell--the smell often radiates and may be new, for lack of a better term.) Look at the residents. Do many of them seem content? Do you see aides with gait belts around their waists? Do the nurses look terribly stressed? Please also do not judge by tones of voices in the direct care staff. Often the staff must talk very directly, succintly, and abruptly--it sometimes comes off as harsh, but it's not--for particular residents to hear and/or understand.
If you go in a facility in the evening, often the place is chaotic, particularly if there are demented residents. There is a condition known as sundowning that is very, very real. The ones with dementia who are sundowning may give the impression that care is not being given due to the chaos and behaviors brought by the condition. It's not the case. Usually these residents are kept in common areas until they are calm enough to retire for the night.
If you go in the nighttime, often there is one night nurse for about 65ish residents. If you are so inclined to come in at this time and do not see anyone at the nurse's station for some time, know that the nurse may be tending to a medical issue and the CNAs are tending to personal care of the residents.
If you ever see nurses eating a sandwich in one hand and writing in another hand while sitting at the nurse's station, this is sometimes the only break he or she gets. It's not out of disrespect that this is done. It is so that nurse can care for the residents as best as he or she can.
What you are describing in your original post, unfortunately, is quite common, from what I have seen. Two people who are married a long time will often pass not too far apart. It seems people often do decide when they will go. As a nurse, it's one of the more incredible things I've seen. When I saw it happen, I always had the sense there is an extremely strong bond between the spouses that absolutely nothing could break. I'm not trying to say anything is amiss with your mother. I'm not. It doesn't always happen that way. I hope I don't come off that way. I'm sorry you are going through this, because no one wants to send a loved one to the nursing home, yet caring for an ailing parent is one of the most stressful things anyone can experience. I have never been in your position, so I hope I don't come off as too forward, rude, or presumptuous, but I wanted to tell you a little more about what you may be getting into.
If you live in Iowa, I'd recommend you to a great one that has the best nurse I've ever met working there now. He has cooked up oyster soup in our kitchen when a resident stopped eating because the resident loved oyster soup. He has taken residents fishing for the heck of it. He wears a scrub shirt with chickens on it because many of our residents were farmers and like the shirt (and because my husband has a silly sense of humor and a wife with a sewing machine). I've known CNAs who buy (with their own money) residents pop and even steak just because the resident wanted it and could have it. Shoot, lots of us do it, even when we don't have a lot of money to our names. I loved to sing with the residents that had dementia (music seems to be retained) and chat about life with the residents who had their faculties. I promise it's not all doom and gloom. Sure, nursing homes could do better, but if you find the right one, it may just work out.
All my best to you and your mother.
I provided you with the Scripture.... sm [2008-10-16]
like you asked. Do you not believe, now, based on what the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin?
Can you not believe now that homosexuality is not right or is wrong?
If you can't grasp it based on a direct quote from the Bible, I guess there is no convincing you.
Anyone know organizations where people can apply for donated cars? (sm) [2008-10-15]
I am trying to help afamily thatis in desperate need of a vehicle so that the dad can keep his job and take care of his family. They live far enough out that there are no buses and no one to carpool with. I know there are organizations who can help. Can anyone direct me? Thank you so much in advance.
The easiet way for me to upload photo here is to use Photobucket.com s. [2008-10-09]
After you are done uploading your photo, your photo will have a DIRECT LINK in one of the boxes. Copy that link into the Post Image box on MTStars (under the Avatar/Profile ID box).
AFter you post the link, TA-DA, the photo will appear when you post! Very simple. I love Photobucket only to upload pics to the net.
we have direct, and we can look at the guide while watching tv; DISH STINKS [2008-09-21]
we started out with dish, had it for 9 years. They would give all kinds of equipment and deals to their new customers but not us - their loyal customers for 9 years. Our remote was being held together with tape for crying out loud and couldn't get the networks with our dish because it was so old, but did they care?? - no freaking way. They only started caring once we switched to direct. Then they repeatedly called our house, asking why we switched and offering us deals. It got real old fast repeating why we switched. So the last time they called i screamed my @$$ off that if they ever called again i was going to sue them for harassment.
It seems like they only care about people who aren't their customers. If you are their customer, they don't give a rat's @$$ about you.
Dish sucks BIG time. But I doubt direct is really that much better. Our equipment with them is just newer, that's all. I can't get cable. I wish there was an alternative.
Wow --- here's a few tricks we learned [2008-09-21]
about Dish -- maybe it will work with Direct TV, too. We wanted a better deal with our Dish. Our original contract was up and we were free agents. We stayed with them for about 5 years after the contract ended. That was when they came out with the extra boxes for a few dollars more a month. Originally, you couldn I called them up and asked them if we could get in on that deal. They said no. So we switched to Direct TV. I had already signed a contract with Direct and they were scheduled to come out the next day. I called Dish and told them I was cancelling our service and then they switched me over to a cancellation specialist, who then proceeded to offer me the very offer I requested originally. Well, it was too little too late. We were already signed up for Direct TV. We stayed on with Direct TV for our 2 years. At the end of the 2 years, I called Dish back up and resigned as a new customer. Somewhere during that time, my remote broke. I didn The Dish rep told me that I could sign up for it for $6.95 a month and then call back in tell them I needed the remote replaced. She said you could cancel the warranty plan at any time. $6.95 for a new remote sounded good to me. I've done that twice now in all the time we've had Dish.
