December 16th, 2009
I’ve often wanted to walk into a company and explain to them all the reasons why they should hire me as a professional writer. Call it a technical writer, or perhaps a business writer, or even “company writer”. I would love nothing more than to edit professional documents, marketing pieces and all correspondence for clarity, grammar, spelling, style and punctuation. Everything that leaves the office is a representation of the business, and quite often, it reflects poorly on the company. Further, these errors can also be quite costly.
A battle is currently waging between the creditors of two bankrupt Philadelphia newspapers and the company that owns them. The creditors are using comma placement to argue the meaning of a certain statute in the bankruptcy code. The outcome of this disagreement could potentially result in millions of dollars for either side.
While the article does not reference the specific statute for those of us who would like to interpret the phrase in question for ourselves, it does provide an interesting anecdote for the argument of proper punctuation and grammar. Granted, few of us are flawless in our writing. However, I would think that our laws (as well as our tax code), no matter how lengthy, should be clear and understandable by the average individual. As we can see, in business or in the courts, simple writing mistakes can be very costly.
Your company simply can not afford not to have a writer on staff.
Posted in Writing | 1 Comment »
November 27th, 2009
I was munching on a turkey sandwich this afternoon, and it occurred to me that I know a pretty cool little trick that i’ve never shared before. So, as we’re all recovering from what I hope was a fun, safe and tummy-filling Thanksgiving, here is that trick.
Most people have car alarms. At the very least, we have the little keychain remote that will lock and unlock our doors. The only problem with these little devices that that they tend to wear out over time. As they wear out, the range weakens. For example, my last car, a Honda Civic, had an excellent remote. I could easily stand 35-40 feet away and lock or unlock my doors. But over time, that distance was reduced to almost 25 feet. Even with a new battery, there was little improvement. But, I remembered a trick taught to me by some car audio buffs years ago. It’s a very simple way to dramatically increase your car’s keychain remote range.
All you need to do is hold the remote to your chin as you press the button. That’s it. your range should increase by a minimum of 10 feet, and most likely, a lot more. Don’t believe me? Go try it for yourself. First, test your remote’s power by trying it at 1-food intervals until it no longer works. From that point, try holding it to your chin, and keep trying it 1-foot intervals until it fails. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Why does this work? Honestly, I’m not sure. My car audio buddies told me that the body acts as an antenna, and it helps carry the signal a much greater distance. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’m not really concerned. I just know that it works.
If you are walking into the grocery and can’t remember if you set your alarm or not, you no longer have to walk back to the normal range of your remote. Just hold it to your chin and give it a shot.
You’re welcome.
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November 25th, 2009
Yesterday WordPress decided to change the linking to all of the comments in my entries. I am still working on correcting this problem.
Stay tuned. Oh, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!
**UPDATE**
Shortly after posting this, I resolved the problem.
Props to Eric for notifying me of the issue.
Posted in General Information | No Comments »
November 19th, 2009
Until now, eligibility for conversion of an IRA into a Roth IRA required an income of less than $100,000 per year. If your income was $100k or more, or if you were married but filing separately, a Roth conversion was not available. However, in an attempt to generate more tax revenue in the near future, perhaps to assist the struggling economy, both of those rules will be changing in 2010.
Susan Tompor of The Detroit Free Press has written an excellent column on this topic.
I’ve no intention of re-writing her story, but I do want to point out that these changes could be significant for those of you making larger-than-average incomes. If the tax burden of conversion is affordable to you at this time, the conversion might be just the thing for your future. If not, you may want to forego the option until it becomes more cost-effective.
As always, consult your tax professional before making decisions such as these.
Posted in Taxes | 1 Comment »
November 18th, 2009
My three greatest peeves in the written word are misused words, undefined statements and incorrect usage of punctuation.
Notice my omission of the serial comma.
Commonly referred to as the Oxford Comma, the serial comma has long been a source of discussion among my writing peers and I. Unfortunately, the serial comma has been accepted as the norm for most of the U.S. , and among my friends who care about such things, I am in the minority. You see, I can’t stand the serial comma.
My good friend and co-author Russ Fox is a comma junkie. Don’t get me wrong–he’s an excellent writer. He just tends to write as he speaks. And let me tell you, he is the most calculated and deliberate speaker I’ve ever met. I believe it is due to his rather impressive intellect, but at the risk of growing his ego, I’ll leave it at that. But Russ does have this addiction to commas, and when engaged in a writing project with him, well, let me say that editing his work can be rather tedious.
Russ and I have co-authored two books on poker theory and practice. During the writing process, we edited each others work many times over. If I had a dollar for every comma I removed from his part of the manuscript, I would not be concerned with our royalty checks. They would be paltry in comparison.
Russ is a fan of the serial comma. I think it is redundant and unnecessary. Russ believes it adds clarity and alleviates ambiguity. And he may be correct to some extent. Still, I favor a smaller, less-intrusive punctuation (it’s the Libertarian in me). My point is that those of us who disagree on the serial comma can still get along and be productive together. We all share a unique writing style, and good collaborators use that as an advantage. I think we did in our books. I’ll let you decide.
Posted in Writing | 5 Comments »
November 18th, 2009
It seems like everything is taxed these days, but Wyoming lawmakers are thinking about upping the ante.
While the proposal to tax developers of wind energy might seem a little preposterous at first, one must look at the taxes paid by developers of other forms of energy. While you might be against such taxation, I believe the rules should be clear-cut across the board. If one developer of an energy source is taxed, why not all of them (no sarcasm intended)?
The main hurdle faced by advocates of this new tax is time. This is a fledgling business, and too much taxation could possibly halt (or severely decrease) production. Wind energy production, while it has been around for centuries, is still a relatively new concept for mass energy production. Perhaps some time should be taken to study the ratio of energy production from wind as it relates to other forms of production.
Republican Senator John Schiffer, who is chairman of the Revenue Committee, noted, “This may be a new adventure in living. It’s like a lot of things — you’ve got to get it out there and talk about it.”
I tend to agree.
Posted in Taxes | No Comments »
November 16th, 2009
A change? A new start? Maybe a new career? Sure, we’ve all thought about those things, but the truth is, so very few of us give it a shot.
Well, this is my shot. I am a professional technical writer. Or, I was until May 29, 2009 when my contract with EDS, Inc. ended and I was not renewed due to budget constraints. I have been seeking employment since that day, but alas, I’ve yet to even secure my first interview. It seems that HR departments are being inundated with resumes and applications, and I have gone from a promising career to a simple drop in the bucket.
But all hope is not lost. I am currently in the midst of study for my Enrolled Agent’s exam. That’s right. I’m going to be a tax specialist. Now don’t get me wrong; I really do enjoy technical writing and editing. But at 41, I’m in dire need of stability. The goal is to be preparing taxes and consulting on a full-time basis within two years. Ambitious? Sure. But I have straddled myself with a no-fail option. I have family and friends counting on me. I will succeed.
So what will you find here? Good question.
While I will attempt to keep this blog on a professional level, I may occasionally write about my passions. These are, in order of importance: darts, writing and poker. It is my hope that posts containing these topics will also be professionally related in some way. I will continue to write about technical writing and editing. And of course, I’ll be doing my best to stay abroad of current tax issues as I work my way through this maze.
My goal is to inform and sometimes entertain. I encourage comments and feedback. And if you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you will do both. Thank you reader. Let’s enjoy this journey together, shall we?
Posted in General Information | No Comments »
