Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

You guys, it's cold outside. Really, really cold.

THE ICE AGE IS UPON US

Actually, I haven't so much as put my coat on in all my going outside today...

I was just looking at the weather and being grateful that we didn't go outside today. I had no idea how cold it was outside.

I know. I finally decided to turn the heat on this week. Tomorrow's high is only 40! Much colder than the 70 degree weather we've been enjoying.

"...The wind is blowing, but I can weather this storm! What do I care how much it may storm? I've got my love to keep me warm."

I assume you guys have got the wind too? It makes a cold day like 15 degrees colder. I have to be grateful that the snow took care of the inversion, but this cold front is ... chilly.

Vorpal, thanks for pulling that information out. One thing I wonder (but no one should go to any sort of effort to find out, as this is just idle curiosity) is how much that changed when the estate tax was eliminated. I notice they lump "inheritance" in with gifts, and that's what makes me curious.

By the way guys, I LOVE cooking with gas ranges. If anyone has a gas range, I will totally cook a meal on it.

To any who wants to play "Encore-Numbers" and hasn't posted anything yet:

You can still begin playing up until midnight tonight. To catch up, post 8 consecutive words apiece for two songs that contain a number (one song for yesterday and one song today).

IF YOU DO NOT POST ANYTHING TODAY, YOU ARE CONSIDERED OUT OF THE ROUND UNLESS YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD EXCUSE.

Thank you.

ahem. wrote:I know. I finally decided to turn the heat on this week. Tomorrow's high is only 40! Much colder than the 70 degree weather we've been enjoying.

My mother in Mesa told me almost the exact same thing.

vorpal blade wrote:I was unable to find any instruction that says you are required to pay taxes on gifts other than from your employer in certain cases.

Awesome! That was some great information, thanks!

Marduk wrote:Vorpal, thanks for pulling that information out. One thing I wonder (but no one should go to any sort of effort to find out, as this is just idle curiosity) is how much that changed when the estate tax was eliminated. I notice they lump "inheritance" in with gifts, and that's what makes me curious.

As defined in the United States an inheritance tax is something paid by a person who inherits money or property after the death of a person. As I understand it, we have never had a federal inheritance tax, but the states do. And that tax varies from state to state.

An estate tax, on the other hand, is a tax that is paid by the executor of a will after a complete assessment is made of the deceased's property and assets. This tax is paid before any disbursements are made to the beneficiaries of the deceased's will, or his heirs. The estate tax is NOT paid by the person who receives the inheritance.

A gift tax is paid by the person giving the gift. It is not paid by the person receiving the gift. You are currently allowed to give gifts up to $13,000 per year per person. That is, your father can give each of his ten adult children as much as $13,000 a year, for a total of $130,000 per year without paying taxes on it. He could also give $13,000 a year to any other individual, whether related to him or not, without penalty.

The terms “estate tax” and “inheritance tax” are generally used the same way in other nations, but there are some exceptions.

thebigcheese wrote:

vorpal blade wrote:I was unable to find any instruction that says you are required to pay taxes on gifts other than from your employer in certain cases.

Awesome! That was some great information, thanks!

You are welcome. I'd like to add that I was talking about federal taxes. You might want to check into the state taxes and see if the state where you live has a tax on gifts given to you. I couldn't see that Utah is different in this regard from federal, but I'm not completely sure. And--disclaimer--I'm not a tax consultant.

This just in, folks: A violin and a cello are NOT the same, and being able to play one does not mean you'll be able to pick up the other in just a few days. Dangit, why am I not a musical prodigy?

Ha! Which do you already play?

Emiliana wrote:This just in, folks: A violin and a cello are NOT the same, and being able to play one does not mean you'll be able to pick up the other in just a few days. Dangit, why am I not a musical prodigy?

Sheesh. Violin and viola, maybe, but the violin and cello are held completely differently, and I imagine there are other significant differences in technique.

Back on the topic of proprioception, I just remembered that I actually lost some of my sense of proprioception for a couple of days last fall after I'd been sick. I had a hard time typing and picking things up and I couldn't keep track of where my body was. It was the weirdest thing.

Katya wrote:

Emiliana wrote:This just in, folks: A violin and a cello are NOT the same, and being able to play one does not mean you'll be able to pick up the other in just a few days. Dangit, why am I not a musical prodigy?

Sheesh. Violin and viola, maybe, but the violin and cello are held completely differently, and I imagine there are other significant differences in technique.

I know, I know. I played violin pretty seriously in high school, and recently got the opportunity to borrow a cello for a few months. I know they're not really the same, I was just hoping that the transition wouldn't be quite as difficult as it actually is proving to be. Just over-confidence on my part.

Do you play one or the other?

Emiliana wrote:Do you play one or the other?

I had violin lessons for four years. It was a fiasco. We don't discuss it. (I switched to piano after I gave up violin and have been much happier, thanks.)

My brother played the cello and my mom played the viola and my best friend played the viola and my cousin plays the violin and just got engaged to a violin professor. So . . . there's a lot of violin/viola/cello in the air, even though I don't play.

I played violin, too! In high school. Had about six years of private lessons. Then I tried to learn upright bass. Didn't last long.

I just got the funniest email. Let me post it for you, x-ing out names and numbers.

Dear Students,
We have two request for interrupters.
One is from the Logan School district. They need someone who speaks Mandarin Chinese. If you are interested please call TC at ###
Second, we need someone to help the missionaries interrupt Marshallese for a family they are teaching. If you are interested please call Brother Cs at ###.
Thanks,
The Logan Institute

I keep distracting myself by imagining a Mandarin Chinese interrupter ("How are you to-" "Guan zhu! guan zhu!") and someone who helps missionaries interrupt Marshallese ("I'm sorry, I can't let you finish your sentences when you speak that language.").

(And even though I am currently at work, at the very place that sent out this email, I take no responsibility for it.)