Then about 2 or 3 years later (still with Dish) we decided to add additional TVs in the house. I called in and asked about it and of course was told the deals were only for new customers. I said okay. Cancel me as a customer. They switched me over to the cancellation specialist who then proceeded to offer me what the other rep couldn I asked her why they couldnauthorized to. I figure it
Not long ago, we had a disaster happen that ruined our Dish boxes/remotes/outside dish, everything. We called Dish up and told them and their rep worked every angle he could to get us the best deal with the least responsibility for the destroyed units.
Maybe we didn I do know one thing I like about Direct (my friend has it) -- you can still get East/West coast channels for little to nothing. Dish took them away for a long time and just recently brought them back, but I think it
We can I don
We used to have dish [2008-09-20]
Don't know what Direct TV is, but we used to have Dish. Excellent service. The only problem was when it would get windy it would knock it off track and DH would have to readjust it, but was no big deal. Very easy and only took a few secs to move back into place. Never had a problem with interruptions otherwise. I loved it and would get it again. We now have cable cos it was the best deal to get cable/internet/phone all in one package.
Had all 3 and Dish is my fav!!! [2008-09-20]
Cable in our area stinks. Direct was better than cable, but not near as good as Dish. The options available on Dish are so much better than Direct. Little things, like being able to check the guide while still watching a show and looking up the info on another program and how far ahead you can check the schedules. It They are by far the best.
camping [2008-09-19]
If camping sounds okay to you try going to floridacamping.com as they have the amenities you can choose from and an area map so you can see where you might like to stay. We just had a vacation to the Destin/Panama Beach area in June and it wasn There is a camping site in Panama Beach and I think it is called Campers Inn. They were across the street from the beach, but had direct beach access. Enjoy planning your trip!
One of the best ways I've found to [2008-09-18]
avoid holiday stress -- a Christmas Club. The first year, we just did a $500 one - that Then after that, we decided to go with a $1000 one - just $20 a week. I know it sounds like a lot, but think about how many times you pick up a $5 lunch at McD If you pay it out of your check first (or direct deposit right into the club account), you don
Another way to avoid stress (I have 3 kids, so I do get stressed) for me is to have each of my kids write their lists early, usually early November, after they Then I get on line starting in November to check for the early Black Friday ads. The more stuff I can cross off on Black Friday, the better for all. I have gotten great deals on Black Friday. Yes, it's sometimes stressful to get up and get those deals, but it can be done.
Lastly, I try to emphasize to my kids that it Kids appreciate that more than anything under the tree.
My 2 cents......... [2008-09-08]
Money is not the only thing he is lying to you about and you probably know it. Just what those things are, I don't know, but when a spouse lies and hides money, it is only a symptom of a lot of other things he/she is doing behind your back. That is why they become so defensive and try to turn the tables as if you are being ridiculous and just making up stuff. You know you're not going crazy.....you're a very angry fed up lady and for good reason. You know in your heart you have let this man belittle your feelings and make you feel less than a person. That's what they do to make themselves feel better about what they're doing.
My husband made very good money and for years, he always dropped off his check (when there wasnhis money and what he did with his money. Told me his boss keeps hundreds of dollars at a time in his wallet and he didn't trust his wife with keeping the checkbook.... she always overdrafted, messed up stuff, etc. Well, since I had been doing all that stuff for years with never a problem, I knew it wasn't because I was doing a poor job. He always insisted I do it because he just didn't have the time. His job was high profile and many hours, so I just didn't mind. I asked him did he want to keep hundreds of dollars in his wallet, did that make him feel like a man? I didn't understand his point. He just said if he wanted to, he should be able to. I never EVER told him what to do with money. We always kept everything in the open, joint accounts, etc. So, as time went by and he became angrier when I asked why he wouldn't bring his check stubs home, I loaded up the children and left. He was the type who thought I would do nothing and he was shocked as h*ll when I did.
The emotional turmoil that puts in your mind is simply not worth it. No answers from him, being told we don't have the money, when I knew full well we did and I would do without while he was out there blowing it on just stupid stuff. One day I had to use his car to take our child to school, let down the visor, and there was around 1600 dollars. That's all she wrote. I didn't believe for a minute he was having an affair. I just realized I was living with a very hateful man who didn't give a rat's butt about my feelings.
It's a simple as this, it really is. When a spouse starts lying about money in your household, there is a problem. In this case, you said your husband has been lying and doing this all along. I can't imagine how you must feel from day to day. Quite frankly, I just realized my husband just was screwed up and I sure was not going to go down with him and told him if he suddenly felt the need to hide his money to make him feel like a big shot, he could explain to the judge where he hid it when child support and alimony time came around.
Please give yourself some peace of mind. I know you are concerned about your children, but believe me, if they don't sense it right now, they will know daddy is doing something wrong towards mom sooner or later. It will affect them down the road one way or another.
I have to tell you counseling just does not work for that kind of man. You will have to play hard ball. He will never open his eyes otherwise and be prepared that he may himself live in denial about his problem forever.....do you really want to go down that path with him? When the kids are gone, you're still stuck with those feelings or lack thereof.
hmm... [2008-08-27]
I didn't precook them. I found a recipe and packed them direct after peeling and chopping. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and boil for 45 minutes. Maybe it was while waiting for the water to come to a boil in the canner pot?
I think my hubs is afraid of them. lol I told him I have no idea if it is ok because I normally can't see through the cans at the grocery store! lol
I actually didn't have much of a mess. The tomatoes were very juicy so that ran everywhere even with a lipped cutting board. I only did 7 jars, trying to do the tomatoes as I pick them and not wait until I have bushels!
Next I'm trying strawberry jam. We had so many strawberries I put them in the freezer at the time for lack of anything else to do. I'm assuming they will be ok to use frozen.
