Hmmm...very interesting. My immediate thought was having to see just how many old bills I would have to gather together. I see it will be much easier to just go with the standard amount. What is the standard amount? Individual taxpayers can take a standard amount from $30 to $60 based on the number of exemptions claimed on their tax return. For those claiming: * one exemption, the standard refund amount is $30 * two exemptions, the standard refund amount is $40 * three exemptions, the standard refund amount is $50 * four exemptions or more, the standard refund amount is $60 And "no" you certainly aren't stepping out of bounds here...your post is most appropriate for the forum...and could/should maybe be shared on the Money Saving Tips Forum as well. Thanks for posting. Sue

Hi calpat, I was crying about getting 40 or so spam a day - until I talked to my neighbour getting over a hundred ... A DAY! She let that box drop and is opening another. I've told some people unwilling to do legitimate surveys to get a different e-mail box - just for them. So if they get connected with a spammer, they just let the box go. Hardly any making these wonderful offers ever have a real address that they send from. By the way - had any offers of a potion to enhance the size of some of your female/male parts? Some of the over a hundred or so that I've got offer guaranteed overnight results. I've replied saying that I'd be afraid that would be painful. If I were a working person - I'd want to take it on the weekend - so I could stay up all night to watch the growth. If I subscribed to all of the hundred or so offers - how would I deal with the monster - backpack? Not big enough, wrong location. Kid's stroller? Can't put it on escalator in stores. Sling? Would be too heavy for my shoulders. Shopping cart? Too deep. Wheelbarrow? Now - that might just be what the doctor ordered! Need a *full-siized* van, of course, for longer trips. But - where could I find a partner who could accomodate my needs? Probably need to seek a mare, elephant, etc. Would need a pad to keep track of when they came in heat - they wouldn't want to talk to me at other times. Do the guys selling potions - also sell stepladders? I sometimes reply trying to sell them my newsletter about money management, as I've become concerned over the years in the personal financial planning business that so few know much about money management, that I'm keeping the letter going after retirement. Single copy free to anyone with e-mail address, they can subscribe if they wish. Should save them hundreds, more likely thousands, in their lifetime - unless they have one foot in the grave, now. Often people who get something at no cost give it little respect, this letter distills many years of experience, expensive training, etc. so it would be a mistake to give it away free, though I could afford to. I don't like to be arbitrary - so price of the newsletter is negotiable. Having been a number of years a clergyperson, I've tried not to be greedy, either - so will likely ask them to contribute most of the fee to charity, especially worldwide ones, as there are huge needs in many countries, these days. They can negotiate to send my newsletter to their friends, relatives, colleagues in community, sport, church, at work, etc. Will build their group of friends, make them famous - and help them raise some money, as they keep some of the (negotiated) fee, send most to charity - and send some to me, of course. This story is real, as a matter of fact - and it's all true. As for all of these guys who have these great money-making ideas ... what kind of business is such that the fellow working there, who wants to encourage you to do the same, is so proud of it that he tells you almost nothing about it in the original message - apart from how much one may possibly make? A company that keeps their door locked, and has an unlisted phone. Most of them don't give me an address to which I can send a message, go to ask a question, etc. - their front door is locked. Few give a phone number to call - and most who do have it lead to an agency. The email address that they use when sending the message is false - unlisted phone. Not only is the phone unlisted - the guy who sent the message is a liar. The only way that I can contact them - is to fill in a form, telling quite a bit about myself ... ... to leave your resume in the mail box, please ... Which quite a few may use to assemble a database - that they then sell - to other spammers. What chance does such a recruiter think that he may have - of getting me interested in his offer? About one chance in 19,999. Have a happy spring/summer weekend, all. joyful guy/Ed

Thanks. I think getting the wires up out of the way would be the easiest way of getting things tidied up. Without having any of the telephone splice connectors, I don't think I could move the wires into a J-box, unless one end is easily removable from the junction block. I was thinking about a junction box because I did the very same thing about a week ago when I moved all of my thermostat wiring splices (I have three boilers in the basement) into a J-box. The splices are where the old thermostat wiring ties into the new near-boiler wiring. It really neatened things up overhead around the boilers. The splitters you see are all 3-way splitters if I'm not mistaken. I have about 5 or 6 in the basement, and there is one outside which is grounded to a stake in the ground. The coax is quite new. I believe most of it is only 5 years old or so. Cox came and ran all new wires when someone had an issue with their cable modem due to a poor signal. They didn't do the nicest job at keeping it neat and organized, but coax is easy enough to work with; disconnect it, re-route it, and reconnect it... The rest of the old coax (black in color) is running up the sides of the house to get to the 2nd and 3rd floors. The first floor wires run up through the floor, and the 2nd and 3rd floor run straight through the exterior walls. Perhaps someday I'll complain to Cox about the wires hitting the siding when it's windy and have it all replaced with new, white cable to match the white vinyl siding. Also, I made a mistake when I said telephone "protectors" outside. I checked yesterday, and I have only one protector where all three main black telephone lines go through into the house. I would've thought each floor had it's own protector box outside...

The router is usually integrated with the 4 standard Ethernet port connected to the modem that was supplied by your cable company. However the router is something most people buy themselves then attach to modem. Today, many of these modern cable modem boxes incorporate the router and ethernet port all in one so you don't need anything else. Hope this helps.