Sol warned "you should be swinging from your ceiling fans in no time". Thanks for the heads-up BUT no one warned me that I would speed and risk getting stopped by the sheriff! I usually drink my addiction as soon as I get up but this AM I was late and drank it before getting in the car to go to the gym. Thankfully it was the same sheriff from the turtle incident; he gave me a verbal warning. I guess he thought speeding wasn't as harmful as turtle relocation. Michael, I was hoping you would chime in as you are the coffee guru. I'm two months in and still experimenting using various suggestions you all have offered. I... like medium roast purchased a grinder prefer medium ground add a pinch of salt to the batch add sweetener and flavoring to the batch so I don't have to bother with that every morning just add the creamer don't like Fresh Market coffees accidentally bought a pound of decaf and notice the difference but didn't know what the problem was until my batch was used up and I went back to the bag to use the remainder of the pound and saw that it was decaffeinated bought 2 pounds online from CoffeeAM; haven't tried it yet but the company seems to offer many options I am definitely hooked which is scary 'cause what if this was something harmfully addictive?

We normally drink a local brand, Peet's, selecting the Italian Roast (a lot stronger and more bitter than French Roast) and have it preground in a #2 grind, which is one small step above powder (Turkish). A standard drip grind is #6 and espresso is #4, for comparison. We do a Melitta drip with Melitta woven filters, which make a much better brew than standard paper filters. For iced coffee, we do a double-strength brew: make our usual coffee, then immediately use it to pour through a fresh batch of grounds. DH grew up in Hong Kong so he prefers the taste of sweetened condensed milk in iced tea and coffee drinks. If we make a large batch, we chill it in the frig for a few hours so that no ice cubes dilute it. But if we're desperate, a few ice cubes in a glass chill it quickly, and this brew is so strong, a 1/4 cup of water is barely noticeable in a tall glass. Chocolate syrup is a nice addition, except you have to add extra for it to make any impact on what is basically a triple-strength espresso drink. Unbelievably, my DH can drink this right before going to bed and drop off to sleep like a baby....yeah, I'm jealous of that!

I loved watching the ice dancing and was so happy to see Tessa and Scott win the Gold. I have been following their skating career for a while now as they have a local connection. Tessa goes to school at the University of Windsor and both train in Canton, Michigan with the Davis and White the Silver Medalists. Tanith is Canadian also and became a US citizen so she could skate in the last Olympics. She also lived in this area while she trained in Canton. Susan, I remember my sister taking me to see Janet Lynn perform at the Olympia Arena in Detroit. I was very young but my sister who was 10 years older would always take me to the figure skating events. I also saw Peggy Flemming there and I still have my programme with her autograph. Sad news for our Canadian single skater Joannie Rochette. Her Mom had a heart attack and died 2 days ago in Vancouver where she came to see her daughter skate. She is going to skate tonight and I know I will shed a few tears for her as I watch her. Anne

"It appears that the IRS takes the position that U.S. citizens living anywhere in the world owe them something." No, only the US citizens who earn certain types of income outside of the US need care. "They've been saying that Canadian banks should let them know of any U.S. citizens using their services, of which citizenship they become aware." This doesn't apply to just Canada, it's global. It also doesn't apply to "US citizens using their services"... It applies to US citizens earning certain types of income. "The banks have been complaining that this is going to cost them millions per year ..." Oh well, that's a shame. If foreign banks don't comply, their citizens who have accounts in US banks will be withheld against, too. "... and the IRS says that, if they don't cooperate, that every cross-border transaction which they initiate will incur a 30% tax liability." That statement is correct - every cross border transaction will NOT be affected. I could go through the rest of the OP and show where it's wrong but I won't. and then i could go thru snidely's and show where it will be out of date after July 1 but I won't. I'm a US citizen working for a Candian institution making the new laws happen. This post was edited by jmc01 on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 5:02