Then I would like to do apples but I have to get some nephews and such together to go help me pick a bushel. :)
Wondering if pumpkin works...I usually bake a pie pumpkin and make my pie that way but it makes more than enough. In the past I have froze it, but canning seems so much more convenient to keep around.
Before the post gets buried below regarding credit - very long message sm [2008-08-24]
I just wanted to share with the posters who were considering bankruptcy.
Unless you are on the verge of losing your home, I would strongly encourage you to consider another option. Bankruptcy does not just go away after a few years. It Even if you rebuild your credit afterwards, it A friend and my in-laws also filed bankruptcy in the past.
My in-laws filed over 20 years ago and have recovered financially but it
My husband is a credit card spender. I would only spend when I had the cash and did not depend on credit. It didn Our spending habits combined nearly led to our financial demise a few years back too.
This is what I did and I hope you give it a try and it works for you too.
I started with a complete inventory of all of our bills, separating them into three categories.
Home (mortgage and utilities)
Credit cards - (lowest balance to highest balance regardless of the APR)
Miscellaneous bills (entertainment, clothing, food, gas, fast food, etc.)
Since the Home category is pretty consistent every month, I set up a budget for that first. I went back through our utility bill for the year prior and chose the highest month bill of the year and added that amount to our mortgage amount.
Next, I reviewed our telephone, internet, and television (satellite) bills. On average, I was paying about 230.00 per month for them all combined. Way too much in my opinion. I started shopping around and found a bundle package with Verizon. Now I pay 153.00 per month for unlimited long distance telephone, satellite TV, and DSL service. Saved $77.00 per month, just doing that.
Then I added this amount to the mortgage and utilities. This totalled amount is what I know I absolutely have to pay every month and I better make sure it's in the account.
Next, I did the Miscellaneous. I I started going over what was spent where and learned that we spent a lot more than we really needed to. I set up a weekly grocery budget and a fun budget. If there was anything extra at the end of the week, it was divided evenly between the two and added to the next week. I do this every week until the end of the month. If there is anything left over, that amount is divided in half again and half is divided again and added to the following week's budget (grocery and fun), the other half is locked away in the savings account.
The money for monthly gas was a little trickier when the gas prices skyrocketed. I first had a set limit for gas each week but did have to adjust that. I did manage to adjust it a little bit upwards and still be able to pay the cards down (see below.)
Also, every time I spend cash, no matter if the amount is $5.01 and all I need is a penny, I don Instead, I will give them $6.00 and get 0.99 change to put in my giant size espresso cup of change. When the cup gets full, the change is rolled and turned in to the bank as a deposit into the savings account. My cup last gave me $281.00 change to put in the savings account. That was in March. It Nobody touches the cup! They might lose a finger or even a hand!
That being said, and having two set amounts for each budget, I then subtracted that amount, plus the Household amount from our combined monthly income.
Lastly came the dreaded credit cards. To be honest, I was floored when I learned just how much credit card debt we had. My husband had wracked up over $40,000.00 in credit card debt alone. Since he paid his own credit card bills each month, I had no idea. Even worse than that, he is very inconsistent about paying his bills on time so he had late charges and the interest rates were way the heck up there. It was terrible.
I took each of his cards most current statements and started from the lowest to highest balance. The lowest one was about 1200.00 but the interest rate on it by that time was 22%. This is where I started.
I had him call the company and basically gave him a script to go by (my name wasn He requested a decrease in his APR on each and every card. Two of the five card companies agreed on the first call. The 22% card was reduced to 11% so they cut it in half. Not as low as I would like but it was a start. Another card was up to 31% and they reduced that to 20%. The other three didn't budge the first time.
This is where I made two The first one was MS Money software. I highly recommend it. You can set up your checking, savings accounts, print your checks, balance your checkbook in about 5 minutes, pretty much a no brainer software that really keeps you in line with your bills and spending as long as you remember to faithfully enter any debit card purchase in your check register provided with the software. It will also link to many banks to update your balances online. You can also set it up to remind you for upcoming bills. (Maybe if the husband had used this earlier, we would not have been in this situation?)
The second purchase was about $8.00. An accordion file folder for the monthly statements. Husband always threw his away and I cana dumb idea that is. KEEP them. Organize the tabs for each bill and put your statement in when you pay each bill. I also write the date and the amount when I make a payment somewhere on the statement, then keep them in chronological order.
The actual payments came next. The smallest balance card was paid off first. All of other cards only got the minimum payment PLUS $1 more. I started doing this just for my own peace of mind I guess but I learned later that this actually helped us a bit when negotiating the lower APRs on the three more stubborn cards. It may have only been $1 extra but it was EXTRA payment and, believe it or not, they do look at that.
Excluding the card to be paid off first, I added up the minimum payments of the remaining four cards (plus the extra dollar to each of those) and decided on an amount to pay the lowest balance card to get that balance moving toward 0 as fast as I could.
In this case, I decided on 200.00. This left me with a little over 200.00 extra (I call it mad money but it really goes into savings anyway -planning ahead for birthdays, auto insurance, Christmas, and emergencies.)
I had that card paid off relatively quickly in a few months. When it was paid off, the card was cancelled and that 200.00 was added to the minimum payment (plus $1) on the next lowest balance card. After the first month of this, once again, had the husband call his credit card company and ask for a reduction in his APR. This time it was granted. Should also mention that this card was one of the three that refused the request the first time.
The first six months or so of this wasa mildly painful transition. He was used to whipping out a credit card, I was used to having cash on hand for whatever I wanted. It wasn't going to happen anymore.
Finally, I wasdown to the last remaining card (754.00 per month payment by this time, having applied the payments for each card to the next as they were paid off.)
