April 2013

There were 21 posts published in April 2013 (this is page 2 of 3).

How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

I hate Intuit already for their horrible customer service when I was a QuickBooks customer. Now it seems I have a new reason to hate them: they lobby against the IRS offering simple tax filing.

The idea, known as “return-free filing,” would be a voluntary alternative to hiring a tax preparer or using commercial tax software. The concept has been around for decades and has been endorsed by both President Ronald Reagan and a campaigning President Obama.

“This is not some pie-in-the-sky that’s never been done before,” said William Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “It’s doable, feasible, implementable, and at a relatively low cost.”

So why hasn’t it become a reality?

Well, for one thing, it doesn’t help that it’s been opposed for years by the company behind the most popular consumer tax software — Intuit, maker of TurboTax. Conservative tax activist Grover Norquist and an influential computer industry group also have fought return-free filing.

via How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing – ProPublica.

Saving passwords in browsers

SalesForce.com
I get annoyed at some companies’ misguided attempts at password security. Take SalesForce.com, for instance (please!).

SalesForce is a web-based customer relationship management system. It holds a lot of sensitive corporate data and rightly should be protected from unauthorized access. While we SalesForce customers are expected to trust SalesForce with we consider sensitive data, SalesForce does not trust us with what itconsiders sensitive data, namely one’s own SalesForce password. SalesForce deliberately disables the ability of Firefox and other webbrowers to automatically save your SalesForce password and automatically re-enter it when you return to the login page.
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Cheap Thoughts: Smartphone keys

I hate keys, as I’ve written about many times before. I also hate keycards, and thought it was ridiculous that my office suite requires two separate keycards: one for the building and one for the suite.

Yet in my pocket is a miracle of computing and communications power: a smartphone. My smartphone knows my identity when I swipe the security code to unlock it. It’s capable of very strong encryption and decryption. Why can’t I use my smartphone as a key to unlock my office doors? It sure would be more secure than relying on ancient technology like tumbler locks and keys.

Update 9 April: My friend Steve sends me links to the UniKey and the Lockitron, both of which are very, very interesting!

Downtown renaissance

Since Friday night was the last of our “date nights” before the kids came home from staying with Kelly’s parents, Kelly and I rode our bikes into downtown Raleigh for First Friday festivities.

Walking along a bustling, closed-off section of Hargett Street in front of the Raleigh Times, I had to stop for a moment and soak in the experience.

“You know,” I told Kelly, “I remember touring this downtown one summertime Friday night in 1987 and it was an absolute ghost town. I mean, there was nothing open and nothing going on.”

Seeing the sidewalks filled with happy citizens was quite the contrast to the empty, scary downtown still locked in my memory for 26 years. What an incredible transformation that has taken place in Raleigh since the time I met this city and later called it home. I’m proud to have been here and being a part of this transformation.

Solar tax credits safe … for now

Kelly and I were concerned that the current shenanigans in the North Carolina General Assembly might put the kibosh on our claiming tax credits for our impending solar PV installation. Southern Energy suggested we reach out to Randy Lucas of Lucas Tax and Energy for his take.

Randy responded with this:

I can say as a licensed CPA with 20 years of tax experience, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the NC Sustainable Energy Association, despite the current activities in the NCGA, it is highly unlikely that any potential changes to the NC renewable energy investment tax credit would have any impact on any activity/transactions made by NC -based taxpayers in calendar year 2013. It would be unprecedented for the tax laws to change within the active tax year and would cause an administrative catastrophe for the NC Dept of Revenue to carryout the tax law change mid-year. That said, if you are making a purchase of renewable energy property in 2013, and have plans/intent to complete the install in 2013, you should be safe to claim both the Federal (30%) and North Carolina (35%) investment tax credits on your 2013 income tax return.
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Neuse River Greenway to Clayton

Kelly picked up the kids in Farmville today, giving me some time to help with Gerry’s Adopt-a-Highway this morning and a bike ride in the afternoon. I left Anderson Point Park at 1:55 PM and rode south all the way to Clayton and back for a grand total of 31 miles! I didn’t bring any snacks, nor did I bring my bike shorts, both of which I could have used. Even so, I enjoyed the ride and think this may be the most beautiful portion of the Capital Area Greenway.

Old eyes

Reading the newspaper this morning, I discovered I can no longer read text that is within a foot of my face. I only went to the optometrist a few months ago, where I read the tiny text with some difficulty but successfully. My eye doctor said my vision was starting to slide in that regard but that I could simply buy reading glasses at the drug store to supplement my contacts.

I guess this explains why I had such a hard time reading those extremely tiny labels on the Dell computers at my last job. Oh, and I’m getting old, too!

North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire

Esquire takes a look at the craziness that has been the North Carolina General Assembly under GOP rule.

I have a number of very close friends in North Carolina whom I love dearly, so I ask this in all Christian charity.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE LIVING, BREATHING, TATTOOED GOD IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?

Whom did you people elect? The people with the brightest bulbs for a nose? The people with the biggest, floppiest shoes? Does every member of the Republican majority in your legislature all arrive at work every morning in the same tiny car? First, we had the We-Can-Establish-A-State-Religion bill, and then we had the Tax-Yo-Mama-If-You-Vote-Obama bill. Caligula would be ashamed to bring his horse before these people for a vote. And now, because everybody went back to the big steaming bowl of stupid for seconds — and thirds — they have decided to put the force of law and the power of the state behind The Palmer Method.

via North Carolina Cursive Writing Bill – North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire.

Sirius sets

I pulled the plug on my SiriusXM subscription yesterday, when that great six-month deal ran out and was no longer offered. I don’t know, maybe my work with Little Raleigh Radio has convinced me that radio works best if it’s local, but I never got into satellite radio. I guess being able to tune in the world on my smartphone was too easy (and free) to pass up. Also, the satellite receiver stayed in Kelly’s car (the minivan), so it wasn’t around for me during my RTP commutes.

I still admire the company though, and if it offered service the right price I might subscribe to it again.