When I got to this point, I started shopping around for cards with rewards programs and started comparing those cards. The last card I was paying on also had a rewards program but not quite what I wanted. I wanted to know if the terms were negotiable. It was! How about that!
So, instead of losing a valuable customer the card company decided to keep me.
Now I get 3% back on purchases of most things as long as I pay the balance in full every month (which I do). Any kind of air or rail travel purchased with the card is a 6% reward.
I no longer use a debit card. The husband is not allowed to get a credit card again but instead, takes a certain amount of cash every week. Say what you want but he got us into this mess pretty much so he has to live with it now.
It I find that I average about 400.00 per month AFTER the rewards bonuses kick in so essentially I am able to bank another $354.00 per month in savings. It adds up quicker than you might think.
Should also mention that we have two teens still at home and they can really be expensive. They were made a part of the plan and do their part to help out too. Their contribution is mostly the avoidance of fast food all the time. They can come home and have a meal or eat before they leave. Things like that.
Sorry for the lengthy post but hopefully I can help anyone else get out of a potentially bad financial situation like we faced.
Collection Agency Tactics?? [2008-07-19]
Does anyone know who I should contact, or if I have anything to complain about regarding a collection agency out of Texas. I used to actually work for a collection agency 20+ years ago out of Florida, and we would NEVER have been able to say what these people have said to me via phone, let alone in a letter I just opened. Long story short, yes, I owe HSN $200+ for a computer I bought on a payment plan of $135 a month. Before I was done with payment #2, it broke, and thus began months and months of me sending this junk back and forth with Gateway. It was a lemon model, thus why it was offered for 5 payments on HSN. After I made payment #2 and Gateway had the computer for repairs more than we had it to use, I called HSN. In no uncertain words, the sales rep told me you bought it, you deal with it. There were lots of reviews at this point on HSN and all buyers were furious, as it was junk. HSN quickly removed the computer and reviews. So, yes, I have been lax in paying it, but it didnASSEMBLE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WHICY WILL OR MAY INCLUDE...INFORMATION AS TO MY CHARACTER AND GENERAL REPUTATION... the caps and bold are their writing. It then goes on to say that I should send $$ immediately as they have NO DESIRE TO CAUSE ME EMBARASSMENT... Can they word things this way? I have never in all my life seen anything worded to this effect, as obviously, even though they use the word may, it is a direct insinuation to scare me that they are going to ruin my reputation and are questioning my character, and threatening embarassment. Seriously, has anyone ever seen this before? I don I wonder if HSN knows this agency is saying personal stuff like this? I know companies just farm out their old debts to agencies. Again, its a tough one for me to swallow, as the computer never lasted even halfway thru their 5 easy payment plan, but I have recognized the debt and am paying, albeit at $50 every 2 weeks. But this insulting letter was just the icing on the cake for me. Do you think its legal?
Anyone out there own a HAIER portable washer? - see questions [2008-07-16]
I just bought a Haier portable clothes washer (8.8 pound, top-load model), and a portable dryer too, with my economic stimulus check. Since I've always used laundrymat machines, I'm a little confused about a couple of things not mentioned in the owner's manual.
1 - Dumb question #1: Are you supposed to turn on the water supply at the sink first, and then the poweron button to start the machine, or do you first start the power, and then start the machine?
2 - Okay, here Where do you put the liquid laundry detergent? Theredetergent, but I Also, there is a little thing above that that says detergent dispenser on it. This is confusing, detergent on it, so I don (And although not a domestic goddess, I am quite mechanically-minded and had no trouble assembling the parts and hooking it up.)
I also don or if you first add the detergent, then power it up.
I REALLY don I donkill the poor thing its first day on the job!
If you are set on closing, do not close the old ones, close a newer account first. [2008-06-18]
Your credit is based on a mix of things like history, types of accounts, mix of credit (revolving vs installment), usage/utilization of credit available, and payment history. Where closing could hurt your score is the part of the score that averages history of accounts/length of credit. If you decide to close, close out a newer account first.
The best way to protect from ID theft as far as credit is to freeze your credit reports. It's around $10 per agency to freeze them. Each credit reporting agency tries to sell your their own monitoring plan when you get to the how to freeze information, so make
sure you are freezing it.
You can't freeze it over the net they each require a letter by registered mail. It takes about 1 month to freeze it.
Right now you can place a fraud alert on your reports for free. The credit *should* not extend credit or do a credit line increase without calling the phone # on your credit report first. You only need to do it at one credit reporting agency and the other ones will be notfied. The number for equifax fraud alert 1-888-766-0008. It's automated.
If you are concerned about ID theft try one of the monitoring plans. I've tried a few of them and Equifax has the best one. Their Score Watch is great, you set the limits to be notified and any change they send an email literaly the next day. I used it after I discovered ID theft. It might be a waste of money for you. I would place the fraud alerts, then the freeze, and check your reports 2x per year.
I've had ID theft as far as my name/social but what concerns me more than credit ID theft is bank account theft. I don't know how we can fight that. It seems like consumers get the raw end of the deal as far rights when deposit accounts are stolen.
If you would like to further educate yourself on this issue [2008-06-12]
INTERESTING ARTICLE
I realize this is very long, but as an expert in this field, I want to re-post information I sent, in September, to another blogger concerned about the Best Friends summit.
I want to emphasize that the following information is based on years of dedicated research, and decades of dog training experience. I do not simply pass along information I've heard or read somewhere...which is sadly what most people, on all sides of dog-related issues, do.
I recognize that some of your readers may find parts of it quite controversial. That's okay. Facts are facts, even if they conflict with some other [expert's] unresearched opinions.
As such, I've opted to leave those sections in, because they're vital in refuting unfounded notions about dogs, canine genetics, and dog behaviour, which lead to myths about canine aggression.
Any individual point of controversy should not take away from the overall message of fact and reason that does not support the view that any entire dog breed could be considered dangerous.
Only once people stop repeating inaccurate information (no matter how good it may sound), will we ever hope to get to the heart of this issue, and start reducing the number of unprovoked dog bites.
The following was written off the top of my head, in response to concerns about the Best Friends' agenda. It is not a composed article meant for publication. Please also keep in mind, it has a decidedly Canadian perspective, although there is ample U.S. data referenced.
This is what I wrote (with a few minor clarifications):
Dear (blogger),
As you know, I am an expert in Canadian dog bite statistics.
After years of research, there are a number of interesting facts I right here, in one place.
The situation with unprovoked dog bites is not what nearly everyone believes it to be.
If I had one pet peeve, it is that most people merely repeat things they’ve heard or read. They don’t really know if what they’re saying is true or not. They merely “believe” those things to be true, and that’s enough for them, I guess.
You know what I say, “No matter how often or loudly a myth is repeated, it is still just a myth.”
Some people simply like agreeing with others. Some like to pretend they’re especially knowledgeable or have unique insight. Whatever the source for so many of these myths, years of research has proven the majority of beliefs I encounter about dogs are simply untrue.
Whenever discussing the issue of dangerous dogs, it's always important to remember a few key points about the dog bite statistics (especially as they pertain to Canada):
1. The most dangerous breeds in Canada are, in order: German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel, Rottweiler, and Golden Retriever.
Why do I say this? Well, this is not dog bite data, but rather dog attack data based on the reporting information from the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP).
The CHIRPP members (hospitals, and reporting physicians and nurses) have no reason to lie about the information they receive, surrounding the breed of dog that has attacked.
Why do I say the most dangerous? Well, because the CHIRPP data only applies to the most severe dog attacks (i.e. those injuries serious enough to require treatment in hospital). These are not little nips that can be treated with ice or even a band aid. These are severe dog bite injuries that need to be treated in hospital. The dogs that cause the most serious injuries in Canada belong to the above-mentioned breeds, more than any others.
Unlike municipal dog bite data (where any bite, no matter how inconsequential, or even against other animals, is counted), the CHIRPP data only relates to the most serious dog attacks against human victims.
2. 'Pit bulls' are rarely in the #1 spot in dog bite statistics.
Any measures to restrict or ban the #2, #5, or #37 'breed' of dog in the dog bite statistics, but not #1, is pure hypocrisy.
As faulty as the logic may be, if you're going to ban or restrict a type of dog in an attempt to reduce the number of dog bites, then it must be the ones who bite the most and/or cause the most serious injuries. Either way, that 'breed' is not 'pit bulls'.
3. There hasn't been one confirmed death of a child attributed to an unprovoked attack by a 'pit bull' in Canadian history. (There has been one unconfirmed death.)
4. The very first human fatality attributed to an unprovoked attack by a 'pit bull' in Canadian history occurred in May of 2006. Until then, every insinuation or claim about Canadians being in danger of being killed in unprovoked attacks by 'pit bulls' was totally unfounded.
(In the Ontario case in May, the dog was actually only part 'pit bull'. It was a Labrador Retriever/'pit bull' cross, and the dog's owner was the victim.) (It should be noted that there have been at least two human fatalities in Canada attributed to unprovoked attacks by Labrador Retriever crosses, yet this was the first for a 'pit bull' cross.)
5. Municipal dog bite statistics often combine reported dog bite data against both humans and other animals.
While I don’t have any problems with doing so, those citing combined statistics must be aware that the majority of the dog bite reports aren’t against people. To imply otherwise is, at best, misleading and, at worst, dishonest.
For example: Toronto has arguably the largest municipal ‘pit bull’ population in Canada. In 2004, 12 of the city’s estimated 30,000+ ‘pit bulls’ had been reported for biting. (That’s about 0.04% of the population, by the way; leaving 99.96% of Toronto’s ‘pit bulls’ completely innocent of such allegations.) However, the majority of those reported bites were against other animals. Only 2 of the 12 could even begin to be called “attacks” against humans.
So, when 2 out of at least 30,000 dogs of a loosely-defined type are involved in attacks in an entire year, is that really justification for not just trying to ban or restrict them, but for making sweeping generalizations about all the rest?
6. No matter what dog ‘breed’ tops the dog bite statistics, the vast majority of bites are still attributed to other breeds.
To better help people understand the absurdity of a breed-based approach to dog bite prevention, let’s imagine that ‘pit bulls’ are responsible for a virtually unheard of 10% of bites in some Canadian city. That still leaves 90% of biting dogs unaffected by any breed-based approach.
This is the primary reason why breed bans have been such a colossal failure wherever they’ve been tried. The majority of biting and attacking dogs are not affected, so their owners are free to continue to behave negligently.
7. All dogs can bite.
There is no such thing as a breed of dog that has never bitten, never attacked, never maimed, or never killed (a person or other animal).
8. It is the size of the victim, not the dog, which best predicts severity of injury in an attack.
While even the very smallest dog breeds have killed humans, the very largest dog breeds are rarely involved in attacks.
9. Adults are rarely seriously injured by dogs of any size, while children are the most common dog bite victims. Their attackers range from the very smallest to the very largest dog breeds.
10. The dogs actually involved in attacks are not genetically related in any meaningful way.
This goes right to the heart of common, yet completely unscientific, baseless claims about allegedly inheriting aggressive behaivours or being bred for aggression.
In short, the dogs involved in attacks are not closely genetically related to one another. This tends to refute the idea that the attack was due to some aberrant inherited gene.
Think about it. What could the Dalmatian that bit off a boy’s nose 10 years ago and the Golden Retriever that left 76 stitches in a girl’s face, just a few years ago, possibly have in common, from a genetic standpoint? Is anyone really trying to suggest they’re genetically related, and both inherited some sort of as-yet-undiscovered “attack gene”?
Even the Rottweiler that killed a child in New Brunswick and the Rottweiler that killed a child in Ontario don’t share any common ancestors in their pedigrees; making the whole notion of a shared genetic cause for attacks completely ludicrous.
Put simply, the individual dogs involved in unique attack incidents are not genetically related in any way other than that which makes them dogs.
11. Psychology defines aggression as learned behaviour.
I’ve been researching dog biting incidents since 1999. I have yet to find a dog involved in an attack that didn’t have a known history of aggressive behaviour.
Aggression has to be learned and practiced before it is perfected. I have yet to come across a case of a dog that attacked unprovoked, without ever having barked menacingly, growled, lunged, snapped, or what have you.
This completely refutes the (quite silly) urban myth that “some dogs just turn”, or that dogs can be THIS unpredictable. (i.e. friendly family pet with no history of ever having behaved aggressively one minute; then savage, unprovoked attacker the next)
As an experienced dog trainer (one who has spent many of those years SUCCESSFULLY re-training aggressive dogs), I can attest that dogs are not all that unpredictable. Sure, they might do something out of the ordinary, every now and then. However, for a dog to suddenly behave aggressively in a way that is truly threatening or injurious, it must have practiced those behaviours in the past. This is the nature of all learned behaviours. Only practice makes perfect. (I can elaborate more on that, if you wish.)
It’s as though people can’t imagine any other form of aggressive behaviour, other than biting. To help them along, I must point out that aggressive behaviours follow a fairly predictable scale of escalation. It may begin with staring or raised hackles (all merely indicating discomfort with a situation). That can lead to raised lips, growling, stiffened body posture, menacing barking, lunging, and attempted bites. Long before an unwarranted bite ever occurs, there are a litany of warning signs that the dog will eventually bite.
Even the most die-hard dog fighting breeders admit they have to start their puppies very young (often at six weeks), to turn them into superior fighters. When asked why they have to spend so much effort training their (allegedly bred-to-fight) dogs, none can provide a scientifically or practically sensible response. Most use made-up terminologies to emphasize what they believe are inherited traits, while playing down the daily training they force on the dogs. Yet it is clear that, without this ongoing encouragement, the dogs don’t become proficient fighters.
I’ve researched so many cases where the owner has allegedly claimed the attack was the first time the dog behaved aggressively, I now pay little heed to such statements. The neighbours almost always tell a very different story.
To use a more famous case as an example, little Courtney Trempe was killed by a dog the owner claimed had never behaved aggressively before. The owner went on to say he “couldn’t have known” the dog would attack, because it had never tried to bite a person. Well, it turns out the dog had not just attacked previously, but had actually killed two neighbourhood dogs in the past. That is an aggressive dog, by anyone’s standards.
But it does bring me to my next point…
12. Aggression is aggression is aggression. The idea that aggression can be species-specific is not based in any kind of scientific, statistical, or practical data. It seems to be little more than wishful thinking. Those perpetuating this notion tend not to have even attempted to validate this theory in any way.
There is a very disturbing myth being promulgated by a number of groups that should know better than to perpetuate unfounded myths. The idea that aggression towards other dogs is markedly different than aggression towards humans is scientifically and statistically baseless. (But I realize a lot of people learned this myth, and repeat it as though it is true.) I have to point out that the real-world data, in no uncertain terms, clearly refutes such theories.
Of the dogs involved in their first aggression incident towards a human, the vast majority had behaved aggressively towards other animals (usually other dogs) in the past.
Of the dogs involved in their first bites against humans, where the dog had no history of aggression towards humans, the majority had behaved aggressively towards other animals (usually other dogs) in the past.
Of the dogs whose first bite against a person resulted in that individual’s death, and where the dog had no history of aggressive behaviour towards humans, every one of the cases I’ve investigated involved dogs that had behaved aggressively towards other dogs in the past. (see the Trempe case example, above)
So, while some aggressive dogs may, for now, limit their aggressive behaviour to other animals, it in no way guarantees it will remain that way forever.
Most, if not all, the first-time human biters had only behaved aggressively towards other animals, in the past. Their owners, having believed the myth that aggression is species-specific in dogs, are always surprised when their dog-aggressive dogs bite someone.
Again, dog-aggression could remain contained, for a number of social and environmental reasons. Statistically, these dogs are equally as likely to bite a human, one day. Dogs with histories of aggressive behaviour (towards either humans or other animals) are almost exclusively involved in unprovoked biting incidents.
13. Nearly all unprovoked dog bites would not be prevented by dog control laws.
Since dog control laws typically only apply to the conduct of owners (and their dogs) when they’re on public property, it completely negates their ability to affect the circumstances that lead to the vast majority of unprovoked dog bites.
When it comes to total dog bite numbers, almost all take place on the owner’s property.
When it comes to reported dog bite numbers, the overwhelming majority take place on, or directly adjacent to, the owner’s property.
Supervised dogs in a public place account for less than 1% of all bites.
This makes public restraint laws especially ineptly-aimed and ineffective in reducing dog bites.
Most unprovoked biting incidents involve (typically an unsupervised) dog known to the victim. Whether or not the victim knows the dog, the bite usually takes place on the owner’s property (where the dog is either loose or tethered), or directly adjacent to the owner’s property (where the dog was either allowed to venture off the owner’s property, or “escaped”).
Very few unprovoked biting incidents involve a supervised dog. Simple supervision appears to be very effective in preventing dog bites.
When bites take place far from the owner’s property, the dogs involved were most likely loose, roaming, unsupervised dogs.
Simply put, public restraint laws don’t target the situations that actually lead to unprovoked dog bites.
14. Cities that address the real causes of unprovoked dog bites (i.e. lack of supervision & lack of socialization and training) are hugely successful in reducing the number of dog bites.
Calgary is the best example we have in Canada. They reduced dog bites by 70%, even during a period where the population doubled.
Calgary’s approach was to first enforce existing laws. They strictly enforce licensing, and boast a licensing rate of 90% (compared to most cites’ 10-20%). In this way, they have a better handle on the dog population in their community, which helps in making decisions and drawing conclusions.
They also have a zero tolerance policy for acts of aggression. (Something I’m personally totally in favour of. Dogs are not weapons, and anyone who unethically uses a dog for that purpose shouldn’t be allowed to own one.) Any report of aggressive behaviour of any kind results in a visit from animal control and a warning.
City officials are clear, in that they agree one of the biggest aspects of their success was the creation of ample off-leash areas for dogs to be exercised, socialized, and trained off-leash. With reportedly the largest number of off-leash parks in Canada, it’s no coincidence that Calgary also has the lowest dog bite rate of any major city in Canada.
Several years ago, I made this prediction, “When the studies are done, we’ll find the cities with the best access to off-leash parks are also the cities with the lowest percentage of dog bites.”
Calgary certainly suggests my prediction was correct.
Finally, Calgary increased the penalties for some transgressions. Combined with increased enforcement, the large percentage of licensed dogs, along with the higher fines, has led to Calgary’s animal control department becoming financially self-sufficient.
It’s win, win, win, in Calgary, all because they addressed the real causes for unwarranted aggression in dogs.
15. Breed-specific approaches to dog bite prevention have failed.
There isn’t one region that can claim a reduction in the number, or severity, of dog bites as a direct result of banning a breed of dog.
In Winnipeg, officials promoting the city’s long-time ban on ‘pit bulls’ often misleads the public by stating “’pit bull’ attacks” have been eliminated. Well of course they’ve been eliminated. ‘Pit bulls’ are banned in Winnipeg. You don’t have to be rocket scientist to figure that out. There are also no wooly mammoth attacks or saber toothed tiger attacks, either.
When Winnipeg banned ‘pit bulls’, German Shepherds, and their crosses, were far and away the most common biters in that city. After ‘pit bulls’ were banned, there was an average of close to 50 more bites per year, for the following decade. In addition to the rise in overall dog bites, the number of bites by German Shepherds and crosses, Labrador Retrievers and crosses, Terriers crosses, and Rottweilers and crosses, skyrocketed.
Kitchener is another example. The city of Kitchener banned ‘pit bulls’ in 1997, without ever having done an analysis on the city’s dog bite data. Only after ‘pit bulls’ were banned was it discovered they were #8 in the 1996 dog bite statistics, “right behind #7 Poodles,” as it is commonly said. In what could only be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, officials immediately halted the collection of dog bite data by breed.
Even so, while we don’t know which breeds have been doing the biting, we can still determine if the ‘pit bull’ ban has been effective in reducing dog bites in Kitchener. Every animal bite is required, by law, to be reported to the Medical Officer of Health. With a sleuthing, it was discovered that dog bites haven’t been reduced at all, since ‘pit bulls’ were banned in 1997. They’ve remained pretty constant.
According to a BBC report, hospitalizations due to dog bites rose 25% after ‘pit bulls’ were banned in England.
Officials from most of the cities that have repealed breed-specific laws have used terms like “ineffective” and “unenforceable”.
16. All dog breeds are genetically identical. Even DNA can’t distinguish between a Chihuahua, a ‘pit bull’, a Great Dane, and a wolf. (Yes, while there are occasional claims of in-roads, in this area, using markers, all dogs are still considered genetically identical.)
Those rare individuals with the personal expertise necessary to accurately attempt to determine a dog’s breed based on appearance alone typically are not employed in the various occupations charged with enforcing most breed-specific legislation. This leaves the subjective determination of a dog’s breed to the very inexpert animal control and shelter workers. In some cases, police officers must decide the dog’s breed, yet not one police officer is trained to (accurately) differentiate between dog breeds.
The same can be said of veterinarians. A veterinary license infers expertise in diagnosing and treating illness, for the most part. Neither practicing veterinarians nor veterinary students are required to prove any expertise in breed identification in order to obtain a license. Any expertise an individual veterinarian may possess, in terms of breed identification, or even dog training and behaviour, was most likely acquired outside the requirements of licensing.
Because the people enforcing breed-specific laws are not dog breed identification experts, the likelihood of misidentification is unconscionably great. (In Ontario, several dogs have already been misidentified, under breed-specific ordinances.)
17. The public is not in danger of unprovoked dog bites.
For instance, every recent dog-related fatality in Canada has involved dogs and victims residing within the same home. The same could be said for the majority of bites and attacks, as well.
This is very important information, in terms of quelling the public’s hysteria. “The public” is rarely involved in unprovoked biting incidents. Most bite victims knew the dog and were voluntarily interacting with it at the time of the bite. Most bite victims are bitten by their own dogs.
If you don’t own a dog, your risk of being bitten is very low. If you also don’t interact with dogs, or live next door to a dog that is routinely left unsupervised, or one that is known to behave aggressively, then your risk of being bitten is virtually nil.
Even when we don’t account for contributing factors (such as proximity) you are still more than 100 times more likely to be hit by lightning than killed by a dog. (In Canada, the likelihood of being killed by a dog you don’t know or live with is virtually zero.)
18. ‘Pit bulls’ are, if anything, less likely to bite.
In the U.S., ‘pit bulls’ are estimated to make up 9% of the dog population, yet they typically only make up 2-4% of dog bites, nationwide. In case your readers don’t understand what that means, it would be expected, purely on population alone, that 9% of dog bites would be attributed to ‘pit bulls’. Since less than half (even a third) of bites are reportedly caused by ‘pit bulls’, this suggests they’re much less likely to bite than should be expected.
19. ‘Pit bulls’ are less likely to kill than people.
In the U.S., even extremely conservative estimates suggest that only 0.00002% of the ‘pit bull’ population has killed. This is much lower than the human population (men, in particular).
Whatever someone’s views about ‘pit bulls’ might be, it can’t change the fact that at least 99.99998% have never, and will never, kill anyone.
20. 99.9% of all dogs, from all breeds, will never be involved in an attack.
Huge generalizations about dog breeds is not only unscientific, it’s not even practically accurate. I like to put it this way, “If any ‘breed’ were genetically programmed to attack, certainly more than 0.1% of them would.”
21. The media.
While I don’t want to get into a protracted discussion about the lack of honesty in media reports of dog bites, I will summarize by saying that reviewing media reports of dog biting incidents is not “research” because the media is extremely biased in regards to which stories it chooses to cover.
The media reports dog biting incidents involving ‘pit bulls’ to the near-exclusion of all others. In addition, they use other tactics to exaggerate the details, such as salacious language, or references to other dog biting incidents involving ‘pit bulls’.
There are countless incidents of media bias. In Ontario, a ‘pit bull’ killed another dog, and it was front-page news, that reappeared in the media for weeks. The owner was swiftly taken to jail. Around the same time, two Labs killed another dog, and attacked a ‘pit bull’ without any real media interest. The owner of the Labs was not charged with any serious offence.
There are other blatant incidents, as well. One weekend, two off-leash dogs (one of them being a ‘pit bull’) got into a squabble, and every major media agency reported the incident. That same weekend, a child was mauled by the family’s Golden Retriever, and not one media outlet covered the story.
A child was mauled so savagely by his grandfather’s Labrador Retriever, he required treatment at two Ontario hospitals. Only one media outlet covered this story in just one broadcast.
Again, relying on the media for the facts of dog biting cases is not advised.
Naturally, I could go on. But there you have a pretty good primer (off the top of my head), regarding the facts about the who, what, where, when, how, and why dogs bite unprovoked.
Because I kept encountering the same story, over and over and over again, in my research of dog biting incidents, I was led to create a dog bite prevention strategy that deals with the factors common to nearly all the cases I’d investigated.
I made it simple, and easy to remember. And I made sure not to include anything that would require an individual to develop some kind of expertise. People who don’t own dogs or aren’t experienced dog trainers still have a right to protect themselves from unprovoked dog bites. The following is what I call, the “3 Simple Steps to Dog Bite Prevention”:
1. Avoid unsupervised dogs.
2. Never leave children unsupervised with dogs.
3. Ensure our own dogs are properly trained and adequately supervised at all times.
By following these “3 Simple Steps”, we could virtually eliminate unprovoked dog bites in Canada.
It is not just important, but vital, to know what ACTUALLY causes dogs to bite unprovoked, if we ever hope to reduce those numbers. Obtusely theorizing about possible causes or solutions is not helpful and, as in the case of breed-specific legislation, is often harmful to both humans and dogs.
If you would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Darby
Founder,
Stimulus Letter [2008-06-03]
Even though I had my direct deposited, I actually got a letter two days after it was already deposited that it would be coming.
Me, myself and I and my taxes sm [2008-05-30]
mmm I had only my IC income and only Federal taxes to pay last year. I paid in $7000 and some. I don Raking it in? Hardly! I pay 30% of my taxable income in taxes and I can only take the standard deduction, plus what came out to about $2000 in office expenses last year.You add up $7K x 3, + 2007 standard deduction for a single person + $2000 and you got my income.
I don't call that raking it in!
Tell me about gas [2008-05-30]
I think this is what my DH wants to spend some of our stimulus check on.
http://www.tkdownloads.com/gas.html
Hope it works! I have heard good things, but would rather pay down bills.
Hardly "raking it in" [2008-05-30]
Do a little research on the income levels where you get double screwed on taxes - it You lose your deductions (I donstimulus checks they send out. Our income may be higher than some, but we end up losing a whole lot because of that difference in income.
And I was not kicking her when she was down I was just saying I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who gets 0 refund when we have to pay out the wazoo.
Re: Those economy-stimulation checks - sm [2008-05-29]
I still haven Worse, I just got one of those Return Information Noticesin the mail. Well, guess what? The state of Calif. dida little number-rearranging, (or should I maybe call it fuzzy math?), and my state income tax refund has been changed from over $300 down to ZERO. When you call the number on the website, and finally get a live person to help, they very helpfully refer you to someone who can go over it with you, and then the system tells you it
And get THIS: The actually had a LOWER taxable income than I had calculated. So how do they figure I am suddenly owed NO refund? It sure sounds like thathow the gov Like I
Looks like once again, this Calif.taxpayer has been Californicated.
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